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The Various Musings of Don Wing
Submitted by Don Wing, USA.
4. Axes and Things
I have been reading about axes today. I have the hatchets I am happy with. I have a 1 ¼ lbs Estwing Sportsman Hatchet and a Vaughan 8 oz Sub Zero Mini. The Mini goes out with me whenever I am going to be out in the woods. I use this hatchet as I would a knife and as a camp hatchet. It sits in my belt easily and I would feel naked if it were left home. This last time I was out camping, this tool was all I needed to keep a cook fire going for all my cooking needs. It also was used as my knife for the chores a knife usually does. I did not use my knife once in the 3 days out. I cut string, Spam, pointed sticks and wood. I felt comfortable using this tool as my only means of cutting.I would never consider cutting a tree down with a hatchet. They are designed for sticks and brush and splitting wood. The Mini will do as good a job as the Sportsman hatchet but with a bit more effort. For the weight difference I have to carry, it is worth the effort.
For cutting thicker wood, I carry a Sven 21-inch folding bow saw. There is much to be said for being able to cut wood rather then hack it apart. Splitting wood is in fact easier with the mini. I smack the back of the head with a thick stick to get it started and then use it as an axe. With the Sportsman I tend to want to split the wood without the precision of placing the blade on the wood and hitting the back of the hatchet head. I set the wood and swing the hatchet in hopes it will land where I want and deep enough to be able to hang the wood from the blade.
One of these days I may get a Gransfors Mini. I have used one once and due to cost settled for the Vaughan. Then again the Vaughan has turned out to be a great tool that does what I want, in a most satisfactory way.
I have gone out and used my knife to split thick sticks, by hitting the back of the blade with a large stick. Much as I do with the Vaughan Mini. If need be, I could do it this way all the time but the Vaughan Sub Zero make this so much easier.
I have owned a few Tomahawks in my life. A good one is a great tool. A poor one is a danger to itself and anyone around. When people think of a tomahawk, most think of using them as a weapon to be thrown. Very few think of them as wood cutting tools. In my way of thinking, it is not worth the weight to carry one when a hatchet does what I want, cut wood. A tomahawk under 2 lbs is a poor choice for throwing and only fair to use for cutting wood. If you are determined to get a Tomahawk, spend the money for a good one! Good ones start at about $100.00.
Machetes are another means of cutting wood. Here again, a good one is a blessing. A poor one is a danger. I have owned a few good ones and thrown away the few bad ones, I have ever been given. The best one I ever owned was a heavy 21-inch blade about 1/8 inch thick. It did not bend much and was of good carbon steel. Here again is the weapon factor. For cutting brush and light wood they do their job well. But for bush craft give me a hatchet every day. Now if I were to find myself in a jungle again? I would want one to cut trail. There are not a lot of jungles in this area.
You can discuss these musings in a special place in our forums, here.
If you can't be bothered to enter the forums, then shame on you! But you can still leave a comment below. Please try to avoid the profane ramblings of a madman. That's our job.
If you can't be bothered to enter the forums, then shame on you! But you can still leave a comment below. Please try to avoid the profane ramblings of a madman. That's our job.
Your Comments
On 27 June 2007, Cookie Poppets said:re: Don Wing
Other than the fact that, should he drop hundreds of them on the ground he would IMMEDIATELY be able to tell you how many of them there were, WHY is this man allowed access to matches?
Page 4 of 4 Previous [Top of Page]
Page 1: Stoves and things
Page 2: Stealth and things
Page 3: Wood, cold weather and things
Page 4: Axes and things
Page 2: Stealth and things
Page 3: Wood, cold weather and things
Page 4: Axes and things
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