Axe Me About My New Axe

Well, it's not really new at all - this one is a cheap 3-1/2lb Taiwanese box store axe that came with a yellow fiberglass handle. The handle had one of those rubber gaskets that allow the handle to flex in the axe head. That means as soon as you get it stuck good you can't get it out by banging the end of the handle with your palm - so after a few times of that I got mad at it and slammed the handle with the sledge. It didn't come out, but the handle got real loose then - so it's been knocking around the shop for a few years.

I wanted to practice making an abrasion shield for the area under the axe head - I always ruin the handles after a while when I'm splitting bigger rounds. The idea is to finish them up with a final swing at the front edge, so only the head goes in (I can hear you snickering, knock it off), but sometimes I miss. Hey, it's lot of swings, some of them are bound to go bad. Anyway, this axe is junk, so I got a junk handle at HD - it's not a great handle, but it was the only one of the twelve I looked through that I could make myself spend money on.

So I cut the fiberglass handle off with a hacksaw and pressed the remainder out with a shop press. Then I took it to work and cleaned it of on the belt sander and the scotchbright belt. I coat the end of the handle with Gorilla Glue before I put in together. It oozes out afterwards:

I tried making a shield out of wire, but I could not get it to wrap tight enough in a single layer. Also, the end wrap wanted to slide away from the rest since the handle is tapered. So I went back to a method I've tried before - a stove pipe wrap. This time I added a half-tube of brass under the front edge to thicken it up, and a slip of 0.10" Nomex paper to hopefully absorb some energy.

It's attached with 4 old square cut lath nails. One of them broke off, but it's still holding things together:

Finished up:


I used it a bunch today and it worked fine. We'll see how the shield holds up long term. Next up will be one of the 4-1/2lb axes that are my main tools. I use Link handles on those, and they have more shape to them on the sides, so forming the shield will be more difficult.

you are the man. In the old days when I cut wood we go through several handles a week.

Keep us posted how it works. I have used wire with tape before.

I've tried this once before, in a year when I was splitting black locust from a 30" tree. I split it all by hand, and the axe handle kept taking a beating. So I tried a single layer of stove pipe. It worked OK, but was too thin. The pipe got bent up badly, and the wood got crushed up underneath, but it did help. In the end I over-swung, missed entirely with the head and landed it right on the handle, and it fractured. So hopefully with a thicker nose it won't bend up so much.

axe advice

Cleaning up at my grandmother's estate I found an old axe out in the tool shed. The handle is cracked...probably why it was so buried out there. What's the best place to get a new handle? Since nowadays everything is designed to be thrown out.

Why not a Fiskars? I don't think you could break it!

ponyexpress976 said:

Cleaning up at my grandmother's estate I found an old axe out in the tool shed. The handle is cracked...probably why it was so buried out there. What's the best place to get a new handle? Since nowadays everything is designed to be thrown out.

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I prefer the Link handles, which you can get at TSC. This was not one of them, as they have a different (larger) fit and this was a smaller head. You may want to look and see if any of the sponsors have any, but shipping might add significantly to the cost.

ancy said:

Why not a Fiskars? I don't think you could break it!

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A couple of reasons:

First, I like wooden handles. Second, you can break anything, and the Fiskars cannot be repaired. Last, the Fiskars head is a "sharp" axe shape, which is not my favorite profile. The one I did here is too, as is one of my 4-1/2 lb axes. Sometimes that works best, but sometimes they just stick in the wood and you spend all your time pounding them back out again (the Teflon on the Fiskars helps, but it's just a coating and won't last forever). Usually I like the one that has a little steeper ramp on the front from sharpening a lot more times (think of the shape of a maul, but not as extreme). It's still very sharp, but it rarely gets stuck.

I had the chance to try a Fiskars, and it's nice but I really didn't see the big deal. I suspect the people who find it to be special or different are more used to splitting with a maul, but I use an axe and it seemed just like any other light axe to me.

It's faster. An axe is designed for chopping, but you can split with it. I did for years and years, very similar to your axes. All my first personal firewood for years was an axe and a 30 inch bowsaw (except commercial wood, that was a chainsaw) Then I got a maul, wedge and sledge.

And soreness and beat on. Ya, it splits wood, but.....

Then I got a fiskars. You got to own one and work with it and get the technique down, it is just loads faster and much easier once you do.

Maybe you can pick up a tool and wring it out in one session and "own" it, but it takes me some time to get good with a new tool. But when I do..I do.

Anyway, I like your reinforcement designs. I did one in brass before, worked for awhile...looked dang good though..didn't last like good steel.

looks good, like the metal reinforcment:msp_smile:

Second, you can break anything, and the Fiskars cannot be repaired.

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Fiskars can't be repaired, but send them a photo of the broken one (by snail mail or their website) and they ship you a new one.

Good news, you don't have to drive to the hardware store to buy a new handle.

Bad news, you can't just drive to the hardware store to buy a new handle.

Customer Service | Fiskars

I've been dressing my Fiskars head with the teflon spray for mower decks...can't honestly tell if it helps, but I already bought the can and at least the head feels slippery to my fingers

And I'm sure if you were already using an ax, then the Fiskars wasn't a dramatic change. Coming from the maul world it was a dramatic improvement. Only thing I miss is when I used to setup a whole bunch of blocks and just walk down the row swinging the maul.

WoodHeatWarrior said:

I've tried this once before, in a year when I was splitting black locust from a 30" tree. I split it all by hand, and the axe handle kept taking a beating. So I tried a single layer of stove pipe. It worked OK, but was too thin. The pipe got bent up badly, and the wood got crushed up underneath, but it did help. In the end I over-swung, missed entirely with the head and landed it right on the handle, and it fractured. So hopefully with a thicker nose it won't bend up so much.

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I had a loose handle on my maul so spent 1/2 hour getting it loose and then refitting it tight. About hte second round I overstruck and broke it.

Harry K

turnkey4099 said:

I had a loose handle on my maul so spent 1/2 hour getting it loose and then refitting it tight. About hte second round I overstruck and broke it.

Harry K

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Doncha hate that? And it feels so good on the hands too!

Why use glue on a axe grip? If you put a wedge into the top you won't have any problems. Cleaning glued in wood parts is a real pain.

7

7sleeper said:

Why use glue on a axe grip? If you put a wedge into the top you won't have any problems. Cleaning glued in wood parts is a real pain.

7

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I find that after a long enough time of constant pounding they always loosen up a little. The Gorilla Glue is pliable enough that it doesn't crack and the head never loosens. When it comes time to change the handle, I cut off the old one and throw the head in a fire. Not too hot of course, but enough to burn out the old one. Naturally they don't stay shiny.

ancy said:

Why not a Fiskars? I don't think you could break it!

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I have the SS and an x27...just wanted to have this one in useable condition for sentimental reasons. Same reason I have my Dad's stihl 009L, I run all husky's and it rarely comes out of the garage. But when it does come out for a lite exercise, it brings back memories.

WoodHeatWarrior said:

I find that after a long enough time of constant pounding they always loosen up a little. The Gorilla Glue is pliable enough that it doesn't crack and the head never loosens. When it comes time to change the handle, I cut off the old one and throw the head in a fire. Not too hot of course, but enough to burn out the old one. Naturally they don't stay shiny.

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Don't think that that is a good idea. I am no metalurgist but I believe the heat will soften the hardening of the steel. I understand that it seems to be a rather cheap model but I still wouldn't do it.

7

7sleeper said:

Don't think that that is a good idea. I am no metalurgist but I believe the heat will soften the hardening of the steel. I understand that it seems to be a rather cheap model but I still wouldn't do it.

7

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It's actually pretty hard to get steel hot enough to change its properties with a wood fire, especially just sitting around the edge of a fireplace fire. At most it may anneal it a little bit. I found my favorite axe head in the woods behind the garage at my previous house maybe a dozen years ago. It's had the handle burned out of it at least 8 times since then and it still works great and holds an edge well.

WoodHeatWarrior said:

It's actually pretty hard to get steel hot enough to change its properties with a wood fire, especially just sitting around the edge of a fireplace fire. At most it may anneal it a little bit. I found my favorite axe head in the woods behind the garage at my previous house maybe a dozen years ago. It's had the handle burned out of it at least 8 times since then and it still works great and holds an edge well.

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Mmmmm, not so. Any amount of heat over 400°-600° will drastically pull temper from carbon and carbon alloy steels. If you're getting the head hot enough to char the remnants of the handle, you're probably getting up near 800°-1,000°. A cherry glow will approach 1,500°.

Glad it's worked for ya, but it is a crap shoot when it comes to the steel properties when you're done. Uneven heating will induce stresses, large grain growth, cracking, etc.

If I had to guess why you haven't had too much issue, is the head was most likely a low/medium carbon -- like 1045.

Metals406 said:

Mmmmm, not so. Any amount of heat over 400°-600° will drastically pull temper from carbon and carbon alloy steels. If you're getting the head hot enough to char the remnants of the handle, you're probably getting up near 800°-1,000°. A cherry glow will approach 1,500°.

Glad it's worked for ya, but it is a crap shoot when it comes to the steel properties when you're done. Uneven heating will induce stresses, large grain growth, cracking, etc.

If I had to guess why you haven't had too much issue, is the head was most likely a low/medium carbon -- like 1045.

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Thanks for the info - I've not got it cherry red, that's for sure, and who knows what alloy the thing is. In any event, since I bought a shop press I really don't need to burn it out anymore. The main thing I'm trying to accomplish is to put together an axe that doesn't need to have it's handle replaced so often. The glue may be a PITA to get apart again, but I like the feel of an axe that is solid and does not wiggle at all, and I have yet to have one loosen that way. It's not that I'm relying on the glue to hold it on, it's wedged as tight as I can get it, it just prevents it from wiggling and working its way loose afterwards.

I am going to try the glue on my next one.

If I am having trouble getting a handle out I use a drill to loosen the broken piece.