English▸ noun the handle of a knife, axe, or spear.
▸ verb [with object] provide (a blade, axe head, or spearhead) with a haft:
it took a man just over eight and a half hours to haft an axe for me.
– ORIGIN Old English hæft, of Germanic origin: related to Dutch heft, hecht and German Heft, also to heave.