# How do I determine correct Hatchet handle replacement?



## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

I found an old hatchet while cleaning out my garden shed and I don’t remember ever having it. The handle is broken and someone painted it as if to mark it as a safety hazard and I only say that because I kind of remember a contractor doing that kind of stuff. 

I may have pulled it out of the trash to fix it as my own, but just don’t remember even how long I’ve had it. Funny thing is that I know I have another better one that belonged to my dad and I can’t find it anywhere.

Anyway I just googled “hatchet handle replacement” and saw a few different styles, but I don’t see a size and wonder if they are universal.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

that's a broad head hewing hatchet and the handle that's in it is pretty close to what you are looking for... straight...
A Collins style handle have a slight hook to the handle which more of a chopping ax...
length/diameter is what make you happy in the comfort zone...


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Wow Stick, I know nothing about hatchets and the fact that you added more meaning to this hatchet just blew me away. 

I had no idea of what a “hewing hatchet” was so I googled it and was shocked to see some guy selling one on eBay for $300 although I’m pretty sure mine isn’t even a fraction of that. LOL

So I was trying to find out what they are used for and I found a YouTube video of a guy using it to shave bark off a branch. I don't know what else they are used for, but I'll keep looking.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JohnnyB60 said:


> Wow Stick, I know nothing about hatchets and the fact that you added more meaning to this hatchet just blew me away.
> 
> I had no idea of what a “hewing hatchet” was so I googled it and was shocked to see some guy selling one on eBay for $300 although I’m pretty sure mine isn’t even a fraction of that. LOL
> 
> So I was trying to find out what they are used for and I found a YouTube video of a guy using it to shave bark off a branch. I don't know what else they are used for, but I'll keep looking.


proud of that head .. ain't he...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewing
here ya go....
ash or hickory are just the ticket..

.


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## Cherryville Chuck (Sep 28, 2010)

Heads a bit larger than that and with full length handles were used to hew railroad bed cross ties by hand by the old timers in my area.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> proud of that head .. ain't he...
> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hewing
> here ya go....
> ash or hickory are just the ticket..
> ...


Yup, thats the way I'd do it.

Herb


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

I don't have access to those hard woods and it would be cheaper to buy one from Amazon for $8.










I just realized that someone sharpened it wrong by grinding both sides and I'm not sure if I should try to fix it because it will Take off about 1/4"


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## Wood Chip (Apr 10, 2011)

A great resource for old tools is Eric Sloane's A Museum of Early American Tools:


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JohnnyB60 said:


> I don't have access to those hard woods and it would be cheaper to buy one from Amazon for $8.
> 
> I just realized that someone sharpened it wrong by grinding both sides and I'm not sure if I should try to fix it because it will Take off about 1/4"


that looks like the ticket but will it fit...


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> that looks like the ticket but will it fit...


I don't know. If its too big then I can make it smaller, but I don't know what to do with it if its too small.

I'm collecting an assortment of stuff that I bought on line that don't fit anything I have and pretty soon I'm going to have to start selling stuff on eBay just to get rid of it and probably at a loss.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JohnnyB60 said:


> I don't know. If its too big then I can make it smaller, but I don't know what to do with it if its too small.
> 
> I'm collecting an assortment of stuff that I bought on line that don't fit anything I have and pretty soon I'm going to have to start selling stuff on eBay just to get rid of it and probably at a loss.


Density Modified High Gravity Compounds


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JohnnyB60 said:


> I don't know. If its too big then I can make it smaller, but I don't know what to do with it if its too small.
> 
> I'm collecting an assortment of stuff that I bought on line that don't fit anything I have and pretty soon I'm going to have to start selling stuff on eBay just to get rid of it and probably at a loss.


another...

Ecomass High Gravity Compounds - Weighting and Balancing Materials


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

JohnnyB60 said:


> I don't know. If its too big then I can make it smaller, but I don't know what to do with it if its too small.
> 
> I'm collecting an assortment of stuff that I bought on line that don't fit anything I have and pretty soon I'm going to have to start selling stuff on eBay just to get rid of it and probably at a loss.


more yet...

Adhesives - Sealants Used in Electrical, Electronic Assembly and Industrial Applications


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> more yet...
> 
> Adhesives - Sealants Used in Electrical, Electronic Assembly and Industrial Applications


By the time he messes with all that stuff, he is better off to buy a board and make one.

We used to go to the fire wood pile and pick out a piece of firewood and split a piece off to make handles. Or cut a limb off a tree.

Herb


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> We used to go to the fire wood pile and pick out a piece of firewood and split a piece off to make handles. Or cut a limb off a tree.
> 
> Herb


same here..


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

Herb Stoops said:


> By the time he messes with all that stuff, he is better off to buy a board and make one.
> 
> We used to go to the fire wood pile and pick out a piece of firewood and split a piece off to make handles. Or cut a limb off a tree.
> 
> Herb


all it is, is the filler used on fiberglass handled hammers and other tools...


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

Stick486 said:


> all it is, is the filler used on fiberglass handled hammers and other tools...


I didn't know that , you so smart, Stick.:smile:

Herb


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Herb Stoops said:


> By the time he messes with all that stuff, he is better off to buy a board and make one.
> 
> We used to go to the fire wood pile and pick out a piece of firewood and split a piece off to make handles. Or cut a limb off a tree.
> 
> Herb


Well Herb, that would be nice if there were trees growing in the desert. There are plenty of pines in the mountains and desert willows.There are also a few big box store transplants one of which is growing in my front yard, but they are too soft to do anything with.

I remember a trip back east when I just marveled at all the different hardwoods laying along the road. I wanted so bad to stop and through some in my trunk, but the wife wouldn't let me.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

you can't ya find any dogwood, ironwood, Mesquite, Joshua or locust in your desert...


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Stick486 said:


> you can't ya find any dogwood, ironwood, Mesquite, Joshua or locust in your desert...


Well there is a lot of Joshua trees, but I've never heard anyone using that stuff. I'm told that they are protected and developers have to apply for a permit to remove them.

I've never really examined them, but they don't look usable from what I've seen of them.

Anyway I'm happy with buying a hickory handle already shaped.


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

JohnnyB60 said:


> Well there is a lot of Joshua trees, but I've never heard anyone using that stuff. I'm told that they are protected and developers have to apply for a permit to remove them.
> 
> I've never really examined them, but they don't look usable from what I've seen of them.
> 
> Anyway I'm happy with buying a hickory handle already shaped.


Keep it simple,eh?

Herb


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

At our morning safety meeting a damaged tool was brought in, the rubber grip had come off of a fiberglass handle. Taking a closer look at it, I am stunned by how they mounted the handle at the factory. They took a head designed for a wood handle and filled the void with epoxy to accommodate the skinny glass one.

Not very robust looking.... And it has a reputable company name on it.


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## cocobolo1 (Dec 31, 2015)

That handle doesn't look like it belongs on that hammer.


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## JohnnyB60 (Jun 15, 2009)

Wow Doug, 
I agree with Keith in that it doesn't look like it is for that hammer, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's a safety hazard as long as the epoxy is sound. 

Fiberglass handles are stronger than most wood or at least from my experiences. I have broken a lot of wood sledge handles and never broke a fiberglass although I have had both wood and fiberglass handles come off.

The steel broke on this mattock before the handle


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## Herb Stoops (Aug 28, 2012)

I have had fiberglass handles shatter and run glass slivers into my hand, but also had wooden axe handles do the same thing.

Herb


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

cocobolo1 said:


> That handle doesn't look like it belongs on that hammer.


It had a heavy rubber overmold piece that gave the handle thickness at the grip area, but once that slipped off, the skinny shank was all that was doing the work.


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## Stick486 (Jan 4, 2013)

anneal the over-mold back on...


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## kp91 (Sep 10, 2004)

Stick486 said:


> anneal the over-mold back on...


Unfortunately, a lot of tools it is better for us to chuck than to fix. If it had had a wood handle I would have repaired it, this one will leave the vessel (it's probably already been fished out of the trash and in somebody's sea bag)


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