You won't get the sproi-oi-oing on a rod with the thickness of an axe-handle.
Some "bong", which is what you want: rather than the energy dissipating through your wrists and elbows into your back and skull, it gets absorbed by the handle, and "boinged" back into the axe-head. A good yew (or carbonfibre) handle is a back- and joint-saver. I owe a few really good axes (swedish make, irony?¹) and one very bad one (chinese). The bad one has some poor and way too stiff wood.
Not only does it break on mis-hits, much easier, it makes a difference on the amount of pain I feel after a day of chopping (I am a mere amateur, so muscle and back will hurt)
Some "bong", which is what you want: rather than the energy dissipating through your wrists and elbows into your back and skull, it gets absorbed by the handle, and "boinged" back into the axe-head. A good yew (or carbonfibre) handle is a back- and joint-saver. I owe a few really good axes (swedish make, irony?¹) and one very bad one (chinese). The bad one has some poor and way too stiff wood.
Not only does it break on mis-hits, much easier, it makes a difference on the amount of pain I feel after a day of chopping (I am a mere amateur, so muscle and back will hurt)
¹ https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/butik/products/splitting-ax...