[TheForge] Re: bamboo redux

[Mike Spencer]

pf> I've been thinking about hammer handles made in a manner similar
pf> to the way bamboo fly rods are laminated...though presumably not
pf> hollow.  Been fooling with whippy hickory handles with
pf> skinny,shaved down necks.  They break sometimes but they are way
pf> less tiring to use.

At the suggestion of guys whose names I've forgotten, I've
experimented with sawing into the end of the handle from the head end,
such that the handle is split two ways for 2 to 4 inches.  This made a
really nice, whippy feel.  But we don't have hickory.  Our local
handle wood is ash and ash treated that way breaks too easily.  I
could buy hickory handles at the hardware store but they're kinda
clunky and I'd have to reshape the whole thing anyhow so I don't.  I
have a collection of old handles and some bolts of decade-old, clear
ash and use that.

I do shave my handles down to a rather thin neck to get a similar
feel on my three or four regular forging hammers.  For hammers used
less often or for light dinking I just shape the grip and don't
bother with the neck.  For rarely used clubbitzers, any old thing
will do.

- Mike

--
Michael Spencer                  Nova Scotia, Canada       .~. 
                                                           /V\ 
mspencer at tallships.ca                                     /( )\
http://home.tallships.ca/mspencer/                        ^^-^^