Axe? Please educate me

To answer this, assuming this was a serious question, ....

Yes it was a serious question. Not every application benefits from high hardness high wear resistance. Delta 3V is a remarkable useful material but it is not a panacea that applies perfectly to every application. There are other steels that are just as tough that would be much less expensive, but they don't have the edge stability and wear resistance. There are other tough steels that are much less expensive
 
two thoughts I just had;

D3V is pretty damn corrosion resistant, and you will not find an axe on the market that can touch it that isn't super low hardness, gummy steel like crap

at high hardness, we'd be able to produce a very stiff and very light weight axe, by carefully sculpting in order to buttress high torque/high load areas


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it would be my preference to fully optimize the concept of a CPK axe, by producing the handle as well. I'd rather not trust that important aspect to an outside vendor, but that's just my opinion
 
I’m of no help here. I’ve enjoyed my Gransfors Bruk SFA. Nice cheeks. And it doesn’t hurt to have your initials on the head. ;)

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If it ends up being a real axe (wood haft) anyone purchasing one should have this as required watching:


Re-hanging an axe is a labour of love and honestly after doing 50 or so there is a lot of tips and tricks. The biggest problem I see with forest workers is a lack of initial oiling and the upkeep or maintenance thereafter.
I have a system dialled in for long term use an maximum performance when it comes to which oils, duration and what the overall expected length of use between treatments is.

For example, my cruising axe was hung in 2016 and has had over 600 field days without reapplication other than a fresh coat of orange paint. And we are talking all 4 seasons of BC from the Cariboo to the northern Rockies.
 
Place holder, gonna weigh in on ^^^^this when I have more time......

.......alright, let see. First, I am not a logger, nor do I pretend to be. However, I use a saw a lot. If I haven’t taken down 500 standing trees so far this year I haven’t taken any. Then there’s all the others that are already on the ground or bucked once in log length. An axe is indispensable for me while cutting when it comes to driving wedges when felling and bucking. Rarely I will have to get it down in the dirt to cut roots, but usually keep a cheap ass Pulaski around for that. In fact, I would say the design of the poll is more important to me than the bit itself, at least for my personal use.

For me, the poll needs to be large and wide as it makes up for occasional lack of accuracy and doesn’t damage the wedge as badly on a miss hit. The bit can be thin as I don’t use an axe to split wood, and want it to cut well should I need to free a saw as Lorien described or clip an occasional limb, maybe strip dirt packed bark before I go through it with the saw. The handle should be wood, in my opinion, on a large striking tool. Fiberglass and steel sucks for this application and is best left to the junk you find in the big box stores. Hickory is king in this department. I like them a little shorter than some as I am often just taking a tree between others that are staying up, so sometimes swinging room is limited. It is also why I do a lot of one handed swinging as well.

I too have settle on OXhead axes. I also find their steel to be durable in use and hard when it comes to honing and filing the edge. Currently I am using an OX 620H. It has a thin Rhineland pattern bit and a good large poll. It weighs around 2 1/2 pounds and is on a 20” piece of hickory. It would be about as close to perfect for my use as I have found so far. That doesn’t mean Nathan can’t make one that will whip it’s ass though!

What would blow my skirt up.....

A 2 1/2 to 3 pound head on a 20 to 24 inch piece of hickory.

Now, if Nathan the Machinist Nathan the Machinist wants to have some fun and show off, he could do one or both of the following. Also, he needs to do something different or else why bother, there are a helluva lotta axes out there already.

Everyone gets all aroused whenever he says the word integral. So, how about an integral strike collar on the head to protect the handle?

Since we will never all agree on the weight, how about an interchangeable weight system that could take the same head from let’s say two pounds up to three pounds, or some other range like that?
 
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Yes it was a serious question. Not every application benefits from high hardness high wear resistance. Delta 3V is a remarkable useful material but it is not a panacea that applies perfectly to every application. There are other steels that are just as tough that would be much less expensive, but they don't have the edge stability and wear resistance. There are other tough steels that are much less expensive
What about a steel like S7? If it works well for jackhammer bits, maybe also for an axe? :confused:

ps, Even if I buy an axe, I'm still keeping my Behemoth. ;)
 
Overall I think the best sweet spot is:
2lb head with a standard sized eye for easy handle replacement
4-5” cutting surface
22-26” haft of select hickory

I’m in general agreement as my 1.5 is a little light for what I want next, and at 19” it feels good but I’d imagine it is a tad short for a heavier head, so I don’t think the balance would be as good. I’m not sure how it could be. GB manages to balance their designs so well, I think this designs are worth looking at.

Nathan can nail balance I’m sure.

I’d order a 24” on a 2.5 as a starting point. But I’d like to see what handle design Lorien comes up with. I’m not sure how accurate he is with an axe, and that’s going to effect the curve if any he prefers. The more curve, the greater effective fore-section. The greater the fore-section, the greater deviation in accuracy for the same rotation in your wrist. And that gets you into the distance from the edge to the balance point (center of mass) of the head.

Additionally, if you do go curved, there is less continuous grain, so grain orientation becomes more important. Also, to compensate for less continuous grain, you need a thicker handle. The thicker the handle the more shock is transferred to your hands and the less spring it can have. Thick handles are in fashion right now, but I wouldn’t say that’s necessarily the best. I don’t want it any thicker than it needs to be.

Anyways that’s enough of my rambling.
 
As a company interested in bladesports and the market being pretty saturated with the "bushcraft" size and weight of ax.
Would it not be interesting to go the opposite direction and make a competition ax?
I think I saw an arvika five star in one of loriens pics?
 
I'm not a big fan of overly curvy handles. The Hoffman posted earlier looks really nice, but that handle is a little too far forward up at the head for my liking, at least in a general use axe. For felling it's probably ok

my interest in this project would be to design a precision tool that is easy to carry and intuitive and safe for most people to use
 
To start with why not do some reading in the Axe forums here. There is a wealth of info there. You should also be a little more specific with your questions. There are numerous designs and applications for axes, what are you looking for in an axe?

Then post your questions in the Axe forums so axe specialists see them.
 
I'm not a big fan of overly curvy handles. The Hoffman posted earlier looks really nice, but that handle is a little too far forward up at the head for my liking, at least in a general use axe. For felling it's probably ok

my interest in this project would be to design a precision tool that is easy to carry and intuitive and safe for most people to use

I think that’s a good starting point. 1.5lbs head and 19” carries very easily. It’s my current happy spot.

I’d love a 2lbs, 21-22”, no more than 24” straighter handle, just a little curve designed for camp use. Closer to a GB SFA. I’d probably be perfectly happy right there.

Edit: Safety.

The line “Overbuilt.... because overkill never fails.” Isn’t what I’m looking for and I don’t think it’s what Nathan is about. That’s why I brought the idea to Nathan. Overbuilt might not fail, but it beats the piss out of you unnecessarily. And when you get tired and sloppy with a heavy, short but very sharp axe, accidents happen.

I want safety of course, as in a handle that isn’t going to break and send your head flying, but I want it performance oriented like Nathan is known for. And you play into that as well because so many of your Collabs come out exactly that.

I think this project has the potential to be a winner.
 
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