Ray Mears Axe sharpness?

[MikaelMazz]

Alot of iteresting post.
SMARTYand stephendedwards said it well. I

 

[dean4442]

For quite a while I used a bog standard axe for anything that I couldn't be bothered to use the chainsaw for and to be honest some stuff that I should have because an axe was more fun! I've since bought a GB SF axe and am thinking I actually prefer my old one, I had stripped the varnish and oiled the handle but that's all I'd changed. As some people have said before the best tool is the one you've got with you at the time.

 

[bivvyman]

personall i dont think the emphasis is on the sahrpness of the axe, its the abitity to stay shape ! due to the quality of the steel.
A good knife/ axe will stay with a good edge for years & quickly make a razor , when rubbed up ,if needed.. no matter what you do with a bad steel impliment, it just wont stay sharp..no matter what & be blunt at the 1st chop !

 

[Toddy]

Somewhere I have a GB SFA ( at least I think I know who has it ) but these days I much prefer the little Estwing one that my bother gave me. It was the one that kicked about in the back of a joiner's van for a couple of years, only used as a roughing axe for ripping out interior walls and the like.
Warthog1981 cleaned it up and sharpened it for me and now I find it a really good tool
Feather sticks, splitting, carving......it's good for them all and it weighs about half the weight of the SFA so easy to lug around in my pack or on my belt.

I haven't ever sharpened it, but I do strop it before it gets put by, and the edge has neither rolled or dulled significantly. It makes great feather sticks, wispy fine curly ones, I reckon that's sharp enough for me, mother nature didn't provide enough facial or limb hair to need shaving so I see no reason to sharpen to that level.......besides, why would I use an axe for that ??

Been thinking about this; we're spoiled these days.
Not only are tools available, and good tools too, but there's a *huge* variety of them available to us.
In the past, the people who *had* to use these tools just to live made use of what they had and they got incredibly good at it. If their only tool was an axe then that tool would have done it all, if their only tool was a knife, that was it.

I know this is probably heresay, we do like our shinies but I suspect that when using the tool makes your hand fit it, callouses and all, then I don't think we'd be so aware of any limitations. Maybe we need less toys instead of more, and another one everytime one catches our magpie eyes

cheers,
Toddy

 

[spamel]

I only ever once sharpened the Estwing axe that I bought, it never needed doing after that! The steel must be really hard, no idea how it is getting on now as I gave it to my brother when he showed an interest in all things bushcrafty. I also gave him a spare Mora knife, so he has all he needs really! In fact, he got my Dads' Trangia and Peapod tent too! Jammy git!

 

[Templar]

Well a sharp tool is an efficiant tool... therefore you will do less to gain more.

Traditionally timber getters (lumberjacks) would keep their axes shaving sharp so as to be more efficiant in their work, especially when being paid by the tonage cleared...

Another perspective of keeping your tools sharp... a sharp tool creates a clean cut on the human body, it heals faster and is easier to suture... a blunt tool creates a more raggard, open wound that is slow to heal and a pain to suture... a blunt tool will skip a sharp one wont, a sharp tool needs less pressure to do the job, a blunt one takes more therefore creating the potential of more accidents... a sharp axe bites deep into the wood, a blunt one glances and bounces...

Just my two cents...

Karl

 

[Hoodoo]

An axe with a highly polished edge that will slice paper will also hold its edge longer. Not longer than a blunt axe used for splitting but longer than a rough-sharpened limbing axe.

 

[Bravo4]

Been thinking about this; we're spoiled these days.
Not only are tools available, and good tools too, but there's a *huge* variety of them available to us.
In the past, the people who *had* to use these tools just to live made use of what they had and they got incredibly good at it. If their only tool was an axe then that tool would have done it all, if their only tool was a knife, that was it.

I know this is probably heresay, we do like our shinies but I suspect that when using the tool makes your hand fit it, callouses and all, then I don't think we'd be so aware of any limitations. Maybe we need less toys instead of more, and another one everytime one catches our magpie eyes

cheers,
Toddy

wisdom:notworthy
Reminds me of an old New England saying, 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do,,, or do without'

 

[Green Deane]

I think the sharper the better. It's safer and requires less work.

 

[slamdunk]

wisdom:notworthy
Reminds me of an old New England saying, 'Use it up, wear it out, make it do,,, or do without'

I like that saying - sadly lost in most of society today which leans more towards, 'buy it, keep up with the crowd'.

My understanding of any edged tool is to keep it absolutely shaving sharp; it is more efficient, it requires less effort to use, accidents due to 'forcing' the tool therefore become less likely, any niks or cuts also heal much better - there's a reason scalpels are used in surgery!

 

[suburban bushwacker]

Being anti-fashion seems very fashionable these days.
SBW

 

[spamel]

Being anti-fashion seems very fashionable these days.
SBW

A very astute observation!

 

[suburban bushwacker]

Tee hee
Cheers
SBW

 

[bushtuckerman]

This comment of his should be taken in context. He was just about to cut wood at something like minus 20 or 30, not just one piece of wood but probably several, and if it isn't razor sharp in that environment then perhaps it really is useless.

How many of you who don't think it needs to be that sharp have tried to chop wood at that temperature?

 

[Fallow Way]

At that temprature the timber grows much more slowly and denser, so usually a longer haft is useful to allow for more of a mechanical aid in chopping down a tree, but this also translates in splitting wood (not exlusivly, but it is an aid none the less). Following on then, a sharp edge is even more important to make the use of that tool, in that environment, efficient. That is not to say it is not best practice in our country in this environment to have a razor sharp edge, but we can be forgiven a lot more.

Having worked wood in both climates I can appreciate the different requirements and the importance of a razor sharp edge.