Whatcha think of this?
- Thread starter Hoodoo
- Start date
Not too keen myself. Prefer traditional heads where the haft goes through the head.
Look interesting though.
Look interesting though.
I have seen something similar here not sure it was the same brand but I was a little weary of it's reliability with extended use in the field. The thought of losing parts or triing to replace the handle be beyond my skill.
James
James
It's a clever idea, the theory behind it means that it should work as the haft would be under pretty much the same pressures as a normal axe design, I think that the thing that would worry me about it is someone who is inexperienced with the axe or when people are tired they get more in the way of glancing cuts or even mis-hits totally.
In this event then there is a lot of torque placed on the bolts running through the haft and my concern would be the top of the haft splitting and the axe head spinning of into the unknown at best/worse case.
In this event then there is a lot of torque placed on the bolts running through the haft and my concern would be the top of the haft splitting and the axe head spinning of into the unknown at best/worse case.
Hoodoo: What I think is that you should buy one or two different models, evaluate them, and report back. -- Bear
yep, one of the local garden centres round here sells the bahco equivalent.
i've often thought that not only would it much easier to make a handle in the field, but it'd be stronger too!
don't panic, i'll explain my reasoning.
simple fact, wood, "in the round" is several times stronger than sawn lumber. it's one of the reasons why cruck framed houses/buildings worked so well.
simple fact, getting the stump of a broken axe handle out of a head without powertools is a big job.
suppose you were out on your extended trip and broke the axe handle. in order to manufacture a replacment helve you need a sizeable lump of wood to split to ensure that the grain was orientated correctly. ideally you need the grain to be running parallel to the swing/strike. you need a sizeable lump of wood, but your biggest and best woodworking tool is currently inop'
so you take a mere sapling and start to whittle it down to suit the eye of you head, inorder to do this you take off the sides of the branch to take it from round to bullet/pear/oval shaped. you automatically start loosing the very part of the grain orientation that will most benefit your handle.
with the funky bolt through heads, you take a swiss army knife, and an allen key. you saw down a sapling with the sak saw, drill two holes with the sak awl, bolt on the head and you're ready to go.
i have tried making tomahawk heads in the field. trust me, it's not a five minute job as some survival books or websites or tomahawk manufacturers might suggest.
the significant issue perhaps for your highly skilled axeman, would be the question of balance. without a significant weight in the poll side of the axe, they must balance very poorly indeed.
so, all in all, perhaps a very good choice for a survival kit. i want one! just a small inexpensive one, obviously!
cheers, and.
i've often thought that not only would it much easier to make a handle in the field, but it'd be stronger too!
don't panic, i'll explain my reasoning.
simple fact, wood, "in the round" is several times stronger than sawn lumber. it's one of the reasons why cruck framed houses/buildings worked so well.
simple fact, getting the stump of a broken axe handle out of a head without powertools is a big job.
suppose you were out on your extended trip and broke the axe handle. in order to manufacture a replacment helve you need a sizeable lump of wood to split to ensure that the grain was orientated correctly. ideally you need the grain to be running parallel to the swing/strike. you need a sizeable lump of wood, but your biggest and best woodworking tool is currently inop'
so you take a mere sapling and start to whittle it down to suit the eye of you head, inorder to do this you take off the sides of the branch to take it from round to bullet/pear/oval shaped. you automatically start loosing the very part of the grain orientation that will most benefit your handle.
with the funky bolt through heads, you take a swiss army knife, and an allen key. you saw down a sapling with the sak saw, drill two holes with the sak awl, bolt on the head and you're ready to go.
i have tried making tomahawk heads in the field. trust me, it's not a five minute job as some survival books or websites or tomahawk manufacturers might suggest.
the significant issue perhaps for your highly skilled axeman, would be the question of balance. without a significant weight in the poll side of the axe, they must balance very poorly indeed.
so, all in all, perhaps a very good choice for a survival kit. i want one! just a small inexpensive one, obviously!
cheers, and.
btw, the bahco hatchet heads were pretty thick, definatly more of a splitting tool when compared to say a gb wildlife hatchet.
cheers, and.
cheers, and.
Well Hoodoo I wonder sometimes about you do I benefit from knowing you or am I going to be broke and homeless because of it. :yikes:
I will let you guys know what I think of them I placed an order the other day and should have it by the weekend. If I get around to picking it up from my mail box I have been ill lately and taking it easy.
I will let you guys know what I think of them I placed an order the other day and should have it by the weekend. If I get around to picking it up from my mail box I have been ill lately and taking it easy.
CanRanger said:
Cool CR! BTW, sometimes I wonder if I'm going to end up broke and homeless too. :shock: Sitting on a street corner selling the last of my knife collection for a bottle of cheap port wine. Yuuuuukkk! :shock: :Crazy_071
Sargey, that's an interesting scenario you spin out. Making some good sense there bud. :super:
I can see a few potential problems with the design:
1) it's not just wood that has a grain pattern that gives strength to an axe, the metal in the head does as well. Drilling holes in metal cuts accross this grain .
2) How tight do the bolts have to be? You'd need to carry a torque wrench to check every so often that they weren't working loose, especially with changes in tempriture.
3) If moisture gets down the bolt threads will ot rust them solid or if frozen stress the metal
4) Murphys' law states when you need to do the field repair suggested it'll be wet and muddy and you'll loose some vital bit in the muddyist spot for ten miles.
Having said that, it's good to see people are prepared to take a new look at things and try to come up with alternatives.
1) it's not just wood that has a grain pattern that gives strength to an axe, the metal in the head does as well. Drilling holes in metal cuts accross this grain .
2) How tight do the bolts have to be? You'd need to carry a torque wrench to check every so often that they weren't working loose, especially with changes in tempriture.
3) If moisture gets down the bolt threads will ot rust them solid or if frozen stress the metal
4) Murphys' law states when you need to do the field repair suggested it'll be wet and muddy and you'll loose some vital bit in the muddyist spot for ten miles.
Having said that, it's good to see people are prepared to take a new look at things and try to come up with alternatives.
Are the holes in the handle lined with tubing? I can't tell if it's tubing or just a countersink from the pictures.
Personally, I like the idea of having a kitchen hatchet The other half would go nuts!!
Personally, I like the idea of having a kitchen hatchet The other half would go nuts!!
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