An adapter for connecting a tool head to a fiberglass tool handle or shaft. The adapter includes a cap having greater compressive strength than the handle. The cap fits over the end of the handle to prevent damage during assembly, use or storage of the tool. A pair of adapter sections fit around the cap and the adjacent end of the handle. The adapter sections have recesses which receive the ends of the cap. A pair of pins carried by the adapter sections extend into openings in the handle. The cap also acts as a guide to provide proper alignment of the adapter sections and tool head with respect to the handle.

An ice axe or the like having an handle which is isolated from direct contact with the head of the axe. Isolation is obtained through use of a nonmetal spacer assembly which is positioned between the head and the handle to reduce vibration difficulties. At least one connector extends through an aperture in the head and connects directly to the handle. The spacer assembly isolates the connector from direct contact with the head during normal operation of the axe.

A bushing for connecting a tool head with a tapered eye to a fiberglass tool handle. The bushing, formed in two sections, is mounted around and over a tongue on the distal end of the handle and is configured externally to be wedged by driving the bushing and handle in proximal direction to the eye of the tool head. Complementary double tapers on the tongue and the corresponding interior surface of the bushing are pressed into engagement when the bushing is driven into place in the tool head. The tapers on the tongue hold the bushing longitudinally in place on the handle. Spacers having the double tapered shape and/or flexible shims are provided for expanding the bushing to adapt it to fit larger eyes and to accommodate manufacturing tolerances of the tool eye hole. The cross sections of the eye and bushing are ovate with the major axis of such oval shape perpendicular to a striking face on said head.

An all-metal hammer, in which the head is joined to a lightweight, high-strength handle constructed of a suitable metal alloy such as high-strength aluminum by a metal adapter doweled to the handle end and secured to the hammer head by a mating taper, with a shoulder at one end of the adapter and a locking ring secured to the handle at the other end producing a very secure retention of the hammer head. Two different forms of the adapter are used, one consisting of adapter sleeve halves pinned to each other and to the hammer handle end by a dowel extending through both adapter halves and the handle end. In the second version, the adapter is of one-piece construction, with the handle being threadably received into a threaded bore formed in the adapter, a dowel extending through the handle end and the adapter to prevent the handle from being rotated out of the threaded bore.

A tool handle includes a tapered shaft retainer which is dimensioned for insertion into the eyehole of a tool head, a high strength handle shaft bonded within the shaft retainer, and a grip which ensheathes the handle shaft. The shaft retainer includes an outer surface portion generally corresponding to a portion of the eyehole, an upper enlarged portion which is incapable of passing through the eyehole, and a slightly tapered inner cavity. The shaft retainer is inserted into the eyehole from the top end thereof, a measured adhesive is placed into the inner cavity, and then the handle shaft is pressed therein through a lower end of the eyehole. In order to improve the bond between the shaft retainer and the upper end of the handle shaft, keyways are provided on the upper end of the shaft and within the inner cavity of the shaft retainer. The grip may be molded directly onto the handle shaft prior to assembly of the shaft retainer to the handle shaft, or the grip may be slidably received onto the handle shaft afterwards and then attached thereto. In such a case, in one preferred method of assembly, an adhesive compound is placed within the grip prior to its being slid onto the handle shaft. In another preferred method of assembly, a mechanical attachment is utilized between the girp and the handle shaft.