Are Axes with Wood Handles Easy to Repair in the Field when Camping or Bushcrafting?
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- čas přidán 15. 10. 2022
- After rehandling ~100 axes I have realised just how difficult the process can be at home with all available tools. Steel Drifts, 3lb hammer and drills and the eye wood can hang on in there stubbornly well past my patience. I think the reality of how difficult the process can be is glossed over and the hazards of trying to hehandle an axe in the field without tools, clamps or a vise could lead to a nasty cut. For that reason I think the traditional slip fit or tonahawk style of handle makes far more sense and the popularity historically in remote places further backs this up.
not saying its impossible only that its far more difficult with a pocket knife or multitool only and would take a long time
Yeah, rehandling/making a new slip fit handle seems more easy to do than a wedged axe handle.
Great video Ben 👌.
Good stuff Ben. Only re-hung one broken wedged handle in the field before, an ash -handled hatchet, and it took about 5 hrs with a fixed blade, a folding saw and some string. Thankfully there was enough shoulder to re use the handle. A slip fit would have been much easier!
Yeah I figured it would take half a day with minimal tools, you could walk a long way in that time or find a lot of firewood on the ground
Definitely makes sense when backcountry camping where tools may be limited and the need to repair your axe for wood processing is paramount.
Ben! I looked and possibly missed it but could you do a vid and show me how exactly you thin your handles? I’m 6’2 but really my hands aren’t that big and would love to try thinning a handle. Step by step vid would be amazeballs. Thanks for all you do and your effort! Michigan.
ever since i saw your video recommending rinaldi/ slip fit handle axes for bushcraft and actually testing your theory myself, i bought 5 rinaldi axes since and i've enjoyed them all. with the new addition of the plastic handle, those things are bombproof.
If it isn't wood, it isn't welcome in my house. Not that I have Bens collection. I just took his advice and got a few tools to use regularly. I do agree with a wedge fit though.
Also, great shirt, and I loved the demonstration at the end.
11:50 is my favourite part of the video. You made an interesting statement when saying you prefer 3lbs+ axes to be handled with a wedge. The most common problems with slip fit handles are the small palm swell and the misalignment of the handle with the edge. The Rinaldi axes like the Cadore and the Da Gara (1500 - 1800g) have a quite big handle where we can easily carve a palm swell if the handle is not made too conical (thinner and thinner lengthwise, very classic when machine made). Also, people tend to spend a lot of time trying to perfectly carve the part of the handle that will fit the eye. The easy way is to rub some charcoal in the eye, punch the handle in it, then look at the marks the charcoal left on the handle then rasp it. Repeat. If you have good eyes, you may not need charcoal, just look where the wood fibers are stamped by the metal.
For the alignment of the handle with the edge, just put small wood chips between the handle and the eye until the handle is aligned with the edge.
My compliments: one of the best analisys of different shapes of axes comparing European vs Anerican axes!
Great video!
I like the idea of a slip fit axe, in fact my favorite axe is slip fit ("Labrador Talar" basically a mass produced basque axe cause hachas jauregi was all sold out)
But I really like a good palm swell. I've been thinking of how to maybe to do a leather wrap on it to simulate a natural palm swell. I think I've seen some guys laminating some wood slabs on a handle to increase the width but I've never done that so I don't know if I'd trust my own handiwork for such a task, imagine if it flew off mid swing!
Tomahawk for the win
very thorough discussion. I like the bit about green wood shrinking. In the field, you should have to make many provisional handles as the wood shrinks, which multiplies the advantages of slip fit handles. At few times, i have challenged myself to just carry the axe head in my pocket and fashion a handle in the field. I tried experimenting with many twigs fitting into the eye. It is extremely fast, but obviously not as good. But It can do the job for example if the sun is setting and you really need to make a shelter for the night or emergencies like that.
Thanks! I enjoyed the atmosphere. Some nice forest you have out there!
Awesome video! I believe South American axe patterns were almost exclusively slip-fit because of the difficulty in sourcing appropriate handle material. Many of the species have twisted or interlocking grain and aren’t easy to work with. When tools and resources are limited, a slip fit is definitely the way to go.
I like the part where you talked about how it can be faster to just thin down a section for a wedged eye on a club-like handle. Having carved out both, I can say that the slip fit takes more work to shape the handle to the eye. However, the disadvantages of the wedged method are clear, especially with the shrinkage of green wood. The time saved initially will not be worth it in the end.
Do you have any recommendations for slip fit axes in today’s market? I’d like to try out a Rinaldi but they haven’t shipped to the US for some time now.
I bloody love a slip fit for camping. Almost every time I've been out with friends and they've bought wedged axes with them and they all loosened or just came off altogether.
Yup love the reliability, also nice you can change the handle depending on the task
@@benscottwoodchopper Again I have plenty of wedged axes and still use them but slip fit definitely has an edge when you don't have access to a workshop and you're out in the rain for days.
Great video and very relevant to axe users.
Great video, really enjoyed learning more about hanging axes and pros and cons in the field.
Well presented video! Thanks.
Love your videos dude!!
Also your hair is looking godly bruv😳
people that watched the famous forestry service video " an ax to grind" all scour the internet telling everyone how an "old world" style of axe are inferior to the modern axes that take a wedge and telling everyone about the famous " speed wobble" without actually testing for themselves the beauty of a old world axe.
i think its a big issue that myths get repeated with nobody actually trying out the axes they say are inferior. I've been very impressed with them
It was a pain to get the Rinaldi handle loose , 9:00.
So far for that wobble problem.
The thing is, you have to get the handle 'right' and then put into place.
Not leaving the wobble as it is and say, this fit friction style sucks.
It takes a tiny bit of skill to get the fit tight.
Maybe some have a hard time to get that done?
Please consider a video on how to recognize the type of wood out on the field. Thank you
It would end up EU specific, but a general rule of thumb is stick to hardwoods.
i really wonder how a plastic wedge would be like. like a hard plastic like a thick pvc. it would be just as hard as a hardwood wedge but the same weight and you could buy hte plastic in bulk and have it for many years. and it would be easier to remove if needed to.
Ive had an axe with a plastic wedge before, it was fine
Great video!
Perhaps a review of some slip fit axes you own next?
I already have a review of all the ones i currently own: Rinaldi american, calabria and sicilian. Prandi trentino, angelo B genoa
@@benscottwoodchopper Thanks - I'll check them out.
The amount of work I just do at a camp, I'm guessing them Fibrecomp handles on my husky a1400 is unlikely to break. Or at least I've never been close to breaking one.
I have the a2400, no chance of breaking them unless you really tried deliberately
@@benscottwoodchopper Aye your review of it pushed me to getting one. The smaller lighter one fits me best. @ 3lb 23" handle
It’s definitely easy to remove a slipfit. Just swing it and it’s bound to wiggle loose lol jk. I’m sure they’re fine. I just have to hang one myself, I guess.
Is that a Rinaldi America?
When splitting a stump, I hit the wedge on the other side with the axe. the axe edge was damaged. Will it influence the cut?
Is it possible to recover the blade?
The axe is husqvarna s2800.
Yes wit a flat file sharpen out any damage
How to maching falling axe with BMI,body and hight for user,
measure sleeve length for handle and you cant go wrong with anything between 1 and 1.5kg head