Woodworker's tool chest: handles

These two round, slender hammer handles were found in a tool chest belonging to woodworker Jesse Bryson Stalcup. The longer handle shows use both in the dark hue of the wood and in the split end where the hammer head would have been attached. Stalcup was a skilled carpenter, millwright, and woodworker who worked in and around Waynesville, N.C., Macon County, N.C., and Hiawassee, Ga., circa 1880s-1930. The chest contains a variety of woodworking tools typically used by craftsmen in the late 19th and early 20th centuries