Thread: Freakin' Lousy Axe Handles

Originally Posted by RAMROD48

So you own one?

Yes and it is just like any other tool. NONE of them does everything.

The F27 is great for straight grained, none stringy stuff. There are better tools for other types of rounds.

Harry K

Originally Posted by turnkey4099

Yes and it is just like any other tool. NONE of them does everything.

The F27 is great for straight grained, none stringy stuff. There are better tools for other types of rounds.

Harry K

That explains a lot. An axe is fine for straight stuff < 15". If it gets stuck you woop the round , around, and let the head split the round on the chopping block.

If that don't do things a maul, wedges, and good BIG sledge is in order.

Anybody WOOP a FrisKee with a sledge? Does it hold up? When it breaks is the Warrantee O.K.?

P.S. I like Fiskars pruning products, not one broke yet

My biggest problem? My nephews >. The 16 year old thought it would be a good idea to beat the 8 lb maul handle with the 10 lb sledge on Thursday, and then over-strike the brand new 6 bl sledge on Saturday. Kids.

So I am seeing that if we want the anti-vibe and feel of wood, then I need a draw file and a rasp. I need to get my bench built in my garage so that I can get a vise mounted.

Originally Posted by trailmaker

An Ax to Grind Part 1 - YouTube

This vid has a lot of good info, jump to the 7 minute mark for proper hanging technique.

I like to leave about 1/8 inch of handle sticking up out of the top of the head. This way when you drive in the wood wedge it expands that 1/8 inch to be wider than the axe eye.

Awesome video! wish I had watched it sooner

I don't think that I would pass his test thought, I install the metal wedges like he showed how not to do. Has anyone used that wedge lock glue shown in the video? looks interesting

Also I don't linseed oil the whole handle just near the head where there is bare wood.

Great idea with the bees wax and oil on the ax head better then wiping them down with WD40

Owned a Demolition company where our laborers regularly destroyed fiberglass, wood and metal handles every day. I will say that the pipe handles held up the best, and we started coating them with a couple of layers of liquid electrical tape and something that I think was called Dip It that both worked pretty good for a less slippery grip. Still a little painful on a cold morning over strike though. One of the guys filled his with spray foam and swore it didn't sting as bad, but I never tried it to see.

Also while training to become a Survival Instructor in the service, one of my NCO's was a pro ax thrower from Alaska that everyone deferred to on the care and feeding of axes. Good straight and tight grain aligned with the head. We'd cut a does foot (flat spot) on the end of the handle and then bevel and sand all of the edges smooth. Some guys would flame 'em with a torch, and others would "bone it" like a pro ball player does with his bat, but I just sanded, oiled and bronze wooled mine and carried it for the better part of a year, using it near every day without a problem. Linseed oiled the heck out of the entire handle after hanging and fitting the head as has been described. Over the last 4-5 years I've started using Boeshield for protecting and lubricating most all of my tools. It's something that Boeing made for airplane work, but it is the best and simplest stuff I've yet to see. A little pricey, but it lasts and works. I restore old iron wood and metal shop tools and don't use WD-40 for anything but cleaning before applying the Boeshield. WD is definitely the worst as it contains a lot of water, so whatever you put it on will still and eventually rust. I like the beeswax idea though.

Originally Posted by trailmaker

An Ax to Grind Part 1 - YouTube

This vid has a lot of good info, jump to the 7 minute mark for proper hanging technique.

I like to leave about 1/8 inch of handle sticking up out of the top of the head. This way when you drive in the wood wedge it expands that 1/8 inch to be wider than the axe eye.

Awesome vid. Tried to find the second one.

Originally Posted by Mad Professor

That explains a lot. An axe is fine for straight stuff < 15". If it gets stuck you woop the round , around, and let the head split the round on the chopping block.

If that don't do things a maul, wedges, and good BIG sledge is in order.

Anybody WOOP a FrisKee with a sledge? Does it hold up? When it breaks is the Warrantee O.K.?

P.S. I like Fiskars pruning products, not one broke yet

You aren't supposed to hit the back of the fiskars. It says so right on the handle. I've done it and over time it deforms like a wedge but no damage to the handle or loosening ofmthe head I've never gotten one stuck. It usually either splits or it doesn't. There isn't much in between. I have used it like a wedge on a stick in a pinch.

Those that say it won't split twisted grain or stringy stuff are using them wrong. They work fairly well with an all out roundhouse but much better if you bring them straight down and snap
your wrist just before you strike. It is kind of the same as swinging a baseball bat or golf club. Discipline beats brute force every time.

I haven't touched a maul since I got the fiskars. Where they don't work (neither will a maul) is something with a perpendicular grain structure or a "dowel". I prefer chainsaw to wedge and sledge.

Originally Posted by Streblerm

You aren't supposed to hit the back of the fiskars. It says so right on the handle. I've done it and over time it deforms like a wedge but no damage to the handle or loosening ofmthe head I've never gotten one stuck. It usually either splits or it doesn't. There isn't much in between. I have used it like a wedge on a stick in a pinch.

Those that say it won't split twisted grain or stringy stuff are using them wrong. They work fairly well with an all out roundhouse but much better if you bring them straight down and snap
your wrist just before you strike. It is kind of the same as swinging a baseball bat or golf club. Discipline beats brute force every time.

I haven't touched a maul since I got the fiskars. Where they don't work (neither will a maul) is something with a perpendicular grain structure or a "dowel". I prefer chainsaw to wedge and sledge.

Noodles make great free mulch for the trees

Originally Posted by Incomplete

Noodles make great free mulch for the trees

Noodles ain't free! I have some serious doubts whether the pieces of wood you get by noodling are worth the fuel used to get them, in terms of either money or energy expended (or wood lost if it was something that could have been split). It's a calculation I want to try to make, but I need to use a controlled amount of fuel to do it.

I'm guessing no one would "split" wood with a saw if you had to move that saw with your arms!

Originally Posted by WoodHeatWarrior

Noodles ain't free! I have some serious doubts whether the pieces of wood you get by noodling are worth the fuel used to get them, in terms of either money or energy expended (or wood lost if it was something that could have been split). It's a calculation I want to try to make, but I need to use a controlled amount of fuel to do it.

I'm guessing no one would "split" wood with a saw if you had to move that saw with your arms!

I know that this is getting a bit off topic. please forgive me

To calculate your known fuel usage weight the saw before with a full tank of fuel and a full tank of oil. Complete your task and refill only the oil and reweigh. The density of gasoline is roughly 6 and a half pounds per gallon. The difference in the two weights divided by the density of gasoline would give you the amount of fuel used in gallons. To account for Mixed gas weigh your gas can empty, fill it with a gallon of mix and weight it again, will give you about the same number. You can do all of this with a digital bathroom scale, stand on the scale and hold the saw.

Best of luck

Originally Posted by JHctRednek

I know that this is getting a bit off topic. please forgive me

To calculate your known fuel usage weight the saw before with a full tank of fuel and a full tank of oil. Complete your task and refill only the oil and reweigh. The density of gasoline is roughly 6 and a half pounds per gallon. The difference in the two weights divided by the density of gasoline would give you the amount of fuel used in gallons. To account for Mixed gas weigh your gas can empty, fill it with a gallon of mix and weight it again, will give you about the same number. You can do all of this with a digital bathroom scale, stand on the scale and hold the saw.

Best of luck

Thanks - but I don't own a bathroom scale! Actually, I really don't need that level of accuracy either, as calculating the cost and energy content of the wood is only going to be approximate anyway. If I use a saw with a known tank capacity and use 1 tank, that would be close enough - but that might be a lot of noodling! Rather, I'll just fill the tank, noodle a bit, and then measure how much it takes to top it off. The cost and energy content of gasoline per volume is known and a 40:1 mix won't change it much.

But again, common sense tells me that if people didn't do that when saws were powered by their own arms, it's probably not worth it.

In our wood business we go thru a few handles in the wood busines, especially with hired help, we have found the best source for handles is House's Handles out of Cassville, Mo. They use local hickory and cull any questionable handle. Much of the machinery they use is from the late 1800's early 1900's and they make handles for about any hand held tool. Excellent pricing as well. Chris is the owners name.

Originally Posted by Incomplete

Awesome vid. Tried to find the second one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=p-wXYgwjcqw

Originally Posted by WoodHeatWarrior

Thanks - but I don't own a bathroom scale! Actually, I really don't need that level of accuracy either, as calculating the cost and energy content of the wood is only going to be approximate anyway. If I use a saw with a known tank capacity and use 1 tank, that would be close enough - but that might be a lot of noodling! Rather, I'll just fill the tank, noodle a bit, and then measure how much it takes to top it off. The cost and energy content of gasoline per volume is known and a 40:1 mix won't change it much.

But again, common sense tells me that if people didn't do that when saws were powered by their own arms, it's probably not worth it.

I can noodle a whole bunch of knots/crotches on one tank of gas with my MS310. Those chunks when burned replace fuel oil at over $4.00/gal. Yes, It's worth it even if I were to count my wages into it - doesn't take that long to do one crotch or knot.

Of course a serious attempt at quantifying the cost would also include the wear/tear on the saw - that is hard on a saw.

Harry K

Originally Posted by turnkey4099

I can noodle a whole bunch of knots/crotches on one tank of gas with my MS310. Those chunks when burned replace fuel oil at over $4.00/gal. Yes, It's worth it even if I were to count my wages into it - doesn't take that long to do one crotch or knot.

Of course a serious attempt at quantifying the cost would also include the wear/tear on the saw - that is hard on a saw.

Harry K

True, if you have no other way to split it and/or no other wood, then the pieces you noodle displace fossil fuel for heat. OTOH, I can often split portions of logs with branches, etc., using an axe, just not always the whole thing. But I do noodle to a limited extent, partly because I just can't let some of it go and I can't stand pieces that won't stack!