Replacing broken tool handles

For the longest time I had a broken handled hoe and didn’t know how to replace it. Then the other day, someone told me to build a fire and burn the handle off in. I tried and it worked! I took out the nails (needed to use a magnet to find one of them), cut a new (green) ash handle, peeled and shaped it with a hatchet and knife, and nailed it in. I’m not sure if it is the best made handle in the world, but it looks good. It is a tiny bit loose and I worry might loosen more while drying, but it shall be a learning experience.

Ash is great for handles. Grows right back. I have stacked a few so i can give it a dry one next time. Have had some wobbly experiences. No more! And i like to think my tool looks crappy now so thieves will not want to steal it. They like shiney and posh.

M Ljin wrote:For the longest time I had a broken handled hoe and didn’t know how to replace it. Then the other day, someone told me to build a fire and burn the handle off in. I tried and it worked!  

Personally I wouldn't do that to tools I care about. Good quality digging tools are made of tempered steel, which is why they will take an edge. Heating them in a fire would potentially ruin the temper, making the tool steel much softer. (Though some of the offshore tools are already so soft you'd hardly notice the difference.)

There's a PEP badge for this: https://permies.com/wiki/127877/pep-tool-care/Pin-Style-Handle-Tool-PEP

I made a new handle for a small tool and it's still gets regular use.

If  had wood stuck in the tool part that was too short to get out, I think I try to screw a good-sized screw into it and see if I could then wiggle it out. First one would have to cut off or somehow remove the pin.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

M Ljin wrote:For the longest time I had a broken handled hoe and didn’t know how to replace it. Then the other day, someone told me to build a fire and burn the handle off in. I tried and it worked!  

Personally I wouldn't do that to tools I care about. Good quality digging tools are made of tempered steel, which is why they will take an edge. Heating them in a fire would potentially ruin the temper, making the tool steel much softer. (Though some of the offshore tools are already so soft you'd hardly notice the difference.)

Quite true. I tried to keep the blade out of the fire as much as possible, and it never heated to the point of being red.

Jay Angler wrote:There's a PEP badge for this: https://permies.com/wiki/127877/pep-tool-care/Pin-Style-Handle-Tool-PEP

I made a new handle for a small tool and it's still gets regular use.

If  had wood stuck in the tool part that was too short to get out, I think I try to screw a good-sized screw into it and see if I could then wiggle it out. First one would have to cut off or somehow remove the pin.

This gives me an idea. Maybe use screws instead of pins so that they can be removed when needed?

M Ljin wrote: This gives me an idea. Maybe use screws instead of pins so that they can be removed when needed?

I would only use Stainless Steel screws if you try this.

I have found that in a dry situation, screws will come out for a long time, but in a damp/dirty situation, nails are actually easier to get out.

M Ljin wrote:This gives me an idea. Maybe use screws instead of pins so that they can be removed when needed?

When replacing handles on hoes/shovels I usually use standard wood screws. Not those ridiculous slot (flathead) types, but a Phillips or Robertson (Square) that is easy to drive in, tighten, or remove. If it's a really nice handle I'll drill a small pilot hole so the screw doesn't crack the wood.

I often use an old drill bit to drill out a bunch of the wood so it's a bit looser and easier to remove. Jay's idea of screwing in a big screw is also effective.

A full-length rivet is a bit of a pain to remove. I'll cut it with a portable angle grinder (cutting wheel) if I can reach it. Otherwise it gets cut from the outside and tapped out with a punch.

Has anyone noticed the cost of replacement handles at hardware stores? Holy smokes! Highway robbery! I scrounge and collect all sorts of handles from free tools at the recycling centre or dumpster so I have a ready supply on hand. The old handles are often much better quality (tight, full length grain) than new ones. I think this has saved me a lot of money over the years.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:
Has anyone noticed the cost of replacement handles at hardware stores? Holy smokes! Highway robbery! I scrounge and collect all sorts of handles from free tools at the recycling centre or dumpster so I have a ready supply on hand. The old handles are often much better quality (tight, full length grain) than new ones. I think this has saved me a lot of money over the years.

Some great ideas here....I just noticed in one of our out-buildings an old garden fork that has embedded wood, but no apparent pins holding it in.  Now I want to try Jay's method of driving a large screw into the wood to see if I can pull it out by force.  I mean, what can go wrong!??   [Don't answer that.... ;-)  ]

But also to say that we have abundant green ash on the property and may even try the hand-hewn approach to produce some new handles.

John Weiland wrote: Now I want to try Jay's method of driving a large screw into the wood to see if I can pull it out by force.  I mean, what can go wrong!??   Don't answer that.... ;-)  

You might want to have vice grips handy to pull on the screw, or even a bench vice? (Then again, I have very wimpy hands.)

Take pictures?

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:Personally I wouldn't do that to tools I care about. Good quality digging tools are made of tempered steel, which is why they will take an edge. Heating them in a fire would potentially ruin the temper, making the tool steel much softer. (Though some of the offshore tools are already so soft you'd hardly notice the difference.)

Alex Bealer, in "Old Ways of Working Wood", recommends burning broken handles out of axe eyes, with the edges buried in the moist soil, but I can't vouch  for the method.  I've usually tried mechanical removal when replacing shovel, hoe and rake handles.

I just removed the remains of a handle from a old double bit Keen Kutter axe head by augering out a central chunk to relieve the compression, then using a big spike as a punch (i.e. inverted) to knock out the remains.  I was pretty confident there was no steel wedge, so I risked it with the auger bit.  Maybe I'll post up a series of photos and commentary on this.  It became a somewhat involved project, since I also ended up cleaning up an old spokeshave to use to adjust the handle to better fit the axe eye.  With some subsequent file work and honing with a diamond axe stone, it was sharp enough to take off hair (and a bit of hide!) when tried on my arm.

A week or so earlier, I was also able to knock out the remains of the handle from the eye of a Pulaski with the inverted spike, but it was already loose, so that hardly counts.  I fettled that new handle with my Mora knife, because I didn't have the spokeshave out where I was working.

Save the old broken handles - they're good for all sorts of stuff, not least for making socket chisel and framing slick handles.

Kevin Olson wrote:Save the old broken handles - they're good for all sorts of stuff, ...

Agreed! Even small chunks can still be split and whittled into wedges to secure other tool heads.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

Kevin Olson wrote:Save the old broken handles - they're good for all sorts of stuff, ...

Agreed! Even small chunks can still be split and whittled into wedges to secure other tool heads.

The "new" handle for my PEP BB was a chunk off a broken long handle from a rake. The tool I repaired was intended to be used inside an animal shelter and a long handle would have been awkward. The handle needed to be comfy to hold and "about the right length", so upcycling was the way to go.

Ash is the classic for a reason. I've had good luck with screws over nails for re-handles, easier to get out next time. Pilot hole first if the wood is dry or it'll split.

I always keep a collection of nice sticks for tool handles and keep my eye out for more...nice long straight ones of the right species can be hard to find in some places. The way I learned it, you cut them green, trim roughly to length and cut any branches (hopefully not too many, as knots make peeling and smoothing more difficult), and then paint some oil on the cut ends and knot stubs.  Then put them somewhere dry in the shade for a few months at least.  The oil keeps the stick from drying out too fast and cracking, instead it dries out slowly through the remaining bark.  Then when I need a handle I take one, shave the bark off with a drawknife, shape the end to fit the tool end, and attach however!  Over the years I've found the best species are hornbeam, hickory/pecan, and oak.  I have some ten year old handles of all three.  Around here at least there is no ash left anyway.  Right now I've got some Bradford pear sticks curing as an experiment...nice and straight but I wonder if they will be too brittle.  The heads of various tools seem all too easy to find...just last week my neighbor had a whole set of fiberglass handled tools by his trash can....post hole diggers, shovel, and rake, with splintered handles---but I'm after the heads!

Jay Angler wrote:

John Weiland wrote: Now I want to try Jay's method of driving a large screw into the wood to see if I can pull it out by force.  I mean, what can go wrong!??   Don't answer that.... ;-)  

You might want to have vice grips handy to pull on the screw, or even a bench vice? (Then again, I have very wimpy hands.)

Take pictures?

Can't recall the origin of this quote: "If at first you don't succeed, try at least 3 more times so that your ultimate failure is statistically significant..." ..   :-)

Some photos below to go with the sentiment.  The head was pretty rusted, yet I could discern no pin going through the assembly to hold the head onto the handle.  So I inserted a #10 screw into the broken face of the handle, then placed the screw head in a vise.  By tapping downward on the shoulders of the fork blade, I had hoped to pop free the head from the broken wood piece inside.  Alas, after a few taps, the screw snapped in half with no movement of the wood out of the receptacle.  Undeterred and knowing that sometimes bigger is better, I used a broom-hanging hook-screw which was longer and with deeper threads.  This time, I did NOT break the screw......but as I was using the hook to hang it from a sturdy tree branch, the hook bent straight ..... and the wood *still* hadn't budged.  This began to seem quite strange, this hold that the fork head had on the wooden handle.  On a lark, I had angled grinder in use that day and ground off the rust on the fork to reveal the problem.  There indeed was a pin through the head, but the pin heads had been fused so cleanly with the fork head metal (welded?) that planning a removal procedure looked daunting.  I was able to drill out one side of the pin, but the non-drilled side is well afixed....even after pounding the drilled side with a punch.  Any suggestions for completing this job would be welcomed....Thanks!

John Weiland wrote:[ On a lark, I had angled grinder in use that day and ground off the rust on the fork to reveal the problem.  There indeed was a pin through the head, but the pin heads had been fused so cleanly with the fork head metal (welded?) that planning a removal procedure looked daunting.  I was able to drill out one side of the pin, but the non-drilled side is well afixed....even after pounding the drilled side with a punch.  Any suggestions for completing this job would be welcomed....Thanks!

The first option is to heat the rivet head with a small propane torch (a plumber's torch) to try to break the rust weld by expansion and contraction.

The other option is to turn the rivet head into a crude bolt head that you can grab with a big vise-grip. I'd use an angle grinder and cold chisel. Then you can twist and pull on the rivet head.

M Ljin wrote:It is a tiny bit loose and I worry might loosen more while drying, but it shall be a learning experience.

Granddad always burnt out shovel handles. He kept the working end outside the edge of the fire, and only burnt the handle sleeve. No bellows, no red hot metal. Just enough to burn out the old wood.
Once he replaced the handle and riveted it in place with an old metal screw, he would soak the shovel head overnight in a bucket of water. That would swell the handle just enough to seat it well in the sleeve. He let it dry in the sun for a day or two before using.

Unfortunately my handle broke again, at the end of the handle sleeve.

Maybe I made it too thick?

M Ljin wrote:Unfortunately my handle broke again, at the end of the handle sleeve.

One thing I learned is that most handles have a "strong directions" and a "weaker direction". Hopefully one of our wood workers will pitch in and explain how to make sure the "strong direction" will be the direction most likely to be being stressed when the tool is being used properly.

Maybe the wood that went into the shaft was not long enough?

Anne Miller wrote:Maybe the wood that went into the shaft was not long enough?

Yes, it's best if the wood goes as far into the socket as possible, although if the socket has a curve to it, that is trickier to whittle. My Son would explain the engineering reason - it has to do with leverage and pressure points.

John Weiland wrote:[ On a lark, I had angled grinder in use that day and ground off the rust on the fork to reveal the problem.  There indeed was a pin through the head, but the pin heads had been fused so cleanly with the fork head metal (welded?) that planning a removal procedure looked daunting.  I was able to drill out one side of the pin, but the non-drilled side is well afixed....even after pounding the drilled side with a punch.  Any suggestions for completing this job would be welcomed....Thanks!

Well, I faced this yesterday. And despite the complex methods I suggested in my earlier post, I was in a hurry. So I took a battery angle grinder with a cutting blade and zapped off the rivet head in 30 seconds. The "welded" rivet shaft fell out with two taps of a hammer. So much for finesse.

If your handle breaks off again, why not just fit a core of tougher wood
and wrap a split or hollowed handle around this and hold everything together
with wire clamps. Sorry, the youtube link is not welcomed here. You have to
look for it yourself.

A fond salute to all those giving new life to tools, around this part of GA we use white oak as first choice, then ash, then hickory or pecan.  Hickory is fantastic, but hard to find below 1000' elevation
Absurd prices for wooden handles.....on occasion they are more expensive than a replacement tool.  

im getting ready to replace a broken handle on an old onion hoe. my most favorite hoe for gardening. if you dont know what these are its not your fault. it has a narrow and wider blade that is angled on the outside edges much different than common hoes you find at the hardware and big box stores these days. after handle broke I fist thought maybe I would just get a new one. they are just about impossible to find these days and only available online and shipping cost is almost as expensive as the tool. fortunately there is a small mom and pop store that has blemished ash and hickory replacement handles for $10 each.
I guess since I have yet started to try and remove old broken handle I can take some photos and share them here once I get into it.

Jay Angler wrote:

M Ljin wrote:Unfortunately my handle broke again, at the end of the handle sleeve.

One thing I learned is that most handles have a "strong directions" and a "weaker direction". Hopefully one of our wood workers will pitch in and explain how to make sure the "strong direction" will be the direction most likely to be being stressed when the tool is being used properly.

I think this was one problem. My guess is the strong direction is where the curve of the stick goes with the force of the tool being used, not against?

I cut the handle off. The remnant came right out because it was splintered, and I oiled the remainder of the handle which is now a few inches shorter. No great loss!

Because of Emerald Ash Borer (? The tree wasn’t doing well, on the north wall, so maybe not) I just cut another small ash tree so should have more handle material to oil and dry. There are a few hickory saplings around but not enough to cut them down for tool handles.

M Ljin wrote:

Jay Angler wrote:

M Ljin wrote:Unfortunately my handle broke again, at the end of the handle sleeve.

One thing I learned is that most handles have a "strong directions" and a "weaker direction". Hopefully one of our wood workers will pitch in and explain how to make sure the "strong direction" will be the direction most likely to be being stressed when the tool is being used properly.

I think this was one problem. My guess is the strong direction is where the curve of the stick goes with the force of the tool being used, not against?

My observation is that a quality wood handle has two sides with a "tightly packed  grain" and two sides with a very broadly spaced grain. This is obviously how the wood grows, so we work with it.

The tight grain, ideally, runs the entire length of the handle and that is what gives it its strength. The orientation, however, depends on where the most force/stress is expected. In the industrial grade tools I have, shovels have the tight grain oriented on the sides. Hoe- or axe- style tools for digging/chopping have the tight grain oriented top and bottom. Since these tools cost a fair bit, and hold up very well, I have to assume the manufacturers know what they are doing.

Most commercial handles are likely quartersawn so the tight grain is where a lot of rings are coming together, whereas the broad is where the angle comes close to parallel with the rings.

My handle is polewood so this may not be quite relevant. But there may still be something to it.

The handles I am talking about are clearly a single piece of wood, carefully grown for tool handles. They have not been sawn. You can trace the tight grains as single strands from top to bottom.

Quartersawn is a single piece of wood—it refers to a pole that  has been sawn—out of the log—in a particular manner. I may not be using the word that precisely as it is more applicable to boards than poles.

You are saying they are made of young poles though?

M Ljin wrote:You are saying they are made of young poles though?

Yes, I am confident that is the case with many of my garden tools. There is no way you could get that grain from a sawn log.

Though your point is well noted -- I can see how axe handles, for example, could be sawn from larger logs. Hm! Interesting.

Very helpful to note. You mean that the end looks like this but somewhat compressed on one axis?

Yes, something like that. It's hard to describe in words yet completely obvious when you look at the handle.

Douglas Alpenstock wrote:

John Weiland wrote:[ On a lark, I had angled grinder in use that day and ground off the rust on the fork to reveal the problem.  There indeed was a pin through the head, but the pin heads had been fused so cleanly with the fork head metal (welded?) that planning a removal procedure looked daunting.  I was able to drill out one side of the pin, but the non-drilled side is well afixed....even after pounding the drilled side with a punch.  Any suggestions for completing this job would be welcomed....Thanks!

The first option is to heat the rivet head with a small propane torch (a plumber's torch) to try to break the rust weld by expansion and contraction.

The other option is to turn the rivet head into a crude bolt head that you can grab with a big vise-grip. I'd use an angle grinder and cold chisel. Then you can twist and pull on the rivet head.

Finally getting back to this after the priorities of the garden were first addressed....

I was a bit concerned about how much damage I might do to the metal handle tube with an angle grinder, so opted instead for adding a new, more hardened drill bit to the collection ..... and used it to drill out the other head of the pin.  That worked a lot better with the proper bit and soon the pin was removed from the assembly.  With pin removed, re-drilling a hole into the wood that remained and screwing in a large storage hook proved to work fine--with hook hanging on the edge of the workbench, a few strikes on fork shoulder popped the fork right off of the remaining wooden plug.

I may just purchase a new handle this time around as other seasonal factors are conspiring to limit time on the project, but also to ask with regard to older handles around the property:  What method do you use to produce the taper at the end of the handle to fit into a fork tube like the one I'm working with?  I don't have a lathe and maybe next best thing is wood rasp or a  spoke shave??  This would also pertain to ash poles that I could cut on the property.  Thanks!