Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1913-08-17

the head with a brace and Bit they had
borrowed from the barn. They intended
to bore two. or three holes through and
then pound the wood out of the head and
replace 1t with another handle, for which
We had sent to a nearby town.
The old farmer sat on log watching
them curiousE for a few minutes Final
ly he said:
What are You boys trying to dor
They explained to him and he smiled.
Here, he said. getting up and taking
the ak head from them. Let me try
IT. He took the head over to the fire.
pushed the edge into the earth until the
broken helve was even with the surface
and packed the earth down solid. Then
he raked red ashes from the fire around
the head. piled on some more wood and
went back to his log and sat down.
There" he said, Il guess that will be
less trouble
In a few minutes there was lively
little fire burning about the ak head
and we watched it curiously. for we did
not understand what he was trying to do.
Five minutes later the little fire had
burned itself out and the farmer, taking
up long cooking spoon. raked the en-
oers away. The ak head still stood
sticking up in the ground, but we noticed
that the broken helve had burned away
and one or more prods with the long
handle of the cooking spoon cleared it
completely out of the ak head 1t was
want-and we had always worked like
troopers to accomplish the same result
You see' the farmer explained. lax
handles are made of hickory or some
such hard wood and such woods are the
best kind In the world to burn. You
put the cutting edge of the ak head in
the ground so that the fire will not spoil
1t by taking the temper out of 1t. As
soon as you start your fire the hard wood
OF the broken helve ignites and as the
f1rG DurnS hotter. III eats ifS
the head. The heat now expands
the metal, giving little air chance to
penetrate, and soon the whole piece of
wood is burned out.
the word I'VE souse the hot metal in
cold water so that we don't get burned
and then we are ready for the new
handle
Don't throw the broken piece Of the
old one away. If 1t is long enough it
will make fine handle for your Ratchet
or for those small axes that / see some
of you wearing in your belt Little
economies of that kind are worth prac-
ticing. Here comes the scout with the
new handle"
He took it, examined it critically and
then sent a scout to the barn for a
saw.
Now he continued I'VE white
down the end until it will just about go
into the ak head. Sometimes it 1t worth
while to heat the head again SO as to
expand it and then, when it cools, it
contracts and holds fast to the wood
But it's hard to handle that way with
out a long pair of tongs.
We'll just saw a slit in the end of
this helve about two inches deep. Then
We get a piece of hardwood just as wide
as the hole in the AK head. chop it down
to sharp wedge, and, having pounded
the new handle into the head, insert the
wedge into the slit we have sawed, and
drive it in as far as we possibly can.
Then we saw it off flush with the ak
head and we are ready to chop some
more wood. II you have plenty of time,
grease your cutting edge to keep out
the rust and soak the ak in water over
night. so that the wood will expand"
1t was the simplest thing In the world
the way he did it, and his lesson has
proved invaluable to us on other hikes