In this video I make A handle for a 4 pound Kent pattern axe I got recently. I use ash but there are many types of wood you can use, I suggest you find what suitable hardwood grow near you and use one of them.
I realize these youtube videos probably get a minority of views compared to your shorts and tiktok, but I hope you keep making them because they're a joy to watch.
Feels like more modern things get, the more things of our past become obscure or lost. Your content as well as what you do for a living is amazing, its great that you're putting some of it online for us! I wish you the best and keep up the great work!
I can immediately say, if the cooperation with the blacksmith gets going, I'll happily buy an axe from you in a blink of an eye! You're doing a good thing, keeping an old trade alive with your wonderful enthusiasm! Honestly, you are one of the reasons I got into woodworking as well, so thank you for making me feel more creative!
Thank you brother. Your videos are an inspiration and helping me cope with the loss of my son. I am just beginning my journey creating beautiful works of art like yours. I wish to have a piece like your hatchets. I believe it would be a challenge shipping one of your works to Canada so I will be after making my own. I am learning so much from you. Thank you again.
I know ash is the preferred wood for axe handles but I do tree work and got my hands on a really fine piece of cherry. I'm letting it cure right now but I'm bursting with excitement to make my own handle. I've actually got a 2kg axe head to set on the handle as well! This video is exactly what I was hoping to find with some nice simple hand tools. I appreciate your content and will be watching more of your stuff!
Hey Eoin i just wanted to say, it isn't a maybe, we will absolutely buy your axes I know I plan to. Also yes, you have inspired me to learn woodworking alongside smithing, so that I may create my own furniture, tools and home. Thank you for doing what you do, you truly are an inspiration
selling axes is a great idea, Eoin! I think it would be a good idea for you to create a touchmark for your work... The blacksmith should have one for the axe head too.
Your videos bring back so many memories for me Eoin. My favorite class was woodshop and I refused to use the power tools if I could avoid it (We had literally every hand tool in the shop I could think of). Needless to say I would get made fun of for doing my projects the "hard" way instead of slapping the wood together and calling it a day. Teacher got so mad about it I couldn't help but laugh as he was reaming out the other student's for their shoddy workmanship and praising mine. I need to collect some tools of my own so I can pick it back up.
Thank you for helping to teach the old ways of doing things. We have lost touch with actually using our hands. Keep up the amazing work and let us know if you do start selling. Would love to support you in that
Your videos are all so humble, innocent and passionate. I very much enjoy watching these linger videos and hearing you talk more. Such a friendly nature to you and your videos. Cheers from Canada!
If I may offer some layman’s advice: At 5:48 you had a LOT of what we woodsmen refer to as “shelving” goin on. When the part of the haft/handle that mates up into the socket of the axe head is still too thick to properly seat, then the bottom of the socket is gonna dig into the wood of the handle. If left unchecked, it will cause this “shelving” which will render the handle much more susceptible to really bad splintering, and subsequently, eventual breakage. So you can generally see why shelving is considered by many to be a BIG no-no; because it’s *WAY MORE* than just an aesthetic or “looking clean” issue, but a structural integrity of the overall axe handle issue as well. You were right to polish that up with that sharp chisel, and it looks like you fixed the issue up pretty well. So kudos to you for that - just wanted to point out that eliminating that shelving like that fixed *WAY MORE* than just surface-level aesthetic value like you pointed out. Lol Also, when I’m seating an axe head, it usually takes me several attempts at seating. Precisely because I’m trying to avoid any and all shelving AS the top of the handle gets rasped/sanded away and the axe head is able to make its way down to where it can be properly seated, bit by bit. Doing all of this prevents any and all shelving throughout the seating process, and any subsequent splintering that may coil up *UNDER* the axe head, where you can no longer see it once you’ve got it seated all the way on there. When I’m seating, and I see shelving starting to occur, I’ll knock the head back off then take a rasp to the area of the handle that was still too fat for the socket. This goes on until I can inertia seat it to where I want it, and absolutely NO shelving occurs as I’m tappin it on. And if you do it right - don’t shave off too much or too little as you’re whittling down the top of the handle - then the axe head will seat on there *PERFECTLY,* like a glove. It’ll seat on there both super cleanly, *AND* super tightly, just like you want. One thing that also helps *TREMENDOUSLY* in the prevention of shelving as you’re seating an axe head is taking a metal file and hand-grinding in a small chamfer bevel *ALL THE WAY AROUND THE INTERIOR OF THE BOTTOM OF THE SOCKET OF THE AXE HEAD.* Doing this will ensure that the interior of the socket isn’t able to dig into the wood of the handle as you’re doing the seating process. And with this interior chamfer bevel in the bottom of the socket, even if it DOES deform the wood fibers in any way, then it’ll only press into the fibers and possibly leave a pressure impression (getting pressure impressions is *WAY BETTER* than getting cuts/shelves/splinters,) rather than cutting and/or digging into it (which you absolutely *DON’T WANT.)* In fact, once you’ve got it seated all the way down where you want it, if it’s still tight enough to make those pressure impressions, then all the better. Cause that just means its even more super tight. Hope this helps!
I discovered your videos on tiktok a while ago, and the videos there and here have started to make me really interested in woodworking. I have also started to do woodworking myself and I love it so far. Thank you for making these videos and introducing me to how cool woodworking is!
I envy you being able to work with your shop door wide open. There's too much snow here for that, haha. The axe handle looks great, i'll have to find myself some ash and do the same. 👍
I realize this is a year old, but I have been thinking about learning how to make Axes and Hatchets. I am inspired and plan on making my own! Thank you!
I heard Lynn Coffey talk about her books today and one of the stories she shared was about a man who made axe handles. He didn't have access to sand paper for the final cleanup so he did the final smoothing with a scrap of glass. Made me think of you.
I love seeing your videos, I grew up in the trades industry and was around all the old generation workers, to see someone in their 20s doing this kind of work brings back so much nostalgia and pride knowing that the old ways aren't completely lost to time.
I love your videos. I love old school techniques it's an art and it's too bad some of it is lost. We had a covered bridge in a town near me that got destroyed in the flood. They had a group that came in and rebuilt it. It was amazing watching bring it back to life. And used a lot of the original lumber. They even built my friend a set of steps for his cabin to go to his loft. Love the videos. Keep posting
Im working on making my very own axe, I’m having a wood splitting axe head custom made, and I’ll be making the handle itself, your video will help me make it happen thank you.
I absolutely would buy this! But I doubt you'd do shipping to America, also keep up the great work this is a lost art! I'll probably get into wood working as well because of you sir!
I've got a couple old, small ball peen hammers that need new handles. As soon as i dig through my scrap piles & find some suitable wood, I'll give it a go.
Hey man, we have a similar style and philosophy of woodworking, and I really enjoy watching your videos. For all of my tool handles I sand to 220 and then coat with linseed oil but after that I take sand and red clay and rub it all over the handle l. after it drys I wipe it all off and it is artificially aged. Because that is how it would age, oil from your hands and dirt. Anyway man just wanted to share how I finish all of my tool handles. Personally I’d give it a try. Happy woodworking.
I would totally buy a handforged/handmade axe from you! I have absolutely nothing I could do with it, but I'd still buy one. Perhaps I could buy a wee one to cut my crochet and weaving yarns with. 😉
Eoin, you seem to enjoy ash for tool handles quite a bit. Could you explain for us why that's your go-to, and maybe touch on a few other common varieties and their pros and cons for different applications?
I decided to make an axe handle as my first ever woodworking project, I made it using a whittling knife, axe and sandpaper. I am enjoying this a lot. I am super pleased with how it turned out as well. Thank you for the inspiration
Well done, you made that nice and simple. Much better than a previous one I watched where he used a container load of power tools. Interesting remarks about the wooden and metal spokeshaves also. 👍
Great video! I really like ash axe handles, they are so much lighter than hickory you really feel the balance of the tool change with a different wood.
This just reminded me about the mattock in the shed that I was meant to fix months ago but is still sitting there with a massive split down the handle 😂
Great video. Recently complete an adze handle for old carpenters adze I found. Have no use for an adze but is very satisfying to restore the head and make my own handle
People have done testing and it turns out it doesn't really matter what direction the wood grain goes, if it's facing the edge of the axe or face of the hammer, or across it. The thing that really matters that the grain goes all the way from one end of the handle to the other and doesn't go out the side.
Oh Eoin, my son! Please 🙏 take it from an old Canadian 🇨🇦 Bushman. You never let the axe head curl the fibres at the end of the handle like that. You keep shaving a little at a time till the head gets down to where you want it. Where the head has bitten down and curled the wood, is where rot and splitting will start. I would hate to see such a lovely handle go before it’s time. And you make such lovely handles! Take care and keep up the excellent work! Cheers 🍻!
@@babotond Good morning to you. I was taught to always sand down and round out the handle for the axe head to fit. Keeps the wood fibres tighter. Also I would assume it keeps water and debris from building up. But that’s just how I was taught/shown and do my axe heads. But that’s just my opinion and I guess tradition. Cheers 🍻 😀
@@justanothercaptain6566 thank you! i don't have experience with them, i only saw other people's axes, some with big chunky ledges, some made smooth. so thank you for replying, now i have some idea how to fix my axe. cheers🤛
Can you make some hurls with only hand tools ?? Maybe make some of different woods to see if they split. We don't have a lot of ash in my part of the states and so it would be nice to know if I can use something else.
Hello from the US! Just curious, do you prefer to use the raw linseed oil or boiled linseed oil for these axe handles? Loved the video by the way keep up the good work!
I have a Kent Axe heads that's a 2 1/2 lb Elwell, I have no idea what kind of handle I need, I haven't gone about making handles myself as I'm mostly just refurbing the axe heads. If you have any idea what size I would need, please let me know! Great video!
I made a bow once and now I'm addicted to Osage orange. I have axe handles I've made knife handles and I even have a mallet made completely from Osage. Think it's good for things like that? I've never had one break and I'm pretty rough on them
Erin, I'd like to start out by saying I love your videos. I have a questions. can a hand Plaine be used instead of a spokesman? I'm going to school to become a carpentry and I'd like to try and make my own axe handle.
I made a pickaxe handle last week and although I knew how to do it already, I had recently watched this video when you posted it, which had brought back the knowledge and inspired me to make the habdle when at my friends (when I noticed they had a broken handle on it). Unfortunately I had no glue, and it was very dry wood, with no sandpaper and just a hatchet... but it turned out good all things considered. Thank you for making awesome videos!
Do you have any advice on acquiring wood? I really want to start doing some woodworking and especially axe handles, but i have no idea where i can get some decent wood for it.
Do you do commissions by chance? Me and some people I know would pay good money for some custom handmade pieces, if you are also ok with shipping overseas since we are in the US.
