Spiraltwista -- thanks for the response. That makes sense. As far as mounting the axe on a bulkhead, one idea is a short post extending from the bulkhead at a 90 degree angle with a triangular plate mounted on the end. Due to the asymmetrical shape of the hole and the angle the plate could be mounted at, the axe could be placed over this plate at an odd angle and rotated into its regular hanging position which could retain it. A bracket further down could secure the base of the handle. I've never seen an axe mounted precisely like this; however, I've seen other tools mounted like this. Also, in the USN, I've seen fire axes are mounted with a bracket supporting the head (using gravity) and another bracket locking the end of the handle in place. Thanks again for the pictures. I've never seen any of these axes before.
Emergency axes (fire, crash, etc.) have always impressed me. We have a standard naval fire axe at work (not sure of the pedigree but it's about the size of a maul, but considerably lighter) that one worker had "appropriated" and was thinking of grinding the spike off of because he didn't have a use for it. Another worker gave him a lecture on just how useful it was. I (being the large ogre-looking person) volunteered to demonstrate...and you all thought I only beat on khuks.
Cinderblocks were no problem, I shattered them in single strikes, regardless of whether the blade or spike was used. (They both tolerated it well.) Destroying a door made of exterior plywood and reinforced with 2x4's likewise took no time at all. Someone found a block of granite next to the woodshop that was too large to lift so I offered to break it up into more easily-handled chunks. It was actually challenging. The spike tended to stick in the granite like it was a soft material. It took me a good 50 full-power blows to completely shatter it. After all this, the spike was a bit dinged up but in good shape; the "owner" cleaned it up on the bench grinder after a few minutes of work and has elected to retain the spike.
I can understand why a firefighter might like something like this. You could smash your way through the side of a bank vault with one, given enough time. These are incredibly tough. I have no doubt that the earlier ones are equally tough. Overbuilt? Yes, probably, but so are Ang Kholas and I really like those too.
We tried throwing it. It's a challenge, as both arms must be used. I can stick 'hawks, large screwdrivers, even machetes, but I could not stick the fireaxe. (Some other people got a few sticks. I could not manage it.) This is probably outside of the design parameters however and I don't consider this a proper test of the tool. I believe that I'll stick (pun intended) with tomahawks for throwing.
I haven't handled any foreign or antique ones yet but if one happens to come my way, I'll be happy to thrash it upon request.
