Was your question answered about handle replacement? I'll throw out a couple of things. Getting the old handle out can be a pain. I do it by sawing the handle off just below the head and drilling a hole down through the center of the head. Don't hit the metal. Then I use a punch to drive out pieces of wood into the hole till the head comes loose. You drive the pieces out the top. Metal wedges make this harder to do, and if the head of your axe is full of them and also nails and other crap, you will see one reason why it's better to use wood wedges. Clean the inside of the head out good, and remove any rust. After I check the handle fit and sand off all the lacquer, I wipe the inside of the head and the mating handle area with linseed oil. I alo use oil in the wedge slot and on the wedge. It's like lubricating a bolt before tightening. You can get things alot tighter! I like wedge wood that is slightly softer than the hickory. I like wedges that are long wide and thin so they reach way down into the head. One reason I don't like steel wedges is because they are usually way too short. I want the whole head area swollen, not just the top. After I get it all together as best I can, I soak the head end in enough linseed oil to reach up maybe 1/2" beyond the metal onto the handle. I leave it overnight. I do this to swell the wood, and also to create a perfect seal between the wood and metal so water cannot wick in. Once a year I repeat this to keep it from drying out. Once the head is set I finish the handle. I try to do this in the winter.
There are probably as many way of doing this as there are axe men.
One thing that I've seen guys do is heat the head with a torch to help loosen an old handle for replacement. This is a real quick way to ruin your axe. Don't do it.
