THOSE argos axes

[Everything Mac]

Well - I have finally had a decent play with one of those £3 argos axes.

blimey - they are really good. - had to give it a going over to sharpen it up but I really like it!

atb

Andy

 

[slammer187]

I re-profiled mine a while back and then split a weekend worth of fire wood, Carved a spoon, Made a few bow drill kits (all I needed was the axe)
and it was still shaving sharp after 2 light passes on a ceramic rod, they are amazing!

 

[Biker]

Shaving sharp? That's impressive. I can't even get a knife that sharp. More practice I suppose.

 

[brancho]

Shaving sharp? That's impressive. I can't even get a knife that sharp. More practice I suppose.

But its not necessary to get things that sharp

 

[Ph34r]

But its not necessary to get things that sharp

I would disagree. In some places, a sharp knife is a necessity: the arctic circle or the rainforest

 

[Matt.S]

I would disagree. In some places, a sharp knife is a necessity: the arctic circle or the rainforest

Yes but does it have to be shaving sharp? Considering the technologies used for a very long time in these regions I would venture to say 'no'.

 

[Peter_t]

they should be shaving sharp imo. a sharp axe will save you time. also if an axe isn't sharp it can skip over the wood (and possibly into a leg or the ground) instead of biting into it.

old tree fellers would keep their axes extremely sharp and would even polish not just the edge but the whole cheek areas of the axe so to remove as much friction as possible so to make the axe more efficient.

an axe must not be fragile like a knife blade. the final angle is steep compared with a knife and may not feel as sharp but it will still shave easily.


of course there is no rule or laws, do your own thing but I think the sharper the better.


iv seen these argos axes and they are ok but nothing amazing, i just think that gransfors axes are a tad over rated and are the only comparison okenest:


pete

 

[Matt.S]

they should be shaving sharp imo. a sharp axe will save you time. also if an axe isn't sharp it can skip over the wood (and possibly into a leg or the ground) instead of biting into it.

old tree fellers would keep their axes extremely sharp and would even polish not just the edge but the whole cheek areas of the axe so to remove as much friction as possible so to make the axe more efficient.

an axe must not be fragile like a knife blade. the final angle is steep compared with a knife and may not feel as sharp but it will still shave easily.


of course there is no rule or laws, do your own thing but I think the sharper the better.


iv seen these argos axes and they are ok but nothing amazing, i just think that gransfors axes are a tad over rated and are the only comparison okenest:

Aye, should be, for exactly the reasons you stated. But not strictly neccesary, especially if you're just splitting a bit of firewood.

 

[caliban]

That sounds like a good point about not skipping over the wood.

 

[slammer187]

Having a shaving sharp axe eliminates some of the needs of a knife for certain tasks, for example I can make feather sticks with a razor sharp axe far easier than I can with a duller one!

 

[FGYT]

yep i like my £3 axe hopfully it will make a good carver

and a sharp axe is usfull for other stuff

 

[Everything Mac]

is that the argos axe in that picture FGYT? - did you chop some of it off?

 

[FGYT]

is that the argos axe in that picture FGYT? - did you chop some of it off?

n othats my old Cegga axe sold a couple of weeks ago the argos one should be easier as its a longer bit length

all i did with the argos one was scrape the paint and varnish off and polish n oil

ATB

Duncan

 

[rik_uk3]

IIRC Dave Budd rated these cheap axes as being on a par with Gransfors ? Are the people living in the Arctic or south American areas keeping their blades shaving sharp? Doubt it myself.

 

[Rebel]

If you make your axe "shaving sharp" my question is how long will it remain that way? If a cutting device is being used for heavy duty cutting then the laws of physics pretty much determine that the thinner the cutting edge (physics also determines that to be sharp the edge must be thin) the quicker that edge will be damaged.

So while a shaving sharp pocket knife will remain sharp while doing light cutting tasks hammering an axe into tough bits of wood is bound to either bend or chip the edge if it has been highly sharpened. I think you will be spending an inordinate amount of time keeping you axe shaving sharp and that it's not only unnecessary but also undesirable.

 

[FGYT]

If you make your axe "shaving sharp" my question is how long will it remain that way? If a cutting device is being used for heavy duty cutting then the laws of physics pretty much determine that the thinner the cutting edge (physics also determines that to be sharp the edge must be thin) the quicker that edge will be damaged.

So while a shaving sharp pocket knife will remain sharp while doing light cutting tasks hammering an axe into tough bits of wood is bound to either bend or chip the edge if it has been highly sharpened. I think you will be spending an inordinate amount of time keeping you axe shaving sharp and that it's not only unnecessary but also undesirable.

mm your asumption is that sharp means thin not true

 

[Shinken]

and also, sharp polished edges i find actually last longer than medium sharp edges.

And consider that with a convex axe bevel the edge only touches the wood for a short time, after that it is wedged apart by the wedge shape of the head.

Physics may say so but we say that and get it wrong alot (i certainly do) trouble is we don't know as much as we think and we have not got the whole picture, the bits we are missing often give us a good reason for any given thing happening that we did not think should.

Somehow i think that life is so complex that it is impossible to get even close to understanding it all. Oh wait this is an axe thread

 

[Neumo]

I am trying to find one but they are all out of stock

 

[Peter_t]

I am trying to find one but they are all out of stock

sandvik/bahco make these axes too. they cost around £12 and are probably better than the argos because it has a propper wedged handle not just glued on.
you can trust that sandvik will have quality steel too, think of the laplander saw!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QEe8oDell4&feature=player_embedded


pete

 

[Hugo]

I am trying to find one but they are all out of stock

I live in Hove mate not far from you probably, so If you want one and are around this way I have a new spare.
Obviously I don't want to make a profit from you.