Lets use those axes for what they were ment for.

https://imgur.com/1antGbr
https://imgur.com/wFSAtcn
https://imgur.com/MrF6Sdx

A form of a diabolical anti-logging of sorts,my specialty this time of year...
No axe involved...too weird to use from a moving boat...chainsaw is challenging enough...And a chainsaw must be used,the root-ball must come off before i can tow the log to my rafts...
But all else-pike,peavey,et c. are all of course in constant use.
 
Me only getting the vaguest of glimpses of these shots behind the smoky barrier of the photo service demanding access to my private parts, but I sure would love to try sinking an axe in that kind of wood.
 
I'm trying to be a member of this forum in good standing,but it's awful hard...there's just so little time and place for an axe in today's life...:(
I work a section of the river just above my place,and happened to take this photo as well today(longish tow):https://imgur.com/e2wAFgl
It's a cabin i built for a friend nearly 20 years ago,and in spite it's folksy,"traditional" appearance there was precious little,if any,use of axes...
I didn't log this particular set of logs,but i wouldn't be surprised if my friends used a chainsaw even for limbing these...:(
So,good on you,all who actually Use axes,it's always a pleasure to see your photos,thank you!

(Ernest,come out for a vocation with some of your axes;i can select some nice big Dense ones for you:)...I remember one particular log on that cabin,it had over 70 rings per inch...spruce here gets surprisingly dense and nice to work...)
 
A
70 rings per inch...
Very suitable for axe work I can imagine.
Here's the piece I worked today, a far cry from those 70 rings.
p5252570.jpg
 
Ernest Of the Woods! Quick question that I have wondered about. When you finishing hewing those logs, is it customary to pick up the scraps of wood and use them for say firewood? John
I'm glad you ask this question because I always like to make provision for keeping the site in order and I normally have a rake with me along with cant hook, sappie, bark spade etc.... At the end of the day I gather far flung chips and try and make a neat perimeter around the work area. I like it when the waste accumulates under foot though there are times when a daily clean-up is necessary. When the last of the beams is finished I separate all the wood chips into three categories big, medium, small whether I personally dispose of it or not. When at home it gets stored away and used in the fireplace. Hopefully it answers your question John.
 
I love a simple wooden maul made out of a branch. I keep several of them around. Quick and easy to make and ever so handy.

I would highly recommend smoothing out the transition between the handle and head. Abrupt transitions like that cause a weak spot that is likely to fail. Sadly I know this from experience.

Hard heavy coarse-grained hard-splitting woods are best for lasting tools. But the weight and ease of shaping of a green branch makes those very handy, too. I've probably carved a dozen green mauls for single use applications on the trail. Use it and throw it away or use it till it breaks and make another. Fast, easy, handy.
 
I love a simple wooden maul made out of a branch. I keep several of them around. Quick and easy to make and ever so handy.

I would highly recommend smoothing out the transition between the handle and head. Abrupt transitions like that cause a weak spot that is likely to fail. Sadly I know this from experience.

Hard heavy coarse-grained hard-splitting woods are best for lasting tools. But the weight and ease of shaping of a green branch makes those very handy, too. I've probably carved a dozen green mauls for single use applications on the trail. Use it and throw it away or use it till it breaks and make another. Fast, easy, handy.

Samsies. I make them triangulate, so the corners apply nicely to the base of game skulls for quick dispatching. I've also found it allows for getting closer if you need to be striking something that a circle/ovoid mallet is tending to glance off of.
 
We had this limb drop this past Friday night so i wanted to try this old, short, nothing left to it connie...

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Some may remember this head and hang from a couple months back.

Its as suspected and now proven to be a goner.
All soft in the bit, nothing left of quality hardness.

It maintained its sharpness the first couple bucks but by the time i finished with what you see here, i had some rolling, a chip and dulling for sure.

Also, on a side note. I am a short guy and i like a shorter handles on most my axes...this one is almost to short and could get dangerous if i had to swing it bucking this whole limb.

The oak handle will be rehung upon again.
 
We had this limb drop this past Friday night so i wanted to try this old, short, nothing left to it connie...

20190904-105520.jpg


20190904-105341.jpg


20190904-105351.jpg


20190904-105430.jpg


20190904-105440.jpg


20190904-105507.jpg


20190904-105406.jpg


Some may remember this head and hang from a couple months back.

Its as suspected and now proven to be a goner.
All soft in the bit, nothing left of quality hardness.

It maintained its sharpness the first couple bucks but by the time i finished with what you see here, i had some rolling, a chip and dulling for sure.

Also, on a side note. I am a short guy and i like a shorter handles on most my axes...this one is almost to short and could get dangerous if i had to swing it bucking this whole limb.

The oak handle will be rehung upon again.
Such a nice relic. What a shame :-(
Can you wrap the edge in vinegar soaked paper towel to see if it was overcoat or inlaid bit? Maybe there is still life left and just needs some heating/quenching/tempering love
 
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Such a nice relict. What a shame :-(
Can you wrap the edge in vinegar soaked paper towel to see if it was overcoat or inlaid bit? Maybe there is still life left and just needs some heating/quenching/tempering love

I agree and its not easy for me to let go. Heating and quenching and tempering...to many projects on my list before i step up to that challenge :D
 
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