It's all about the edge.

[M118LR]

So it started with a phone conversation. An Old Friend that hadn't used his flint & steel for a coons age, was having problems finding tinder dry enough to ignite. I reminded him that char cloth was a flint & steel favorite. Then we palavered a little more and I asked if he had any Old Pine Stumps in the back yard, he did. So I reminded him that should he use a hatchet to glean some fatwood, it would be best to do so from his knees thus lowering the chance of whacking one or both of his legs. Which eventually moved the conversation to the hazards of using an ax that is shorter than the users inseam. Probably the most dangerous when Bucking, but anytime the ax is short enough it can land in your leg prior to hitting the earth it may be time to rethink what tool your using.

Just wondering how many folks are carrying axes shorter than thier inseam??????

Given any thought to the swing arc??

What precautions do Y'all take when in a situation like this?
Thanks for the input/opinions.

 

[MarkS]

When camping I use a hatchet with a 14” handle to split wood that I had cut with a chainsaw. I don’t swing the hatchet I use it in place of a splitting wedge and hit it with a 3 lb sledge. That way I don’t lose my splitting wedges when we go camping.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[JWlineman]

Moved to the Tools of the Trade, non-firearms section

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

Hatchet, or in my case tomahawk. Use from a kneeling position. Tinder....dryer lint. Tons for free, we save it in a zip lock.

 

[Raven]

Buy a water purifier or the chlorine tablets and some canned food or dehydrated food and then forget about fires. Rains too much around here and all a fire is is a target indicator anyways. Train how you fight. Prepare yourself to be without bacon and eggs but alive. Keep a BIC around just in case. Quit smoking

 

[Raven]

Canned bacon ain't that bad and it's ready to eat. No muss no fuss. That being said, I've cracked myself in the shins several times with full length axes, hatchets, machetes and shovels. Drawn blood several times and seen the xrays enough to know it takes an awful lot of force to break a leg bone and that I only thought it was broken. I've got a new Estwing tomahawk I want to try out soon as a dual purpose weapon/tool, and two new 3/4 axes to try out, but I'll probably go back to my old faithful machete. Hard to beat a machete in the swamp that is Florida

 

[Rebel_Rider1969]

Dual survival..... yes it's mine. The orginal blade brace.

 

[Plinker]

Just wondering how many folks are carrying axes shorter than thier inseam??????

Given any thought to the swing arc??

What precautions do Y'all take when in a situation like this?
Thanks for the input/opinions.

Good post I know what your talking about.

As a kid, I came close to crippling myself with a hatchet when a swing and miss on a tree landed the hatchet in my left knee.
Still have the scar.

About a dozen years ago on a visit to the Smokey Mountain knife shop in Sevierville Tn,, I got the hankering for one of those fine Scandinavian axe’s and ended up with a Wetterlings Forrest Axe.
A beautiful tool that I haven’t yet swung into a piece of wood.
Still has the Wetterling tags on it.

As you mentioned about inseem length,, this forrest axe has a 22” handle that makes it handy but I still think about the hatchet chopping my knee episode. This one could easily get a ankle.

Got it for lookin at so thats what I’ll continue to do and noticed that the value is going up like crazy since Wetterlings was taken over by Hunks Bruk a few years ago.


Oh! And for tinder,, try a cotton ball lightly saturated with petroleum jelly and spread out to reveal fibers. I can catch a spark in one, two or three strikes with the flint/steel no problem!
Burns for quite a little while and helpful to get larger tender going.
I store mine in a emptied medicine bottle.

 

[Duckyou]

I have found that if you build a good fire, the tender is not that important (unless you are using just a flint). You just need something to flame enough to light the next part of the fire.

 

[Raven]

One of the great joys of owning a motorcycle is that I can get into the gas tank and dip something into the gas and make a wick fairly easily if I ever need to light something up right good and proper. Like the petroleum jelly+cotton ball trick, it really helps with wet tinder. Steel wool is also good tinder on a wet pile, because its got oil on it. Another trick I learned is a gum wrapper touched to each end of a battery. It carries a charge thru the foil on one side and lights the paper on the other side.

 

[M118LR]

Hatchet, or in my case tomahawk. Use from a kneeling position. Tinder....dryer lint. Tons for free, we save it in a zip lock.

Got to be careful with that dryer lint, it's not impossible to inhale a little toxic poly smoke from some of the blended garments. Better off with an organic product. JMHO.

Love my Miners axe, but only from a kneeling position. Straight handled axes have proven to be more accurate than curved handle axes in my hands.

Miners ax is dead center in the photo:

 

[M118LR]

Now a Machete in Florida Brush is the pound for pound champion, yet it's not an option to take down a Live Oak in the backyard or elsewhere. When a wood chopping tool is required for lumber larger than my wrist, if I got swing it, the first thing I reach for is a "Kelly Perfect".

 

[RHINOWSO]

Chainsaw, hands down.

 

[M118LR]

Chainsaw, hands down.

Now normally a Chainsaw is the easiest solution, but after the events today & the week to follow, gas & electricity may be harder to obtain? How many hours can you submerge a chainsaw and expect it to work?
I've yet to meet a tree that an axe can't fell or buck without gas & electricity. But if that's to much? Perhaps a tree blocking the road isn't large enough that it can't be bucked with a two man crosscut Tuttle Tooth saw. Should you find yourself ALONE, perhaps a single man crosscut Tuttle Tooth saw shall have to suffice?

Back in the last Century Tuttle Tooth Crosscut Saws where all the rage, wonder what the current trend is?