The handle of the carpenter's mauls, axes, and adzes; also of an oar, &c.
·noun The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze. II. Helve ·vt To furnish with a helve, as an <<Ax>>. ...
Webster's Dictionary of the English Language
the handle of a spade. Derb. ...
A glossary of provincial and local words used in England by Francis Grose