Thread: Chisel Handles - Best Australian Woods

Craig, I have lots of favourites!

I'm not keen on any of the Eucalypts, even though there are many that are very tough and will do the job admirably. Spotted Gum & Jarrah make very durable handles, and if you are re-handling any of the heavy-duty Titans and want authenticity, Taswegian Bluegum is the 'original' for those. However, I don't like the coarseness of these woods, and prefer something that gives a more tactile finish. Crows Ash is used by a current chisel-maker & makes great handles. My choices are determined a little by what sort of chisel the handle is being fitted to. For paring chisels, for e.g., you want a wood that finishes nicely and feels good in the hand, but resistance to being bashed is less of a consideration than for a mortising chisel or a firmer intended for heavy work. Our dry-country Acacias and She-oaks are a good source of handle material. They are as tough as old boots & many are very attractive as well.

My paring chisels are wearing Mulga, a beautiful fine-grained wood that turns reasonably well & finishes to a silky surface that just begs to be held (but Mulga will tolerate bashing, too, so you could confidently use it on mortising chisels, for e.g.) Mulga handles.jpg

I built up a set of Titan heavy socket chisels over a number of years, only a couple of which had original handles, so I re-handled the lot with Brigalow, a nice wood to turn, good rich colour and seems to be plenty tough enough for the job: Titan firmers.jpg The cranked Narex paring chisels in the same drawer are also Brigalow. These are not striking chisels either, so they get bulbous handles that are more comfortable to push: Narex chisels rehandled.jpg

I indulged in a set of Lie-Nielsens as a retirement present to myself. Didn't like the bland Hornbeam handles they came with, so they got new She-oak handles. They've now had several years of steady use and are holding up very well: D-T chisels.jpg

Straight-grained woods are best for handles that have to be struck, but these skews are never going to be walloped (well, not in my lifetime!), so I went a bit silly and made them handles from a bit of very wild She-oak from around a crotch (the pic is labelled "Bull oak" which can also make very good handles, but I'm pretty sure they are She-oak - must've had a brain-fade when I was labelling it): Bull oak handles.jpg

These handles are Olive, not an Australian wood, though it has naturalised itself over big areas of S.A., and will probably do so in other states in he future. Lovely to turn, nice figure, and as tough as they come: Sash mortise.jpg

And so on. There are lots of woods to choose from, it's more a matter of getting your hands on them, since not many are 'commercial' species...

Cheers,

Ian has covered it pretty comprehensively,

West Australian Sheoak as the most stable and durable, plus probably the best looking timber.

Jarrah is hard and durable but a bit plain.

Tasmanian Blackwood is another that looks good.

Spotted gum, I just a few weeks ago had a spotted gum in the front yard trimmed, so I'll be splitting up that for hammer and axe handles.

English Walnut is a good choice, looks good if you get the right piece, holds detail well, and durable, but not native to Australia, although there is plenty of locally grown walnut available.

All in all, I'd vote for one of the She-Oaks. Maybe a nice bit of Rose Sheoak

Ray

IanW - The Mulga and the Brigalow look incredible. Loved the Olive as well.

RayG - Walnut is an interesting idea too. I don't know if I've ever seen it on a chisel handle, so I'll have to google a picture to see if I like the looks

Just saw 55fbdd270eae3.jpg

Thanks you both for taking the time to respond.
Very much appreciated.

Craig

Nice bits of she oak can be purchased at good prices from dusteater (no affiliation just a satisfied customer)

Hi Morbius,

I've had success with Western Australian whitegum or wandoo for handles. It's really tough and hard, and is often used for fence posts. Here are some Narex bench chisels I've rehandled with whitegum to match my Swedish made chisels.

FullSizeRender.jpg

All the best,
Zac

Originally Posted by Pac man

Nice bits of she oak can be purchased at good prices from dusteater (no affiliation just a satisfied customer)

I saw the She-Oak that IanW posted pics of, and am envious as all hell. I just wasn't sure I could find a source. DustEater, eh?

Thanks,

Craig

Originally Posted by Fergiz01

Hi Morbius,

I've had success with Western Australian whitegum or wandoo for handles. It's really tough and hard, and is often used for fence posts. Here are some Narex bench chisels I've rehandled with whitegum to match my Swedish made chisels.

FullSizeRender.jpg

All the best,
Zac

Zac,

That White Gum looks great! At the moment I am torn between Walnut, She Oak and Brigalow. It will come down to what I can get my grabby hands onto in the near future

Thanks,

Craig