In the modern world, axes are used for cutting thin trees or branches, for chopping logs. Thicker trunks are now sawed with a hacksaw or chainsaw, it is much easier and faster. However, the ax remains an important tourist tool.

When choosing an ax, you must first decide on the ratio of iron and steel, as well as how the blade is mounted on the ax handle. This is a universal tool for the tourist, the hunter, to choose which one needs to be thoughtful. The optimal length of the ax should be equal to the length of the hand of its owner. Clamp the knob of the ax handle under the arm, and try to take the blade with the hand - if you succeed, then the length of this ax is quite appropriate.


But, nevertheless, the sharpness and shape of the ax is more important than the size. Hunting hatchets have a narrow beard, sharply sharpened - because their scope of application - cutting of soft wood for the preparation of firewood. If you take dry branches for a fire, it is better to break them with a butt, because the wood is very hard because of the dryness and your ax will dull quickly.

Also very important is the balance of the ax, which you will use. To choose an ax with an optimal balance - take it by the handle in the front, put the ax horizontally, relax your hand and see if the blade is straight, or is shifted down or up. With a well-balanced ax, the blade should be as horizontal as possible.

The ax blade should also be well sharpened. Good does not mean “like a razor” at all, axes have other tasks depending on what this tool will be used for. If you choose an ax with an inappropriate scope for sharpening - it will either be firmly stuck in the wood after each stroke, or dull after a couple of strokes. The blade of the universal ax should be convex, it adds reliability and reduces the chance of jams between the fibers of the tree, and also protects the toe and heel from wear.

The ax for soft wood has a blade angle of just under 30 degrees with a camber of about 20, for hard wood it is 35 and 27–30 degrees, respectively; The cleaver's blade has an angle of 22 degrees, and the ax for splitting firewood is 40, and the convexity of both of these axes is only 10 degrees. The shorter the blade, the better the ax for solid wood, and vice versa - long blades perfectly cut soft wood. The longest blades of axes intended for cutting branches from trunks are easier for them to fall along thin branches.

How to choose an ax

The general rule is that the more accurate you are to work with the ax, the more direct the blade should be, and roundness is added for a more universal hunting tool. Competent rounded sharpening also allows the ax to itself throw out shavings from the serif. A good ax should not be planted deep in a tree, but should be well cut down.
  By weight, axes are also different. If you choose an ax for chopping small branches, slivers - a light small hatchet is better for you, it is easier for them to wave. Branches of small thickness are cut not so much by the weight of the ax as by the span. Axes weighing more than 1 kg are considered heavy, and such tools are well suited for chopping and chopping firewood when you have to put weight to the maximum.

Also consider the shape of the handle. The long handle with the head bent out / down makes it possible to inflict the strongest possible blow, and it is easier to strike a more precise blow with a short ax with the ax bent back / up.

Toporische is usually made of wood - from hickory (walnut) or ash. On the ax, the load almost never hits, but when you pull out a stuck ax, it accounts for the greatest loads. In order to serve your ax for a long time, only vertical loads should be applied to the ax, that is, lowering and raising the blade. Attempts, for example, to widen a crack by applying transverse blows can break your hatchet.

Wood for an ax handle should be flexible, light and durable. The most suitable part of the trunk is closer to the bark - the heart of the tree is too soft, and lower to the roots - there the tree is even stronger. The smoother the annual rings, and the thicker the trunk, the better the ax handle from such a tree. The more remaining full and intact annual rings, the better.
It is better to fasten the head of the ax to the strongest part - therefore, if you make ax handle yourself, mark the necessary end in advance (from the side of the tree roots). Annual rings on the ax handle should go along the sides (i.e., the fibers of the tree themselves should go on a cut from top to bottom, not diagonally or from right to left) - so the ax handle will be better able to withstand vertical loads and be stronger.

In addition to the above-mentioned walnut and ash, maple, alder, cherry, apple, plum, mountain ash will do. Worse, birch, oak or beech is suitable for making ax handle. The handle will not crack if the ends are dipped before drying the wood into wax. Drying wood will not shrink if a brick is tied down from the bottom, and wood is necessarily dried in a dry and shady place. Usually, homemade handles take about a year to dry well.

An ax is a tool quite dangerous, and can be harmful, often quite serious. Therefore, the blade must always be in a case in traveling conditions, in order not to injure anyone and not to scratch the uniform or weapon on the hunt. The simplest type of ax cover is a piece of hose cut through.


In hikes, trips and exits to unexplored nature, an experienced tourist is always stocked up with the necessary things for survival. The main subject, without which you can not do in the campaign is a hiking ax.

Types of axes

The ax market is diverse, manufacturers offer products for all occasions or outdoor activities. The main types of axes are different. Below, read which ax is better to take with you to the forest.

Tourist ax

The ax of the tourist is designed for hiking in the wild, tourist exits for a long time and is used for simple operations.

Tourists take such an ax to clear the camp area.

Cutting brushwood to kindle a fire or set up a tent, in the case of self-defense in the forest, such an ax is necessary to repel the attack of animals.

The main condition is the compactness and low weight of the product, as in a camping trip any tool burdens additional load.

Small tourist ax weighs only 700 grams, compared with other types, they are made of solid all-metal parts and have an ergonomic handle for grip.

The disadvantage is the high price compared to conventional products and the limited use (for chopping firewood such a hatchet is not suitable for the tourist, as well as for carpentry, this application will quickly become unusable).


  The ax for the tourist from the Bison company

This is a specific type of ax that is used for chopping wood in the countryside. In order to chop wood for heating the room for firing up a bath, such an ax is best suited.

Such axes are made with a very long handle measuring 1.5 meters in size for making sweeping strokes and using a lever and a powerful ax for chopping firewood.

The cost of foreign axes is high - 7-10 thousand rubles, domestic cheaper, but inferior in ergonomics.


Such axes are used in the carpenter's business for the manufacture of furniture or other items made of wood, have a short handle and a small ax;


Proceeding from the name, everything can be a little bit, however, such axes are expensive to buy and are inferior in their functionality to axes for splitting or carpentry, but as an ax for a hunter or a tourist he is good;


Kitchen \\ Butcher's

Axes are used in cooking for cutting carcasses, cutting meat and cartilage. The main condition for such axes is metal production - only stainless steel, since such items constantly interact with food and as a result of oxidation can poison it.


Hunting hatchet Kurchanova

Hunting axes and knives are a separate type of camping equipment, because of their functions they can perform many tasks. A hunter, going on a campaign for several days, regardless of the living conditions, should bring the best hunting ax with him. On the hunt, such axes perform functions:

  • kolka   wood chips and firewood parts, thus such axes should be sharp and with a convenient grip for cutting small trees;
  • cutting down the paws of a treefor the device overnight. The usual tourist ax will cope with this task quite problematically, therefore, the hunting ax has a wide ax for the construction for convenience and efficiency;
  • fellingpeg for the device of a tent or place to sleep. In this case, the wide ax is effective as never before;
  • dressing hides and animal carcasses- One of the main objectives of the hunting ax with a successful hunt.

Unique among such a class ax is the hunting hatchet of Kurchanov, thanks to a non-standard form of an ax handle and a blade with a wide cutting deck. The ax of this design, many hunters prefer newfangled plastic products from popular manufacturers.

The service life of the ax Kurchanov at least 7-10 years with proper care.

A factory sharpening will allow cutting branches, deadwood, cutting down pegs and small trees with greater efficiency in comparison with modern analogues.

Camping hatchet is not only effective in its business, but also, in fact, a work of art, as each copy is essentially assembled and made by hand, representing the collection value. Therefore, the cost of such an ax is large and varies depending on the material of manufacture and other additional options ranging from 5 to 25 thousand rubles.


  Hunting hatchet - photo

Hunting axes should be compact, as the weight of the load and overall dimensions during the hunt play a decisive role, therefore hunting axes are not more than 60 centimeters long, and ax ax is no more than 30 centimeters long.

The hunting ax has a handle made of wood.

Metal and polycarbonate alloys with a rubberized place for grip.

The cost varies widely and depends on the material from which the ax of the hunter, manufacturer and steel grade is made.

The best hilt for the tourist ax

Technical progress has not bypassed the production of axes for active recreation. The handle of any ax and tourist is no exception is one of the two components of the product, the efficiency of use directly depends on the convenience of the grip and the material. The parameters of the best stick include:

Handle material

In the classic version of the marching ax has a wooden handle. It is made of birch, the lower part of the trunk is taken as a basis, since it has greater strength, which is so necessary for long-term use in practice. The ax for trekking into the forest with a birch handle will last for at least 5-7 years with intensive use.

Non-varnished handles are used for permanent use.

Who have a comfortable grip, do not jump out of the hand at the most inopportune moment. Lacquered handles are superior in appearance to their competitors, but in practice they are inconvenient without the use of gloves and eventually lose their original gloss.

Metal arms - in recent years, have become widespread along with the entry of foreign companies on the Russian market.

Such handles are made of stainless steel and are often rubber-coated for the convenience of grip. There are also polycarbonate handles, which differ in ergonomics, but over time may be subject to deformation and loss of their properties, however, such handles are not susceptible to drying out. The cost of axes with a plastic handle is prohibitive compared to conventional classic axes.

Handle shape

Not less important indicator for ease of use. Wooden handles, made with a thickening to the part of the grip, are considered the classic variant; in the direction of the ax, such handles have a narrow part. In the part of the grip, such handles have a curved part for convenient striking. In the steel versions of the handle can be straight, which adversely affects the usability


Ax sharpening

For effective work and cutting of objects, an ax, regardless of its intended purpose, should always be sharpened. For a marching ax, several types of sharpening are used, according to their principle, which are completely opposite.

At an angle of 20 degrees

Sharpening at such an angle allows you to sharpen the ax to perfect sharpness and chop objects with high precision. However, the disadvantage of this type of sharpening is the small angle and the side of the razor in the blade - if you chop a tree and hit a hard piece or metal part, the blade can get fatal damage and become completely unusable.

After damage to the blade with such a blow, the blade will not be repaired, so this method should be used with caution;

Oval

The method consists in turning the entire blade, but at a wide angle, which allows even hard objects to be cut through, for example, to cut nails. At the same time, the sharpening of the blade does not work out perfectly, which preserves the working part when used in conditions of the forest and similar terrain for a long time.

For professional sharpening, it is best to use special electric sharpening machines, but in field conditions, an oval sharpening can be done with a conventional grinding stone.


How to put an ax on the ax

The strength of the structure and its durability depend on the correctness of the ax attachment on the ax. Before attaching the ax, the ax handle must be brought to a dry state, otherwise a wet ax handle after the attachment will not be able to stably hold the whole structure.

In practice, the best way to nozzle is the method of 5 wedges, when several longitudinal and transverse cuts are made, and after the nozzle the places are filled with resin, filling the cracks, gives greater hardness to the whole ax construction.


The best manufacturers of tourist axes

Among the best companies for the production of hiking axes, there are several manufacturers that produce, albeit expensive, but high-quality products. In order to know how to choose a tourist ax, read about their features.

Mora

This is a foreign manufacturer of hiking and other axes of high-strength carbon steel. Models of a high price category do not require sharpening and serve the consumer for more than 5 years without losing the original properties. The cost of models varies from 4 to 9 thousand rubles, performed by both axes with a wooden handle and made of plastic.


Fiskar

In the production of axes, products of Finnish companies are widely used. This manufacturer is characterized by high quality components, their reliability and durability. The ax are made of durable plastic and are bent with a rubber grip for a comfortable grip.

The ax blade is made of hardened stainless steel and does not require frequent sharpening. However, such a product has to pay quite a lot - the cost of such axes is high and varies from 4 to 15 thousand rubles. At the same time, the company produces not only marching, but also other types of axes.


Bison

High-quality domestic manufacturer of axes of almost all uses. In their equipment, the Bison axes use both modern plastic and classic wood. Steel for the blade is supplied Russian, premium grade stainless steel, which ensures a long service life. The cost of marching axes of this manufacturer ranges from 2 to 6 thousand rubles.

A universal tool that may be needed in the country, hiking in the woods or just on vacation near the river, in everyday life for economic purposes, is an ax. Despite its simple design, this fixture has many uses and differs in the way and quality of manufacture.

Main characteristics

All types of axes are divided into three main groups:

  • axes-axes;
  • for felling in the forest;
  • universal tools for construction and domestic purposes.

Within each selected group there are variations that are determined by the purpose and characteristics of the component parts. Accounting for the most important parameters will help you decide which ax to choose. It is worth noting the fact that at the dacha just can not do without an ax!

Weight parameters

The ability to use it in wood processing depends on how heavy the tool is. The minimum value is a mass of 0.9 kg. Lighter models are used only for a limited range of household and household purposes when finishing small workpieces, for example, for sharpening wedges.


For standard work with wood, you need a tool of 0.9-1.7 kg. It will be effective both when cutting firewood of medium thickness and during construction work. Heavier splits weighing 2.2-2.5 kg are used for splitting large firewood. They have a longer ax handle.

Blade shape and sharpening

In practice, axes with three types of butt are used:

  • wide, intended for felling;
  • middle, having a universal purpose;
  • narrow - used for neat carpentry.

Features of the shape of the blade can be estimated by the photo of the ax. Direct sharpening allows you to apply high-quality chopping blows, but the curved one is suitable for chopping and piercing movements. For example, a rounded blade of small size is focused on greater penetration into the tree and cutting of fibers in the transverse direction.

At an angle of sharpening up to 40 degrees, increased penetration into the workpiece is provided, although the rate of bluntness will be higher. In the axes, the degree of sharpening at different edges of the blade will vary.

Blade material

For carpentry axes, the blade is made by stamping low carbon steel. Great strength tools for loggers provide forging steel U7 and 60G.

It should be remembered that the use of mild steel leads to the fact that the tool begins to quickly get blunt. Rigid or hardened steel blades are prone to crumbling.

Manufacturing ax

The length of the ax depends on the purpose of the tool. The most comfortable indicator is 50-70 cm. But it must be remembered that the span and the impact force depend on the length. Therefore, for heavier work requires a tool more than 70 cm.

Ax for an ax can be metal, including with a special rubber lining. This is a more durable construction, but it has a big disadvantage - it does not dampen the vibration badly.

The impact force along with the resistance of the workpiece is absorbed by the ax. And therefore it is recommended to use wood, in particular birch, for its manufacture. But cheaper and affordable pine is much worse dampens vibration.

For loggers suitable tool with oak handle. The handle itself should be comfortable, without knots and chips. At the end of the ax make a thickening and a hole for fastening.


Axes

Depending on the purpose and purpose of use, you can choose the optimal design of the tool. On sale are various types of axes.

Tourist

It is a lighter and more compact tool that may have a rounded blade. It is sharp, can be used as a knife. Handle length up to 50 cm. It is completed with a protective cover.

Such an ax is quite expensive; it cannot be used for chopping, it often appears rust. Among the brands are popular Geter Gator II and Expedition NV-040.

Household and catering

In everyday life or at catering enterprises, axes are used for cutting meat or bones. The design is characterized by a wide blade of durable steel with sharpening at an angle. This is a heavy and durable model.

The big drawback is the need to use physical force to work. Also a wooden ax can crack. Known products "Meat Grinder" and "Labor" VACHA S901.

For firewood

The catalog of axes of this category with the best quality includes products TUTAHI, KRAFTOOL Rhine and Universal.

For these purposes, apply models with hardened steel blade with a sharpening of 40-60 degrees and a wooden ax. This ensures simplicity and efficiency in operation.


Bilateral

Such a tool has two identical high-carbon steel blades that provide excellent balancing. The sharpening angle can be different, and the ax handle - interchangeable.

However, it is traumatic and heavy construction, excluding the possibility of use as a percussion instrument. Experts recommend models such as SOG F12 and OCHSENKOPF.

For logging

Large ax with a long handle for a strong blow. There is a rounded blade. The specialization of the tool is narrow, it is used only for its intended purpose. Loggers can approach the brand HULKAFORS, SCANDINAVIAN FOREST AX or WETTERLINGS AMERICAN FOREST AX.

Carpenter's

It is a tool with good balancing, a sharp blade and a comfortable grip. You can not use it for cutting, and after buying the product you need to select the desired sharpening characteristics.

For this purpose, you can choose Gardena 1000A 08714-48.000.00 or Wetterlings Hjartum Carpenter’s Ax. The ax Izhevsky is also popular.

Forged

The most high-quality, durable and durable products. The forged ax is most often made by individual orders. Popular brand "Taiga" and products from the workshop "Phoenix".


Cleaver

This ax has an elongated handle, steel blade with a sharpening of 40-60 degrees. This is a highly specialized instrument that has good balancing. It is used for processing thick and dense wood. Experts recommend to use products VIPUKIRVES or Council Tool Hudson Bay Ax.

Suburban

The axes of the “SIDDAY” standart SZAN330, T-03-1 or VOREL 33107 will help solve household problems in a country plot. Such models are suitable for chopping firewood, used for logging.

They are distinguished by their versatility, solid steel blade and wooden handle, which, however, can crack in 5 years.

DIY making an ax

If you are interested in the question of how to make an ax, then remember, you cannot make a blade yourself from scratch. You can only give the usual blade the desired shape by processing grinder or emery wheel.

But the ax handle is quite capable. For this you need:

  • pick up the workpiece with a diameter of more than 120 mm and a length of 200 mm more than the planned grip;
  • dry for several months at a temperature of 22-24 degrees and a humidity of 15%;
  • using an ax or a large knife, remove the excess part of the wood in accordance with the delineated contour;
  • to process the chisel and hammer.


Now it is important to learn how to fit the ax correctly. Do this with gauze and epoxy resin. The presence of a wedge provides better strength. After this is done grinding, the ax handle is varnished. Sharpening is done on the machine or manually.

The ax is a useful helper in the country, and in the campaign and when working in the woods. It is only necessary to choose the right model, focusing on the required characteristics and quality of manufacture of a specific instance.

Photo ax

Andrei Shalygin: If a person goes with you on a campaign and does not take an ax with him (who was with him on a campaign more than once), then you should think about the fact that this is just a contemplator, not a partner. The ax is one of the most important tools in the arsenal of a professional builder, or just a home craftsman, that any motorist should have with him, let alone a traveler, much less a hunter, is not discussed at all. Not a single competent hunter and traveler will go to the forest with an overnight stay without an ax. At least for security reasons. And so that it will serve you for a long time faithfully, you need to choose it correctly when you buy.


And one more digression at once - the ax is good for the one who knows how to handle it. Dto put an ax with a semi-circular Finnish blade to a girl in order to chop off the branches, it means to be prepared to immediately evacuate her with a chopped arm and leg. A similar, or even worse, result can be obtained if, in the process of a campaign, you start learning to throw an ax on trees together with a group of similar dunce. As a rule, the ax from a semicircular tree trunk, not hitting the blade, bounces in an arbitrary direction, and strictly according to Murphy's law - where one doesn’t want it to bounce. Well, it is quite easy to give an ax to a city boy so that he chops firewood for the fire in the presence of a girl. With an ax, you still need to take your head in a hike - this is an indispensable application in all senses.

Suppose first that the ax is necessary for us for ordinary purposes in any campaign, and among these purposes there is no construction of a hut or even a wooden raft. We also assume that in the group they know what a saw is and they have ryki to sharpen it properly for tyrism. Suppose also that a group takes one ax for a tent and one saw — a knife-knife, if there is one tent, or a double (not cut-off!) - if there are more tents.


What is the purpose of the ax in such conditions? I list:
  • make tent pegs
  • score tent pegs
  • cram down the shaft (it's easier to knock out a wedge)
  • to cut branches
  • to make a log of fire
  • awnings and shtochka for an awning, syshilki to shake out in case of need
  • to fix a fire
  • from yeti fend off
  • More ... you can cook porridge,
  • ny ... cut the bread, open the bank ... I'm not talking about the hunting ax to build a shelter, a hut, sit down, disguise, notch, traps, chop the beast ...

In the history of the Soviet army there is even a documented case when a Red Army soldier from a supply company delivering ammunition with the help of an ax 50 Nazis turned to flight, while killing half of them, including three officers, demolished the head (tested on the ground, awarded an order) . And so the cases when with the help of an ax hunters bears put - not count. Yes, in general, in the past, a peasant, apart from an ax, didn’t have any weapons at all, unless he made a spear and stake with the same ax. Indians generally tomahawks treated and bow and arrow. To be able to throw an ax is no less an art than archery, and this way of hunting is quite capable of providing food in difficult times (just don't take an ax into the woods to train there with friends for friends, often such experiments ended with injuries).

It is also worth saying, probably, that very often the ongoing debate about what kind of ax can be called tourist, and what kind of ax, is in fact led by people who do not understand this at all. Mad dispute of very stupid people.   The hunter differs from the tourist in that they still need to carve the beast, and, if necessary, build a storage shed with a backyard. And if the hunter - in the swamp-meadow game and not taiga? In the first case, he generally needs carpentry, and in the second he will not need an ax at all. It is possible that hunting implies a great urgency, and the ability to butcher meat. So a good traveler, he is always sharp, and a large beast, many life does not hunt.

Everyone chooses an ax for themselves, not "in concepts".You chop boars on each hunt and you remove the skin from an reindeer with an ax, - well, then you need a sharp razor-sharpened blade with a large blade. Go on multi-day trips without a tent and set up a storage shed with corned beef from a bear-bear for the winter - then you need a straight, heavy, with a large long handle. Throwing an ax at the bears, fighting off them at night - buy 10 at once for at least 3-5 kg ​​double-edged with a nail .... No? Well, then there is nothing to be clever ...

It turns out that for an ordinary need for a multi-day hike and for a hunt, an ax with a gland weight of 700–800 grams, firmly impaled on an ax handle 75–80 cm long, is necessary and sufficient (for a day or a couple of days of hunting with a tent or less)

There are many types and sizes of this tool. There is a carpenter's ax, a meat ax for cutting meat and bones, a hunting ax. The main thing is to choose the one that is necessary for your tasks.

The base of the ax is of course its cutting part.It is very important that it be made of good quality steel. Then it will be less stupid and, of course, it should be sharpened less often. To serve such a tool will be for many years.

How to check the quality of steel? To do this, you need to take the ax by the handle, without touching the blade, and make a sharp click on the cutting part, you can nail it, you can use some dense object. The sound should be dense, ringing, protracted such as ting, which indicates the density of the metal from which the blade is made. If the sound is deaf and quickly "fades out", it means that the density is not large enough, such an ax will quickly get blunt, it is necessary to correct (sharpen) often, which is very inconvenient in carpentry. Notches appear even from hit of an edge on a knot.

As for the weight of the ax, then an individual selection is necessary.For some small work, such as chopping off small branches, or when working with a small workpiece, where accuracy and precision is necessary, an instrument with a low weight (600-800 grams) is quite suitable.

1200 gram can be attributed to axes of average weight category. - 1500g. tool. These are most suitable for carpentry, it is quite suitable for building a house. Axes over 1.5 kg are heavy enough for an average person, it is very difficult to work for a long time. But they have an undeniable advantage: the impact force is quite large, you can even chop a huge billet.

There are quite specific axes, such as meat.Its purpose is the cutting of meat and bones, it should be chosen as well as the construction ax, the density of the metal is very important. Very large bones also have to be cut, therefore the weight of the meat ax is very impressive (3.2 kg).

Hunting ax.Its feature is a lightweight cutting part, which has a special recess. It is very important for the hunter that his inventory weighed as little as possible and without loss of quality. It also serves to hang an ax on a branch.

Marching ax.It is often all-metal with a rubberized grip, which contributes to excellent grip even in hot weather. As a rule, very compact.

Ax handlecan be made of both wood and impact-resistant plastic (fiberglass handle). The best material for the handle of a construction ax is top grade birch. When choosing, you need to pay attention to it without knots. Such will not break and will serve long. The drawbacks of the wooden handle - over time, it shrivels and the blade begins to squal, so that this does not happen, it is necessary to lower it into the water and, if necessary, drive a special wedge (enough for a long time). The plastic handle does not crack and lasts longer, but the cost is noticeably higher than that of a wooden one.

You should also pay attention to the fact that the blade was straight, it is necessary for comfortable work with wood. But the Finnish axes have a specially curved blade, and even with its different sharpening - a more obtuse angle from above, a sharper angle from below. With such an ax you need to be able to handle and understand what it is for.

What should be a piece of iron?Hy, good steel, I see. Another thing is that the hole for the ax must be necessarily conic, otherwise the ax will jump off, as large as possible - the wooden ax is not too strong. Another small hole with holes - for the distribution of shearing forces on the ax handle with ydare - the longer, the better.

The blade should not protrude forward in relation to the hole - otherwise, if an unsuccessful blow occurs, there will be a strong recoil in the hole. Painfully. A semicircular blade helps to chop firewood better, and a direct, better-quality work on a clean tree.

  Now the most important thing is sharpening.   They say that it is necessary to grind under Pts. sharp yglom - absolutely wrong! However, the consequences were also stated - the etozh is necessary, the thyristic ax becomes useless, incidentally hitting a nail! I can kill any number of nails with no consequences at all.

The sharpening should be a bulge, elliptical, or, more real, under three points. First, from the hole, sharp yagol, then - the middle, and the very edge - a type. The bottom line of the blade should, while continuing, point to the little finger of the hand of the person holding the handle of the ax.

This is the so-called "breaking" sharpening.So sharpened all sabers, swords, etc. For the knives, too, is recommended.

What is the beauty of such sharpening?The main thing is that a properly sharpened blade penetrates deep into the perforated body, and this property is maintained even with a not very sharp edge of the blade. As a result, even a typoy ax is good. (I, for example, didn’t sharpen my experiment ax for two years at the most barbaric conversion, the blade became quite standard, but it was still good.)

Sharpening axshould be done with an abrasive bar (marking 25A - electrocorundum). It is better to use emery, of course, it will be faster, but it is not always available, for example, in field or hunting conditions. Grinding stone grinding optimum medium - 25N.

Now rykoyatka. The tree must be hard enough so that it does not wear out in the hole of the ax, y will be hard enough so that it does not break, easy to wear. And that's it! Ordinary birch has all the properties in optimal combinations, and practice has shown that everything else is better. (The mahogany was not tested, but there were rykoyatki from dyba, hornbeam, ash, maple, pears, byka, dogrose, hockey stick and something else) In addition, an acceptable ax can be made in emergency conditions directly from freshly harvested birch. It is better, of course, to use the correctly advanced birch from the lower part of the trunk. The correct birch ax is about 5 - 7 years, after which it splits along into stripes and brushes. But holding on!

Rki shape- Tyt in general, no, no - direct, bending or thickening at the end, under the edge - very desirable. But, in the extreme case, you can wrap electrical tape. Clearly, it is not necessary to varnish.

The only individual feature is the length of the handle. In fact, the more - the better, but the minimum length should be such that it would be convenient to act in two ways. For a person of average build, about 180 cm tall is about 70 cm minimum.

  How to stick?   Tight, this is understandable. There is one subtlety. No matter how long the beard on the ax is, extending it is not harmful. Therefore, the ax handle at the bottom must be strengthened with something metallic. The main idea of ​​strengthening the handle is to extend the beard by increasing the durability of the ax handle on the cut. To do this, you can insert a rychky into the hole for an ax, where it converges with a sharp, low, in general, between the rychka and a piece of iron, a big nail # 200, for example, and wrap it with a tightly-woven electrical tape to the rychka. It is possible and more intelligent - to take the old steel peg for a tent. Form y it is very suitable. The peg bends along the lower part of the toporishcha, and in the part that you put on it cuts. Then the ax sits down.

The secret way.I am familiar with many carpenters in the area whose axes are very badly planted. In preparation for serious carpentry work, such would-be masters lower their axes, but spend the night in the water, so that they do not jump off the ax. But it happens that an urgent work is done, and you have to use this dangerous tool without its “preparation”. When I ask them, why not put an ax once good, what to constantly suffer, I only hear that the case is useless and the ax will loosen with time.

I have 30 years experience of water trips. And my axes often stayed in the aquatic environment, but at the same time they were always safely and safely mounted. The billet for the ax is constantly dried for two years, and the final year in the winter only on the central heating battery. The ax itself was mounted in the spring, at this time the tree is minimally damp.

The ax was planted obliquely with a wooden wedge, which was fastened with epoxy glue; by the way, the ax was covered with all ax handle to prevent exposure to moisture. And so that the ax did not slide over the hand, its handle was processed with coarse sandpaper. The ax was always taken from the 1GPZ brand from the bearing plant No. 1, this eliminated the mess with quenching or annealing. When going on a campaign, the group was from 8-12 people, and one or two axes were taken for use for all.


If someone was a novice, then he was trained to use an ax. If the ax was badly planted, then the newcomer was not allowed to work with him, for security reasons. They also did not cut on the ground, because if the hand is not solid, the ax could get a pothole. Always used the first opportunity to dry the ax around a campfire or in the sun, and then it was wrapped with glass fiber tape with epoxy resin.

Once I went hiking with skiers and noticed that their axes were secured with massive iron wedges, which, by the way, is a popular method. To begin with, the ax was soaked twice with hot linseed oil, but they didn’t really manage to explain why they add iron to the ax handle, they only brush aside the fact that, they say, the ax is loosened in the winter.

When I arrived at the dacha once in the winter, I saw a very good ax there, but for some reason after last winter he was already holding onto the ax. But it was necessary to chop wood, and I had to use this ax, that was. I was very surprised when I took the tool in my hands, because last summer it was impossible for them to work, and now the ax and the ax were as if they were one, so firmly he sat on the handle.

It was after this that I realized the secret of inserting a wedge from metal. In the frosty winter, the iron lug decently narrows, which is why the dangling ax sits well on an ax in the winter season. When wood is strongly compressed, it is strongly deformed and then some free space remains, and just that is why in the summer the ax hangs heavily on the handle.

If a metal piece is placed along the entire length of an eyelet in the whole body of the ax, it will also shrink and thereby make room for the wood and recover in the heat. This is the secret of well-mounted axes all year round.

Well proven axes company "Fiskars", although the cost is not small, relative to other firms, but the quality of the vystto, very comfortable rubberized handle. From low-cost manufacturing firms can be noted Russian axes Izhevsk from excellent steel.

   13:19 / 09 July 2015

Ax Cleaver Fiskars X27 (Finland)

Why such an ax is needed is as clear as day: to chop firewood. So it must be big, durable and able to overcome any tree. And an ax from one of the world leaders in the production of this tool does not have any problems with all this. At first glance, the elongated handle with a special shock-absorbing coating looks pretty easy and somehow toy-like, but in fact the weight of the cleaver is 2.6 kilograms and, according to the Finnish company, it is perfectly balanced.

The blade is attached to the handle almost tightly, which makes it impossible to break (and we, Russians, break anything). In addition, no weather conditions are terrible for him, and the blade is made of a material that is stronger than steel. Well, and most importantly - with this ax you really will look cool, because he was honored with the prestigious German design award Reddot. Oh yeah, the value of the cleaver pleases more than all previous advantages.


Ax Sledgehammer Husqvarna (Sweden)

This ax is also intended to stab massive pieces of wood, but in a slightly different way. If the ax-cleaver you have to repeatedly into the tree, then this can "move" once, and then work with a sledgehammer to split the log.

In this model, the butt is attached to the ax with wooden and steel fasteners, but how much such a synthesis is reliable, only time and active use will show. By the way, the opposite part of the blade is needed here not only in order to beat it, but also in order to beat it to her — it is not only an ax, but also a sledgehammer.


Outdoor ax Gransfors Bruks (Sweden)

An outdoor ax is an overseas name for an ax that, thanks to its versatility, will help you not to die in the forest. This means that with its help it is possible to chop up the branches for the fire, to dump the tree, and to run around the boar, and everywhere it will be good.

This model was developed with the participation of Lars Felt, a survival expert. We do not know who this is, but the guys from Granfors Bruks insist that it’s cool. The length of such an ax is only 37 centimeters, and the weight is 500 grams, so that manufacturers do not even rule out using it as a large knife.


Ax-lever Vipukirves 2 (Finland)

An ax that invariably surprises everyone who encounters it for the first time. However, like its predecessor. Blame is an unusual form, which, as we all understand, is not a whim, but a necessity.

In general, Heikki Karna, a Finnish inventor, was sitting in his house in the forest and was thinking about how to ease the difficult task of cutting wood, because this occupation is often a vital necessity for not the most physically strong people - old people, teenagers or girls. And imagine, invented. The result was not the most beautiful ax in the world, but it was effective: thanks to its shape, it allows you to achieve excellent results with less effort.

The second version of the acclaimed ax-arm became lighter and stronger, and the efficiency remained at the same high level. Bravo, Heikki!


Challis Ax from Best Made Company (USA)

Modesty is not the main feature of Americans. They often consider themselves to be the best without good reason, and if there are such reasons, then they can neither hide nor hide from pathos. And the Best Made Company has such reasons. Paphos here scatters from everything, like chips from the blows of an ax - look at least at the name of the company. But okay, not about that now. These Americans, according to many experts, make a really very high-quality tool that everyone is happy with: from the harsh bearded Vikings to novice lumberjacks.

The handle of the ax is made according to all the rules (the fibers go along the handle) of hickory - this is how the Indians called the hazel. Americans do not forget about the style: there are several options for coloring the butt, a branded sticker is applied on the ax handle, and a logo is burned on the handle.



Ax Masakari Ono (Japan)

The Japanese, perhaps, are obsessed with samurai swords and all kinds of nunchucks, but they are also able to do a working tool, moreover, in their self-restrained and refined manner. A small ax from Masakari Ono will not help you in breaking up huge logs into components, but it will be indispensable for processing wood.

Forged ax without any frills with an ax shape of an unusual shape is perfect for finishing. He is only 36 centimeters long, and weighs less than a kilogram - 750 grams. And in order for this “crumb” not to be torn away from the hands, the Japanese carefully put the rope in the butt.


Ax for throwing Hultafors (Sweden)

Another Swedish company presents us with an ax for throwing. Outwardly, he is somewhat reminiscent of the ax, so if you are some kind of role player, then he may also fit in your hobbies.

By the way, such an ax can be not only thrown, but it is also quite suitable for chopping. It is moderately long (76 centimeters) and not too heavy (1.5 kilograms), and the blade is made of high-carbon forged tempered steel.


Tomahawk Joseph Szilaski (USA)

If axes interest you exclusively as souvenirs and gifts, then you should pay attention to the work of the New York master Joseph Shilaski. Joseph specializes in the production of tomahawks, the battle axes of North American Indians. You will not go into battle with the ax Shilaski, but to hand it to someone or hang it on the wall is just right.

Since the tomahawks are made by hand by Joseph, and those who want to get such a souvenir for themselves are not considered to be, the line for his handiwork is stretched for years ahead, so you should take care of your tomahawk in advance. Very in advance.