We recommend this
wood in preference to deal, which is lighter and nearly as strong,
because in choosing a piece of ash it is easier to select with certainty
thoroughly sound and well-seasoned wood; and in preference to hickory and
lance-wood, which are stronger, because these woods are extremely heavy.
The handle should, we believe, be of a very slightly oval form, as it is
then more convenient to the grasp than if round. As to the thickness of
the wood, we are satisfied it ought nowhere to be less than 1 3/8 inch,
since a pole of that diameter, made of ordinarily good ash, is the
smallest which cannot be permanently bent by a heavy man's most violent
effort; although we have seen some pieces of unusually strong ash of a
less thickness, which proved inflexible.
We recommend, then, that the oval section of the handle should have a
shorter diameter of 1 3/8 inch, and a longer diameter of 1 1/2 inch, and
that the thickness should be the same from one end to the other. The
length of the handles for Nos. 1 and 2 should be such that they will
reach to just under the arm at the shoulder. The handle for No. 3, which
is intended to be used exclusively as an axe, should be between 3 1/2 and
4 feet long. The lower end of the handle should be strengthened in the
usual way by a ferrule, and armed with a spike.
The spike should be from 3 1/2 to 4 inches long, clear of the end of the
handle, and should be prevented from moving by a slight rivet passed
through it near the upper end after it is fastened in.
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