West Woods Handles

Hacked said:
So a friend of mine has been working on bringing some handles to market. He met an Amish wood worker through work who made some smaller handles on a copy lathe and finishes them on a belt sander. He's been working on getting templates for additional sizes available so we have options not currently available in high quality handles. He made the templates for 20" and 24" handles himself. A 28" boys axe based on a NOS Link handle is in the works, as well as a full sized 28" based on an old Elwell (English axe company, top notch axes) handle. There will probably be additional options in the future if things go well.

I have been talking with him about this project for a while. He's put a lot of time, money, and effort into getting templates together, working with the maker to ensure they are high quality, and purchasing stock to get things going. A while back he sent me a 14" and a 18" to check out and get my opinion on, mainly because I'm very picky about axe handles for my personal axes. These are probably the best current production handles I've had the chance to get my hands on.

Here is the 14" hatchet handle compared to a vintage haft on my favorite carving hatchet. The vintage haft is very thin with an excellent palm swell/fawns hoof.

Hatchet Handles by MJGEGB, on Flickr

Hatchet Handles 2 by MJGEGB, on Flickr

14" with vintage by MJGEGB, on Flickr

I added in a 16" hatchet handle from House Handles to the mix.

Hatchet Handles 3 by MJGEGB, on Flickr

You can see just how much of a fat club the House Handles are from the factory here. The one sent by mister West in comparison has far more in common with the vintage haft.

HH VS Amish by MJGEGB, on Flickr

HH VS Amish by MJGEGB, on Flickr

Here is the 18" haft compared to a 19" house axe handle from House Handles. Keep in mind that the HH handle here is sized for a full sized eye. Still the comparison is night and day here.

CT VS Amish by MJGEGB, on Flickr

CT VS Amish by MJGEGB, on Flickr

Palm Swells by MJGEGB, on Flickr

Here is the 18" next to a Council Tools Boy's Axe handle. CT is known for having nicely shaped handles, and they are a cut above a lot of the competition. You can see that the 18" is a slimmer handle though both are nicely shaped.

Shoulders by MJGEGB, on Flickr

Here is a comparison of the shoulders on all of the different handles. Left to Right, 16" HH, 18" West Woods, 28" CT, 14" West Woods

And some pictures of the finished product after hanging two heads on the handles.

14" handle on a Plumb National BSA hatchet head

BSA National Side by MJGEGB, on Flickr

BSA National BSA Stamp by MJGEGB, on Flickr

BSA National Profile by MJGEGB, on Flickr

BSA National Side in Block by MJGEGB, on Flickr
Click to expand...
So what is the eye size on these handles? I thought they would be larger to accommodate the later imported Swedish axes?
 
Hacked said:
I sent him the link, and I believe he looked at it. Didn't get much of a response from him other than his primary focus for the handles was more the bushcraft market at the moment. The whole thing sort of started off from not being able to find decent handle options for smaller lighter camp axes in the current market. Thus the sizes that became available first. Not sure where it will go from there, or if he'd consider selling blanks. You could always send him a message through eBay or on BCUSA his user name is batmancwa.

Another option I'm not sure if you've looked into is Thrane axe & Sawmill. He sells blanks, though every time I've tried to look for what was available I got frustrated with the website and just left. It is at least another option.
Click to expand...

That makes sense, and is probably where the market is. I recognize the BCUSA handle so I'll see if I can reach out to him. I have looked at the Thrane outfit a few times but the blanks are only an inch thick or something like that.
 
Update: I got my 24" handle in the other day. I'll post some pics and a short review when I get time to hang my Hudson Bay axe on it but it may be a few days or more so for the meantime: I'm very impressed with the handle. It is probably the nicest, most well-made handle I have ever seen straight from the seller. Noticeably thinner than anything I've gotten from House, Beaver Tooth, or anywhere else. Grain orientation is good. Nice, smooth curvature. Needs a little finish sanding but no big machine marks or anything. The back of the shoulder (near the head) is cut very low so that you could mount the axe head a solid few inches down onto the handle if you want the finished handle length to be around 20-21" or so. The only small issue is that the eye is a little bit short for my Collins Hudson Bay axe but not by enough to really be an issue. Oh, and a nice addition--the wedge it came with looks like oak rather than the standard poplar or whatever other soft bullshit they usually come with.

I paid $29 shipped which is more than reasonable in my book. I'll be looking to this guy whenever I need an axe haft from now on.
 
jblyttle said:
I may be able to provide a slim 28" NE Handle Co handle.
Click to expand...
You were offering the slim handle to"hacked" as a pattern, right? I am currently looking for a 30" nos fawns foot for my Emerson&Stevens single bit. I need a 2-1/2"x3/4" eye and was hoping for a darker color. Do you have any that you'd be willing to trade or sell? I recently purchased a gold membership but I'm having trouble locating things I'm interested in. Thank you.
 
Yankee Josh said:
You were offering the slim handle to"hacked" as a pattern, right? I am currently looking for a 30" nos fawns foot for my Emerson&Stevens single bit. I need a 2-1/2"x3/4" eye and was hoping for a darker color. Do you have any that you'd be willing to trade or sell? I recently purchased a gold membership but I'm having trouble locating things I'm interested in. Thank you.
Click to expand...
I'm not associated with West Handles, I just highly recommend them.
 
jblyttle said:
I'm not associated with West Handles, I just highly recommend them.
Click to expand...
Thanks for getting back to me. I did look on fleebay and he almost has what I'm looking for! He has a 24" with a full size eye but i need 28" or 30". Hopefully I'll find one fairly soon because i have a white ash I'm dying to fell with that new axe. Thanks again.
 
Reviving this thread for a moment, I checked the West Handles eBay page and it does not look like he's selling anything right now. Does anyone know if this is temporary or reflective of a change in his business?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top