Torching a HAndle

C

cattledog

Joined
Oct 7, 2011
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I have always liked the look of handles with burnt wood designs. I never thought about doing it to one of mine till today.
Since I'm out of axe money I decided to screw around with what I got.
I used a propane torch.
Here are a couple of shots.

Feel free to comment good, bad , or ugly and post any of your own versions.
Thanks
It was sort of unnerving doing this to a perfectly good expensive handle. Never tried this before.
My goal was to personalize my axe to make it unique and different from others.

Three Smoke Rings, That's what I call it
p260490293-4.jpg


Two Brass Tacks ( got the idea from a page about fur trade hawks)
Indian look respectfully so.

p338533054-4.jpg


Closeup
p392754727-4.jpg


I tried to search for a thread but wasn't able to hit one. Any info about this would be appreciated.
Overall I like the look and it brings out the juvenile in me.
Thanks
cattledog
 
Looks good. Keep in mind that this will have hardened the wood slightly. Might be nice to rasp some finger grooves in that handle for choking up on it. Maybe even a thumb groove on the back edge of the haft.
cool.gif
 
That looks sweet, Man. Nice job. I like how you only did it at the top. I also like how you only put the tacks on one side. Sometimes symmetry gets boring. Looks fantastic!
 
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Square_peg said:
Looks good. Keep in mind that this will have hardened the wood slightly. Might be nice to rasp some finger grooves in that handle for choking up on it. Maybe even a thumb groove on the back edge of the haft.
cool.gif
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments Square-peg,M3mphis,Handaxeproman Appreciate it!

Square-peg
I thought a little about hardening the wood when I was burning that piece. We shall see when I start bonking branches with it if something happens.
Must have been a lot of resin in there cause when the torch hit it, it was gooey for a second. Maybe the blo though.
I think I will rasp some grooves in it that's a good idea. I'm very low on wood now so will have to wait till I wood up. That way I can carve a bunch or two or three with it and make sure the grooves go in the right spot.

The head is to shiny for the new look of the handle I will post my head mod in another thread.
 
Great mods bro.

I have done some light torching to this small hatchet, a Japanese Satsuma Yoki (you can kinda make it out here)

P1093154.jpg


P1093133.jpg


And this Wetterlings Army Surplus Axe (I picked up for £8 and re-shaped to a more North West Co/Hudson Bay type profile).

P1290043.jpg


In comparison to yours and many others I have seen, i'd say I only toasted it rather than torched it, I did sand back down though.
 
You still thinking about finger grooves? I personally dislike finger grooves in almost any tool. It just seems to limit the ways you can grip it.
 
scruffuk said:
Great mods bro.



I have done some light torching to this small hatchet, a Japanese Satsuma Yoki (you can kinda make it out here)

P1093154.jpg


P1093133.jpg


And this Wetterlings Army Surplus Axe (I picked up for £8 and re-shaped to a more North West Co/Hudson Bay type profile).

P1290043.jpg


In comparison to yours and many others I have seen, i'd say I only toasted it rather than torched it, I did sand back down though.
Click to expand...

scruffuk:
Thanks for the reply, enjoying your photos nice shots. I like what you did to that Wetterlings.
Gotta ask you something, what do you call that duck call wood burning device?
 
M3mphis said:
You still thinking about finger grooves? I personally dislike finger grooves in almost any tool. It just seems to limit the ways you can grip it.
Click to expand...

Probably not on this handle it is uncanny how well this one fits my hand.
I would practice on a beater first.
 
Thanks cd. The toe of the Weterlings mirrored the heel. It was a fair bit of work with hand tools but I was pleased with the results. I really think I need to re-torch the hatchet.

Yeah that's a fire piston alright. Cool bit of old school technology.

About the grooves, I'd have to agree with M3mphis. Not really a fan of any form of grooves, grips or forced ergonomics in handles etc.
I also think there is enough movement in use of an axe, albeit it seemingly minimal, that it could cause hot spots over prolonged periods.
 
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M3mphis said:
You still thinking about finger grooves? I personally dislike finger grooves in almost any tool. It just seems to limit the ways you can grip it.
Click to expand...

In general I agree with that but in this case we're only talking about the top of the haft which you would only be using when you choked up on the tool. I haven't tried this yet myself but I think it's worth giving it a shot.
 
Square_peg said:
In general I agree with that but in this case we're only talking about the top of the haft which you would only be using when you choked up on the tool. I haven't tried this yet myself but I think it's worth giving it a shot.
Click to expand...

That would be interesting to try. I think I'd try it on a beater.

I was looking at Council's replacement handles the other day. I don't see that they offer the handle that comes on the HB velvicut. I'm sure you could work it out if you called them.
 
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