Who still brings axes?

[oldie moldy]

Well then Memaquay, how about this; take a wire brush and coarse steel wool and remove all the dirt and red rust scale. Probably need to have a stick of wood to get the steel wool inside the eye. Hot water and soap to help move the crud. One of the reasons you prize it is that it's a neat old axe that you found. Let it stay looking like an old axe, only one that has been taken care of and restored to usefulness.
There is a certain nobility in looking like what you are, what you see is what you get. I would gently grind off that portion of the head that is mushroomed over from hammering and of course dress up the edge where the sharp is.
I'd bet that once it's cleaned and protected with heated bee's wax the natural surface will be nearly black, shinny on the sharp.

If you try what I've described here and don't like it, you haven't lost anything; you can still go the grind and polish route. eek:)

Your friend, Rob

 

[red langford]

Memaquay, just be warned that there are funny laws about artifacts and stuff.

 

[Guest]

Spiritual and non-spiritual......hmm don't much 'bout that. [...] So....as I sit by my campfire, the evening quiet wrapping around me and my dog, gently touching up the edge of my axe with the whet stone, I think "So, you came from the heart of a star, so long ago and so far away..." Now, I may be getting soft in the noodle, but that seems wondrous to me.

Best Wishes, Rob

You get "spiritual" better than most religious people I've known.

John Denver sang something similar to what I think you're saying:

"I feel a part of everything I see ... a part of everything is here in me."

 

[memaquay]

Started working on the axe today, used one of those sandpaper wheel grinders, they are really nice. Started putting an edge on it too, and it seems to be taking very nicely. It's a funny looking thing, looks like they started to make an axe, and then left parts in. Anyway, totally burred off the ridge on the top on one side. Probably work on it more next week. Edited to put before and after pics.

 

[Guest]

I like the aged and pitted look of that. I wonder how it was forged? It'll be a handsome axe.

 

[yellowcanoe]

I wonder if Geoff Burke could shed more light on the history of that axe head.

He owns Chocorua Boat Works near by in Tamworth. He is an axe guy too and good on history of the axe.

Google will give you his email.

 

[oldie moldy]

Now your talking! You can just feel the axe coming back to life! That's a good looking axe head and the tiny dimples in the surface are only proof that it's not something new with no story to tell.

Now, while your hands are occupied, let your mind work on a really great ghost story to tell around the campfire to your students! Using that axe as a central pivot. There's nothing like telling stories with the magic of the campfire; it's almost a portal to all the other times that ever were.

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[sweeper]

With the detail in that head it should be fairly easy to ID.

 

[Guest]

Now your talking! You can just feel the axe coming back to life! That's a good looking axe head and the tiny dimples in the surface are only proof that it's not something new with no story to tell.

Now, while your hands are occupied, let your mind work on a really great ghost story to tell around the campfire to your students! Using that axe as a central pivot. There's nothing like telling stories with the magic of the campfire; it's almost a portal to all the other times that ever were.


Best Wishes, Rob

What a fine idea Rob, embroidering a story around a long lost artifact! I can imagine Mem, passing this token of time encrusted toil around the late night campfire. Each night a different student must conjure up axe lore, while touching this reverent tool, forged and hewn from the very land through which the young band of adventurers are passing. The young crowd could have a lot of fun with that. These stories offered around the fire, could become one more cherished memory these students carry home.
I came across photos of axes found near an old trading post, and a couple were just like yours memequay. I'm always amazed to find our young nations' histories (both Can. and U.S.) are still so very recent, and signs of what we think of as "long ago and far away" are only a few generations ago.

 

[Guest]

I feel no need to carry axe or saw and especially a chain saw! The only fire I build is in my Solo Stove. I wilderness camp to get away from noise,and electronics. Cell phone off and no GPS,just an old reliable map and compass. At 66 I travel as light as possible due to the carries in the Adirondacks. My bro and I play cards at night and up early chasing brookies! To each his own but I have watched too many people make numerous trips on their portages (carries). Way too much work!

 

[memaquay]

I've always wondered who keeps portages open in other areas. I know up here, if we don't cut them, they will be mostly obscured within three to four years. Hence the chainsaws. In places like the Adirondacks, are there work crews or an organization who keeps the ports open, or is the nature of the vegetation such that the area never suffers from blowdowns or fires?

 

[Guest]

In the Boundary Waters, the Forest Service does portage maintenance with hand tools. A FS ranger once told me that chain saws can't be used because of the ban on motors and motorized devices. They use one- and two-man hand saws. That's also true in the Sylvania Wilderness in Upper Michigan, where I learned how to use a two-man saw. Compared to saws, the only thing an axe is good for is splitting wood, but wedges are safer.

 

[memaquay]

The Boundary Waters must be somewhat similar to the vegetation up here in Northern Ontario. Around 2002, we had a huge blowdown that basically obliterated everything in it's path. We are still re-opening routes. I remember when we first re-openmed the Marshall Lake Loop in 2003, we were stacking wood by the cords along side the "trails". The devastation was unbelievable. It would have taken a long time to get through with hand saws. As it was, the 160 k loop took six of us eight 12 hour days of non stop work.

Crown Land is a mixed blessing, if you are willing to make your own trail, it is awesome. If not, you will be subject to some pretty severe travel.

 

[Waterdog]

From experience, if you do one of the more remote routes in BWCA in early spring, you may be ahead of the FS and will need to clear the ports yourself. With the saw and axe I take on solo trips, 6" logs are the max I can clear out. I did a 10 day trip at ice out and once I left the entry point, I had to cut my way through for the next 9 days. My dog and didn't see anyone though.

 

[Jimmy The Jet]

Personally, I always carry either my Swedish Forest Axe by GB, or their bigger American Felling Axe, depending on the number of people. I am just beginning my solo canoe life, but assume I'll still take at least the smaller one. I also carry a pruning saw and a folding bucksaw. My kit isn't overly heavy, so an axe added to the bag doesn't break me. Unless I am building a lean-to or other structure, I don't cut green wood, but if I needed to drop a few trees 2-6" in diameter, no hand saw beats the felling axe. 2 or 3 cuts and anything under 4 or 5 inches is down. Slows down on standing dead wood, but still pretty fast. Once the tree is down, dead or green, I switch to a saw. I just like using an axe on standing wood, and the saw on the horizontal. It feels natural to me and I enjoy it, which is my reason for being out there in the first place. I also like the poll of the axe for snapping off dead sticks for small cooking/boiling fires. I've had too many little pokes and cuts over the years doing it by hand, and the axe is just so easy.
Lastly, I really like late season travel, so I split wood for the campfire. I use the axe rather than wedges because I have the axe with me. I can always make wedges if I need to split a length to carve a paddle or find a big thick chunk to split. For smaller stuff, and quick splits, I use one of the knives I bring and a baton. Heresy? Maybe. Fun? Oh yeah.

 

[ppine]

As a forester, axes have great attraction. I like to build fires on canoe trips, and we always have at least one axe. It is mostly used for splitting kindling especially if the weather is wet. I have gotten in the habit of using Indian style fire building and just pushing the ends of long pieces of wood into the fire without cutting them. I have a nice folding saw but usually don't bring it. I

I have a collection of axes, adzes, broad axes, peavys, etc. I have one Swedish axe but have never brought it on a canoe trip. I would hate to get it wet. I usually bring a full sized axe that is experienced. The one caution about axes has to do with accidents. Some people like to have a couple of drinks and start swinging. In the Boy Scouts we had two kids put axes in their feet. It is messy and you do not want that to happen a long way from help. I hide the axe and keep it out of sight. It is good to have along in case you need to make a paddle, or cut some poles. It is fun to lash canoes together with long poles to make a catamaran.

 

[Guest]

128 year old axe manufacturer

I visited Council Tools while I was near Lake Waccamaw in NC and learned a bit of axe lore.

http://www.counciltool.com/index.asp?pg=aboutus

Interesting family-run business and nice folks.

 

[memaquay]

Whew, I just went back and read all 11 pages of this thread! I can ell you, the first six or seven are some of the funniest stuff! I snorted quite a bit. I had forgotten all about the roasting we gave Heikki! Good stuff!

 

[Odyssey]

Mike, I really like those Hudson Bay axes, especially in the Velvicut option. I really wish Oldie M would drop in here to tell us all a thing or two more about axes, craftsmanship, and star gazing. Would he talk me into buying one of these beauties, or talk me out of it? I'll sit on my money and wait for his wise words. In the meantime, I'll admire those axes and the family heritage behind them. That was a nice find Mike, thanks.
Yeah mem, I almost forgot about how this thread started, and then went a little sideways. I seriously felt bad about insulting Heikki's axe like that, and still do. If that were my invention, I'd get pretty upset too. It was Oldie's comment about inventions that first stung me into understanding the line I'd crossed. It may have been out of guilt, or just a sick kind of curiosity, but I musta watched every single dang video of Heikki dancing around that car tire. I remember wishing I coulda put it in fast forward, just for fun. It was humbling to hear people call me friend, although "fried" was an apt description of my nerves at the time. Boy oh boy, Red, Rip and Oldie sure gave you a roasting too, in a friendly kinda way. But to be fair, you always know how to dish it out too. And then our Finnish friend posted to you a link about a kayaker. Talking about waving a red flag in front of a bull...I thought oh oh. I think I stepped away from the computer for a day, just in case of any news of an impending CanAmerican - Finn cold war. I think my sides still hurt from laughing at YC's Dances with Wood. By the by, ever since this thread went haywire, there's something I've wanted to ask, but have been afraid to. Do you really chop wood with one hand while holding a beer? Amazing!

 

[Rippy]

That was a fun few days when Heikki showed up to defend his honor. Especially when he posted up a map to show us where Finland was. Mem are you still using your "fat power" or what ever he called it?