Walters Black Diamond?

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NoobQuestions

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Sep 1, 2021
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Hi Folks!

I recently received and old rusty axe head that I wanted to try restoring and after removing all the rust I discovered it is an old Walters Black Diamond but I can't seem to find any information on it (I've VERY new to this). It's about 3.08lbs and I've included a gallery below. I'm trying to figure out literally anything about the axe, but specifically, how long of a handle I should be looking for? Any help of advice folks could provide would be greatly appreciated.

https://imgur.com/a/MaQEBJa
 
Very cool!

More info on Walters (sorry if you've already seen this): http://yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears Tools/Walters Axe Co..html

As to handle length, that's down to personal preference. For that head I'd go with a 28-inch curved handle; others might suggest a 30-inch. I do not like using axes with handles longer than 32 inches, and usually even 32 is too long other than for felling.

House handle number 1628-AA would be a good choice: https://househandle.com/products.html#single (I always pay the slight extra for handpick and no lacquer. Other folks here seem to like the octagon option; might be a good choice if you don't otherwise plan to carve/slim/shape the handle yourself.)
 
Thanks for the link and the info!

Yeah, I was very excited when I cleaned it off and found it looking like it does. There's just something nice about seeing a well used axe.

Now I have absolutely no experience choosing axe handles but could you explain the 28-30" choice to me? It's probably going to be used for splitting, but I'm 6'2 and I wonder if that would be too short? Does my height make any difference?
 
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Ah! I was thinking of this as a chopper, not a splitter. My bad---shouldn't have assumed. That said, I also prefer to split with a 30--32" handle (shorter is also fine by me), but my impression is that most folks tend to prefer a longer handle (say, 32--36") for splitting.

The argument usually goes: as the handle gets longer, the arc the axe head takes becomes more likely to intersect the ground in front of you (rather than, say, your leg). So by this logic, a longer handle is safer. Ben Scott explains here:

No disagreements with the geometric argument, and all else equal it could very well be that a longer handle increases safety. But I'm not sure all else is really equal: an axe with a longer handle is harder to swing and harder to aim, and I have absolutely no idea how to compare the decreased safety due to these factors with the increased safety that comes from the geometry.

To answer your questions more directly: the reason I prefer a shorter handle is that I process trees entirely with an axe, which means I'm bucking most of the time. I'm 6'0" with long-ish arms, so a long handle mostly gets in the way (this is true even when standing on the log to buck, at least for the wood I'm processing---never more than 24" diameter, usually in the 6--18" range).

Height does make a difference, but arm and torso length also matter. At 6'2" you might want a slightly longer axe handle than I do.
 
Congratulations on your find, nice 😉
These are two Black Diamonds I have (smaller hatchets) the top one has it's original handle though I had to refit the head a bit further on to the handle so lost maybe a half inch in length, so originally it would have another 1/2" on the shoulder behind the head.
The lower one was a very bad condition head I ground down & copied the handle. Walters had generous flared swells on the end of the handles & are very comfortable.

gPCPCqt.jpg
 
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I'mSoSharp said:
Congratulations on your find, nice 😉
These are two Black Diamonds I have (smaller hatchets) the top one has it's original handle though I had to refit the head a bit further on to the handle so lost maybe a half inch in length, so originally it would have another 1/2" on the shoulder behind the head.
The lower one was a very bad condition head I ground down & copied the handle. Walters had generous flared swells on the end of the handles & are very comfortable.

gPCPCqt.jpg
Click to expand...
Ok thanks! That's good to know about the swells.
 
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