>>1928295I'm not sure what lowes offers, but if you go with a fiberglass handle, wear gloves. If you go with a wooden handle, sand off the varnish and coat it with boiled linseed oil. Varnish and fiberglass will give you blisters in no time flat. If they sell Council, go with one of their offerings and look at it from the top down to pick one with a thin profile for chopping/felling (there are a few pictures for reference in this thread, but I can post more if you need). I can't really speak on the quality of newer axes sold in hardware stores aside from Council. I know collins sent production over seas and their quality of steel suffered greatly. Ive heard good things about fiskars but im not a fan of fiberglass or composite handles personally. If you go with a wooden handle, hold it upside down and look at the grain orientation. You want the grain to run length wise from the palm swell through to the eye. This will ensure handle strength. Handles with runout are prone to breakage at the points of run out. Ive circled in red what you should be looking for.
