Because of some housing regulations in my new appartment i've recently discovered that my usual choices for home defense would violate my lease.
No guns, no gas for my chainsaw, no spears, spearguns, bangsticks, swords, tazers, peperspray, bb guns, etc. etc. etc.
An 'emergency fire axe' is 100% ok though.
I have purchased a vintage Gransfors double bitted axe head
and am sending it to Mike Stewart of bark river knife and tool to have it hollow ground and re profiled so that it has more of a knife edge and a bit less weight (mike assures me that it will still be able to chop wood, but I don't think i'll be using it for that much).
I think it would be a good idea to have the head drilled through so that I can have a roll pin driven in as an added safety persuasion against the head getting loose.
I need to get a short strong handle made up for it that properly balances with the new weight of the axe head.
So... If anyone knows anything about axe handles (what is the strongest wood that I can get them made out of, who makes custom handles, who has the best reputation, etc) Any help would be appreciated.
Once It has been mounted, I'll have the handle leather wrapped so it won't slip if it gets wet with anything.
I'm still quite a ways out on this project (the axe head is on its way here, but mike will need about 4-6 weeks to work his magic on it) so I have a bit of time to shop around and find the best handle maker I can find.
I apologize if this has been discussed in another thread, I looked but couldn't find anything.
No guns, no gas for my chainsaw, no spears, spearguns, bangsticks, swords, tazers, peperspray, bb guns, etc. etc. etc.
An 'emergency fire axe' is 100% ok though.
I have purchased a vintage Gransfors double bitted axe head
and am sending it to Mike Stewart of bark river knife and tool to have it hollow ground and re profiled so that it has more of a knife edge and a bit less weight (mike assures me that it will still be able to chop wood, but I don't think i'll be using it for that much).
I think it would be a good idea to have the head drilled through so that I can have a roll pin driven in as an added safety persuasion against the head getting loose.
I need to get a short strong handle made up for it that properly balances with the new weight of the axe head.
So... If anyone knows anything about axe handles (what is the strongest wood that I can get them made out of, who makes custom handles, who has the best reputation, etc) Any help would be appreciated.
Once It has been mounted, I'll have the handle leather wrapped so it won't slip if it gets wet with anything.
I'm still quite a ways out on this project (the axe head is on its way here, but mike will need about 4-6 weeks to work his magic on it) so I have a bit of time to shop around and find the best handle maker I can find.
I apologize if this has been discussed in another thread, I looked but couldn't find anything.