Very informative ! And the duct tape repair was a nice touch as well , could have wrapped some wire coat hanger on it for that true southern engineering effect :)
@SkillCult
2 жыл бұрын
Such a complicated topic. No doubt though that end grain is only one of many factors and not the most important. Runout is far more important, as is the toughness or not of any given piece of wood. I think people are starting to realize that it's not as simple as vertical vs horizontal. I still prefer the traditional (at least here anyway) vertical grain, but there are things I would choose over just that given a pile of axe handles to go through. Unless flaws are drastic, or the wood is just very weak, most breakage is still user error. A lot from heavy handed technique where the handle is being pushed on hard after the head hits the wood. Still helpful to stack the cards in our favor with handles of good integrity though.
@YankeeWoodcraft
2 жыл бұрын
Reminds me of the old Tootsie Roll commercials about how many licks does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll pop. GREAT real world testing Liam.
@bjdenil
2 жыл бұрын
Wow, keeping them clean and oiled, Ive had handles last decades. I've also had 1 that didn't last a day. That is a stress test for sure...
@adelheidsnel5171
2 жыл бұрын
Wow that’s some results you got there! Great test, great axe and great maker.
@ryanb1314
2 жыл бұрын
Great video. This did a great job at conveying the strength of these handles reguardless of grain orientation. They call it internet perfect. I have some really old handles that have “bad” grain orientation and we all know the look and feel of a handle that’s been used for decades. These didn’t get this way from sitting in a barn and they survived because someone who knew what they were doing was using it. That’s a big part.
@BrianRust89
2 жыл бұрын
Glad to see you back on here man keep making videos! That was a great test I do appreciate the R&D
@olivierseurin1204
2 жыл бұрын
I think it also depends quite significantly on the swinging technique: If you stop accelerating before impact and just let it glide on, that perpendicular grain may last a lot longer still
@knownaigm
Жыл бұрын
I absolutely love this. As a maker/craftsperson myself I hate wasting material, even if it may not be the most premium or highest grade of the material... especially when it comes to user tools and materials that WILL likely need replacing eventually anyway. Might as well get SOME use out of the material you'd otherwise throw away and then just replace or repair it if/when it does fail. I think offering the non-parallel grain handles at a different price point is an excellent way to turn that waste into worthwhile working material. Even if it was proven exactly that non-parallel grain handles last only 50% as long, that's still that much use that material could be put to. And finally, like you pointed out, breakage is also often a result of a LOT of different factors combining so even perfectly parallel grain CAN prematurely fail sometimes. Seems to me that non-parallel grain handles are at least worth throwing on there and getting some work out of them.... and I'd imagine they'd last significantly longer on smaller models.
@280AI
2 жыл бұрын
Great video, but I’m sure that a sharp axe would last at least twice as long before fatigue. The shock of the sharp axe would be cushioned considerably by the wedging action imparted by the wood. I think you make great handles and I don’t think any casual axe man would ever break one with normal use. Keep up the good work.
@cargogh
2 жыл бұрын
Enjoyed the test, and while I've never had a curved handle like that, it looks good. In my experience, the grain orientation had less to do with cracking and more to do with bad swings from my helper.
@BabakPA
2 жыл бұрын
Not bad for a dull axe! Thanks for the video
@PJTForging
2 жыл бұрын
That was an interesting experiment! The only thing that could have made it better, would be to see how many slow mo. swings it would take to carve up a pizza... in an epic cinematic sequence.
@MiloKolb
2 жыл бұрын
Your handles look very nice, I usually make my own handles but I'll probably buy one at some point
@BentonFrisse
2 жыл бұрын
So happy you did this, Liam. I think this is an excellent test and representation.
@alextopfer1068
2 жыл бұрын
The Hoffman company fitness program looks intense :P
@scottbennington2936
2 жыл бұрын
Do you make a pill for me to get as ripped as you guys? I love axes. They make wonderful wall art. However, the thought of having to use them in the woods, while getting sweaty and dirty is so super tribal. The 4.5lber is sweet!
@jonnyfischer4035
2 жыл бұрын
I have made the argument before i like to use grain thats not in line with the edge fore splitting mauls when you overhit thats not weakening the grain as much as much as it would be if it was parallel with the edge the overhits dent the fibers but doesent break the them as easy tent to get more life out of maul handels
@tonybowers9490
2 жыл бұрын
Looks like quite a workout!
@kindredcouches
2 жыл бұрын
Kudos from a fellow Liam! Love this kind of video content, keep it up.
@MickyDee67
2 жыл бұрын
I would like to see the grain orientation where the handle broke because the handle seems to show a twist along the split section. Cut through at both ends of the break points, polish the ends and show the orientation.
@jeffschroeder9089
Жыл бұрын
Interesting video!!
@Brian2bears
2 ай бұрын
1943 swings with a dull head into dry locust...very interesting Mr. Hoffman...
@TheRedhawke
2 жыл бұрын
Great to see you making videos again, I miss your blacksmithing stuff.
@mikecurtis2585
2 жыл бұрын
Great video nice test I've always had great luck with hickory handles!!
@taironus
2 жыл бұрын
awesome test. i have toyed around with handles for my tools over the last 15 years or so and the handle that has performed best was actually a pin oak branch on my main forge hammer. in 15 years i have had to re shape the tenon 2x after much abuse but the main shaft of the hammer hasnt failed yet. i have surely lost count, but keep in mind this hammer was used to demotar 1000ish bricks before i forged and then as my primary forge hammer swung with full force since 2013 or so. i dont have a lotta handles in my shop that have seen that much abuse and survived intact. i ll also share this. i recently bought a hickory handle to put on an axe head i had laying around straight grained and failed within a month of use, hardly anywhere close to the abuse i gave the old forge hammer. cant judge a book by its cover.
@cliveramsbotty6077
2 жыл бұрын
the hair migrated from head to face
@ferrumchnop6617
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah it happens to the best of us.
@lancelenoir2875
2 жыл бұрын
The Liam Hoffman Fitness Center, First 6 months are free to anyone who doesn't quit the workouts.
@TheSlvrSurfer
2 жыл бұрын
Damn dude. You got a license for those GUNS?!?
@fm1224
7 ай бұрын
Maybe it ain't so much the grain but the species of wood. Maybe you could utilize a crappy wood like gum, that would hold up better?
@mab0852
2 жыл бұрын
Ok forget about all the handle stuff (which was cool), I want that test head. After all that pounding on hard locust that bit is going to be harder than woodpecker lips and will likely never chip short of hitting a rock. My turn of the century heads I've restored are like that. When you finally get them profiled and get an edge on them they run forever with minimal touch ups.
@randystrand908
Жыл бұрын
Great info. I was unaware of this! It's inspirational for me to tune up some old axe heads.
@bigoldgrizzly
2 жыл бұрын
Who says you can't buck with a blunt axe ??? ....if you are young fit and a bit mad ;
@thebrentusryshow6521
Жыл бұрын
How many licks does it take to get to the tootsie roll center of a tootsie pop?
@garycallahan7867
2 жыл бұрын
Good demo. Dry locust and rock have a lot in common.
@barrynichols3121
7 ай бұрын
Maybe you would choose which axe to use perpendicular grain on. Might be good for small camp axes or trim (delimbing) axes.
@louislax14
5 ай бұрын
Love the duck tape fix! i fixed a sledge hammer handle like that on a job site, and i haven't had to change it out yet! I wonder if you tested the "patched up" handle to failure again?
@richevy5224
2 жыл бұрын
Maybe retry the test with a regular finished sharpened head?
@johnmutton799
Жыл бұрын
The grain orientation is wrong. It is not that they can break, it is the grain can raise and when you run your hand down the handle, they can bite you! Had that done. Straight through the base of my thumb. Just look at the shape of the grain, like a spear point! Hitting the axe straight down compress the wood. Cut at a angle and it slices the wood. Makes sense not wasting timber. You make great looking axes!
@elemental4rce
2 жыл бұрын
I'd have to trim the swell on that axe. For a chopping axe i find the less weight in the swell the better it feels to swing. A well shaped swell is great, but not these recently common 'extended' swells IMO. Interesting experiment! The Eastcoast Lumberjack channel has some great information and test results regarding handles and grain orientation.
@alanschultz4245
Жыл бұрын
Hey Liam. I'd like you to make me an axe, but... I can't ever order one. Help me out brother. Love your work and would like to put one to use.
@viktor-rp7xl
4 ай бұрын
I can break it 10 swings, u just gotta find that really hard piece of wood
@viktor-rp7xl
4 ай бұрын
I can break it 10 swings, u just gotta find that really hard part in the tree, but sharpness and head profile matters most
@Leadvest
2 жыл бұрын
This is bucking wild.
@bjdenil
2 жыл бұрын
With the price of your Axes it seems doubtful to me that many people would choose a handle that wasn't strait grain. Do you sell many of the lower priced ones?
@HoffmanBlacksmith96
2 жыл бұрын
We only offer straight grain on the axes we sell. These handles are offered for people just buying handles off of my website for their own axes.
@HoffmanBlacksmith96
2 жыл бұрын
We sell just handles themselves. www.hoffmanblacksmithing.com/premium-axe-handles
@cooperthornely8025
2 жыл бұрын
Love the videos keep it up
@caseyryan228
Жыл бұрын
A lot that I have broken or seen broken have been grain runout.
@chuckbowie5833
2 жыл бұрын
Great test mate. Cheers.
@scorec5
2 жыл бұрын
Do the same test on 32-34 inch curved handle
@BillRodgers2
2 жыл бұрын
Need more videos
@mattheww8695
8 ай бұрын
Love many things about this experiment, but particularly the outcome. More efficient use of handle stock lumber is a win all around. I would have enjoyed a closeup of the eye showing the grain orientation and one of the eventual failure. Wishing HB continued success!
@russelllieser4226
Жыл бұрын
What does that handle shape give you?.
@MrStanwillis
10 ай бұрын
Good exercise routine, love tge echo from the woods, it takes me back. Im 75 years old in Washington State.😊😊😊
@stantilton2191
2 жыл бұрын
That was a grueling torture test for any axe handle. Working in a hardware store I sold handles to overstrike breaks mostly. I even epoxied a maul handle repeatedly from the boy's intentional overstrikes, just to prove a point. That handle was nearly dead strait grain.
@robertbalaban9215
11 ай бұрын
Great video! And all the time that I’ve been swinging hammers or axes. I’ve realized this also, some last forever and some just don’t. Wood is a living thing after all and who knows what’s going on inside those grains.
@tedmartin5402
4 ай бұрын
But one does not cut wood with a blunt axe.
@ronkay1573
4 ай бұрын
Good test and great products.
@568843daw
7 ай бұрын
Wow, you men did good! Bravo👏. Council Tool did some remarkable testing on grain orientation of a haft and discovered that it did not matter to the outcome, that being incidence of breakage.
@yunghiga3556
Жыл бұрын
Where and how you store the axe maybe
@cosmicbilly
Жыл бұрын
Looks like the handle broke right on the runout line of the grain. In my experience grain orientation hasnt seemed to matter as much as grain runout. Good video!
@KendrasEdge757
2 жыл бұрын
And every handle and head, even in the same lot, can be drastically different from one to the next. One can fail in the first hit and one can last 5k strikes. Also the person swinging it comes into play as well as what they’re chopping.
@jackastbury
2 жыл бұрын
Bet you are super fun at the party!
@KendrasEdge757
2 жыл бұрын
@@jackastbury God bless you!
@thecanadiantradesman7916
2 жыл бұрын
Plus any miss hit which damages or bruises the handle will also be a huge factor. Most of my handles failed because of age and mostly from miss hit damage
@KendrasEdge757
2 жыл бұрын
@@thecanadiantradesman7916 yes that definitely comes into play. I think they’re just tryin to show how “good” their handles are with normal use as someone may have had one that failed pre-maturely. I don’t know anything about that though. I’ll agree though with the fact that most; if not all, of my axe’s and hatchets failed from user error lol be it not sharpening the edge, hitting the handle on the wood instead of the splitting edge of the head lol things like that. They’re a use part and are replaceable because they will eventually fail.
@rmf9567
10 ай бұрын
Ingenious marketing
@MrBayoublue
Жыл бұрын
damn that handle looks so sexy
@ziploc53
2 жыл бұрын
Awesome. Thanks
@waynetaylor456
2 жыл бұрын
That was actually a great test for durability of the type of handle. Would you be willing to make a Lucust handle to test against other types of wood?
@ernestobarrameda6464
Жыл бұрын
Nice honest video
@adamtrollinger61
2 жыл бұрын
BOB!!!! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@dragonwaterforge
2 жыл бұрын
Great vid and I agree with not wasting wood all handles break anyways some day
@lancemillward2462
Жыл бұрын
blunt force trauma for axes :(
@RovingPunster
2 жыл бұрын
I dont see any work gloves being used ... as a result, I predict all 3 gents later developed at least 1 nasty blister in the crooks of their hands, and/or the sides of their thumbs. 😉
@RovingPunster
2 жыл бұрын
p.s. You mentioned a customer claiming a handle broke after 5 hits. IMO, probably 80-90% of most owners have pretty crappy form when it comes to axe use (esp in suburbia, rather than a backwoods area), and one common blunder is an overreach miss during splitting ... meaning the head hit too close to the far side of a log, causing the handle just behind the head to impact. Do it too hard and often, and the handle cracks. Bottom line: 9 times in 10, it's the customer's fault, not the axe handle. - my $0.02
@HansWeberHimself
2 жыл бұрын
That only happens if you don’t already have the needed calluses. The hands of a worker don’t need gloves because of blisters. We got over blisters decades ago.
@RovingPunster
2 жыл бұрын
@@HansWeberHimself Fair point. 80-90 % of most owners, esp in suburbia, dont have em tho. 😄 However, even good calluses are not invincible when several hundred hits are involved.
@BlottaMcTablets
2 жыл бұрын
Switching off every 25 hits will do a lot to combat blisters.
@RovingPunster
2 жыл бұрын
Yes, switching off every 25 hits would help, but only to a point well shy of the 600+ apiece they ended up doing. Spread that out however you like over a couple hours and even experienced choppers with heavy calluses are gonna get blisters. ... and YES, ive had those kind of blisters. I grew up in a house with a fireplace, and splitting wood, managing the wood pile, and running the fireplace was one of my assigned chores, from my early teens thru college. We went thru about a cord per winter ... not as much as a primary pot belly stove, but still more than nearly all households without one. One of my older brothers was a tree surgeon, so most of our wood was free, but also invariably unsplit and usually green, so I was well acclimated to not just a woodsman axe, but also to splitting mauls, wedges (4 steel ones), sledge hammers, hand saws, and a small chain saw. Bottom line: im not an expert by any stretch, and never claimed to be, but unlike most postees in threads like this one, i'm also no stranger to it. Meanwhile, I really wish the snowflakes out there who've never held, much less used, an axe in their life would kindly pipe down.
@jopsball-turret6969
2 жыл бұрын
Your handles are the best I’ve seen or felt. I love them
@jkup2284
2 жыл бұрын
Hope all has been well misses the videos
@SchysCraftCo.
2 жыл бұрын
Very nice job. Forge on. God bless.
@hugoakerlund5114
2 жыл бұрын
Well I didn't expect the beard.
@MidwestFirecraft
2 жыл бұрын
I'm convinced! Great test.
@codyakny
2 жыл бұрын
Well done! Respect!
@benolesen7165
2 жыл бұрын
Love all your stuff
@กิติพงษ์ทองคํา-ฃ8ฤ
6 ай бұрын
ขวานทรงนี้ชอบมากครับ
@jamescarter4609
2 жыл бұрын
Love the test. good info.
@mikeboone4425
2 жыл бұрын
With that blunted blade it has to generate much more stress than if it were Sharpe .Just me but do the testing with a Sharpe blade the real world test. I know it will take more out of the guys but that would be real world testing but that's just me. Good to see you again. Happy trails
@goudawgs
2 жыл бұрын
Using a blunt blade is the Worst Case real world test, sure most people put real money into an axe will most likely maintain their axe head well, but not everyone will.
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