THE USES OF WOOD 



681 



Handles may be divided into classes based 

 on shapes, materials, uses and patterns. How- 

 ever, there is overlapping to such an extent that 

 lines separating class from class cannot always 

 be clearly drawn or defined. The difference 

 between a handle for a hatchet and one for a 

 mallet is not great, still the two are not pre- 

 cisely the same in form or in the use intended. 

 Allowing for exceptions and variations in classi- 

 fication, it is practicable to group nearly all 

 wooden handles for tools in six groups, based 

 chiefly on uses. They follow : 



1. Agricultural tools for planting, cultivat- 

 ing and harvesting. 



2. Edged and pointed tools for working 

 materials sufficiently soft to be cut. 



3. Saws, files, rasps and similar tools for 

 scraping, shaping and smoothing. 



4. Tools for pounding. These are not very clearly 



PACKED READY FOR EXPORT 



American handles, and particularly hickory handles, are exported in large numbers 

 to foreign countries. They stand without a rival in those markets. The exporter 

 crates them or ties them in bundles of two dozen. The illustration js shown by 

 courtesy of the United States Handle Export Company of Piqua, Ohio. 



defined, but hammers, mallets and mauls belong here. 



5. Tools for painting, sweeping and dusting, such 

 as brooms, brushes and mops. 



6. Handles for vessels which need 

 them, like pans, pails, ladles, dippers, 

 skimmers and coffeepots. 



It would not be difficult to desig- 

 nate several kinds of handles which 

 do not seem to belong in any of these 

 classes ; but nothing more precise 

 than a general grouping has been 

 attempted. 



Strength is one of the chief con- 

 siderations in selecting handles for 

 farm tools, and also for those in- 

 tended for cutting, punching and 

 pounding, and frequently both 

 strength and toughness are of prime 

 importance, though more than half of 



STYLES OF LONG SHOVEL HANDLES 



There are as many styles of long as of short shovel handles. Each tool for a par- 

 ticular use has a handle style of its own. Differences in styles consist in length, 

 diameter, and especially in the bend or crook. Ash is the prevailing wood, but 

 hickory and occasionally other species are used. 



the handles made do not require tough or strong woods. 



They are not expected to endure severe strains or twists. 



Among handles of that class are those for paint 



brushes, pails, packages, saws and numerous 



other tools and commodities. 



There is a difference between farm tools and 

 agricultural implements. The tools are for 

 hand use; implements are operated by horses 

 or other power a little stronger than man's 

 muscle. The distinction may not be recog- 

 nized always and everywhere; but most people 

 acquainted with the matter bear it in mind. 

 Taking that view of it, a scythe is a tool, a 

 mowing machine an implement; a flail is a 

 tool, a thrasher an implement; a pitchfork is 

 a tool, a tedder an implement. Most farm tools 

 have wooden handles, but implements usually 

 have none. 



Up to a time less than a century ago, agri- 

 cultural implements were rare. Few had been 

 invented, except the plow which was a poor 

 affair until recent years. The farms were then 

 cultivated with tools, yet the factories for mak- 

 ing tools were small and few. The metal parts were 

 hammered into shape in blacksmith shops, and the 



AX AND HAMMER HANDLES 



Three common styles are here shown, but each style has a number of variations to meet individual 

 tastes. The upper is an ax handle, the middle one is for a pick, and the lower for a sledge 

 hammer. Such are usually of hickory, the hammer and ax handles being of sapwood, and the 

 pick of red heart. 



