I don't believe I got around to posting this. It turns out Etsy has some pretty darn good blacksmiths for reasonable prices. I have a number of potentially dangerous hobbies so I thought I might as well have a go at axe throwing :D This is a really nice tomahawk axe head and I cannot wait to get to the summer cottage and get a handle on it. I don't really have access to the best quality hard woods so I'm just going to grab a piece of (probably birch) fire wood and cut it to shape and get throwing. I expect to break a few handles anyway in practicing and I didn't get this head for aesthetics, I'm going to really use and abuse it so any old wood will do. I might well make a few handles at a time and just swap them out when needed :D

https://www.etsy.com/listing/551832890/forged-handmade-viking-style-steel?ref=shop_home_active_12

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Nice! I need to check Etsy out. Another good source for cheap, high quality tools is estate sales. I've gotten some pretty expensive tools for cheap from people trying to offload stuff quickly.

In Finland (definitely in Helsinki and I would guess other cities) have Cleaning Days which is basically like a city-wide car boot/yard sale. Anyone can set up a table or just a blanket and sell their old stuff. A few times I've seen ancient old tools which I'm sure have been sat in their grandparents farm shed since the 50's that they're now trying to clean out and sell. I've been tempted a few times but I don't have the equipment, time or space to be restoring old tools. As soon as I do though...

That's a nice head.

If you have ash, it should work better than birch.  If you don't, birch will actually make a decent handle.  Look for the straightest grain you can find.

If you only have one 'hawk head and don't have to worry about hitting the handle with another 'hawk, wrap the handle with cord from about 1 finger width from the bottom of the head to the area you hold it to throw.  Put a couple of lines of glue down the handle that will sick to both the wood and the cord  and start wrapping.  The cord will reinforce the handle and it will last a LOT longer.

Ash are pretty scarce around my area and I don't think there are any I would be allowed to borrow a branch from :D

Thanks for the tip. Like I say, I'm really going to be abusing this thing so anything that would increase the handle life would save me time later probably :D

A branch won't work all that well.  Your idea of using a split from a piece of firewood is the best way to get a good handle.  I haven't used birch for anything, it's pretty rare around me. 

People that have it won't let me cut it.  ;D

Is there a difference between heartwood and sapwood?

Bill Skinner wrote on Aug 15^th, 2018 at 11:23am:

Is there a difference between heartwood and sapwood?

I'm no wood expert but I don't believe there is.

Looks like that axe comes from Bulgaria. For some reason most of the hand forged axes on EBay and Etsy all cone from Eastern Europe. That Etsy shop has some really nice looking throwing knives too! I already have a tomahawk and some all-steel one-piece throwing axes, but those hand forged throwing dirks are pretty tempting :)

It did. The quality is really faithless. Haven't thrown it yet so no idea how it will hold up but looks like good quality work and well worth the price.

https://www.amazon.com/Large-Throwing-Tomahawk-Handle-Hickory/dp/B00B40GFWM/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1534614776&sr=8-2-spons&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=tomahawk+handle&psc=1

FYI, Tomahawk handles aren’t too expensive. Just make sure you get a straight handle and not a curved axe handle if you buy one instead of making it . The straight handle slides out of the hand easily during a throw for better control. Normal axe handles are designed for good grip retention and  are harder to throw with.