Making a Handle for a Japanese Swordsmithing Hammer - no wedges

Read more about installing Japanese style hammer handles here: http://islandblacksmith.ca/2017/06/ma...
More traditional Japanese swordsmith style forge construction and related projects here:    • Forge Building for Bladesmiths  

Traditional Japanese swordsmithing hammers have rectangular eyes with no taper. The handles are not wedged but are held in place by a compression fit involving careful shaping, hand forged wood, and soaking in water.

The wood is shaped a couple of mm oversized, compressed by hammering, and then driven through the eye. When the wood is soaked in water (or in this case 100% pure tung oil), the cells swell back to their normal size and lock the head securely on the handle.

Most of history was forged with very simple equipment made from found and natural materials. This hammer handle was shaped from a piece of the Green Ash tree that grew through my first blacksmith shop lean-to. I managed to get a piece of a large branch when the trees were removed by the property owner and have made a couple of handles from it so far.