Preparing the Wood

• 1). Choose a dry piece of hickory for your handle. Try to find a piece of wood that roughly resembles the shape that you need. If your handle will have a curve to it, try to find a piece that resembles that curve. The fewer grains that you cut through, the stronger your handle will be. Once you have selected your wood, draw the shape of the handle on the wood with your carpenter's pencil.
  
  
• 2). Rest the wood to be turned into a handle on a wood block or workbench. If you have a vise, place it in there and tighten it up. Use a drawknife or hatchet to start trimming the rough outline of the handle. Once you have achieved a rough outline, use a rasp to smooth the edges and shape the wood.
  
  
• 3). Using coarse sandpaper, run the handle over a belt sander after you have achieved the desired shape. Remove marks left by the rasping, but do not use the sander to shape the handle.
  
  
• 4). Smooth the surface with sandpaper ranging in grit from of 80 to 100 to prepare it for finishing.
  
  

Axe or Hammer

• 1). Square off the end of the handle so that it is bigger than the hole in the hammer or axe head. This is the most important part of making your handle. Take your time. Once it has reached the rough shape that you want, file down the edges, only 5 or 6 strokes at a time until the peg is 1/16 inch to 1/32 inch wider than the hole on each side.
  
  
• 2). Cut a slot in the square end with your saw. Position the handle straight up and down in a vise so that the square end is pointing up. Cut the slot so that it goes with the grain, from the top of the handle to just shy of where the square part of the handle ends.
  
  
• 3). Cut a small wedge of wood from any scrap. It should be no thicker than 1/4 inch and should be slightly tapered. It should be as wide as the slot cut in the handle top.
  
  
• 4). Coat the wedge in epoxy glue or wood glue and place it about one-fourth of the way into the slot. Then place the axe or hammer head onto the handle. Pound the head gently but firmly until it is all the way on. Then pound the wedge into the handle. When the exposed part of the wedge bends over, you are finished. Cut, file and sand any excess.
  
  

Tools with a Tang

• 1). Tools with a tang, the metal part of the knife or chisel that sits inside the handle, must be very comfortable in your hand. Use a rasp or a rounded file to make sure the handle fits in your hand. Styles that have a fatter middle are popular. Anything that won't slip out of your hand when working is ideal.
  
  
• 2). Drill a hole straight into your handle at the point where the tang fits into the handle. The drill bit should be the width of the widest part of your tang and the hole should be only as deep as the tang is long. If you have plenty of time, you can use different drill bit sizes to taper the hole.
  
  
• 3). Apply wood glue to the tang of the tool and insert it into the hole in the handle until it is snug. Turn the tool upside down and put the metal part onto a piece of wood. Lightly tap the handle with a hammer until the tool fits snugly in its new handle.