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Hawk handles

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Flintlock

50 Cal.
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Doe
s anyone know of any 18th century grooving or carving on hawk handles to make them less slippery when wet.
 
I'm just guessing that 18th century handles weren't machined and finished with sandpaper and most likely scraped leaving a bit more of an uneven surface,,
That said an olde way carpenters used to help with sweaty hands or slippery wooden handles was simply to rub the handle with sand or gravel,
aka; rub it in dirt.
 
Not that I know of. I have made a few using only period tools and agree with Necchi. It is an uneven enough surface that you don’t need to add something for grip.
 
I have a bunch of extra handles, I shape my own, usually out of ash or sometimes white oak, Guess I'm going to have to experiment a bit and make something somewhat different than others. Just don't want to get away from HC. Thanks guy's.
 
I oil my handles but never have them fully smoothed like a gun stock. In the woods I use it more as a breaker of wood and don’t burn any thing I can’t get through with one or to whacks. In a camp I have an ax. I don’t seem to have a slippage problem.
I’ve made some white oak handles but they don’t seem to stand up to use well.
 
Man I don't know about that "scraped handle not being as slippery as modern handles" bit. When I was volunteering at Explore Park in Virginia at the 1750's F&I fort, the fellow who ran the place, Eddie Goode, was making handles with a draw knife and a scraper. Was sitting on a wooden horse that would hold the handle immobile while he worked on it. His handles were at least as smooth as a modern handle that was done with sandpaper. I was amazed how smooth it was when he finished.

We often presume that making things with the tools they had available in the 18th century necessarily resulted in a more primitive product...Not necessarily so! He also made an outdoor spring-lathe using a sapling as the spring to turn chair or bannister spindles. Unlike modern lathes it would spin in one direction when he stepped on the springboard and in the other direction when he let his foot up. Definitely different than a modern lathe, but the results were the same.

Twisted_1in66 :thumbsup:
Dan
 
well a lot of boys scrape instead of sand gunstocks and its smooth as glass. just finished a stock and worked a lot with a knife scraping it. I went on to stain, sand off stain, sand off whisker, sand, whisker, sand, but it doesn't feel any smoother then scraped. I did have some scratches I couldn't see till stained but it felt just as smooth.
 
walks with gun said:
Does anyone know of any 18th century grooving or carving on hawk handles to make them less slippery when wet?



Nope,just a 20th Century example. :pop:


vlhfxLDl.jpg
 
I can't quantitatively say any I've ever seen had the hafts specifically roughed for grip. A few originals exist that have been wrapped with leather or studded with upholstery tacks, like gun stocks of the day, but only one I've ever seen had what I'd called stippling on the wood. Since this was only about two inches at the very base on the front and rear face of the wood and matched a couple side panels at the head end, I'd have to conclude it was decorative rather than functional.

I've seen fascine handles with incised grooving as well as period knives, daggers and short swords with such, but no tomahawks that I can recall. You must always remember that an old handle on an older head doesn't mean the handle and head are contemporary. Were any ever grooved? Perhaps, but finding a surviving example and proving it's original will be a challenge. :wink:
 
tenngun said:
well a lot of boys scrape instead of sand gunstocks and its smooth as glass. just finished a stock and worked a lot with a knife scraping it. I went on to stain, sand off stain, sand off whisker, sand, whisker, sand, but it doesn't feel any smoother then scraped. I did have some scratches I couldn't see till stained but it felt just as smooth.
That's an excellent point. My late wife and I had an antique shop for a couple decades and I've seen old tool handles and furniture that had been scraped for final shaping. One guy from Ohio who used to haul in stuff was a whiz at scraping with pieces of glass. Harry was fascinating to watch and I tried it a few times and found it surprisingly effective. Even removed paint from a small stand doing it before refinishing...hardly a tomahawk handle, but scraping is an effective technique that gives surprising results! :thumbsup:
 
I have seen lists of tools from old estates of both gunsmiths and cabinet makers where "pieces of broken glass" were listed among the tools.Yea, they make good scrapers . Just remember to wear a glove or tape them. How do I know? Experience! :idunno: :idunno:
 
Look under carrying a hawk , seventh post down shows a hawk with a handle that looks carved
 
spudnut said:
Look under carrying a hawk , seventh post down shows a hawk with a handle that looks carved


That one looks either grooved, or possibly wrapped with leather. It is hard to tell. Whichever it is, it definitely appears to have been crafted to improve one's grip on the tomahawk.
 
Just rereadind this thread. I was a thinking about hickory. It’s our go to handle wood with ash as a second place. But I have oft wondered about elm. Elm was used for cannon carriages and later engin mountings until Dutch elm killed off so many. I’ve cut some elm and it out toughs hickory. I’ve looked at a few small elms and thought ”˜handles on the hoof’ ,hmmm.
 
Osage Orange aka Bodark or Bois d'arc is the best wood available, according to many.

Settlers in the mid 19the century planted it specifically to have implement handles available. I know of a few old homestead groves in Arizona, where it is not native, that date back to at least the 1870s.
 
Native Arizonan said:
Osage Orange aka Bodark or Bois d'arc is the best wood available, according to many.

Settlers in the mid 19the century planted it specifically to have implement handles available. I know of a few old homestead groves in Arizona, where it is not native, that date back to at least the 1870s.

I have worked quite a bit of OO in my shop and like it for many projects. But, it is kinda heavy, would not be my choice for a 'hawk that is carried. Camp ax, OK but a carry thing, no.
 
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