Axe handle

[Canotrouge]

So today I made a new axe handle for a small Wetterling pound and a half head I had laying around, I made it a bit longer than what it came with originally, 24” seams like the perfect length for me!! I really like those small heads, they are a better all around axe head than the GB Scandinavian forest axe for one reason, the cheeks are a bit thicker and so it split better!! And now with a 24” white ash handle it will be even better!!

 

[Canotrouge]

[No message]

 

[Big Al]

Outstanding! What did you make this wedge out of?

 

[Iskweo]

Niiiiice....I have always like the smaller heads on oversized handles. Easier for me to limb with.

 

[Canotrouge]

Outstanding! What did you make this wedge out of?

The wedge is walnut, I always have a bunch of small pieces/offcuts including wedge shape stuff that I keep in a small box just for that kind of applications...

 

[Boatman53]

Nice. I’ve got a couple of axe heads that need handles. Maybe this winter I’ll get to it.

Jim

 

[Eidolon]

I have an older Wetterlings #118 awaiting a 24" haft. Sad to think they are no longer made, they were great versatile axe heads! The 1.5#-1.75# head on a 24"-25" haft is the Sweet Spot for a Canoe Tripping Axe.

 

[Canotrouge]

I have an older Wetterlings #118 awaiting a 24" haft. Sad to think they are no longer made, they were great versatile axe heads! The 1.5#-1.75# head on a 24"-25" haft is the Sweet Spot for a Canoe Tripping Axe.

I agree, and like I said the cheeks profile is better at splitting than the GB Scandinavian forest axe IMO!
I'm wet molding a piece of veg tan leather around the haft just below the head to make that part more durable!!

 

[Eidolon]

The last one I put together was an old 1.75# Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay Cruiser on a 25" straight haft with a Horse Butt mask. The Maine Wedge is a nice head also, it blows wood apart way above its weight class! The Wetterlings never got the attention they deservered, I always felt the Wetterlings and Hults Bruk had a better edge geometry.

 

[Canotrouge]

The last one I put together was an old 1.75# Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay Cruiser on a 25" straight haft with a Horse Butt mask. The Maine Wedge is a nice head also, it blows wood apart way above its weight class! The Wetterlings never got the attention they deservered, I always felt the Wetterlings and Hults Bruk had a better edge geometry.

ha I do my sheath the same way!!

 

[Canotrouge]

Now it’s done...

 

[Eidolon]

It came out Great!! The haft is perfect and two tone!!!! I also prefere the straighter haft. So many think tripping with an axe is dangerous and I can't imagine not having one with me. That mask design is flawless nothing to break or fail, with a decent welt no need for rivets, no snaps or buckles to fail. This combination is easy to pack, minimal weight and with the right bit geometery can fell, limb and split. The only axe built to those specs now is a Hults Bruk Akka. There is something special about the shape of those Wetterlings heads, they make for a beautiful axe!

 

[Boreal Birch]

I really enjoy seeing these axes. Great job on making a new handle. Maybe you guys could include a guide to making the Horse Butt mask, chuckle every time I've read that in print.
You have given me new incentive to make a handle for a Finnish Kellokoski 12/2 that a friend has gifted me. I have been eying a straight grained birch with the perfect curves. The axe is too heavy for tripping, wish it was a 12/3, odd looking head, pictures of handle even more odd.

 

[Iskweo]

My old Hultafors Brux has been my go to canoe axe for as long as I can remember

 

[Canotrouge]

I really enjoy seeing these axes. Great job on making a new handle. Maybe you guys could include a guide to making the Horse Butt mask, chuckle every time I've read that in print.
You have given me new incentive to make a handle for a Finnish Kellokoski 12/2 that a friend has gifted me. I have been eying a straight grained birch with the perfect curves. The axe is too heavy for tripping, wish it was a 12/3, odd looking head, pictures of handle even more odd.

These are awesome axes or at least they look awesome, I never had one in my hands but would love to!! I've seen video of them in use and what a work horse!!
As for the hors but mask I can try to make a photo tutorial next time I need to make one!

 

[Boreal Birch]

That would be great. I have made some full length ones with snaps, but they always seemed to me as kinda clumsy. Old trapper that I knew always carried his axe naked in his hand, casually lopping off limbs that were starting to encroach on his trails.

 

[sweeper]

Why paracord and not a leather closure on the Horse Butt Mask?

 

[Eidolon]

Didn't have leather lace and that cord is very durable. I use the axe as the pattern and mold it into shape. It's sewn on a very old harness stitching saddle and I use a diamond shaped awl to make the the stitching holes with two needles on the thread and 90 degree pliers to pull it through the holes. Horse is very durable but don't especially enjoy working with it, Veggie tanned cowhide is more enjoyable, molds better and takes a nicer finish.

 

[Canotrouge]

That would be great. I have made some full length ones with snaps, but they always seemed to me as kinda clumsy. Old trapper that I knew always carried his axe naked in his hand, casually lopping off limbs that were starting to encroach on his trails.

A lot of time I carry the axe naked while in the bush, I put the mask back on when getting back in the canoe. I can see that axe following me everywhere! I like having an axe in my hand while walking in the bush, unable you to be quick at setting a fire, clearing a trail, clearing a view port through bushes for a better view, and even stick it in a tree to rest the rifle for a longer shot/ more stable shot at that moose across the river!!

 

[Patrick Corry]

Nice job on the new handle and leather work! Looking at the orientation of the grain in your new handle, it appears to be ‘fore and aft’, or parallel to the long axis of the axe head. Was this intentional? Does it matter? Just curious, not being critical of your work.