An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual

Getting the Hang of It, continued

Figure 45--If you use a fawn's foot handle, saw off
the handle about ¾ inch from the butt end to
provide a blunt surface for pounding with your mallet
(drawing by Frederic H. Kock).

Figure 46--Take the new handle and place it next
to the ax head. Bring the shoulder of the new
handle all the way up to the bottom of the ax
eye in its finished mounting location. This
usually leaves quite a bit of excess wood on
top. Draw a line to show where the excess wood
should be cut off.

Figure 47--With the handle in the vise, use
a hand saw to cut off the excess wood. Be
careful not to split the handle.

Figure 48--Using an aggressive wood rasp or a four-in-hand,
start dressing down the handle to fit the ax-eye
socket tightly. At this point, be careful not to
split off the edges of the handle or to rasp off
too much wood. Once it's rasped off, it can't be
put back! It usually takes several repetitions of
rasping and checking for fit to get everything just right.

Figure 49--When the ax is properly hung, the
bottom of the ax eye should rest on the shoulder
of the handle. Drive the new handle into your
ax head for a trial fit. Place the handle in
the eye socket from the bottom. Use a large
wooden mallet to strike the bottom of the
handle squarely and firmly. This will draw
the weight of the ax head up onto the handle.
There's no need to rest the ax head or the
handle against a solid base. Sight down the
cutting edge to see if the ax edge is in exact
line with the end of the handle (See Figure 31).

Figure 50--Drive the handle out again using
a drift, and take one final rasp for a good tight
fit down on the shoulder. The ax head will leave
marks on the high spots that need additional light rasping.