Ax Hafting Practices Challenged During Hang Experiment & House Handle Co. Review

Scroll to bottom for linked references. Array of topics addressed in this uber-rational, senior ADHD-inspired ramble while praising House Handle Co. boys ax hafts includes a knot-splitting comparison of four 28" handles and a plethora of controversial topics, in no particular order:

0:00 Intro and overview
11:40 House Handle Co., Foxy economical hafts
12:47 Evaluating a hang
13:12 Lugged axes
15:06 ¾” x 1 ¼” Ideal handle dimensions?
17:40 House Handle Co. “defects”
19:52 Back in the day -- I was “doing it wrong”
20:16 US Forest Service: “argument to authority” fallacy?
21:10 Metal wedges, “soaking” handles in BLO
30:00 Rummage sale tips?
32:42 Qualities of a great vintage head
34:50 Telling East Coast Lumberjack Hetherington patterns apart: Ash and Hickory
37:19 Choosing the boys ax haft for a full weight head?
37:52 Most important haft length is its "swing arc radius"
38:04 Closing the hang - how much? Which pattern? What intended application?
39:55 How is swing arc radius measured? (Here's one way)
41:00 Mid-bit or 1/3rd down? (Again, what's the intended use/purpose and half pattern?)
41:35 Glue has its place!
42:01 Comparing original haft to new by pattern, by how it's hung, by its overall length and then swing radius, and by dimensions
45:30 House Handle Co. How I recommend you to buy yours but with a caveat: appreciation of them depends on what you willing to do to hang one (Consider these points before buying).
49:03 Outside! -- Splitting test of 3 lb. head on a House Boys Ax Handle compared to smaller/larger.
50:00 Turtle Wax , its effect on my axes.

REFERENCES & LINKS:
_Axemanship_. 16mm film. 1950s. Content based on Peter McClaren’s 1930 Axe Manual written for Fayette R. Plumb Inc. in 1930 and demonstrated by McClaren himself. (Heavily promoted by Plumb for the Boy Scouts of America to boost Plumb’s scout ax sales. Accessed online 09/13/2025    • AXEMANSHIP, Boy Scouts of America, 16mm film  

Beckley, B. 2019._One moving part: The Forest Service Ax Manual_. 1823 2812P. Missoula, MT: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, National Technology and Development Program. 234 p. Accessed online 09/13/2025 https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/php/libra...

-- Chapter 09—"Reshaping or Replacing an Ax Handle.” https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/pdfp...

-- Chapter 10—"Hanging an Ax.” https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/pdfp...

Cumberland, Rod ("East Coast Lumberjack"). https://eastcoastlumberjack.com/

Edholm, Steven ("Skillcult"). _Why Axe Handles Break at the Eye: When Strength Is Weakness, Overbuilding vs Stress Distribution_. (Accessed online 09/21/2025).    • Axe Handle Weight Cut! Husqvarna Forest Ax...  

Foxy Manufacturing. https://foxymfg.com/

House Handle Co. https://www.househandle.com/

_How to Install Replacement Handles_. (Tearoff Sheet). Link Handles, subsidiary of Seymour Midwest LLC. Accessed online 09/13/2025. https://seymourmidwest.com/uploads/in...

McBride, Michael. Exploring Axe History (History of American axes website). https://www.exploringaxehistory.com/p...

McLaren, Peter. Axe Manual of Peter McLaren: America's Champion Chopper. First edition. Fayette R. Plumb Inc., Philadelpia, 1929. Accessed online 09/16/2025 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?i...

Weisgerber, Bernie. _An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual_Issue 9923, Part 2823 of Special report (Technology and Development Program). 1999, by the United States Department of Agriculture for the Forest Service. Accessed online 09/13/2025. https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/html...

#wedgemanship, #hafting, #vintageaxe, #axes, #axerestoration, #hangingaxes, #axehandles, #HouseHandleCo.