60/574

Forest Products Limited (Manufacturer)

This sledgehammer handle, for a ‘fitter’s sledge’, was made by Forest Products Limited of Huntley, Gloucestershire, circa 1945–6. The handle is made of ash and has been cleft by hand to follow the natural grain of the wood, giving the handle a strength and toughness not achieved through machine cutting. It is part of a large collection of traditional craft products acquired from the British Council in 1960.

1 handle: wood

MERL miscellaneous note, B. L. 22 March 1961 – ‘The British Council collection. // This collection of material which is covered by the accession numbers 60/430 to 60/791 contains examples of craft products made in the British Isles. The major part of the collection was prepared immediately after the Second World War for a travelling exhibition which was sent to Australia and New Zealand. // The collection was purchased for a nominal sum by the Museum in two portions, the one in the summer of 1960 and the other in February 1961. // For further details see the individual catalogue cards and the catalogue prepared for the temporary exhibition of the collection.’, MERL 'Catalogue index' card, ‘General card’, Ash Handles [hand-written draft] – ‘The strongest and most reliable tool handles are those made from cleft ash, and although nowadays the great bulk are made in other ways, the cleaving and shaping of them was once a common craft throughout Britain. It is still carried on at Monmouth, Hereford and Cardiff, being associated with local supplies of material and a local demand, particularly from coalmines. // The method followed is to cross-cut selected ash poles to the length desire, and then to cleave them with an axe or froe upon a chopping block. The handle maker next fixes the rough cleft on a bench, which carries two iron spikes to hold the wood at the ends. One of these iron spikes carries a screw thread which engages in a fixed block, whilst the other is adjustable within a series of holes. Handles of varying lengths can thus be held very firmly or turned very easily to a fresh angle of working. So held, the cleft is cunningly shaved to the curve and cross-section required, by the use of various draw knives and spoke shaves, some straight, others with a curved cutting edge. The shapes formed vary for the different tools, being fixed by long tradition to ensure good balance and easy handling. On many axe helves a broad and end called a ‘fawn foot’ is shaped to give the axeman’s hand a firmer grip. // Cleft handles are preferred in the mines on account of their great strength and reliability, for their grain is unbroken, and they withstand the roughest wear when used for picks, axes or sledge-hammers at the coal face. // In a simpler method of cleaving, a stout ash stem is selected and cleft into two sections, each of which is then barked and trimmed up with a spoke shave: for axe helves a curved stem may be chosen. Helves must be allowed to season before the tool head is fitted: otherwise shrinkage will loosen it. // See Edlin, H. L. ‘Woodland Crafts in Britain’ Batsford, 1949.’, MERL 'Catalogue index' card – ‘This is an ash hammer handle from Forest Products Limited, Huntley, Gloucestershire. It is described in the British Council catalogue as “a fitter’s sledge.” // Length: 29 3/4 in. // Width at the tip of the tapering head: 1 1/2 in. // See general card on ash handles.’, British Council Ref. No. not given.

Huntley

1945 - 1946

Handle, Hammer, sledge