An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual

Getting the Hang of It, continued

Figure 58--Insert the wooden wedge. Rest the handle
bottom on something solid. Drive the wedge squarely and
firmly into the kerf with a wooden carpenter's mallet.
If you have set everything up properly, there should
only be ¼ to ½ inch of wedge protruding above the top
of the handle when the wedge has been driven to the point of
refusal. Use a coping saw to cut off any excess wedge.

Figure 59--Sand any paint, varnish, shellac, or wax from the handle.
Sand the handle smooth on all but 6 inches of the butt section.
The body of the sanded handle is where your hand will slide.
You don't want any splinters or rough wood there.

Figure 60--Rough up the lower 6 inches of the butt
section of the handle with a wood rasp. This rough
section will give purchase, or grip, to your stationary hand
at the bottom of the ax handle.

Figure 61--Apply a light coat of raw linseed oil if it is available,
or boiled linseed oil if it is not. Tung oil will also work. A regular
application of these oils will protect against drying
and cracking. Wipe off the excess oil.

Never insert iron, steel, screws, nails, or any other metal object down in the wooden wedge to tighten the handle, even though you see this being done on many factory-handled axes. Epoxy should not be used, either. This advice applies for the entire life of your ax. The metal wedges tend to split the grain on the hickory handle. I can't see any reason why you would want to do that to a properly hung ax.

A loose handle can be temporarily tightened either in the field or in the shop by soaking the head in a bucket of linseed oil. Never soak the handle in water, except for short-term, emergency field tightening. Water will tighten the handle to the head, but the water dries out rapidly, leaving the head looser than before you started. Tightening the handle by soaking it in linseed oil is also a temporary measure. The ax must be rewedged or hung again to keep it tight.