I'd like to jump in and say that I prefer straight handles. I used to buy handles with bellies and carved ends similar to what NH is describing from the hardware stores when I was younger. Then I started making my own handles and gradually moved to a straight handle(I still make a handle with a carved end). The main advantage of the straight handle is that you can hold the handle any distance from the axehead and the handle is consistent... I personally feel more accurate with a straight handle, but that is what I'm used to now.
Just my 2 cents.

Hi TB and Mark:

TB--I do not have any right now that is accessible for cut and pasting, but will strive to do that in the very near future.

It sounds like the subject of handle styles could be a good conversation piece.

Mark:--I believe that you use a style of working with your tools ie; (higher than I do) so in that case I believe that your straighter handles might work better because you need to shorten up your grasp of the handle for control and safety reasons.

All the old texts, and other research material that i have studied over the years always seem to show workmen working on timbers lying on bed pieces, not on tressels.

I had one fellow relate to me the following story--- during the second world war he landed on the beaches in the south Pacific where the Japanese had been working on flattening round timber, they had left their sites empty but their timbers were still where they were working on them. They were working alongside the timbers with one end up on a support.

You can see that various ways of doing things were tried and used depending on where you are from.

The immigrants that originally settled the US and Canada came from many different ethnic origins, and their style of using tools and building timberframe buildings varied widely.

We sometimes refer to a style as German, Dutch, Swedish, English or what have you. one thing is for sure that after 15 or 20 generations everything seems to meld together including people!!

NH

I've read a couple different books that touch on the topic, and the best publication I've found is an older Forest Service manual called "An Axe to Grind." It's available in pdf format from several places on the web, though the pictures were not complete in the first one I found. I have a copy of the whole thing, but all I can find links to now is this chapter by chapter page:
http://www.fs.fed.us/eng/php/library_card.php?p_num=9923%202823P

I have yet to enter the world of handle making, but I've got an excellent source for handles nearby, so I concentrate on mating the heads and the handles as well as I can... I like the idea of using hot sand. Will have to try that sometime.
Cheers,
Bill

Just another comment on this thread:

I have just noticed an old cut of loggers working out in California in 1880, they were making railroad ties by hand , what was very interesting to me was the one lad was flattening the sides of the split squares with a broadaxe, and he was working with the rough split squares resting on bed pieces, just above the ground level. He was hewing left handed standing at the side of the piece he was working on.
The broadaxe appears to be about 12" wide on the cutting edge, and has an offset handle. He seemed to be doing a finishing pass with no scoring, the shaving just coming off nicely as he worked and when the picture was taken.
I hope this is interesting to those on this thread.
NH

Here are a couple pictures of an Adz handle I made a few days ago. Beside the new handle is the old one that I used as a template. I think it came out ok for my first attempt. It was made from a small crooked Ash and took around 5hrs to make. I prefer the more pronounced curve to the original. TB perfection is rarely achieved on the first attempt. Give it a try and good luck.
kfhines.

Just a cautionary note in reference to the new made adze handle, it appears to me to have excessive sweep in the handle to say the least.
Just imagine trying to use the adze head to do work between your feet, you would have to move the handle's top toward your body making the adze head enter the surface of the wood at too sharp of an angle.
In all my years of working with historic tools and examining those in many famous collections, I have never seen this much of an excessive curve. If anything the handles in lots of cases were straighter.
It seems to me that if excessive curves were better then I am sure during the centuries that adzes were used this feature would have came to light.
This is just my opinion for what it is worth,

NH

Hello NH.
Thanks for the caution. I have not tried to use this adz with the new handle, I was waiting for it to dry and shrink a little before I finish fitting the head. Admittedly I have not read a single article on handle making and have a bit to learn yet. The sweep may be excessive but very similar to one I've used (limited) in the past. It was easy to use, made nice curves on the under side of floor joist and pared to the line nicely. It may straighten in self out a little yet, in following the grain as much as possible I removed a most of the reaction wood on the out side of the curve. If I don't like the way it works it will go into the kindling pile and I'll try again, and again.
Thanks.
kfhines