My favorite cross peen hammer handle snapped on a job in Detroit last Thursday

I was half way through drawing out a leaf spring into a knife blank when the hickory handle just gave out right at the eye. No warning cracks, no splintering before hand, just a clean snap on a forward swing. The head flew off and landed in a bucket of water 10 feet away, scared me half to death. I ended up having to borrow a spare from a buddy down the street to finish the job, but it threw off my whole rhythm. Has anyone else had good luck with ash handles over hickory for heavy striking work?

2 comments

2 Comments

richard_shah1mo ago

Gotta call you out on that, ash handles are way more prone to splitting than hickory under heavy use. Hickory's your best bet for that kind of work, sounds like yours just had a hidden defect from the start.

schmidt.amy1mo ago

My old man swore by ash for years and I just went along with it. But last season I had an ash splitting maul handle crack on me mid-swing on some knotty oak and that was enough for me. @richard_shah I think you're right about hidden defects too because mine looked perfect but must have had a small hairline I missed. I picked up a hickory replacement and that thing has taken a beating without even a wiggle. Ash is fine for lighter stuff like splitting kindling but not for the heavy work.