Problems with store bought handles

Very disappointed with the selection of axe and tool handles available now a days. I have been through five hardware stores and only walked away with three handles for projects at hand or for the possible future hafting jobs. I have ordered online and received decent handles but there was still flaws.

One of the biggest complaints is the grain orientation. The grain should be in line with the axe head to give the most strength and prevent cracking. The grain also shouldn't run out on the sides of the handle. 80% of the handles I have looked at, the grain was 45 degrees or worse.

Proper grain on left, poor orientation on right.

The second problem I have is the thickness of handles, I have purchased handles simply because they had great grain orientation but the handles were more useful as a baseball bat. These handles require work to thin them down, I have used a Dremel with a rasp bit, a four in hand rasp, spoke shave, and several sheets of rough sandpaper to work the handle down to fit comfortably in my hands.

My only theory for the thick handles is at the factory when they are changing cutters they are not aligning the cutter head back up properly. I have seen in the same stack of handles some will be thinner than the overly thick ones. Too bad most thin handles have poor grain orientation.

My future plans are to further equipment myself with the tools and skills necessary to produce my own handles. Will only then need a decent source to rough cut hickory timber or even some hickory trees that need to be removed. I believe with the amount of time I waste fixing a handle I could carved out my own.