@AndrewPatience brought into the space an old hatchet head in need of some TLC and a new handle.
Researching which wood might be a suitable choice I came across some interesting data on wood toughness which I thought worthwhile reproducing here. Being a hatchet and in need of a short handle the toughness probably isn’t critical in our application.
“There are a lot of ways to test wood, Janka, MoR, Elastic Modulus, Crush Strength, etc… But there is one test that applies more to Axe handles than any other test there is… It’s called Impact Bending. In the case of this particular study a 50 pound hammer was dropped on many test samples of a piece of wood and the average height in inches it took to break that wood sample is recorded.”
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Sorted By Height In Inches Of Impact
120 (Wet) ------------- Osage Orange
106 (Wet) ------------- Beech, Blue (Hornbeam/Musclewood)
88 ----------------------- Hickory, Bigleaf Shagbark
77 ----------------------- Hickory, Mockernut
74 ----------------------- Hickory, Pignut
71 (AVG) 53 - 88 — Hickory (Full Range)
67 ----------------------- Hickory, Shagbark
66 ----------------------- Hickory, Bitternut
59 ----------------------- Serviceberry
57 ----------------------- Locust, Black
56 ----------------------- Elm, Rock
55 ----------------------- Birch, Yellow
54 (Wet) --------------- Hickory, Nutmeg
53 ----------------------- Hickory, Water
53 ----------------------- Oak, Scarlet
49 ----------------------- Hophornbeam
49 ----------------------- Oak, Swamp Red
49 ----------------------- Oak, Swamp White
47 ----------------------- Birch, Sweet
47 ----------------------- Honeylocust
46 ----------------------- Oak, Post
45 ----------------------- Elm, Slippery
45 ----------------------- Oak, Pin
44 ----------------------- Dogwood
44 ----------------------- Oak, Water
44 ----------------------- Pecan
43 ----------------------- Apple
43 ----------------------- Ash, White
43 ----------------------- Hackberry
43 ----------------------- Oak, Red
42 ----------------------- Ash, Blue
42 (AVG) 34 - 55 — Birch (Full Range)
42 (Wet) -------------- Black Mangrove
42 ----------------------- Oak, Willow
41 ----------------------- Beech
41 ----------------------- Gum, Blue
41 ----------------------- Oak, Black
41 ----------------------- Oak, Swamp Chestnut
40 ----------------------- Ash, Biltmore White
40 ----------------------- Birch, Alaska White
40 (Wet) --------------- Buttonwood
40 ----------------------- Laurel, Mountain
40 ----------------------- Maple, Black
40 ----------------------- Oak, Chestnut
40 (Wet) --------------- Pigeon-plum
40 (Wet) --------------- Witchhazel
39 ----------------------- Elm, American
39 ----------------------- Maple, Sugar
39 ----------------------- Oak, Laurel
38 (AVG) 16 - 53 — Oak (Full Range)
38 ----------------------- Sourwood
37 ----------------------- Oak, Canyon Live
37 ----------------------- Oak, White
37 ----------------------- Persimmon
36 (AVG) 24 - 43 — Ash (Full Range)
36 ----------------------- Sugarberry
36 ----------------------- Pine, Slash
35 ----------------------- Ash, Black
35 ----------------------- Birch, Gray
35 ----------------------- Magnolia, Cucumber
35 ----------------------- Pine, Jack
34 ----------------------- Birch, Paper
34 ----------------------- Dogwood, Pacific
34 ----------------------- Stopper, Red
34 ----------------------- Walnut, Black
34 ----------------------- Pine, Longleaf
33 ----------------------- Ash, Oregon
33 ----------------------- Elder, Blueberry
33 ----------------------- Holly
33 ----------------------- Oak, Live
33 ----------------------- Sassafras
33 ----------------------- Pine, Shortleaf
32 ----------------------- Ash, Green
32 ----------------------- Gum, Red
32 ----------------------- Mangrove
32 ----------------------- Maple, Red
32 (AVG) 25 - 40 ---- Maple (Full Range)
32 ----------------------- Hemlock, Mountain
32 ----------------------- Larch, Western
31 ----------------------- Cherry, Pin
31 ----------------------- Laurel, California
31 ----------------------- Willow, Western Black
31 ----------------------- Pine, Pitch
31 ----------------------- Yew, Pacific
30 ----------------------- Chinquapin, Golden
30 ----------------------- Douglas Fir (Coastal)
30 ----------------------- Pine, Loblolly
29 ----------------------- Cherry, Black
29 ----------------------- Magnolia, Evergreen
29 ----------------------- Oak, Bur
29 ----------------------- Oak, Oregon White
29 ----------------------- Cedar, Alaska
29 ----------------------- Pine, Mountain
28 ----------------------- Inkwood
28 ----------------------- Maple, Bigleaf
28 ----------------------- Cedar, Port Orford
28 ----------------------- Fir, Lowland White
28 ----------------------- Pine, Pond
27 ----------------------- Catalpa, Hardy
27 ----------------------- Magnolia, Mountain
27 ----------------------- Maple, Striped
27 ----------------------- Douglas Fir (Intermediate)
27 ----------------------- Pine, Jeffery
26 ----------------------- Bustic
26 ----------------------- Cascara
26 ----------------------- Oak, Southern Red
26 ----------------------- Sycamore
26 ----------------------- Douglas Fir (Mountain)
26 ----------------------- Hemlock, Western
26 (AVG) 17 - 36 — Pine (Full Range)
25 (AVG) 9 - 41 ----- Gum (Full Range)
25 ----------------------- Maple, Silver
25 ----------------------- Pine, Norway
25 ----------------------- Spruce, Red
25 ----------------------- Spruce, Sitka
24 ----------------------- Ash, Pumpkin
24 ----------------------- Butternut
24 ----------------------- Mastic
24 ----------------------- Silverbell
24 ----------------------- Cypress, Southern
24 ----------------------- Fir, Silver
23 ----------------------- Gum, Tupelo
23 ----------------------- Madrono, Pacific
23 ----------------------- Oak, Rocky Mountain White
23 ----------------------- Fir, Noble
23 ----------------------- Fir, California Red
23 ----------------------- Pine, Western White
23 ----------------------- Spruce, Black
23 ----------------------- Tamarack
22 ----------------------- Aspen, Largetooth
22 ----------------------- Cottonwood, Northern Black
22 ----------------------- Gum, Black
22 ----------------------- Cedar, Eastern Red
22 (AVG) 15 - 25 ---- Spruce (Full Range)
21 ----------------------- Aspen
21 (AVG) 13 - 28 — Fir (Full Range)
21 ----------------------- Walnut, Little
21 ----------------------- Hemlock, Eastern
20 ----------------------- Alder, Red
20 ----------------------- Cottonwood, Eastern
20 ----------------------- Poplar, Yellow
20 ----------------------- Willow, Black
20 ----------------------- Fir, Balsam
20 ----------------------- Pine, Lodgepole
20 ----------------------- Spruce, White
19 (AVG) 12 - 29 — Cedar (Full Range)
19 ----------------------- Chestnut
19 ----------------------- Rhododendron, Great
19 ----------------------- Pine, Limber
19 ----------------------- Pine, Northern White
19 ----------------------- Pine, Sand
19 ----------------------- Redwood (Virgin)
18 ----------------------- Pine, Sugar
17 ----------------------- Cedar, Incense
17 ----------------------- Cedar, Southern Red
17 ----------------------- Cedar, Western Red
17 ----------------------- Fir, White
17 ----------------------- Pine, Ponderossa
16 ----------------------- Basswood
16 ----------------------- Buckeye, Yellow
16 ----------------------- Oak, California Black
16 ----------------------- Palmetto, Cabbage
16 ----------------------- Fir, Alpine
16 ----------------------- Redwood (Second Growth Dense)
15 (Wet) -------------- Poisonwood
15 ----------------------- Spruce, Engelmann
14 ----------------------- Ironwood, Black
14 ----------------------- Poplar, Balsam
13 ----------------------- Cedar, Southern White
13 ----------------------- Fir, Corkbark
12 ----------------------- Cedar, Northern White
12 ----------------------- Juniper, Alligator
12 ----------------------- Pinon
11 ----------------------- Redwood (Second Growth Open)
9 ----------------------- Gum, Limbo
7 ----------------------- Paradise Tree
Source: Brassaxe from the bushcraftusa.com website and the original (USDA Technical Bulletin No. 479 September 1935) Strength and Related Properties of Woods Grown In The United States
