Re Hafting an Axe

 

Re Hafting an axe

As I have already said, one of the main tools in bushcraft is an axe, and come the fall of civilisation I think it will again be important, without any of the power tools the easiest way to collect wood for the fire, building etc. is the axe.  That is IF you know how to use one safely.

While you sit at home thinking that I can just stockpile petrol for my chainsaw, batteries for my dewalt saw etc (as I do from time to time), just remember that machines breakdown, and petrol & batteries won’t last forever, and even manual saws aren't always the best tool for the job.

Generally, there are two ways of splitting, cleaving and generally working wood without any of the above, splitting with either an axe like tool where the sharpness and kinetic energy work for you to create a massive amount of force on a concentrated area, or using pressure,  which is what happens when you put a log into a log splitter, or use wedges and a hammer, force is used to push a blunt a wedge into the wood, and either the number of wedges or the constant pressure (depending on whether you do it by hand or use a mechanical log splitter) will split the wood.

So back onto the axe.  About a year ago I bought a B&Q branded fiberglass handled axe from, funnily enough B&Q.  Being a stickler for tradition I removed the fiberglass handle and went out and got hold of a few pieces of green ash.

Ash has traditionally been used for tools because it has a close grain which is strong, yet it will absorb shock, making it ideal as a tool handle until modern composites and imported hickory came onto the scene.  Ash also has the habit of growing anywhere, so is quite often removed from managed woodland on a regular basis, so is fairly abundant.

Step 1.                                                  The first stage is to remove the old handle, do this by using a saw to cut the handle just below the head of the axe, though take care not to nick the head as you do.  Once the old handle is out of the way put the head into a vice so that the top of the eye is uppermost.  Now take a drill and drill out as much of the old handle as you can.  Again take care not to nich the head, and now you also have the hazard of the metal wedge used to keep the wooden one in place. 

Once this is done you should be able to turn the head the other way uo in the vice and knock out what is left of the handle (it might be worth making a mark on the underside of the head at this point so you know what way up it should go, though if you are going to do step 1a use a bit of thought as to where the mark should go.

Step 1a.              (Optional) My axe was covered in a nasty epoxy resin type coating, and to get rid of this I used a couple of adrasive wheels in my drill, and finished it off with sandpaper and elbow grease.  I then taped over the 1^st ¼ of the head and painted it with matt plasticoat.  The paint will do the same job as the resin coating, but doesn’t look as tacky.

Stage 2.             Now for the tricky bit, you need to wait until the ash has seasoned before you start working it, that way the moister will have already have left and it will have shrunk as much as it is going to initially, HOWEVER, it will still keep shrinking, especially if kept outside all year without protection from moisture, because it will absorb and expel water on that regular a basis that it will become weak, warped or mis shapen.

Over the years I have bought a few different length axe handles, from hatchets right up to axes over a meter, and I have used these to make templates on a few pieces of plywood (in truth the templates are drawn within each other, and this is repeated on another piece of ply, so that if anything happens to one I have a spare I can use to make another.)

You will need a selection of tools to carve, and it depends on your selection which will be best, but generally I use a hatchet, surform and spoke shave, though some people prefer draw knifes and chisels, or whatever floats your boat.  You could always just use an electric saw, but I’m running on the assumption that if you need to do this, if you can do it by hand, then you can do it by machine.

Step 3.              As you will have seen when you took the axe head off the handle, there was a wooden wedge and a metal wedge holding the it to the handle.  You will need to cutt a groove lengthways along the top of the handle, just a little shallower than the axe head is.  Once you have done this, seat the head onto the handle and insert your wooden wedge, preferably this should be a hardwood, and I prefer oak, but the choice is up to you if there aren't the materials to do this.

Drive the wedge in until the axe head is tight and does not move, then cut off the wedge and handle so that it is flush with the head of the axe and (though some people prefer to leave it a little proud, again its up to you) and hammer in the metal wedge, this should be diagonal and should pass through both woods, with the ends both being in the ash.

That’s It, fairly simple, if you want to stain or varnish the handle be careful, furniture and internal finishes can leave it that slippery that you may lose it when you swing it.