Axe Kicking

[Magnum88C]

Or hatchets, really.
I'd been pondering on this the other day, probably because I looked at my neglected hatchets/belt axes that I haven't used much since getting my ang khola. I did some thinking on just why I like hatchets/axes so much (I do have a bit of a collection).

I mean, hell, it's been around as long as man has.

From the earliest man, to today, the belt ax has been a favorite tool of outdoorsmen the world over. Not only can it be used to quickly make shelter, help hew through bone on game, makes a passable melee weapon, can be used to quickly make spears/other weapons, dig in a fix or turned to use as a makeshift hammer. Not many other tools are quite so versatile. Many may be better at one aspect, but unable to accomplish other tasks. For instance a saw is sometimes quicker for cutting wood, or bone with a bone saw, but the ax is superior for sharpening stakes for shelter, spears, and you can't hammer with a saw. Not to mention it's much easier to keep a keen edge on an axe than it is on a saw.

I am reconsidering adding it back to my kit list, as it can do some things a kukri can't, and I'm thinking it's worth more than its weight to have it around.

[brass hammer]

i can 'dig' on what your plantin' MAG-88!

but that kukri [or a folding bolo] could pretty much cover it all BUT the heavy CHOPPING/HAMMERING.

now i know, that you know, how clutterd/overwelmed with extra crap that a man can hardly manuver[ i would hate to be thrust into it ,BUT, i would 'shuck
my ruck' in a hot mexican moment, if needed, for speed]

[Magnum88C]

Well, I didn't post this in the SHTF forum for a reason.
I'm talking general camping/having fun in the sticks kind of thing.

[brass hammer]

sorry! i guess i went in to survival-mode, not knowing it was in the general b.s. column!

then i whole-heartedly agree with you, and wonder WHY you have pared/trimmed it off your camping kit to begin with.

heck,the way i shop, i'm liable to go to home-depot for some chaulking or concrete, and buy one of those metal hafted eastwing mini axes instead!

[and forget about what ever project i was SUPPOSED to be doing :dgrin: ]

[Magnum88C]

LOL, one of my hatchets is the Estwing (the leather handle, not the blue handle), I also have their "full size" axe. It's a good lil' hatchet although it doesn't quite have the heft of my Snow and Neally Penobscot axe, so it doesn't do heavy chopping as well.

My BOB and camping bag aren't all that different, and I cut the hatchet from my BOB, but figured it'd be best to try it out camping with just the Kukri, rather than wait for the world to end to figure out I'd have been better off with a hatchet.

[jimgard]

I'm an axe or hatchet man myself.
I have a Kukri and a Becker Brute but I can't warm up to them.

I have hatchets and axes in all different sizes.

The one that is always in my pack, weather hunting or hiking is a
Gransfors Bruk Mini -- It is surprising how much can be cut with this little guy.

From there they go up to a
Wetterling S.A.W. small hunter
Gransfors Bruk small forest axe
Gransfors Bruk Scandi axe

After this I go for the chainsaw.

Jim

[RIKA]

I too have the leather handled Estwing hatchet; also the blue handled full sized axe. The 15" Villager khukuri works just fine for light chopping and woods clearing but I'd rather have the hatchet for making firewood etc. Guess I'll just have to carry both (and maybe get a horse :D ).

RIKA

[Magnum88C]

Also remember guys, that when I talk about a Kukri, I have the 20", 4 pound model, much closer to the hatchet's capabilities than the 15" models. And I STILL find use for the hatchet.
:D

[tuna]

Yup, Estwing leather handle, mine has lasted over 20 years of use and abuse. One of these days I'll get the full sized blue handled job, but I seem to buy the crappy axes from the dollar store type places (5 or 6 dollars, lasts a season), and wind up going to the hatchet once the big one breaks. So why do I pack the big one? For the other knuckleheads that try to be Paul Bunion (misspelling intentional) and chop the firewood with the handle instead of the head. It's always accidental, and I get repaid, but if you're going to break stuff, at least break the cheap stuff.

[Magnum88C]

I really like the Estwing stuff because it's all made out of a single billet of tool steel. It'll last forever as long as you don't strike it on a hard surface and crack it. The only problem is, they don't have much heft, not even the full-size one. For basic survival use, or general camping they're great, they pack easy and work fine for getting firewood, shaping stakes, or even cutting down saplings for making a lean-to or wigwam shelter.
However, if you're looking for an axe to fell a tree or to split large pieces of wood for fires or whatnot, they aren't very good. For such tasks I prefer a full-size and weight axe from Snow & Nealy or Gransfors Bruks (I prefer Snow & Nealy because they are the same quality as a GB, but are made in the US). That's for personal use.
If I had others using them, especially those who have a tendency to break them, then I'd get them a dollar store one too.

[T. Daves]

we had a bunch of guys come through town awhile back selling chinese made hatchets
for a buck apiece i bought 2. not really bad implements ,they hold an edge pretty well and they stow real good in a rucksack. can't really beat the price.

[Coyote]

The Kukri is a great piece and very handy, but given the choice between it and a hatchet, I'll take the hatchet.

But hey, theres no reason not to carry both.

[RIKA]

I had one of those Chinese hatchets, hatchet head, nail puller and hammer head combined. Broke a piece of edge off the hatchet blade splitting large mesquite chunks into smaller chunks so I could soak them in water for a smoker fire. Cheap junk.

RIKA

[Coyote]

Greatest axes/hatchets I've ever seen.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&p=20129&cat=1,41131,43408&ap=1

I own C, E and N (C stays in the shop, I use it for roughing out large chunks of wood for carving projects).

[tuna]

Has anyone had any experience with the Fiskars axes? They seem a little light but they swing well in the store (I'm not allowed in many places anymore) and I like the way the handle wraps the head. Not very traditional looking, and made of plastic, but the same can be said for a Glock.

[Magnum88C]

The Snow & Neallys I have are:

Penobscot Bay Kindling Axe
http://www.snowandnealley.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/PenobscotBayKindling%20Axe.jpg

Double Bit 36"
http://www.snowandnealley.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/DoubleBitAxe.jpg

Pulaski Axe (good for rooting)
http://www.snowandnealley.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/PulaskiAxe.jpg

Axe Eye Splitting Maul, 36"
http://www.snowandnealley.com/Merchant2/graphics/00000001/8lb36inchSplittingMaul.jpg

[brass hammer]

T DAVES, i had to use my 'chinese' hatchet today ,as the chain lifting hooks on the knuckle-boom got tangled up in about [3] 2" green tree limbs[it sucked]

lil' sister, i ordered one of those from gary olen way back, i thought it would be just the 'ticket' for stripping the shipping plastic/weather-proofing from the marriage-line on mobile homes[ha] the nail-puller didn't live long enough
for [1] mobilehome install!

mag-88, the pic you posted of the hatchet, the head design is alot like the 'chinese' one i had to work,work,chop,swing,work,swing,swing,chop,chop,ch op.[whew!]