Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-11-27
Ak HANDLES.
And the Handles Used In ADDE'S. Picks
Sledgea, Hstchets and Hammers.


sledges, Hstchets and Hammers.
Many manufacturing establish
mcnts producing articles OF wood
are, for greater economy of produc-
tion, located within easy reach OF
the forests from which they draw
their material, and often when the
natural supplies have been exhaust
ell the factories are moved into
proximity with fresh forests. This
has been the case, for instance, with
the factories producing AK, adze,
pick, sledge, Ratchet and hammer
handles, There are such factories
in other parts of the country, but
the four or five largest are now all
located in Kentucky and Tennessee.
One of these was originally in Con-
necticut. 1t moved thence to Mary
land and thence to Kentucky, where
it now is
For the handles of such implc-
ments us shovels. rakes and forks
ash will do. but for tools like axes
and hammers, with which blows are
struck. the handles must br of wood
that is tough and elastic The hest
woods for these uses are hickory
and oak. A very great majority OF
the handles used in these tools are
of hickory. North America is the
only subdivision of the earth in
which hickory is found. There IL
good hickory in Canada, but they do
not make there all the handles they
use. They import many from the
UA.i.osa otuteS.
There are Maine lumbermen who
prefer an oak TX handle. Some of
tho AK handles used in Maine are
whitfield out by hand. Oak takes TAP
less moisture than hickory ani II
not 80 cold to the tol.ch in winter
A good oak handle Is something v>r
tainly worth having.
Stout ~ hickory is, if hHn,!,s
made Of it ere stored away Nl.,. ke,.,
too long IT, y are liable to attack
ed by wI!!n inst !..!;t, l",Au>r
holes i'll tho wood u part vi tie
wood that iht WORMS 40 not ,.N.,t X
is the heart. but this is the pa"t
least desirable in Il handle The III.
jury thus done could liz covered by
painting the handles, but that would
cost too much.
Formerly the hickory trees uspl
in making llese handles were chol.
ped down; now they are sawed
down, SO as not to waste any of the
wood in chips. Tho tlee is then cut
into lengths and properly seasoned.
The logs are then split into the
pieces from which the handles are
to I've made These pieces are called
bolts. The bolts are sawed approx.
mately to the shape of the handle
to be finally made, and in tLis slial .
they are handle blocks. The handle
block is turned to the shape of the
handle in an irregular lathe. and it
is then finished and polished.
1t might lie supposed that an ak
handle was just an TX handle, but
besides the familiar aX so common.
ly Used there are various other kinds
ice axes. tor example, and ice axes
themselves are further diyided into
various sly les. There are various
kinds of ha .Chets-latherS hutcnets,
hunters h..tchets, and SO ON. Of
hatchet handles alone there are
many sizes and styles. For these
various. tools. ak, utlz, pick, sle.lge,
hatchot and hammer, there are
made. taking them altogether, ham
dies in hundreds of different sizes
and styles, to suit not only different
tools. but different markets. The
catalogue of one big concern engag-
ed exclusively in the manufacture
of such handles, and of hickory
only, is Il book of several hundred
pages, with hundreds of illustra-
tons and printed in English, Ger
min and Spanish.
a great many American handles
of this kind are exported, and they
go pretty much every where all over
the world New York Sun.