Photo courtesy Purdue A.E.S. 



Figure 1.- -Hickory handle blocks (foreground) and handle blanks (rear) at an Indiana factory. 



Table 14.- -Handle scale or handle count- 





Top d.i.b. 





of block 



Handle count 



(inches) 







Number 



7 



3 



8 



4 



9 



6 



10 



7.8 



11 



9 



12 



10-12 



13 



14 



14 



14-16 



15 



17 



16 



18-19 



17 



20 



18 



20-22 



19 



24 



ll Original data collected by Purdue 

 A. E. S. 



Prejudice against red hickory 

 has been built up in the past because 

 of the association of red heartwood 

 with slow-growth, mature trees. It 

 is the slow growth, and the accompany- 

 ing low percentage of summerwood 

 and low density that are detrimental 

 to the strength properties of hickory, 

 not the red color. Exhaustive tests 

 by the Forest Products Laboratory 

 ( 11 ) show that, "weight for weight, 

 sound hickory has the same strength, 

 toughness, and resistance to shock, 

 regardless of whether it is red, white, 

 or mixed red and white." 



The density of hickory is the best 

 clue to its strength. Thus, for a given 

 size of piece, grading (for strength) may 

 be accomplished by weighing. Similarly, 

 evidences of strength (density) may be 

 obtained by determining the number of 



growth rings per inch. Standards maintained by many handle- manufacturering 

 concerns are such that wood showing more than 20 growth rings per inch is 

 not acceptable for high-grade handle blocks. 



12 - 



