Teaser post :D

[British Red]

Coming soon to a Bushcrafter near you............

An all new, bushcrafter designed, smith forged, Nessmuk ground axe. A1kg head handled with 18" straight hickory with a swell poll.

Its the middle one in the group shown below

Interesting no?

Red

 

[Chopper]

Interesting, yes.

Is this your work BR?

Will they be available for sale?

Please tell us more!!!

 

[bushwacker bob]

......Cegga?

 

[British Red]

Chopper,

If, by your work, you mean did you sit comfortably in your chair saying "no a bit more convex on the the broader splitting bit" then yes. If, by "your own work" you mean "were you the talented bloke who forged and ground it" then no

Its a highly experimental piece at present and this will be the first working prototype. The only top notch double bit available at present that I know of is a Lee Reeves. Lee is kindly finishing up a curly maple handled version for me this week - purely so I have a benchmark for comparison naturally .

As for will it be for sale, its far to early to speculate. I do genuinely believe that there is a gap in the market for a quality forged, accesible double bit of a standard as good, or better, than the equivalent GB for example.

I dropped this thread in to see if other people liked that idea as much as I do really. It'll be a week or two yet since it needs to be hung and then delivered, although I'll drop a few pictures on if theres interest, give it a solid workout and comparison with benchmark GBs, Wetterlings, Rosellis, the Lee Reeves etc. and bung up some findings.

If I'm happy with the design (and more importantly if the man with talent is too), well, we'll see where it goes.

Red

 

[British Red]

......Cegga?

Yup - I was rather hoping you'd help me test it out.

 

[Brian]

Brian like

 

[sam_acw]

Too dangerous for me I think. How do you go about learning the intricacies of a double bit axe whilst keeping your feet attached?

 

[EdS]

I got 300 acres of Yorkshire woodland that would be idea for a test.

Please.

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Double bit axe's :notworthy :Wow:

 

[bushwacker bob]

Yup - I was rather hoping you'd help me test it out.

Anytime

 

[Snufkin]

I can see the advantages of the double bit design, I think I'd miss having a poll on a small axe. I could be convinced otherwise of course . Looking forward to seeing the finished product (and the Lee Reeves, I have one of his hatchets).

 

[Chopper]

Too dangerous for me I think. How do you go about learning the intricacies of a double bit axe whilst keeping your feet attached?

I think that you need to be more careful of your forehead

 

[Snufkin]

I think that you need to be more careful of your forehead

If you hit yourself in the forehead with one of those you won't be worrying about anything anymore .

 

[hollowdweller]

Chopper,

The only top notch double bit available at present that I know of is a Lee Reeves. Lee is kindly finishing up a curly maple handled version for me this week - purely so I have a benchmark for comparison naturally .

As for will it be for sale, its far to early to speculate. I do genuinely believe that there is a gap in the market for a quality forged, accesible double bit of a standard as good, or better, than the equivalent GB for example.

If I'm happy with the design (and more importantly if the man with talent is too), well, we'll see where it goes.

Red

Red,

I agree with you. I love my Reeves Double Bit.

Most of the small double bits available(ie old Norlund, Marbles Etc.) are too big and heavy to fit Nessmuk's criteria.

The Ragweed Forge model, really the only reasonably priced version is in the right weight range, but while it's a great cutter the bits are smaller than Nessmuk's version and the handle is longer. I have never cut myself with mine, but with the 14" length it does make you feel a little nervous at times. Also the long handle and small bit for me makes it a bit less able to cut precisely.

The Reeves with the 12" OAL, mine at least weighs almost exactly what supposedly Nessmuk was 18 oz. The bits on mine are just a tad bigger than nessmuks but that's ok because the weight it right. The 12" OAL is just a fraction of an inch longer than Nessmuk's version but close enough.

If they could come up with a double bit that is very close to the original specs for Nessmuk at a reasonable price (under $100) I think a lot of backpackers might choose one. I use the thick side for splitting a lot.

Here's the original specs to Nessmuk's version. If you click on the bottom for the larger image you can read the dimensions and weight better.

http://wcudigitalcollection.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p4008coll1&CISOPTR=459&REC=1