Lets use those axes for what they were ment for.

Alternatively that trim could have been sawed and had it been done prior to nailing the battens even sawed with a circular worm-drive if you had one. Of all those alternatives I find in every way the axe superior and the more rational choice. Any dissenting arguments? I'd be interesting in reading them.

I trimmed many a roof in my younger days with worm drive saw. Sometimes even lightweight side-winder (crucial for trimming hip or valley rafters that need one cut at the opposite 45° angle than a worm drive).

A hatchet does a fine job and is certainly more fun but the boss man wanted maximum production out of the crew.
 
Your reasoning is understandable Square_peg and probably so true but this is the whole point about justifying using an axe this way. I wouldn't go so far as making a blanket claim that it is always better to use your axe or any hand tool over the powered version but I would not make the reverse claim either. As I see it you could probably graph it all out in terms of volume of work. To begin at a low volume the hand tool, axe in this instance, makes more sense, it is easy to grab, no cords, no set-up and so on and so on. With more volume at a certain point the line crosses over to the advantage of the power tool. But my speculation is that in the very long term and taking into consideration the widest possible number of variables and factors - maintenance, break downs, replacements, packing around, storage , thievery, operation costs etc... not even mentioning all the economic external environmental and social costs associated,
the boss man wanted maximum production out of the crew.
Ok, but was he willing to pay for it is the question?
you get the idea, the hand tool, in the hands of that skilled and experienced worker, who is no boss, will at least be competitive with if not out preform the power on all fronts.
 
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To begin at a low volume the hand tool, axe in this instance, makes more sense, it is easy to grab, no cords, no set-up and so on and so on.

Oh, absolutely! I see my co-workers running cords and grabbing heavy power tools to make one simple cut that could be done with a hand tool before they had cord run out.

When I worked at the Department of Natural Resources we would often clear tree or branch falls from the road. On medium sized branch falls I could clear it with my boys axe before my partner got out the chainsaw, put on his chainsaw chaps and safety helmet and got the saw started. After a couple of those he quit with the chainsaw on those sized jobs.
 
Oh, absolutely! I see my co-workers running cords and grabbing heavy power tools to make one simple cut that could be done with a hand tool before they had cord run out.

When I worked at the Department of Natural Resources we would often clear tree or branch falls from the road. On medium sized branch falls I could clear it with my boys axe before my partner got out the chainsaw, put on his chainsaw chaps and safety helmet and got the saw started. After a couple of those he quit with the chainsaw on those sized jobs.

When plumbing in a basement or crawl space, or servicing hvac equipment in a basement, attic or crawl space "that one tool" would and will always be it in the van or truck when you need it most.
I and most every other senior on any job will ask the helper...to go grab the "whatchyamaycallit" and bring it here.
Well...as any of you may already know, that is just a challenge to now get the job done with what you have on hand before that kid can come back with the right tool or ask what it was again they were looking for. :cool::)

Soon they will know what tools for what job work best:thumbsup:
 
After sharpening my fire? military? boys axe I took it out for a spin felling and bucking this tree plus bucking up a few others that aren't shown. It worked like a dream despite the rough paint. Any thoughts on the C51 on the handle or the o.d. paint?
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It's not what most think of with axes at work, but it's where the axe probably most often still sees more real need than anywhere else. Whether commercial timberfalling, or hazard trees.
Sounding, knocking out faces, pounding wedges, and cleaning up loose bark etc.

Here's a nasty doug fir, my 461 with 32 inch bar and 26 inch council jersey.
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Not much of a hole. Lucky it was headed this general direction anyway.
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Right on target
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Another one, lots of wood this time.

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Worked it a little too hard! Second one I've lost this season. If I break 3 more I'll be all out of council jerseys on 26" handles :)
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It's not what most think of with axes at work, but it's where the axe probably most often still sees more real need than anywhere else. Whether commercial timberfalling, or hazard trees.
Sounding, knocking out faces, pounding wedges, and cleaning up loose bark etc.

Here's a nasty doug fir, my 461 with 32 inch bar and 26 inch council jersey.
5xfZ06Q.jpg


91BhVix.jpg


EMmnFFZ.jpg


Not much of a hole. Lucky it was headed this general direction anyway.
cIBT4h1.jpg


5ju5hdH.jpg


h2j4k9X.jpg


Right on target
SS1f7CA.jpg


Another one, lots of wood this time.

pNZu6Z3.jpg


lhux9yb.jpg


hRZj7ci.jpg


r20dOeg.jpg

Worked it a little too hard! Second one I've lost this season. If I break 3 more I'll be all out of council jerseys on 26" handles :)
cwOpFi6.jpg
With so many forest fires these days hard to tell what part of the country your in. So where is this ?
Nice work !
 
Thanks for dropping those hazard trees. That burnt wood and bark are real hard on bars and chains - not to mention axe handles. The wood looks a little suspect in that handle. Not as tough as it would appear on the surface.
 
Thanks for dropping those hazard trees. That burnt wood and bark are real hard on bars and chains - not to mention axe handles. The wood looks a little suspect in that handle. Not as tough as it would appear on the surface.

Fire sawing is sure hard on equipment all around. I've lost track of the # of hazard trees I've fell this year, but it's in the hundreds. Since Aug 1 it's been steady work for me. Everything from prepping, to still burning ones that are on the line, to later road hazards.

That handle was the factory one on a head marked 07. Besides hard use I'm sure it's been wet a few times, baked in the truckbed, etc. So you're probly right about it.
Clearly the break point was where the shoulder had an abrupt change, we know better than doing that here but I guess it don't owe me anything after all.

Easy enough to replace :)
 
Test drive with a nice old Plumb Michigan. Sadly there just wasn't much out there to chop today. We haven't had a good storm since last winter and that wasn't much.

I found this maple but is was spalted and only half the wood was good.
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Then I found this other little maple. It had a spring pole under that was shooting up some suckers. The suckers told me it had been down long enough that it shouldn't have much spring left but I cleared the little spring pole first just in case.
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It was small but at least it was solid wood. The plumb performed well making a nice clean cut. This is a good length for me for a bucking axe, 33". Out on the trail you don't find many logs you can stand on to buck. They're not uniform size, knot-free, resting on supports with two nicely cut foot platforms.
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".....Out on the trail you don't find many logs you can stand on ...... with two nicely cut foot platforms."
Then again, sometimes you do.
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But pointless. Before I was halfway through it the log cracked. Lousy alder. :(
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Then I found a little Doug Fir that was soft on the outside but still had a little wood inside. But it coulda been bucked as well with a hatchet it was so tiny.
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Just not much out there today. I need to hit another patch of woods.
 
I took a few swings today with my Council 6-pound flat head fire axe. Gawd, what a brute! Definitely wouldn't want to swing it all day. But it cuts quick.

Circumstance required that this be cut only from one side so it limited me to one wide mouth. Doug fir. It did well. The handle is pretty thick and heavy for a bucker but this thing is designed for demolition and for me it will be mostly a splitter. I just want to compare it to a 5-pound rafter.

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Another little tree I cleared off the trail. This one was a hemlock and had a lot of knots that I didn't want to mess with with one of my good axes. So I cut on either side of a knot until I was close to center and then knocked the whole know off in one piece. Hemlock knots are hard as glass. This one was pretty soft at the bottom and gave way. The axe is my trail Walters, 2-3/4 pound on a slim 36" haft.
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A little further down the trail I found this big old stump with springboard notch in it. This area was logged about 100 years ago. Some axeman's work is still visible today. I posed the axes I was carrying with it.
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Lastly a pic of my old dog, Gabby, playing in Rock Creek. She's almost 14, a Lab/Rott mix and she's dying of intestinal cancer. She doesn't have many hikes like this left in her. But she did a mile today, the most she's done in a couple months. I'm gonna miss her bad.
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Nothing exciting, just felled a couple of dead pines. I had to drop them on the oak next to them and drag them out of it due to their leaning and the terrain. I had my Collins swamper out and decided to mess around with it and one thing led to another. A neighbor stopped by and made sure I had chainsaws and they worked. He also offered the use of his chainsaw.:D "No, thanks anyway though" No before pics, sorry. Bonus: Spot the widow maker.
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I had a long day and a late start to this project. But i tried anyway! I can't access my actual camera from my phone so i don't have any action shots. Not even a pic of my broad axe! I picked this spruce and went at it
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I brought my crosscut saw out and after completing one cut i went and grabbed my Jonsered... next time I'll do the whole thing traditionally.
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You can see my "log dogs". Haha. Two pieces of pine and a couple 8 penny nails. I cut a notch every 2' or so and knocked the chips off with my e&s. I had a little mishap doing this and those pics are last...
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After i used the broad axe. It went pretty well and I'm looking forward to finishing this small beam. 5"x5"x9'. I'm thinking spruce isn't the best choice. I'll use poplar next time.
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When removing the large chips one of my blows went right through and i chipped the bit a little. I've been most of the evening cleaning tools and filing and honing this axe. I enjoyed swinging the broad axe and i should have some completed projects to share soon.
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I've got to do that myself soon except that mine's gotta be 8-9" by 8-9" by 12' for a mantle. Oh, by the by, I gotta do it with a broad hatchet 'cause I don't have a broad axe

Yet....
 
When you are about to hew, before you swing an axe of any kind, you should place a slab or board on the ground under the stick below the line. When an axe, scoring or broad axe, breaks through, the slab will keep the axe from finding the rock I assure you will be in that exact spot on the ground. You can remove the slab after you hew a few logs in the same spot as the chips build up enough to save your axe. The chips build up enough that you have to kick a path through the chips to work after awhile.
 
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