THE AXE

THE MOST IMPORTANT PIECE OF SURVIVAL EQUIPMENT SECOND TO THE SIGNAL MIRROR & SURVIVAL KIT

This an IRREPLACEABLE TOOL:

A person lost in the forest can with an axe snare nearly all game, construct shelter, cut wood and survive.

Even on a well known path, the axe becomes indispensable to mark well the trees as you go on, and if you want to come back without using a compass.

Also it can be used as a pick or hook on very hard ground, use it as hammer etc. KEEP IT SHARP & SAFE SO AS NOT TO GET HURT.

CAUTION:
This most important piece of survival equipment is also the most abused. In the battle of man against nature the odds greatly favour the person who is able to utilise available equipment to the full and knows how to care for it.

It has been found that some persons have failed to survive even under reasonably good conditions not from lack of equipment but from failure to care for it and use it to the best advantage.

CHOOSING AN AXE:

IF ONE WAS LEFT TO CHOOSE WHICH OBJECT WOULD HELP MOST IN SURVIVAL, DON'T HESITATE TO CHOOSE THE AXE.

ONE MUST AVOID TO BUY AXE WHICH HEAD IS LESS THAN 2 LBS. These are toys which have NO VALUE IN SURVIVAL or for sporting needs.

The ideal weight is 2 1/2 lbs not counting the handle. A 3 lbs is better in frozen wood but heavier to handle for the average user. One MUST also consider the biting edge and MAKE SURE that the edge is no smaller than 4 inches wide and neither be too thin nor too thick. In the first case it would break easy and in the second the sharpening would be difficult to maintain. One type of axe that is considered ideal is called the Hudson Bay.

BEFORE USING AN AXE ALWAYS MAKE THE FOLLOWING CHECKS:

1) ALWAYS CHECK HEAD FOR TIGHTNESS OF HANDLE. If it is loose either drive the wedge further home or make a new wedge using hard wood. Soaking the head is another method but it is not recommended for winter time as ice may form on the handle and inside the head allowing the head to slide off and cause possible injury. To drive the handle further into the head. Stir the end of the handle, not the head of the axe.
2) ALWAYS CHECK FOR SHARPNESS:A dull axe can be DANGEROUS for 2 reasons. First it will not bite properly and will tend to glance off the wood being cut. Secondly when blunt it IS NECESSARY to use more force which usually means a sacrifice of control.
3) Check that the handle is not cracked or split. A serious cut of sliver might be received
4) When carrying an axe BE SURE that the sharp edge is held AWAY from the body so that in the event of a fall there will then be less chance of injury

HOW TO USE AN AXE

You would learn more from a good axe man in one day than many weeks by yourself.

Don't try to cut a tree with a single blow.

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO AIM WELL AND TO KEEP A GOOD RHYTHM THAN TO USE TOO MUCH STRENGTH.

If you use it correctly the axe own weight will give you all the power needed to do the job.

MAKE SURE BEFORE using the axe that NOTHING on top or sides hinder your movements. ALWAYS check for branches or liana that could defect the blow and may hurt or kill you.

Most people have a natural prime hand and swing. Use an axe in a way that's comfortable to you, swinging it an ark that feels natural with a firm grip and ALWAYS away from your body, legs and hand.

MAKE SURE that, if you miss the tree or other point of aim and follow through, the axe will not strike anyone else. Don't throw an axe on the ground. Sheath it or bury the blade in a log

NOTES:

The usual 1 1/4 pound axe on a hickory handle will be light enough to carry & to do the work intended to whereas the 3/4 axe is a two handle tool and is designed for cutting larger logs for pioneering projects.

Keep the edge or "bit" sharp not just sharp enough to chew but to bite and keep the handle tight, if it gets loose drive in the wedge harder.

NEVER LET YOUR AXE TOUCH THE GROUND. Driving into the ground will nick it & leaning it against the ground will rust it.

ALWAYS have a chopping block under the wood you are chopping or splitting and when you are through using it for short period stick in the chopping block or put it back in its sheath.

On a hike carry the axe in its sheaf or lashed to your pack and carry it around camp by holding the handle near the heads with the edge down and out.

The old backwoodsmen were as expert with their axe as they were with their rifles and they were just as careful in the selection of these told as they were in the selection of their arms. They NEVER even lent their axe to anyone. Many a times I have seen them pick up a store axe sight along the handle and then cast it aside contemptuously aside.
They demanded of their axes that the cutting edge should be exactly in line with the point in the centre of the butt end of the handle. They also kept their axe so sharp that they could whittle with them like one can with a good jack knife furthermore they allowed no one but themselves to use their own particular axe.

All edges tools are DANGEROUS when in the hands of fools, DANGEROUS to themselves and to any one else who is near them.

For instance only a fool will use an axe when its head is loose and is in DANGER of flying off the handle. Only a fool will use his best axe to cut roots or sticks lying flat on the ground where he is liable to hit stones and other objects and take off the edge of the blade. Only a fool will leave an axe lying in the ground for people to stumble over.

If there is a handy stump at your camp and you are through using it, stick the blade into the top of the stomp and leave the axe sticking there, where it will be safe from injury.

REMEMBER before chopping down a tree or before using an axe at all to see that there is enough space above and below and around to enable you to swing the axe clear without the DANGER of striking bushes or overhanging branches which may deflect the blade & cause accidents.

HOW TO BEST USE YOUR AXE IN WINTER:

THE IRON CAN SPLIT IN VERY COLD WEATHER: YOU MUST WARM UP THE IRON ON A SMALL FIRE FOR A LITTLE WHILE BEFORE USING IT.

THIS IS A SERIOUS WARNING if it is really cold the axe can split like glass, so warm it up over a fire, or in hot water or even between your legs before using it.

1) Don't attack a piece of wood in a perpendicular fashion but use an angle of about 60 degrees.
2) Hit alternatively left and right of the cut.
3) Lean the wood to cut on a log, the hit MUST bear on a point opposite to where the wood touches the log.
4) Without a leaning log one can strike in the air.
5) If you split lengthwise, work against a hard wood block.
6) NEVER work on soft earth directly. It would also risk to have the iron hit the ground & loose its sharpness.
7) NEVER use a rock or piece of steel as leaning post for cutting.
8) NEVER hold the wood with the hand or the foot on the side where the axe can slip giving very serious injury.
9) One old woodsman method to cut or split a log is to hit the log on its head then twisting around the axe and the piece of wood you then hit the striking leaning post with the axe head, this will split the log in no time. (pix needed here).

HOW TO SHARPEN AN AXE:

To do the job well you MUST use a file & a wet stone, if no file then the stone will do the job but not as good. Use the file every 2 or 3 days and the wet stone is used after you have use your axe.

Start by wetting the blade & sharpen it with the file by doing rotary movements towards the exterior of the cutting edge. To soften the slicing edge one MUST make rotary movements starting at the centre of the blade going toward the edge.

So to keep your axe sharp, hone it regularly with a sharpening stone and touch up the edge when needed with an 8 inch flat mil file.

For honing hold the head of the axe in one hand in such a way that the handle points up away from you & rub the dry stone over the edge with a circular motion from one end of the edge to the other. Then turn the axe over with the handle now pointing down and hone the other side in the same way until the edge is so keen that it no longer shows up as a bright line when you look at it.

For filing, lean the axe head against a log or against a peg driven in the ground. Kneel on one knee and place your other foot on the handle to keep the axe steady. Place the file on the edge & push down hard. File the whole edge with long even straight strokes working along the blade from one end of the edge to the other, soon you will get the hang of it.

Holding the iron in full hands be very weary about the handle, the thumb under it and the fingers doing pressure on the grind stone as near as the biting edge as possible.

SHARPENING IS USUALLY DONE IN 3 STEPS:

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1) You MUST or should use a grind stone to reduce or thin the centre of the biting edge but not on all its width.

You MUST leave about 1/2 inch on each side of the edge at its natural thickness. This will make it more solid and wood chips will come off easier.

The grind stone MUST BE watered down A LOT so as not to permit the steel to heat up. This is why one MUST NEVER sharpen an axe nor a knife on an electrical grindstone since it turns too fast and heats up the steel and will ruin the blade strength.

2) Second step is the file, a flat one about 8 inches long with a handle is desirable.

Placing the axe in a vice and facing it, hold the file handle in your right hand and the end of the file in your left hand preferably protected by a strong glove. Then you file from up and down starting behind the biting edge going forward in a 10 degree angle.

The file MUST bite only in the movement up going down and not touch the steel in its down upward movement. Once a side is done then turn the blade in the vice and start all over again starting this time from the front part of the cutting edge going toward its back & in the same angle as before.

3) The third step is using a soft stone. Letting the axe in the vice start to polish the edge using the rougher side of the stone then finish it with the softer side which you then add a little oil.

You sharpen in the same direction as when using the file but this time do it in a circular fashion & with full contact, not letting the stone off the blade. Such a blade is less DANGEROUS & much more efficient than a badly sharpened one.

One last precaution, MAKE SURE that the sheath is very strong & thick so as to protect it from stones or other steel. You MUST also have a spare handle because you might need it.

REMOVING AXE HEAD FROM A BROKEN HANDLE:

Using an axe takes practice and while gaining experience axe handle often gets broken-usually because the head misses the target and the handle takes all the blow (A).

######### Since it is very difficult to remove a broken handle from the axe head; THE BEST METHOD is to place the axe head in the ground and to burn the handle, burying as much as possible of the metal in the earth to prevent it loosing temper - single-headed (B) doubled headed (C).
######### You bury the biting edge down to the height of the handle. Make a small fire on the head of the axe.
The biting edge protected by the ground will not be affected and the handle heated white by the fire will come off with no trouble at all.

THE OPERATION MUST BE DONE VERY QUICKLY TO SUCCEED WELL; but MAKE SURE that the earth is WET surrounding the axe iron. The wet earth prevents the slicing edge from loosing its hardness.

MAKE SURE that you put the whole axe after in cold water. Or have spare handle then insert it in the axe MAKING SURE that the head is well perpendicular to the handle.

To insert the handle, hold it using the left hand and hit the butt with another axe or hammer or stone if need be, the handle will come up by itself very well. This operation MUST BE done quickly and then as soon as possible put the whole axe iron in cold water.

Don't hit the head down on the handle but the other way around, you will then note that the end of the handle comes off the axe by a few inches this is to allow the insertion of a "corner" which will prevent the head from coming off.

If you don't have a "corner" then you have to make one up, ITS ESSENTIAL. Use the excess part that you cut off for this purpose. Use hard wood only as material.

Now using a hacksaw you cut off the excess, but it is good practice to let the handle overshoot by a few lines should you need to adjust the "corner" once more later on. This is where you get your "corner" from the excess handle part that you cut off you use part of it as your "corner" to insert in the slit and hammer it down in the axe head.

NOTE ON REMOVING BROKEN TOOL HANDLE:

Nothing is easier to remove a broken tool handle which has blocked the head. Cut the handle as near the head of the tool as possible, bore a hole deep enough in the broken part of the handle and in this hole pour some kerosene which you then light up.

The wood being impregnated of kerosene will burn easily and all you then have to do is to remove the ashes and fix a new handle. However it would not be prudent to use such a method for an axe since the fire would probably affect the tempering quality of the steel.

FITTING A NATURAL AXE HANDLE:

If you MUST replace a handle use a straight handle rather than a curb one, you will save time and effort. Give a rough shape to the handle and make a slit at the end which will receive the blade.

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Once the handle well in place strengthen the whole thing by inserting a thin slice of wood in the slit that you have made, try the axe and knock in again the slice of wood to make it stronger holding.

HANDLE CHOICE:

Now as for the handle, in principle one should not buy a painted one which could or would hide defects such as knots which would weaken the handle. The best one are from Hickory or Oak.

Second is too choose the handle the right length, even if the short handle may be easier to carry around the long one is much preferable to have the most efficiency.

The length varies according to your height so a simple method to discover the proper length is:

Let your hand drop on your side and measure from the centre of your hand down to the ground, this is the length that the handle should have for you. If it is longer you will have tendency to overreach which is very hard on the handle and can break it, if too short then under reach which is DANGEROUS for your feet or legs.

The handle MUST BE straight and not curve to right or left. To discover this default, let your axe rest flat on its head, with the biting edge facing upward and align it with the handle. If the handle shows a curve to right or left then choose another handle. The handle MUST also not be either too big or too small. It MUST fit well into the hand, this is not a pick. Too big a handle would not have the suppleness and too small would be too weak.

Once your axe is all set then you can paint the head all the way to edge using a bright phosphorescent colour which makes it easier to locate at night or simply prevent rust as well. Also the handle should be painted from the head down a few inches which would prevent the water or snow to penetrate in the handle near the head and to make it rot. Beside if the handle has a tendency to come off the head one quick look would show the non painted area.

MAINTENANCE OF THE HANDLE:

Even with a good handle fit it comes after a time that the iron starts to come off a bit as we use it. You MUST then shake the iron by hitting the butt against a wood log. The handle has a certain sharpness at the butt thus you MUST BE CAREFUL when hitting the wood log which could split the handle.

Thus it is preferable to saw a small amount of this butt so that the hit will have a straight impact. One keeps all the flexibility of the handle by oiling it with Linseed oil, the iron is greased when it rains to AVOID rust.