The best ax for felling trees?

BooRadley · #21 11/12/11, 02:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geo in mi

In the hands of an experienced user, a double-bitted axe may be fine, but I don't think I would recommend it for a beginner, as the OP seems to be. If you don't know how to grip it, and you haven't swung an axe, there's too much possibility for a comeback and a nasty cut...My opinion.......

geo

I used an axe some when I was young. But I used what we had, and can't remember much about it. It was double-headed, and it didn't take long to get into the rhythm of it.

BooRadley · #22 11/12/11, 02:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Norman

I was in a stand of lodgepoles with old stumps from long ago. They had been felled with an axe and it looked like they were getting them down with about 3-4 blows. Every stump was identical looking. It must have been some axe and operator.

It certainly must have! Impressive.

Forerunner · #23 11/12/11, 02:42 AM

You hang in there, BooRadley.

I like your attitude.

BooRadley · #24 11/12/11, 02:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CIW

I've heard some solid thoughts here. Especially the one about getting a quality chainsaw. I'm sure you have your reasons, and there yours.
When axes, and even some saws, are built. They are painted to preserve them in transit. I see many people that forget to remove all that paint and polish the surface of the blade. Then keep it oiled and wrapped in oil soaked cotton cloth when not in use.
Oiling and wrapping in paper after production is a more common practice for higher quality tools such as Swedish and German wood chisels as well as the best axes.
A polished blade goes deeper with the same amount of force and moreso, doesn't get wedged in as easy. To the point, look at a wood carvers chisel to show the refined surface. They always have a mirror finish.
Off the subject but to the point. We annually polish and point the plow shares, as it's easier for the mares to pull it through the ground. Then brush on paint when completed for the year.
Most axes, these days, are drop forged and dip in paint. The paint hides some of the surface imperfections.
When polishing I start out taking an unfired brick to the surface. Then coarse buffing compound on a wheel, steadily using finer until you can see your image reflected in the surface.
I hope these ideas and thoughts help.

Valuable info here. Thanks.

Paquebot · #25 11/12/11, 02:46 AM

You can still get one-man crosscuts but they ain't cheap and need a lot of upper-body strength to fell trees but it can be done. I could cut logs with one but not standing timber.

www.crosscutsaw.com/1.html

Martin

BooRadley · #26 11/12/11, 02:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stormwalker

I'm a woman.
First, I'd ask you- Why not a chainsaw?
Second,- Have you handled an axe of any sort?
Third- How about a two-person saw?

Hi Stormwalker.

I've fooled with chainsaws, and I hate them. Pulling them out when they get pinched, cleaning, sharpening the chain, mixing the fuel/oil, and trying to figure out what the heck is the matter with them when they mess up and how to fix it. Then there's the cost. Quality chainsaws cost serious money. I know that manual tools for these purposes do as well, but I'm also thinking of the future. Survivalist stuff, how to make it in a depression, etc.

I used an axe a bit when I was young.

Can't use a two person saw most of the time. There is another here, but they are too disabled to work the other end. Otherwise, I think it'd be great.

BooRadley · #27 11/12/11, 03:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paquebot

You can still get one-man crosscuts but they ain't cheap and need a lot of upper-body strength to fell trees but it can be done. I could cut logs with one but not standing timber.

www.crosscutsaw.com/1.html

Martin

Bucking with one, does this take more strength than you would expect a female to be able to manage? I'm 5'2", 39, average strength (but I use it better so people think I'm stronger than most women). I'm really liking what I see when I look at the one person crosscut saws. The cheap bowsaws from xmart haven't been very useful to me for anything lager than 4", but they look a lot different than the pictures of the one person crosscut saws I'm seeing.

Thanks.

geo in mi · #28 11/12/11, 06:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BooRadley

I used an axe some when I was young. But I used what we had, and can't remember much about it. It was double-headed, and it didn't take long to get into the rhythm of it.

Can't/won't argue with that.....go for it. Get a good one....

geo

OkieDavid · #29 11/12/11, 07:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BooRadley

The cheap bowsaws from xmart haven't been very useful to me for anything lager than 4", but they look a lot different than the pictures of the one person crosscut saws I'm seeing.

Thanks.

One thing that causes this is that bow saws are intended for limbing. Cutting stuff larger than a couple of inches results in pinching. This can be countered with the use of wedges. As you cut into the trunk, drive a wedge in behind the blade to keep the trunk from sitting down on the blade. Also research the terms "notch cut" and "felling cut". You'll save yourself a lot of time, effort and frustration. Good luck.

Ed Norman · #30 11/12/11, 09:23 AM

I knew an old lumberjack who got his start logging in the 1940s with a two man misery whip. His partner the first day was an old Norwegian. They got the first big Doug fir felled and started on the second and my friend was already worn out. After a while, the Norwegian said, "I don't mind you riding over there, but try not to drag your feet."

vallyfarm · #31 11/12/11, 10:24 AM

FISCARS makes excelent axes. They are very light, but cut deep. If you are not a seasoned ax-maiden I would shy away from a double axe. A little fatigue and you might take a nice chunk of yourself on the back swing. Saws are really much better at this than an axe. Look for Swede/Finn makers. They take a lot of pride and use better steel than most. Germany too. A good 2man saw is really the best idea for anything of size. Mike

Paquebot · #32 11/12/11, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed Norman

I knew an old lumberjack who got his start logging in the 1940s with a two man misery whip. His partner the first day was an old Norwegian. They got the first big Doug fir felled and started on the second and my friend was already worn out. After a while, the Norwegian said, "I don't mind you riding over there, but try not to drag your feet."

Are you sure that wasn't my uncle? He was full Norwegian, I'm half, and he was always hollering at me to stop riding the saw!

Quote:

Originally Posted by BooRadley

Bucking with one, does this take more strength than you would expect a female to be able to manage? I'm 5'2", 39, average strength (but I use it better so people think I'm stronger than most women). I'm really liking what I see when I look at the one person crosscut saws. The cheap bowsaws from xmart haven't been very useful to me for anything lager than 4", but they look a lot different than the pictures of the one person crosscut saws I'm seeing.

Thanks.

Bow saws have no weight to them so you have to exert pressure both vertical and horizontal. Bucking logs with a one-man crosscut is fairly easy since the weight of the saw does much of the work. Especially so since they usually have a real good set to them. Even after they start to lose their set, still not all that hard to use. But kneeling to leave only a 2' stump wore me out in a hurry.

Martin

mldrenen · #33 11/12/11, 07:33 PM

double bit is nice, but a good single bit axe will do the job.

i have two snow & neally axes, one new and one 50+ years old. the newer one is of lower quality. forerunner's list of manufacturers is a good place to start, and you can find them regularly on ebay and in local antique/old tool shops. pick one up, replace the handle, and have it sharpened.

a good quality crosscut saw will cut well, cost a small fortune, and are a royal PITA to sharpen. if you do get one, i suggest having it sharpened professionally the first time, possibly watching to see how it's done, then take the time to learn and do it yourself. here's a primer:

http://www.vintagesaws.com/library/primer/sharp.html

for splitting wood, i love my old Chopper 1 splitting axe. if i were to purchase a new axe/maul for splitting, i'd probably give one of these a try:

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-7884-3...ef=pd_sim_ol_5

TheMartianChick · #34 11/13/11, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vallyfarm

FISCARS makes excelent axes. They are very light, but cut deep. If you are not a seasoned ax-maiden I would shy away from a double axe. A little fatigue and you might take a nice chunk of yourself on the back swing. Saws are really much better at this than an axe. Look for Swede/Finn makers. They take a lot of pride and use better steel than most. Germany too. A good 2man saw is really the best idea for anything of size. Mike

Of all of the people who have responded, I am probably the least skilled with an axe. With that being said, we use the Fiskars ones, as well. I bought the splitting axe for hubby two years ago for Christmas. I also bought the sharpener for it. It works so well that I decided to take a turn with it. I found it to require very little effort compared with trying to split with a maul or with a splitting wedge. I'm a 5'2" female with a back problem and could still manage to use it effectively, if I paced myself.

This is the one that I bought and I got it at Amazon, though I doubt that it was from this seller:

http://www.amazon.com/Fiskars-7884-3...1215156&sr=8-1

shepherdtim · #35 11/13/11, 05:02 PM

BooRadley...you got a lot of responses but few that answered your question...check out Fiskars axes. They are outstanding!

js2743 · #36 11/13/11, 05:19 PM

i would prefer my Stihl axe it works really good and all you gotta do is keep it in contact with the tree and it will do all the work of cutting it down.

mldrenen · #37 11/13/11, 06:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by shepherdtim

BooRadley...you got a lot of responses but few that answered your question...check out Fiskars axes. They are outstanding!

i think most of the responses answered her questions (plural).

texican · #38 11/13/11, 10:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WolfWalksSoftly

Unless you have more time than money..... Husqvarna

My father was a supervisor for a natural gas exploration company... back in the 70's the owner came back from their Colorado ranch, and thought it'd be nice if the roustabout 'crew' used a 6' crosscut saw to cut trees off the road. After my pa found out they'd spent all day cutting one large tree in two sections to roll out of the road, he told the owner they'd just spent 1k in labor, for what one person could've done in five minutes with a chainsaw. Crosscut came home, chainsaws were the rule therever after.

Sharp single bit axes would be my favorite... I love my ultralight axe (indestructible) but a heavier one eats wood quicker. While in the Forest Service, one of my bosses tried to show me how to sharpen an axe. We were 25 miles in the Gila Wilderness. He "did" get it mighty sharp... it'd shave. We packed up, he wrapped it in it's spiffy hard plastic protector, and lashed it to the mules.... and promptly slit his hand all the way to the bone... could see all four bones in the hand. No radio coverage, so we wrapped it up, and he walked the 25 miles to the road, then the hour drive into town.

Forerunner · #39 11/13/11, 11:20 PM

Oh yeah >

Well, my younger brother and I have been running Stihls exclusively since we were in our mid teens. He's got the scar to prove that he split his big toe clean in half with a model 064 in the early nineties...... and I have the scar to prove that I inadvertently tried to give myself an appendectomy in the late eighties with an 038 magnum.....

So, take your pick for safety, ax or chainsaw.

Edited to add..... I still have the scar on my left kneecap from when I was four years old and was playing with Grandfathers hatchet/hammer combo. He kept it pretty sharp, too, come to find out.

I find that my safest and most trouble free days are the very few that I find myself staying in bed with a nasty cold or the flu.

jwal10 · #40 11/14/11, 07:29 AM

I don't have a nick on me from an axe but a long scar from a chainsaw chain when it departed the bar. I was not running the chainsaw but it sliced through my knee cap letting the fluid escape. Most painful accident I have had to endure....James