View Full Version : My first axe!
Ordered my first ever axe last night. A Wetterlings small hunting axe from bearclawbushcraft, I can't wait till i get it!
Oh and Gary, it was ordered under Carol Compton so I don't mind if you slip anything else in it :wink:
ChrisKavanaugh
19-06-2004, 22:31
Keep this up young man and I'll ship a SMLE #3MK1 back home with bayonet. Think the constable will notice anything besides excessive blade length?
A good tool by all accounts :-)
Be careful though, axes can be very dangerous in untrained hands, learn to use an axe safely and it will serve you well..... ;-)
On a side note, you should really upgrade your first aid kit to deal with big slash wounds if you don't already have anything in yourr kit to deal with an axe accident.
Be safe
:-)
Ed
Hi Young bushman I figured as much.
I will add some samples of tinder for you to try out.
And echoing Ed's reply - they are good axes but be very careful while learning to use it.
If you need any advice please contact me via the website and I will do my best to help.
Thanks for the advice guys.
I've done a bit of axe work and covered basic safety on courses I've done in the past.
Will definitely upgrade my FAK, need a new one anyway. Any suggestions?
Getting a LHA instead of a SHA now. YIPPEEEEEEEE :super: :o):
Any FAK suggestions?
Scott posted your axe this morning - plus a few little treats.
Enjoy it and be careful with it ok!
ChrisKavanaugh
24-06-2004, 20:52
Medical items are much like survival gear. You want enough to stabilise the situation but always remembering that rescue/evacuation is #1 in priority. I've seen some medical kits that put an ambulance to shame. If the potential for a sever slashwound from an axe is of concern, think BATTLE DRESSING. We want something that can stem bloodflow and be applied NOW.
Scott, Chris is right I have dealt with an injury due to an axe incorrectly swung.
The Issue FFD is quite good for anything like this and I hate to put up the link, but it is the only place I currently know of that sell them in top conditionhttp://www.shop.edirectory.co.uk/penrith_survival/pages/moreinfoa.asp?pe=FCJGIQ_+First +Field+Dressing+20+19cm&cid=55 .
They are not cheap at £4.50, but if any one knows where else you can get them from in good condition I would appreciate it as well. Leon.
Justin Time
25-06-2004, 06:39
Leon
try Strikeforce (http://www.strikeforcesupplies.co.uk) better price, the ones I got a couple of years ago seemed in perfect condition but of course I was never in the military so what do I know.
Thanks Justin, being in the military doesn't always make people an authority on every part of it, they are normally just informed on certain things :-) .
Did your dressings have a date on them :?:
Axe arrived today, nobody was in so i'm going to get it from the post office in the morning. Absolutely top service from bearclaw bushcraft as It was posted only yesterday.
bushwacker bob
25-06-2004, 22:27
I reccon most of Essex will be logged by monday! :lol:
Hope you enjoy it 8-)
Be careful with that axe,Eugene.(thats bit before your time young bushman!! V. early Pink Floyd)
lucky you scott i'm still to young to play with an axe one day i will be old enough then my dads axe collection will be shared :-D
Justin Time
26-06-2004, 12:53
Did your dressings have a date on them :?:
Yup, Dec 2005, and I bought them a couple of years ago. I hope I get to the stage where I have to throw them out unopened, or maybe keep them as tinder?
Did your dressings have a date on them :?:
Yup, Dec 2005, and I bought them a couple of years ago. I hope I get to the stage where I have to throw them out unopened, or maybe keep them as tinder?
Dont throw them out if they expire without having a replacement ready. Even an expired field dressing will be better than a torn up t-shirt. Most none-perishable things that have an expiry on them, such as bandages, will continue to be fine for many years later. To a large extent, the expiry date is for warranties and legal reasons when used in professional situations. Obviously there is a limit, but dont leave your FAK short of something just because it's a few weeks past the use-by date. Obviously this doesnt apply to food items.
Is there anything i should treat the axehead/handle with?
There is a line of thought that you should dip the handle into boiling water to bring out the grain then sand it down and oil it - but personally I think thats a load of long winded cobblers - you have a tool the best oil for it is the oil from you hands which it will cather with use.
I there anything i can use for the axehead to keep it nice and shiny and get rid of scrathes etc.
First Question is WHY? An axe is a tool, like a hammer or a drill and is designed to be worked. More importantly using it and the staining it picks up from the wood ect will actually help protect the metal from moisture. And give the axe character.
But if you really want it shiny then get a garry block or similar and use this to clean it (being careful near the edge) - and remember to lightly oil it is it goes into longer term storage.
Sharpening the blade and using the slip created there can also be used although this will not rub off deeper damage.
More importantly using it and the staining it picks up from the wood ect will actually help protect the metal from moisture. And give the axe character.
And they do go some funny colours.... I was using my GB mini to do veg the other night and after the onions my mini was nice shades of electric blue fading to black.... It went a bluey/purpley colour once when I was carving wood, but i can't remember the wood.... that looked nice :-)
Ed
Try sweet chestnut - it almost blackens the blade!
you finally got an axe ed? i thought you didn't use those heathen appliances? 8-)
cheers, and.
sargey, I've had the GB mini for over a year now and I think its a wonderful tool to replace a knife and it an be pressed to heavier tasks :-) but thats about it for me as far as axes go.... any serious chopping, felling, coppicing or general woodmans work I'll stick to my 100yr old (and still doing its job) billhook thank you very much.
:-)
Ed
bushwacker bob
02-07-2004, 22:44
FELLING with a bill hook :super: :ekt:
.....Jacks gonna love that
.....Jacks gonna love that
..... he's the one who explained to me how it was one ;-)
Ed
I got a nick yesterday so I was up all night sharpening it, I can't seem to get it to it's original sharpness and it currently cannot even slice a piece of paper. Do you think I should buy a finer grit stone or is there some tips/tricks that you can enlighten me with to make it sharper.
I have been using a 1000/6000 combination Japanese Waterstone.
Thanks
Are you sharpening it in little circles on the stone? I find that a hand held small DMT diamond stone does the trick. I can get an axe shaving sharp with either the fine or coarse stone doing little circles across the edge.
I have been sharpening it the same way as my knife, as described in Mears Bushcraft. I do not particuarly want to invest in another stone as I'm pretty skint at the moment and am saving for another piece of kit. Has any of you achieved a razor edge with a waterstone rather than a diamond with the same technique as Adi or even a different technique??
I have been sharpening it the same way as my knife, as described in Mears Bushcraft. I do not particuarly want to invest in another stone as I'm pretty skint at the moment and am saving for another piece of kit. Has any of you achieved a razor edge with a waterstone rather than a diamond with the same technique as Adi or even a different technique??
You can use the exact same technique ... hold the stone and make little circles across the blade.
http://www.gransfors.com/htm_eng/yxboken/bok17.htm
Make sure the stone is well lubricated with water.
No problems! :biggthump
I sharpen axes using the 'wet and dry paper + mouse mat' system and it works a treat. I find it really helps in keeping that convex profile on the head. I work to a very fine grit then finish with a strop (home made from razor strop fungus).
Though the min is shaving sharp after i have done this, it still doesn't seem as sharp as when it came from the factory..... so don't get too disheartened.... remember they will have big industrial buffing wheels to get that edge poping sharpness on them in the factory..... that probably helps
:-)
Ed
I never noticed that, when i buy a knife i can usually make it sharper. I suppose i dont own an axe. But my Billhook came from Axminster with a very dull edge and huge machine marks down the bevel. That took a while to get to a workable edge!
Scott, I know it can get addictive or whatever but perhaps if you got some sleep you would do a better job!!!
Cheers,
Jake
FELLING with a bill hook :super: :ekt:
.....Jacks gonna love that
Ed has seen the light and uses a hook that is the same as one of mine.......they are both over a century old!
And remember;
You never actually own a billhook. You merely look after it for the next generation.
Jack.
MartiniDave
07-07-2004, 09:04
"You never actually own a billhook. You merely look after it for the next generation." unless its a Bulld*g which you'll wish you didn't own! :banghead:
Dave
And remember;
You never actually own a billhook. You merely look after it for the next generation.
Jack.
Isnt that Patek Phillipe? I see you read National Geographic!! lol, i like that saying but the first time i read it i was so out of it it took me a while to actually figure out what it means!
Cheers,
Jake
Isnt that Patek Phillipe? I see you read National Geographic!! lol, i like that saying but the first time i read it i was so out of it it took me a while to actually figure out what it means!
Cheers,
Jake
It funny you know, my Father always quotes that to me everytime I eye up his ships clock that he has above the fire, it is a solid brass one and is from a merchant ship from the early 1900's...........always had my eye on it!......one day, maybe!
I sharpen axes using the 'wet and dry paper + mouse mat' system and it works a treat. I find it really helps in keeping that convex profile on the head. I work to a very fine grit then finish with a strop (home made from razor strop fungus).
Though the min is shaving sharp after i have done this, it still doesn't seem as sharp as when it came from the factory..... so don't get too disheartened.... remember they will have big industrial buffing wheels to get that edge poping sharpness on them in the factory..... that probably helps
:-)
Ed
Tell me more about this 'wet and dry paper + mouse mat' system, how do you make it?
bushwacker bob
10-07-2004, 22:43
try this link(if I've done it right)
http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=842
Justin Time
10-07-2004, 23:59
Bob, you missed out a backslash after the colon:
http:/www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=842
instead of
http://www.bushcraftuk.net/community/showthread.php?t=842