Category Archives: Axes

Prototype Universal Axe Handle From Split Stock

July 21, 2024 FortyTwoBlades Leave a comment

This prototype universal-fit axe handle is made from split hickory, for perfect end-to-end grain, measuring 1-7/16″ x 3-5/8″ with an overall length of 34″ and the main length reduced to 1-5/8″ wide x 5/8″ thick, with the tongue and swell left at full stock dimension.

The intent is to leave material for the end user to fine-tune the handle to their particular head, while doing the bulk of the time-intensive thinning work for them. The main length is extra broad to permit the end user to make minor alignment adjustments in the handle orientation in addition to at the tongue, and the flat sides of the knob make laminating additional material easier, if desired. The swell is also left broad so that it may be finished to whatever shape the end user most prefers, and by not cutting a kerf it may be cut as the end user sees fit, or not at all (as is traditional for bush hooks.) The head may be positioned more forward or more rearward on the generous block of the tongue/neck to adjust the balance and orient the bit as desired.

Axes, History, Manual Mowing, Period Documents, Scythes

Rixford Mfg. Co. Catalog, ca. 1947

December 19, 2017 FortyTwoBlades Leave a comment

A 1947 catalog of the Rixford Mfg. Co. of East Highgate, Vermont.

Viewable in PDF format here.

Axes, Design

Forged Traveler’s Celt Mockup

August 5, 2017 FortyTwoBlades Leave a comment

A forged rough mockup of our Traveler’s Celt wilderness tool design. Depending on how it’s rigged up, the tool may be used as an ulu knife, chisel, splitting wedge, bark spud, carving spade, axe, adze, and more. This piece does not represent the final intended form of the piece, but rather an initial testing sample prior to having finished pieces produced. The handle here is made from a black locust branch.

Axes, Modification, Product Spotlights

Customized Condor Michigan Axe

July 21, 2015 FortyTwoBlades Leave a comment

A Condor Michigan axe head ground and polished to a hazy mirror finish, and a high centerline ground in. The handle is an O.P. Link shaved down to shape.

Axes, Guides, Modification, Product Spotlights

Solving the Tomahawk Handle Knob Problem

April 11, 2015 FortyTwoBlades Leave a comment

Shown here is a 350g Rinaldi “Calabria” hand axe with a modified handle. A common complaint raised regarding slip fit handles is that (despite their virtues) a knob is either small or totally absent, meaning there is little or nothing to stop the hand from slipping off the end of the handle if a loose grip is used. A simple tapered cross-pin at the end of the handle creates a removable solution to this problem.

A tapered hole was bored with a small step drill and a wooden pin, tapered to match, driven into the hole. The single-sided pin with the projection to the outside of the hand is the most comfortable and secure arrangement vs. a finger-sided or double-sided projection, and if the head must be removed from the handle for use as an independent tool the wooden pin is easily driven out so it does not obstruct the removal of the head. This provides several notable advantages over the use of a lanyard: the user’s hands may slide freely along the handle as needed to adjust grip position, the handle may still be immediately released in the event of an emergency or accident, and the pin allows the end of the handle to be tucked under a belt and have it stay there nicely if the user’s hands need to be free without setting the axe on the ground.

Axes, Guides, Manual Mowing, Scythes

Finding The Balance

March 10, 2015 FortyTwoBlades Leave a comment

Establishing the actual balance point of asymmetric tools like scythes or axes can be fairly difficult, since the real point of balance often lies external to the body of the tool itself. The following shows a method using a plumb line, two suspension points, and photo overlays to approximate the location of the center of gravity.

Why bother with this, you ask? It depends on the tool. With scythes it can assist in adjusting the horizontal balance or determining the “power” of the unit relative to its overall weight, with axes it can help in determining an ideal head and handle pairing (of particular importance in axes with a minimal or totally absent poll, like the one shown here) and with both tools it can aid in establishing the proper hang of the blade/bit. The axis of rotational balance for an axe will lie along a line passing through both the grip point and the center of gravity.