Where to buy hafts

I

Iwannashoot

Joined
Jan 26, 2012
Messages
91
Just was gifted an old axe that had been in my dad's garage for I don't know how long. Took it on a camping trip just before thanksgiving and used it to split some hard old water oak.

The head worked it's way loose. No problem I'll just tighten it up I thought. Bummer the wedge is all buggered up with three case hardened square nails and a couple of 16 penny galvanized framing nails. To make matters worse the haft has some bad grain orientation and I find a split that I don't like the looks of.

So I decide its time for a new handle. Got the old one off with just a small amount of elbow grease and I clean up the head and off I go to the hardware store to find a new one. Admittedly I don't live in the hotbed of axe USA, but i've been to about a dozen places in my travels here locally and nobody has a decent replacement that fits. The eye on this axe measures 2.430" X .770" acording to my calipers.

Only thing I've found here locally that is that big has the grain running almost 90 degrees to the eye!

The original handle was straight and thin and just shy of 36" in length and I'd like to find one that is the same, but I"m afraid to order form somewhere online as I figure that I"ll end up some twisted, bent, bad grained hunk of junk that won't be useable and will be "non returnable"

So is there anywhere that you guys have had luck finding good hafts via mail order as it sure looks like I'm not going to find a good one locally.

Thanks for your help, and sorry for the rant.

Jeff
 
First- Thanks Pegs I'll give them a call. Any reason I couldn't use their part number 3636L if I wanted a straight haft?

Second- Bad on me for not exhausting the search function, but I did try a couple and didn't find "where to buy". Maybe a sticky would be a good idea so you regulars don't have to answer the same question a million times.

Thanks for all your help, and I really do enjoy this forum.

Jeff
 
Also found Bowman Handles online. I've seen them in our local feed & seed stores. Look decent. Just ordered a few. I'll let you know what they look like.

http://www.bowmanhandlesinc.com/cat...Y&sort=13&cat=1817&show=10&page=1&search= axe

There's also Hickory Handle Store (ebay) and J. Hollywood edge which are both Tennessee hickory products. Probably the best quality but handles are not to my liking (they need to be trimmed down considerably by the user IMO).
 
If you use House Handle be sure to CALL them and tell them exactly what you want, including grain orientation. They can make a decent handle, but their off-the-shelf stuff is often garbage.
 
Hey Guys,

I did order from House Handle and I wanted to let you all know how it worked out.

I ended up just ordering from their website and I did not request anything "special". I ordered their item# 3636L, grade AA, on a Monday and the postman delivered that Thursday! Of course the cost of shipping was slightly more than the cost of the haft, but House only charged the amount for shipping that was printed on the USPS lable. Still the overall cost was not much more than the inferior hafts that I had found locally.

The handle that I received was really nice. Very good grain orientation and nice and straight. It was lacqured, but I had decided that I wanted to thin it out a little bit so taking off the finish was no extra work. Just finished hanging it this afternoon and I think it came out very well.

Thanks for you help.

Jeff
 
Pegs,

Here ya go. I was actually out trying to get pics when you posted. I couldn't really get a good shot of the grain at the eye, but it runs straight front to back all the way through the haft. It's worlds better than anything I found around here!
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Thanks again for your help.

Jeff
 
That looks great Jeff! Very clean head.
I just recieved an order from House Handles this week. It was a large order and I paid extra for hand selected and no laquer. It was worth it. All the handles are good. Of coarse they all will need to be further shaped to fit my hands, no big deal, and expected. They where good to deal with and got a complicated order correct.
 
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