Best Wood For Axe Handle – Wood Choosing Guide

You no longer want to replace the broken handle. Right? If yes, continue reading this article and find the best wood for axe handle.

Whether you make the handle by yourself for your hatchet or buy one readily from the market, you must know the types of wood the handle is made from. It doesn’t make sense how beautiful the axe handle looks like if it is made from a wrong species of wood.

Why it is important to ensure the handle comes from the right wood? This is because you never want your hatchet handle to be broken in the wilderness.

Best Wood For Axe Handle

Here are the most popular and widely used woods for making the strong and durable handle for the hatchet.

Hickory

Although the choice of wood for handle varies depending upon the area you live, the hickory wood is the most common and popular in the world.

It is most preferable wood by American as hickory has been used since ancient time with the best performance. The most important reason that people trust it is its strength and shock resistance capability. Hickory is the American domestic wood.

Oak Wood

You probably heard about the oak tree which is well known in Europe and America. This wood is not only used for making ax handle but also great for furniture. But do you know why? Because it has a higher density of around 0.75 g/cm3 making it stronger and harder than any other woods.

It is also great for vibration and is very resistant to insect and fungal attack. The only problem it has is will splinter over time if not oiled regularly.

Ash – The best axe handle wood

Ash is the most common wood in European countries, and European people prefer this wood because it has long fiber that has a nice impact absorbency. Although it is strong and flexible, as its key traits, for what folk vote for it, it does not last outdoor as much as hickory does.

Sugar Maple

A native North American tree known as hard maple. Maybe you heard maple is the great choice for making bats thanks to its hardness. But it has a poor shock resistance. If you can orient the grain properly, it won’t be a big issue. In reality, it is much stronger than ash what makes it more brittle. I would say maple might be the option after hickory and ash.

Yellow Birch

If you have easy access to Scandinavia, birch is a good option for you. It is widely used in Scandinavia for making axe handles. The birch is not as much stronger as hickory and ash but does not shatter easily as maple does. Many people prefer it to maple when there is an option between them.