>>1477402How does the curve affect the momentum? Anyway straight handles usually are longer so it should mean more momentum. My handles are 1 meter or 40" which is a length I never see on american axes, and when you swing it it can hit hard even with a lightweight head. And I think the difference in vibration if there is any is meaningless. I've had a couple of occasions where I had to do chopping and the small axe with a long handle and a thin profile works wonders, I got my chainsaw stuck cutting a beech limb that was 20cm wide and I chopped it out without much effort. Also you don't need a knob at all, wood does not slide that easily through the hand
An advantage is that you can use green wood to make a handle, you can heat it to straighten or make any bend you want with it, you just have to make a bigger swelling to fit the eye of the axe to accomodate the shrinking, but you can't really do that with a wedged handle unless you re-wedge it later on
