Tool handles

[cm_osu]

I broke a shovel handle a few days ago so the next time I was at atwoods I grabbed a new one. As I was walking to the register I noticed a new shovel was only a dollar or two more. My question is does anybody have a source for tool handles cheap enough that it makes sense to replace them?

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[gungatim]

that has been my experience as well. cheaper to buy another. try to buy lifetime warranty from crapsman or fiskars when I can as well, but what to do with the older stuff? I have found flea markets tend to have a "handle guy" every so often. you can get bundle deals that way for pretty cheap if you can find one.

 

[cm_osu]

I have managed to stock up on a variety of hammer and hatchet handles when I caught them on clearance of $3 or 4 each but that supply is almost gone now. Just hard to imagine the handles accounting for that much of the total price of the tool.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Jazz1]

I replace handles on my axes, shovels,you name it because the business end of my tools were made on this continent. 3 dollar hammers chip easily and often. I paid $17 for axe handle on Friday for my 100 year old axe head

 

[Bondo]

As I was walking to the register I noticed a new shovel was only a dollar or two more.

Ayuh,.... That's why I don't replace handles on shovels, rakes, or forks,.....

 

[bonneyman]

I replace handles on my axes, shovels,you name it because the business end of my tools were made on this continent. 3 dollar hammers chip easily and often. I paid $17 for axe handle on Friday for my 100 year old axe head

Century old axe head still serviceable? Outstanding!

 

[four.cycle]

good handles aren't cheap anymore. get used to paying $12 - $20 for a decent piece of US-grown hickory or ash, depending on what tool it fits.

if you've got good forged US-made garden tools it's well worth replacing a handle now and then.

 

[Sam'sAutoParts]

I replace handles if I can, most of the garden tools are older USA made. Sure you can get a China shovel for $6 but how long is it gonna last? Treating wooden handles with linseed oil makes them less likely to break, so I keep them all coated in it.

 

[monkeyspanners]

I'd fix them even if it cost more, history should be worth something even if its just the history of a few holes dug.

 

[tarbellb]

Im all for replacing parts, but when you cant find them remember AMES offers a lifetime warranty on most their lawn/garden products!

 

[four.cycle]

^ Ames garden tools are no longer all manufactured in Ames, Iowa.

The last garden spade I got was a Chinese-made $14 cheapie - could not find a US-made one to replace my 35-year-old Ames.

 

[cm_osu]

Im all for replacing parts, but when you cant find them remember AMES offers a lifetime warranty on most their lawn/garden products!

I didn't realize they had a lifetime warranty. The cheap shovel at atwoods was an ames for 9.99. I paid 7.99 for the replacement handle. I did go ahead and fix this one instead of replacing but it was tempting to just buy a new one.

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

 

[Jazz1]

The hickory handles I purchased the past few years were made in China. Possibly hickory being shipped to China and outsourcing the final product. I altered the made in China axe handle and its definitely hickory...like trying to sand hardened steel.

 

[lilredex]

I always fix the handle, using a shortened version of the original, because the business end is always a better quality than what you find out there today.

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?p=5521207#post5521207

http://www.instructables.com/id/Shovel-Handle-Repair-1/

 

[jt777]

I find that you appreciate a tool alot more once you have put in the time to make a "custom" handle. By custom i mean having to sand it down to shape it so it fits perfectly.

 

[mjoekingz28]

I replace handles if I can, most of the garden tools are older USA made. Sure you can get a China shovel for $6 but how long is it gonna last? Treating wooden handles with linseed oil makes them less likely to break, so I keep them all coated in it.

Will linseed oil do good for untreated and treated wood handles?

 

[southalabama]

I've got a collection of tools awaiting handles. Perhaps one day I'll score a bunch of cheap quality handles. Until then I just purchase new.

 

[gungatim]

Will linseed oil do good for untreated and treated wood handles?

I've used it several times, a lot of the handles I get from the flea market are un finished. poly Is too slippery, mineral oil is OK too, but usually I keep the hand hold part of the shovel untreated and just sanded smooth.

 

[four.cycle]

^ polyurethane doesn't hold up to abrasion on garden tool handles very well, either - I put it on all of my handles years ago - four coats, all sanded between coats and then buffed out with #0000 steel wool.
"slippery" wasn't an issue, because I wear Atlas rubber-palmed gloves.

I've switched to "Man-O-War" Marine Spar Varnish for handles. Seems to hold up well after four or five coats are applied and is fairly durable.

Linseed oil is the classic old-school method, but it has to be re-applied after a time - some guys will tell you once a year.

 

[pauls_workshop]

Im all for replacing parts, but when you cant find them remember AMES offers a lifetime warranty on most their lawn/garden products!

You can get Ames made in USA at Ollie's if you have an Ollies. Great buys there. - Paul

 

[pauls_workshop]

good handles aren't cheap anymore. get used to paying $12 - $20 for a decent piece of US-grown hickory or ash, depending on what tool it fits.

if you've got good forged US-made garden tools it's well worth replacing a handle now and then.

Hey 4C, I do chainsaw milling of my own wood and just got some Black Locust branches. I'm planning on using some of this for handle purposes. Stronger than Hickory! Will last 100 years or more buried under ground! Hard as a rock! Get yourselves some and make your own!

I also got some Ash wood for the same purposes. I have an old time Cant Hook in need of a handle. This takes a BIG handle, like a 2.5" diameter at the fitting. I'll make my own, either the Locust or Ash. - Paul

 

[KEH]

Picked up a cheap rusty claw hammer at the flea market because it had a good handle. Thought i would have a spare handle, but when I got it home and cleaned a little rust I found it was a good US hammer, claws still sharp, head not chipped. So i will have a spare hammer instead of a spare handle.

KEH

 

[woody 73]

Funny thing but this post brought up some interesting memories from my childhood about tool handles. In grade school (just after Abe Lincoln was shot) one of my teachers took the class on a fied trip to none other then the union Fork and tool company. I know I must have had tools in my blood even back then because I so loved that day very much.

I got to watch the men shove the hot shovel blade into the ash handle and quench it in cold running water after it came through the stamping machine. The name of the company has changed but my memory of that day will forever live on.

http://www.uniontools.com/about-us/our-history.aspx

 

[four.cycle]

I also got some Ash wood for the same purposes. I have an old time Cant Hook in need of a handle. This takes a BIG handle, like a 2.5" diameter at the fitting. I'll make my own, either the Locust or Ash. - Paul

ahh... another regional thing.... you mean a "peeve" or a "timberjack", right?

(kind of like "wheel" or "rim" ???)

I hate black locust. I hear it burns well. Grows like a weed here and you almost can't kill it. Awful stuff.

Hard, though... maybe I should make a mallet out of it for my shake froe.