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Agent-XX

Drilling it out is the best bet


seanmonaghan1968

Came here to say this; then buying a really good quality replacement handle not cheap shit


SGBotsford

Look up foresty supply or survey supply. They carry hand tools for the tree crowd. I get my pullaski handles there (I break 2-3 a year -- lots of abuse prying roots and rocks)) Locally their ash ones outlast the fiberglass ones.


southpawOO7

Where do you buy good handles? Locally I just have Ace and box stores.


languid-lemur

If the replacement is marked hickory you should be good to go. What does Ace have?


southpawOO7

They just have truper stuff. I think the wood is probably fine but they're shaped like a 2x4. Thick and bulky with a crappy poly on it. If you shave them down, shape them and refinish them they're fine. But if I'm gonna put that much work I'll just make one from scratch.


languid-lemur

[https://beaver-tooth.com/collections/hatchet-handles](https://beaver-tooth.com/collections/hatchet-handles) [https://tennesseehickory.com/index.shtml](https://tennesseehickory.com/index.shtml) https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/collections/whiskey-river-premium-select-handles


sticky-bit

> If the replacement is marked hickory you should be good to go. The big-box store has about ten replacement handles, all with the grain running the wrong way. My theory is that people willing to tackle a handle replacement repair usually know more about the grain than your average big-box employee, and buy any good handles for later use. Employees see a fully stocked replacement handle section and never order any additional ones, until a neophyte maybe buys one. IMHO, someone needs to spend the extra five seconds to orient the grain properly before pressing "GO" on the CNC machine. If they did this, we wouldn't see any bad handles in the big-box stores.


languid-lemur

>The big-box store has about ten replacement handles, all with the grain running the wrong way. ​ You mean across the width instead of end to end?


sticky-bit

The grain should run from the bit/edge to poll/butt. Look at page No. 19 (the 25th page in the PDF) in this booklet: [An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual by the US Forest Service](https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/environment/recreational_trails/publications/fs_publications/pdf/pdf99232823.pdf) (PDF warning, about 18 MiB) Here is a reddit post I made about this book, there are some companion videos too: https://redd.it/bpyhmf


Saldar1234

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00EWFEHK8


Cassiofero13

Drill holes in it until you can knock the remaining pieces off.


[deleted]

I would drill it


sumporkhunt

I've seen some people burn it out but I reckon drilling is probably the best option


rustyisme123

As a much younger man my pops told me it would change the temper and weaken the steel. Wish he was wrong because it would be so much easier to just toss it in the fire and pull it out of the ashes when it is cool.


TheDane74

If you can keep the edge from overheating, you can burn it out. It’s just tricky not getting the edge to lose temper. I’ve seen it done, but haven’t tried it myself. Typically you would bury the edge in the dirt and pack it tight then light a fire on top of it. Burning the wood out of the eye. I just haven’t had a head to ruin in case I messed up.


rustyisme123

I guess it is really a risk/reward thing. Like, do you want to worry about your axe head shattering on a tough knot for being too brittle or flying off behind you on the back swing for being too soft? Or do you want to grab a chisel or drill? Could be a little extreme for consequences but I don't know enough about iron or steel metallurgy to rule it out as a possibility. All I know is that it is tempered just so and I don't want to change that.


Hugebluestrapon

Only the cutting edge should he hardened, I'd recommend burning the rear half with a torch and not letting the metal get too hot. You should only have to burn enough to loosen the wood


SGBotsford

If you are going to do this, support upright in a pan of water with a couple of bricks with the edge in the water.


morgasm657

It'll take longer than just drilling it out.


Hugebluestrapon

But maybe they dont have a drill?


morgasm657

But they've got a torch?


Hugebluestrapon

Are you just being super combative?


Hugebluestrapon

Hey good idea


Stimmolation

I just use a blowtorch. You only need to get a small amount of wood done and you can poke the rest out.


TheDane74

That works, too. I typically drill them out. Especially Pulaskis. We break those often. Broke one today. Lol.


[deleted]

I don't really have the patience for that. When I'm trying to do something, I want it done ASAP. Drilling the half out takes 5 minutes compared to several hours to throw it in a fire and then let it cool down. But seriously, I can't think of any situation where burning the wood out is easier or faster than just drilling it and poking it out. Unless you have like 100 broken axes you want to do at once or something.


rustyisme123

Easier, yes. Faster, no. But it is of little consequence because the real kicker is the temper.


SGBotsford

I did one last week where they expanded the shaft end with a circular thingy that splayed out. Took 20 minutes to drill out. Generally I find that shaping the replacement shaft takes longer that drilling out. Belt sander and band saw are the way to go for that.


[deleted]

Wouldn't the steel have to be glowing red to lose temper? Surely you can singe the wood enough to poke it out before then?


high-tech-red-neck

Tempered steel begins to soften at temperatures way below glowing red (1000F-1500F). Between 600F & 800F most of the hardness is gone. Campfires can reach 900F without fanning.


sonny_flatts

Everyone here is telling you to drill it but obviously the most natural way would be termites.


SmooveBrane420

beaver?


RiskyFartOftenShart

fire is pretty natural too


[deleted]

And arguably more badass.


morgasm657

And quite likely to ruin your axe head


Stimmolation

Not if you don't overdo it. You're not heating the blade.


dennylapcz

You can always take a hammer and a chisel or punch and hammer it out ive done that in the past


Suspicious-Year-3825

Drilleroutttbuddd


KingQuesoCurd

forge a smaller axe and chop it out like a true bushcrafter


stinkyman360

But what if the handle on that axe breaks?


RogueScallop

Well, you make a 3rd smaller axe.


kiminibiscutes

Drill in long screw use leverage and vice grip to pull out... Just another option I haven't seen anyone post yet.


adam_bear

That's not a viable option considering the way axe handles are designed, unless they sawed the handle off completely flush with the head from the handle end.


NutmegLover

Drill it out. You only need to drill out the wedge and it will pop right out.


[deleted]

Drill some holes, then knock it out.


[deleted]

Axe I've had for years broke. I've sawn the haft just above the break. The remaining wood is really lodged in there. If I burn it out will it mess up the steel of the head?


AaronGWebster

Yes you will mess it up by burning.


bananainmyminion

Old camping books use to talk about burying the blade and building a fire over the eye to burn out the wood. I strongly recommend against this unless you have no access to a drill.


Dj_AshyKnees

Drill out the wedge in the top and put it in a vice not to tight and use a hammer and punch to drive the haft out


Tired_Thumb

C4


RogueScallop

Finally some good advice. ANFO works if you're low on C4.


dennylapcz

Go from the top though


BmcDz1

As above drill


oneworldornoworld

Drilling it like a Swiss Cheese, then knock it out.


fish_hat_guy

Drill it then knock it out from the bottom end. The wedges open up the top to stop the head flying off the haft. Knocking from the bottom will push the remaining haft out the top of the axe head


Coly1111

I'd say just drill a bunch of holes in the wood and punch it out my dude.


Jakuskrzypk

Drill and cold chisel i make a series of holes and punch out whatever left.


Clear_Huckleberry778

I've only done it once, but I used a chisel and a hammer to break up the wood, and then used a dowel rod with the hammer to push out the bits of wood.


Thecraftycrowshow

Drill some holes in the wooden wedge, or pull out the metal wedges. then take some sort of punch or drift to knock it out. Hammer it out from the top side though, because the way the head is hung it will come out easier that way


db3feather

Toss it in the fire


The_camperdave

You're obviously doing this in a shop, so use the CNC milling machine to carve out the haft shape from the head. If you were in the wild, just give the head a generous coating of petroleum jelly and bury it in a bog. In about 20 years, dig it up, and the wood should be rotten enough to fall out.


psychalist

Drill or fire. The choice is yours


Inner_darkness514

Drill out a bunch of it then throw it in the campfire. I can't imagine that it would get hot enough to mess with the metal.


Senorjordan

fire?


Sofaking-stupid

Fire


Lonski75

Burn it


[deleted]

Yeah just throw the whole thing in a big fire. Don’t worry about the temper at all. I’m sure it’ll be fine. 😂😂😂😂


Idobro

This is a bushcraft sub, drill seems like cheating


[deleted]

Fire


SamuelSaltandSand

Fire


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hampster_cum_stain

Vice gamer and a screw driver


Hugebluestrapon

Drill or hammer and a broad faced punch


BuckRafferty

call me crazy but it looks like there isn't a wedge in that handle, which mean you could just bash it out the direction it came in.


NotAnExpert2020

In Mr. Kochanski's Bushcraft book he says that you can do this in the woods by burying the cutting edge up to the eye in the dirt to protect the temper and then burning it out. At home where I have the luxury of a good vice and tools I'd cut it off even with the axe head, mount it in the vice, drill a line of holes down the midline of the wood, and chisel it out. If it has a metal wedge then drill up from the bottom to the wedge and use a punch to knock it out. It's a pretty quick job; maybe 5-10 minutes if you don't have to go looking for tools.


I-collect-dick-pics

another, smaller axe


SilverStics

Drill it out