Found this hammer a few months back in a property clean out and have become quite fond of it since that time. So the other day when i snapped the head off by over zealously pounding some metal flat i was not happy. I like the hammer but it was found so i wasn't about to spend money to fix it. I Looked around the shop for something to become the new handle for my hammer but i did not have any items that fit the bill. Length was not a big issue so i decided to whittle the neck down salvage the old wedge and keep it oem.

Step 1: Remove the Broken Piece

First step is to remove the broken piece of wood from the eye. I placed the head of the broken hammer over a hole in my anvil (sledge hammer head) placed a screw driver in the eye and tapped it out. Don't throw it away we need the wedge and to use as a guide to whittle down the shaft.

Step 2: Whitle Down the Neck

Take the piece you removed from the eye and use it as a guide to make rough guide marks. Start whittling below the material you would like to remove. Start with long passes removing thicker areas until you are close to the size you need. As you get close take thin layers and test fit so you don't get too small. once You have gotten it down to to size needed use a block of wood or rubber mallet to set the handle in the head.

Step 3: Salvage the Wedge

Now take the piece from the eye and split it to remove the wedge. I used my do it all knife to split it by placing the blade on wood and tapping the back with a hammer. Once you have liberated the wedge, line it up and tap it in to secure the head. Now my free hammer is fixed and still free. Hooray!