Easy Axe Sharpening Vise

This is made from a salvaged steel angle 1" x 1" x 1/8", 5/16"-18 T knobs, 5/16"-18 x 2-1/2" carriage bolts with the round heads cut off, pronged tee nuts, a strip of aluminum, and foam padding. I screwed the bolts into the T knobs and epoxied them in place (I could not locate T knobs with a screw long enough). The pronged tee nuts went under the 3/4" thick workbench top. This holds the axe head securely and allows me to unscrew the T knobs and remove it when not in use. The aluminum strip prevents steel-to-steel scratches.

Some styles of axes may need a 1/4" thick rubber strip under the poll to tilt the head forward.

Axe sharpening vise

Please exercise great care in sharpening axes. Use cut-resistant gloves (top right corner of picture) and a guard on the file. There is no guard shown because this axe is not sharp yet.

Another axe sharpening aid is a bevel gauge, as shown here:
http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/fs_publications/05232810/page18.cfm

Removing Plumb Permabond

For several decades beginning in the mid-1950s, some Plumb handles were secured with a plastic resin adhesive called Permabond. This red, slightly pliable material is an epoxy blend. When used with hickory handles, the wood was tapered to be a tight fit at the bottom and a very loose fit at the top of the eye, allowing the Permabond to flow around all sides of the wood. No wood or steel wedges were used. More information and a cross section is on Google Patents. If you have never read a patent and its technical language, check it out (a hammer is a "percussive tool"):
US Patent 2850331

Section of patent drawing 

To remove a handle with Permabond, cut it off close and do not attempt to drive it out. Drill as much out as possible going from the top and bottom, especially in the center. I recommend a dust mask. Sharpen an old  flat bladed screwdriver, making it into a chisel. Using the screwdriver and a punch, remove material from the middle and work outwards. Place the screwdriver at the edge of the Permabond and begin prying and chiseling the Permabond loose from the steel. With luck, you'll find that the steel has rusted a little and weakened the bond, and the Permabond will come off in big chunks.

For more information, you can read this post from Blade Forums on the same subject:

Bladeforums post

The same procedure may work on other epoxies. 

Handle Maker's Draw Knife



Handle maker's draw knife

Jig For Removing Old Axe Handles

After struggling with a makeshift setup, I built this jig to hold an axe head so I could drive the cut-off handle out. The pictures are before I glued and screwed the oak and 3/4" plywood assembly together. The angle is a compromise, 22.5 degrees. It passed a test of 4 axe heads.

  

Guide to Carpenter's Hammer Handle Lengths

Here is a page from Stanley's Catalog No. 34, 1941, giving handle lengths for carpenter's hammers. In their current catalogs and labels, some handle sellers now say a 16 oz. claw hammer should have a 14 inch handle. According to the old Stanley catalog below and old hammers in my collection, a 16 oz. hammer has a 13 inch handle. See the chart below for more information. When replacing a handle you can choose the length that suits you, but don't be misled as to what is, or was, the standard length.

V&B (Vaughan) and Sears sell 13.5 inch handles which trim to a 13 inch finished length. The Sears handles appear to be made by Burroughs-Ross-Colville and have an octagonal neck and round grip suitable for any style hammer head. The eye is slightly undersized so they may need extra wood wedges glued in to fit 16 oz. heads. V&B handles can be purchased from Vaughan Manufacturing . Bags of hickory wedges in 3 sizes are available by mail from House Handle Co.

Generally a claw hammer with an octagonal neck originally had an octagonal handle. Parts of a hammer (illustration)   

Click on picture to enlarge

Click on picture to enlarge

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, LaPierre-Sawyer Handle Co.

LaPierre-Sawyer brochure

LaPierre-Sawyer Handle Co.
Jackson, MS

LaPierre-Sawyer was acquired by IXL Manufacturing Group of Bernie, MO, and apparently they were bought by Ames True Temper, located on East Hunt Rd., Bernie, MO. LaPierre-Sawyer produced better than average quality handles.

1962 article:
The LaPierre-Sawyer Handle Co., founded in Jackson in 1902, has been sold to E.L. Keathley of Bernie, Mo., owner of other handle mills in Southeast Missouri; the majority of shares was held by the LaPierre family and, following the sudden death of M.G. LaPierre, his sons, G.M. and Tom LaPierre, decided to sell.

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, Fleischmann Handle Co.

Fleischmann Handle Co.
Loudon, TN

Fleischmann apparently was a predecessor of Tennessee Hickory Products, which uses the Fleischmann name for its flame hardened handles.

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, Cumberland Plateau Handle Co.

Cumberland Plateau Handle Co.
Crossville, TN
This was one of the Link family's mills.
The label reads YOUNG HICKORY

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, Sequatchie Handle Works

Sequatchie Handle Works (as an independent company)
219 Handle St, Sequatchie, TN, 37374

Sequatchie Handle Works 1965 Catalog

Sequatchie Handle Works was sold to O.P. Link, which was acquired by Seymour in 2004. The buildings are still there per Google Maps. Per the reader's comment, the mill is operating and belongs to Seymour-Midwest.

How Hickory Tool Handles Are Made

A selection of YouTube videos on handle turning:
House Handle Co. Tomahawks on Defiance Lathe
House Handle Co. Axe Handles on Klotz Lathe
House Handle Co. Hardcore Hammer Handles Step 1
House Handle Co. Hardcore Hammer Handles Step 2
House Handle Co. Hardcore Hammer Handles Step 3
House Handle Co. Hardcore Hammer Handles Step 4

Saw Mill & Axe Handle Lathe - Making a Hickory Axe Handle

Ober copy lathe at Mountainside Craft
Ober copy lathe, Mountainside Craft at an outdoor show

Picture of Defiance Machine Works, Spoke & Handle Wood-Turning Lathe 1895

Defiance Machine Works Catalog from Vintage Machinery

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, Hartwell Brothers

Hartwell Brothers, Memphis, Tennessee
2499 Chelsea Ave, Memphis, TN 38108 (not at that location in 2011 per Google Maps)
1249 Fairfax St., Memphis, TN 38108 (group of abandoned industrial buildings in 2013 per Google Maps)
Hartwell also had a Laurel, MS plant. In addition to handles, they produced baseball bats and sold the Grey Gorge line of axes. One unique feature that Hartwell used on some hammer and hatchet handles was the "Vacuum Cup" as pictured below, intended to increase the grip.

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, Bruner-Ivory Co.

Bruner-Ivory Co.

401 N Laurel, Hope AR, 71801

The Ivory Handle Factory, incorporated in 1901, produced hardwood handles that were shipped worldwide, in addition to other wood products. It became Bruner Ivory Handle Factory in 1933, was sold to a Tennessee company in 1980 (Link), closed in 2004, and burned on September 25, 2012.

Handle Manufacturer of the Past, Turner- Day & Woolworth Handle Co.

Turner-Day & Woolworth Handle Co.

367 Webb Ave., Crossville, TN 38555

Turner-Day & Woolworth Handle Co. was sold to O.P. Link, which was acquired by Seymour in 2004.The buildings were demolished in early 2008 per Google Maps.

Display at Stout Hardware, Harrisville, WV, 8/3/13 

Council Tool Co., Handle Retailer

Council Tool Co.
345 Pecan Ln., Lake Waccamaw, NC 28450

Council sells retail, including some replacement handles and sheaths.

Company website

Raleigh News Observer slide show of Council's axe forging

Tennessee Hickory Products, Handle Manufacturer

Tennessee Hickory Products
111 Keene Street, Loudon TN

Company website

We are manufacturers and wholesalers of quality hickory striking tool handles and hickory Dimension for over 80 years.
Located in the Tennessee River Valley - Appalachian Hickory wood is manufactured into sledge, hammer, axe and pick handles by skilled craftsmen. The handles start with hickory logs, and finish with a beautifully dipped lacquer, or smooth tumbled wax.

Please go to www.hickoryhandlestore.com if just a few handles are needed.

Tennessee Hickory has a very good website and a downloadable catalog, but they do not sell retail, as they say above. Hickory Handle Store is an eBay store. I recently ordered a 12 inch octagon hammer handle and was very happy with the crisply detailed handle with great grain and the service.   

Marion Handle Mills, Handle Manufacturer

Marion Handle Mills

111 Keene St, Loudon, TN 37774

Now part of or purchased by Tennessee Hickory Products.

Marion Handle Mills on Google Maps

Seymour Link, Handle Manufacturer

Seymour Link

Company website

SeymourToolsOnline.com, most items are in case of 12

In 2004, Seymour Manufacturing Company acquired the O.P. Link Corporation, which included the O.P. Link Company of Salem, Indiana, the Sequatchie Handle Works of Sequatchie, Tennessee, the Bruner-Ivory Company of Hope, Arkansas, and the Turner-Day Handle Company of Crossville, Tennessee.

For over one hundred forty years, Seymour Manufacturing Company has continued to add new products and product lines until today; with over 3000 different products available for shipment, the Seymour Manufacturing Companies are able to offer World-Class service to thousands of customers worldwide.

Seymour Link handles are sold at Ace Hardware stores and other places. You can probably find Ace stores that sell on the internet who have a wider variety of handles than most storefronts.

Link Handle Catalog (28 page pdf)

Richland Handle Co., Handle Manufacturer

Richland Handle Co.

196 Madison 7065, Wesley AR 72773

Manufacturer of wood tool handles. Striking & gardening handles such as axes, forks, hammers, hoes, picks, rakes, shovels & sledges.

House Handle Co., Handle Manufacturer & Retailer

House Handle Co.

Mail: PO Box 87, Cassville, MO 65625

Plant: Hwy. 86 West, Cassville MO

Company website

I have ordered from House 5 or 6 times, and have been happy with their products and service. They have a wide selection, 2 grades for some items, and frequently give the eye dimensions, always helpful when rehandling vintage tools.     

Peavey Manufacturing Company, Handle Retailer

Peavey Manufacturing Company

526 Main Road, Eddington ME

Company website

V & B Manufacturing Co., Handle Manufacturer & Retailer

V & B Manufacturing Co.
252 Lawrence Road 408, Walnut Ridge, AR

V & B Manufacturing Company, a division of Vaughan & Bushnell Manufacturing Company, is a producer of quality landscaping and gardening tools for both the professional and home gardener with a tool making heritage dating back to 1869. Located in the hickory heartland of the U.S., V & B also produces high quality handles for both replacement and for OEM's worldwide.

V&B company website

V&B handles can be purchased directly from related company Vaughan Manufacturing, which makes hammers, hatchets, axes, pry bars, and other hand tools.

Vaughan Replacement Handles

Burroughs-Ross-Colville Co., Handle Manufacturer

Note: The B-R-C plant closed in 2016 and is for sale as of October, 2017.

Burroughs-Ross-Colville Co., LLC

301 Depot St, McMinnville TN 37110

Manufacturer of hardwood products in McMinnville TN. Hickory tool handles, hardwood mulch, dimension furniture parts, heat treated hardwood pallets.

For decades major retailers such as Sears, Lowes and Home Depot have depended on the quality of Burroughs-Ross-Colville Hickory Tool Handles in their products.

Company website:

Burroughs-Ross-Colville Co.

Burroughs-Ross-Colville Co. on Facebook with old photos

Plant on Google Maps: 

301 Depot St. McMinnville, TN 37110

Burroughs-Ross-Colville office building, Oct. 2017

Octagon Axe Handle Source

At one time, straight 36 inch octagon axe handles were available from Bowman Handles Inc. Check for current availability.

Bowman Handles Inc.