any axe handle failure experts ? Choper 1 axe

[Warren Lake]

I use a chopper 1, modified and im happy with it and it works well for me. Broke the original handle after five years. Got a handle from the farm store and broke it several days into second season. Got another handle at the farm store and did the same adjust to fit and broke it second day. I was not reaching in and striking the wood under the head non of that. Just broke from impact.

Ive known for years i have to make my own handle. I dont like handles on lots of stuff find it all too small. Maybe one Douglas hammer is almost right. These farm store handles appear to be beech. Then where is it from?

Here is the failure and last years one was the same. I am striking hard and its large ash some 24" -30" so it is getting some good impact still there is some issue im not getting.

If you look on the right there is a center section that is almost a different colour, I look and think is that rot or just how it went as it as failing. The left one that is where it was at the bottom of the axe head, its upside down so it was butted to the right side. This broke at the bottom of the head. handle i on the right and the left is what was in the axe head what you see the bottom so right on the right one if flipped like a hinge. I had about four hours on this. Could they have finished the wood before it was dry and it caused some internal rot? The shim in the top of the head when this broke was just the same as when I did it, the whole axe inside the head was tight.

Im sure i need to make one in Hickory or a few other choices. If you have replaced a handle on a chopper one you know they are a bit different than other axe heads and claim you can only use their handle. I make the handle fit with the shim and it fits tight and is glued in. Any thoughts appreciated.

and the hole on the left some of what you see is disrupted as had drilled out the wood from the top down so left side can be a bit misleading, just the drill came through where hollowed out there

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[Dennis Droege]

A suggestion: The Chopper 1 and any other splitting axe which uses levers experiences strong side thrust on impact with the wood being split. When the axe comes down hard and the wood doesn't give, that energy has to go someplace. Maybe more lighter strokes instead of a few harder ones?

I've split a little wood over the last seven decades--my tools have changed. I went from a single bit axe to a hammer and wedge, and settled on a 25-ton Built-Rite hydraulic splitter--BTW, if you need handles, I've got some good Missouri hickory.

[Lamar Keeney]

First thing I noticed was that was a wide looking wedge and what looks to be a shoulder not leaving much wood of the handle. Also gave thought if that was an ash handle witch is often used instead of hickory from many factories.

[Warren Lake]

Not the tabs I took them off, a friend broke his in a week. I tried it and liked it better so removed them. Shim slot was cut to 3/4" of the end. Net guys said can go to half inch. Maybe there were wrong and even that is too far. Id have to try one in a different wood to see if same result. Its beech of some kind, thats why I said where is it from. If I needed strong red oak it would come from Michigan and not Pennsylvannia.

[Warren Lake]

your shim statement is a good one. Lets say the you tube that said to within 1/2" of he bottom is wrong there is a weak point right there. There must be some formula or rule of thumb for how much of the head width is and the length of the shim. So if the head is 4" at its widest a shim can be x percent of that. I think the beech is weaker to start than other choices and even where the wood comes from makes a difference like my example of red oak.

[Scott Winners]

I have given up on store bought hafts and handles for striking tools. I don't care if the grain in a haft is parallel or perpendicular to the striking face, but I don't want it diagonal and I don't want curved grain in the cross section. The way I learned it from both my grandpas was handles should be either hickory or ash.

They both prefered ash and used their hand tools a lot more than I did. When I am at the lumber yard I look at both the ash and hickory bins to see if there are any toolhandles hiding in there. Most of the ash I am seeing up here has a bunch of runout in it, short grain; whatever you want to call it the 12/4 ash that makes it up here is not suitable. I can also use hickory scraps in my BBQ pits.

I read somewhere Major League Baseball is researching making bats out of maple since the end of Ash is near. There were some photos of spectacular maple baseball bat failures in the article I read.

I use a hydraulic splitter for cord wood myself, God bless you for keeping on.

[Warren Lake]

thanks Scott,

my friends would tell you I have a handle illness.

I find all of them too small and I find defects in many. Twisted handles to the head, even a head canted to one side. My axe came new and when i held my hands straight the head struck at an angle leaning over to one side. Are you kidding me? I reshaped it to make it straight so too small became smaller.

Ive talked to one major hammer manufacturer and told them I cant buy your stuff. After re shingling my roof I wanted to get myself one of their wood handled hammers. I asked for one and looked at it and the handle was not parallel to the head, I asked for a second and after five i said sorry this wont happen. Emailed the company guy id dealt with who said no, I said yeah and hour later got a call and it was yeah. I had to wonder did they recall them or hope Joe Public would never notice. Guess we know the answer to that.

im happiest with the Douglas hammer handle but like another hammer better as the nail puller on that one is outstanding. Thats not a shop tool so much but when I was on the roof to reshingle it became way more than that as it was built by a former moron and signed off by a bigger moron. So shingling became ripping off and and and

I put a Stiletto air grip on the Douglas and do like the feel of those. Still wish the handle thicker and wider. Id like the Stiletto air grip thing on all stuff but it would get pricey to do that. Ive already sliced one hammer that has a solid rubber handle with the company sending me what was inside first and asking me to use care which was a good reminder of how blades sometimes wander. I was impressed that they did that. Most dont like it if you change things, ive told enough companies stuff that is wrong and some do change stuff. Ive yet to make the wood handle for that but put the rubber one back on and slid it down to make the hammer 1 1/4" longer and that feels positive length wise.

Im chopping ash as you tell me this, some towards 30". Not so easy when I cant lift it onto my chopping block and twice the size so chopping on the ground. That changes and throws off your angle of impact plus I feel the ground absorb some of my energy which ticks me off. ill have to change that and get some support below but that wont raise it up the 18" or so.

I have a friend who is 6'4" tall and 300 lbs. Hes chopped 100's of bush cords. I should have video taped him, his strike force was explosive. Changed how i hit wood after seeing him, not that I come close to his power. His thing is velocity does the work. You dont want to be standing too close when he is splitting.

I already realized what you said on making my handles, just I needed fast now, I broke the handle second day this time. Talking to that friend a few days ago I listened and all good info then four days later one thing he said came back "back up" I went on the net right away and found a used one and drove last night to get it. Composite handle, are you kidding me, I bought it only for the head and will change it out for wood, I just wanted to be working today and that solved it till a handle or some handles are made.