I broke my hatchet handle last spring. Sigh.
The local hardware stores don’t seem to carry hatchet handles anymore. Axe? Yes. Sledge? Yes. Hatchet? No. Just buy a new one with a fiberglass handle.
But that’s not what I want.
I like my hatchet. I like my hatchet a lot.
SO I ordered a new hatchet handle from Amazon. It turned out about like you would expect.
Have you ever played baseball with a wooden bat? How do you hold the bat? You put the label up, right?
Why?
So the strength of the wood is oriented to apply pressure on the ball…and so the bat doesn’t break. You want to leverage the grain of the wood. If you hold the bat wrong the bat will flex and lessen the pressure on the ball or, worse, break.
And that’s the problem with my hatchet handle. I couldn’t dig through a bin at a store to find the one that has the right grain orientation. I just asked Amazon to send me one.
So here it is.
Well, that’s nice. I can use it again. It won’t hold up but I can use it again. Here’s a close-up of the grain so you can see more clearly.
This stinks. I use my hatchet for everything in the winter. I cut sprouts, trim limbs from trees, hammer fence posts and chop holes in ice. I keep my hatchet with me all the time. Usually it is sharpened and painted. Give me a little bit.
I don’t have high hopes for this handle. I don’t have high hopes for my handle supplier. I may have to start making my own.
So. There it is. Bat with the label up and pick your own tool handle.
Chism Heritage Farm 
I broke a hatchet handle last winter!! You’re right that at the hardware store they try and sell you new hatchets instead of just the wooden handle. I know “it’s only a few dollars more for an entire new one…”, but what becomes of all the old hatchets if we throw them out entirely? To me it’s the concept of new vs old and waste vs saving. I want to try and make the most of what I have. Congrats on making the hatchet last at least a little longer 🙂
Ha, no label on that handle. How will you know which way to hold it? :).
Did you see this company when you searched online? Looks like they guarantee their handles, and they come in a gazillion shapes and sizes. https://www.househandle.com/grades.htm
Thanks for the link. They will hear from me…but hopefully not too soon.
I might be the only person replacing handles a my hardware store is running short also. I’ve used and axe handle and cut it down to a shorter size. I made my own handle for a pair of pruning lopper/shears. That was a fun time actually. Maybe an hachet handle isnext; I hve many ae and hatchet heads to redo.
My grandfather had the same axe his whole life. Only replaced the handle 4 times and the head twice.
Old joke, I know, but couldn’t resist under the circumstances.
That’s funny.