Resources

Required Reading List 

A Natural History of Trees of Eastern and Central North America, Donald Culross Peattie. Must-read, a classic!

 

Optional Reading List 

Tall Trees, Tough Men, Robert E. Pike. An informative and entertaining glimpse of logging’s heyday in New England.

Adirondack French Louie, Harvey Dunham. Adirondack life circa 1875-1915.

"Hickory Handle Making". Hammer Museum, Haines, Alaska. Nice slideshow on handle making in the day including pictures of straightening handles. There are also directions on how to straighten handles in this old catalogue. https://archive.org/details/LaPierreSawyerHandleCo/page/n3/mode/2up

"A Brief History of the Handle Business". From an address delivered at a meeting of the Handle Manufacturers Association of America circa 1900.

Axe Safety 

1. Keep in mind that a sharp chopping axe is a razor blade and worthy of great respect. Familiarity breeds contempt. Fatigue is also a common denominator in accidents. A folded piece of flashing and a piece of duct tape can make a very serviceable sheath that fits nicely in your back pocket.

2. If you are considering standing on a log and chopping, have fun but be safe!    https://mailletec.com/product/lumberjack-s/ 
https://mailletec.com/product/lumberjack-legging/  

3. When chopping in the woods, be aware of your surroundings. Small branches or saplings  can intercept your swing causing bad things to happen. Take the time to clear potential obstacles.

4. Split with a relatively dull axe. Dull blades force a split, sharp blades sever wood fibers.

Minimizing Handle Breakage and Other Thoughts 

1. Many handles are damaged by impatience when hanging heads. Pounding on the knob with a heavy hammer is no substitute for proper fitting. https://www.amazon.com/Shinto-HC-TL-SSR200-9-Saw-Rasp/dp/B004DIHDU0

2. Learn to split without getting the axe head stuck in the log. MANY handles are broken being yanked out of a log with two hands. Stay away from the middle of larger logs, slab sides or split from the edges. If badly stuck whack the top of the eye/poll with a chunk of wood. A death grip and powering through are tough on handles as well as your joints. Bad techniques will catch up with you and your handles. 

3. Although splitting is responsible for the vast majority of handle breakage, chopping can also break some. If your axe is sticking in the cut, look to technique, grind and polish.

Hanging Axe Heads 

If you are new to hanging axe heads there are many videos out there that will get you in the right direction. Below are some pictures and comments outlining “best practices”. Although it's tempting to say close enough, a little more work makes a big difference.

 

To reduce eye height, always remove material from the top of the eye.

 

Many axe heads have slightly tapered eyes, being wider at the top. That along with leaving the wedged end of the handle proud of the head makes for a tight handle. A squirt of swel-lock, (Dipropylene Glycol + 20ish% H20 for you kitchen chemists) works wonders. Give it a few days to dry before any oiling etc. https://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/M7454000/?srsltid=AfmBOorTx405xBqt266jX8E8Yi7fSE5YMWhz13ZeF8bOfmhPmZGYtQqke38

If your head has a lot of taper in the eye consider a wood cross wedge. We send one with each handle. https://archive.org/details/HartwellHandlesCatalogNo92/page/n13/mode/2up (page 12)

 

The untrimmed ends provide a flat surface for striking. After hanging trim and shape.