Re hafting Hammers and Axes Part 1

This is part 1 of showing how I re-haft a hammer or axe or anything with an eye through the head retained by wedges. It’s worth doing properly as you only have to do it once and having a head fly off is pesky. Part 2 will follow. As usual with my vids this is real world stuff aimed at doing a job of work, not a shiny 'restoration'. Also as usual, remember that there is more than one way of doing anything and no one way is completely right. Take the info' I present, think about it and do your own thing.

Part 2 is here    • Re-hafting Hammers and Axes Part 2   from 19th September.

I re-use the haft on a JOB brand cross-pein hammer from the 1930s illustrating some bits of the process on an axe – I needed it to split some logs and the head was loose. I re-used the old hafts partly to show you that it can be done and as a way of showing you some of the issues inherent in the job. The hammer haft showed some damage, but no rot or woodworm. I found that the hammer had a maker’s name stamped when I started cleaning it up. It and a ball pein hammer from the 'Hammers' vid are pretty much a pair, which is nice, but an accident - they came from different places. The type face of the stamping and the diamond it sits in and the size of the stamping is identical on both heads. A quick internet query showed nothing on JOB brand, but they were obviously big enough to win government contracts between the wars and during WW2. If anyone knows anything, let me know in the comments please. Spot the dodgy maths.

Why preserve the profile of your old haft where it was fitted to the tunnel in the head? Because if you are fitting a new (boughten) haft or making a new one from scratch, it gives you a pattern to aim for.
Why make sure you keep the head the same way up and the haft in the same orientation to the head you are fitting? Because the eye (tunnel) in the head is never symmetrical and you need as precise a fit as you can manage.
The sound of artillery and heavy machine guns is from the Army ranges not far away. It’s a small, crowded island......

The finished axe haft may get shown on a future vid about axes. Any requests for such a thing? Thanks to all the people who have viewed the ‘Hammers Introduction’ videos, although parts 2&3 seem to be less popular (or are cumulatively boring).