Axes & Hatchets

[Bald1]

I’ve always liked tinkering with and restoring old stuff. Last year or so I’ve been messing around with old axes and hatchets. Today I picked up 5. One is a PLUMB 3.2. I don’t know much but know this one is a quality axe. In the past I’ve sourced handles on eBay and local stores. My question is does anyone here know of an online source? Admittedly most of these won’t ever see any serious use, so I’m more concerned about price and appearance. I’ve found even cheap/ugly handles can look good with a little flame and oil. Thanks in advance.

 

[Narragansett]

There is a company called Council tool in NC that makes hatchets and axes. Maybe they might source you some handles as part of a good will thing because you want to restore?

 

[Onomea]

Amazon has a bunch, hatchet and axe.

 

[30-30remchester]

Only have a couple dozen old axes and hatchets but always looking. Just this weekend I purchased at a yard sale for 25 cents, a Winchester hatchet head. I assume about an hour after I am in my grave, most of my cool old stuff that I have collected over a lifetime will be sold at a yard sale for 25 cents.

 

[Baxter6551]

I just refurbished a Stanley camper hatchet I’ve had for years. Came out great.

 

[Onomea]

Baxter, I think that's a carpenter's axe. Nice!

 

[Rustyt1953]

Transformed by our own Smith357.

 

[digi-shots]

No axes or hatchets, but I did replace the wood handle on an old tomahawk head..

I found a company online that makes curly wood maple handles. I’ll find the photos and post them.

 

[Baxter6551]

Onomea - thanks for the correction! It was in our camping gear forever so it’s our campers axe.

 

[digi-shots]

The wood handle/haft was from Dunlap Woodcrafts, Chantilly, Virginia. Luckily for me, they were in the process of filling a custom order for drilled (peace pipe) tomahawk handles and I was able to to get one for the tomahawk head I had.

I pre-drilled holes for the clean out on top and decorative tacks and used an old type of finishing method to bring out the grain of the curly maple. I put a few coats of tung oil as a sealer.

 

[Chubbo]

Axes & hatchets

In my youth, my dad was an avid collector, and some of the things that he collected were, Axes & hatchets, or anything that had wood handles.

One of his hobbies, was replacing broken or missing wood handles in tools.

Wood tool handles were available in hardware stores of that era.

This hobby was inherited from his dad, who, with an axe cut down, and whittled his own handles from hickory trees.

My dad had a large steamer trunk full of refurbished tools, and When he died, we had a three day, three auctioneer, sale. Near the end of that sale, with most of the attendees gone, One of the auctioneers knocked off dad’s trunk of wood handled tools, to another of the auctioneers for 25 cents.

Please pardon my sad, long-winded, true account of dad’s axes & hatchets.

Chubbo

 

[s&wchad]

I've re-hafted more than a few and am happy with Tennessee hickory (dot com).

A word of caution... It can get out of hand pretty quickly!

 

[boykinlp]

The wood handle/haft was from Dunlap Woodcrafts, Chantilly, Virginia. Luckily for me, they were in the process of filling a custom order for drilled (peace pipe) tomahawk handles and I was able to to get one for the tomahawk head I had.

I pre-drilled holes for the clean out on top and decorative tacks and used an old type of finishing method to bring out the grain of the curly maple. I put a few coats of tung oil as a sealer.

Oh My Linda, that tomahawk turned out spectacular to my eyes! You did a great job, and the curly maple looks perfect.
Larry

 

[mojave30cal]

I've been restoring old axes too for the last 7 years or so. I
get my handles from House Handle Co. Fast shipping.

 

[sigp220.45]

Transformed by our own Smith357.

Nice! That beats the hell out of a cheesy sword cane!

 

[Bald1]

Chad I was hoping u chimed in with a suggestion. I remember seeing that first photo in another thread but couldn’t remember who or when. Thanks
I have cleaned up a few more heads. In addition to the PLUMB I have a KELLY. Which the inner web suggests is a high quality piece. I also have a hewing hatchet but haven’t cleaned head yet. I’m gonna lightly sand and oil haft and leave it alone. The fireman’s axe has no markings and probably isn’t worth anything but it’s kinda cool…………. Guy had a linesman’s hatchet I probably should have grabbed too. I think it was a Stanley. But for 5$?!?!

 

[digi-shots]

Oh My Linda, that tomahawk turned out spectacular to my eyes! You did a great job, and the curly maple looks perfect.
Larry

Thanks! I found the treatment for the curly maple online and is called “aquafortis”. It comes ready to use… it’s a reagent or type of stain. Rub it on and let it soak in and then apply heat with a heat gun… the lines in the curly maple “pop”. The nice thing is that the aquafortis liquid is clear and doesn’t muddy the grain like some standard stains. The main component is a nitric acid that oxidizes (? I don’t remember all the particulars but I like how the grain really pop’s). You can put additional coast to get the right color.

 

[Onomea]

Nice! That beats the hell out of a cheesy sword cane!

Or, if for some reason through no fault of your own you suddenly find yourself sliding down a glacier, just the ticket!

 

[Coldshooter]

Only have a couple dozen old axes and hatchets but always looking. Just this weekend I purchased at a yard sale for 25 cents, a Winchester hatchet head. I assume about an hour after I am in my grave, most of my cool old stuff that I have collected over a lifetime will be sold at a yard sale for 25 cents.

For this very reason I have an open after my death letter explaining exactly what I paid for several items.

 

[holo]

When I was in my hatchet / axe craze a couple of years ago, I would buy everyone I saw at the flea market. Take them all home clean up and new handles, always found my Ace Hardware had a great selection of handles and the wedge used to secure the handle. At one time I had over 60 hatchets, garage got to full I took them all to the fleas market and sold most.

Yes it is a fun hobby, and can get crazy fast.