Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary · 1913

Helve

Helve , noun

[Old English helve, helfe, Anglo-Saxon hielf, helf, hylf, compare Old High German halb; and also English halter, helm of a rudder.]

1.
The handle of an ax, hatchet, or adze.
2.
(a) (Iron Working) The lever at the end of which is the hammer head, in a forge hammer.
(b)
(Iron Working) A forge hammer which is lifted by a cam acting on the helve between the fulcrum and the head.

Helve , transitive verb

To furnish with a helve, as an ax.