It occurs to me that there is a dramatic difference in the knives and other implements chosen by those who GO to the woods for whatever reason, be it hunting, exploring, hiding out or whatnot, and those who live in the woods and call it home. I am thinking here mainly of those who were mentioned earlier as "natives" (another word may have been used-I don't care for it myself) who were using light and thin knives. I suspect that a normal European or American (All of North and South America) would use only the most casual of tools around the house and would treat his knives, axes, billhooks, grubbing hoes, sythes and all that other stuff about like he treats his hammers, though most would keep them reasonably sharp and certainly bring them inside at night.
Although there are a couple of stores around here that sell the Granfors axes, no one I know at home would dream of spending that much on an ax. In fact, where I grew up, in town, a few people still used wood burning stoves and they mostly left their double bitted axes at the wood pile. Many people in the country still used wood burning stoves but more used coal. I am a little surprised that I have been considering the purchase of a double bit ax myself and perhaps a heavy duty crosscut saw. The same store that carries (at least one) Granfors axes has a heavy duty, Austrian made crosscut for under $50 and a decent American made double bit ax is about $35. Even so, I am thinking twice about spending that much money. So far, I am getting buy on a Swedish made bow saw that I bought in 1968 (the same year I bought a Land Rover 88) and a Hudson's Bay pattern camping ax. If you keep the ax sharp you can cut through an 18-inch tree just about as fast as you can with a larger ax but it takes more effort. But anyway, my hands aren't used to doing work like that.
It would be very interesting to hear what someone from Malasia or Borneo would have to say about their knives. Do you suppose they use axes, too?
Although there are a couple of stores around here that sell the Granfors axes, no one I know at home would dream of spending that much on an ax. In fact, where I grew up, in town, a few people still used wood burning stoves and they mostly left their double bitted axes at the wood pile. Many people in the country still used wood burning stoves but more used coal. I am a little surprised that I have been considering the purchase of a double bit ax myself and perhaps a heavy duty crosscut saw. The same store that carries (at least one) Granfors axes has a heavy duty, Austrian made crosscut for under $50 and a decent American made double bit ax is about $35. Even so, I am thinking twice about spending that much money. So far, I am getting buy on a Swedish made bow saw that I bought in 1968 (the same year I bought a Land Rover 88) and a Hudson's Bay pattern camping ax. If you keep the ax sharp you can cut through an 18-inch tree just about as fast as you can with a larger ax but it takes more effort. But anyway, my hands aren't used to doing work like that.
It would be very interesting to hear what someone from Malasia or Borneo would have to say about their knives. Do you suppose they use axes, too?
