Originally Posted by
Luke Maddux
Australia may have the finest selection of chisel handle timbers in the world. Pretty much any of the small, scrubby trees which grow in the dry, inland areas of the continent and which are commonly (or uncommonly...) harvested for wood can make fantastic handles. Some examples include...
-Any of the Sheoaks
-Most of the acacias, with honorable mention going to Gidgee, Mulga, Brigalow, Anything called "Myall",and Inland Rosewood (just off the top of my head).
-Dead Finish (Archidendropsis basaltica)
-Most of the Eucalypts
-Crow's Ash
And plenty of others, including stuff which doesn't necessarily come from the dry areas.
The most important thing is to look for dense, hard woods with straight grain. Figuring is nice to have, but it ultimately is an indicator of reversing grain, which creates shearing planes in the wood and can result in unexpected breakage during chopping (hitting it with a mallet).
As far as bolstering the back end, I never have, but it would certainly improve the longevity of the chisels, especially something like a mortise or firmer chisel which is only really used for chopping.
Good luck,
Luke