I am considering purchase of a boys ax or hudson's bay ax,
about the 2.5 pound and some plastic or aluminum wedges,
for splitting. These would be for camping and would be carried
on my back, with other camping gear. The reason for wedges
is to experiment to get to dry wood in a wet environment.
Any comments on this strategy?
I saw Bailey's had a hudson's bay pattern for $15 US,
a killer-price; has anyone tried this ax?
I am also considering Gransfors Bruks ($70) , wetterling ($50).
I have an iltis ox-head at 4 pounds, 35 inches length, but it is too
heavy to take more than 2 miles for car or camp.
Various opinions and suggestions are most welcome.
frank
Welcome to the forum Frank
Haven't a clue about the axe but someone will
plastic wedges are for felling not splitting. jmo
Yes plastic and aluminum wedges are not used for splitting. You will need a steel wedge for that.
a light camp axe will suffice for chopping but a heavier axe will be better for splitting. One in the 3.5 pound range is considered a felling axe but has enough heft for splitting.
Another option that you might consider is the ability to make splitting tools in the woods. Your small axe or hatchet as well as a small bow saw will help you to make Mallets or Mauls and gluts from trees you find in the forest. A glut is a wooden wedge that can be used to assist a steel wedge in opening up a large log. A Froe can be made from a leaf spring and carried disassembled as blade and handle or just carry the blade with the intentions of making a handle in the woods.
Those small axes/hatchets like the Hudson Bay are really nifty looking but I always wished for more Tool.
fnconnor
Welcome to the forum. (and I see Tom managed to get his oar in the water before I did :D )
But anyway:
Are you looking for something that will be the least amount of packing weight and still get your 'dry' wood for a fire? Or is there a need to hit the trail in style that would necessitate a quality axe in that $50 range?
Many ways to get dry wood, even without an axe, but easier with one. Wedges? Don't see a need for them. If needed, you can make them out of limbwood, and use the axe or good hunting knife to taper the limbwood for a wedge. Actually, the right size rock and a good hunting knife will allow you to leave the axe at home too.
But then, a good friend of mine couldn't go turkey hunting just because he didn't have the 'right' hunting clothes for turkeys. He had camo gear for deer, but that wouldn't do for turkeys, he said. There was some 'fashion' ideas he had, that one had to be 'dressed properly' for the hunt. The turkey could have cared less. :D
Thanks all, for the info.
I have never had trouble finding dry wood,
even in prolonged wet weather, here in
northern Colorado. However, I have read
in books and internet threads that it can be
a problem in wetter areas e.g. west Oregon.
On one internet thread, a guy from the Northwest
said he used a large pry-bar-type knife as a froe,
to split logs.
I was looking for an alternative, even though his
solution sounded quite good.
A steel wedge sounds quite heavy and is pretty
much a single purpose tool.
I have a small draw-knife that really cuts fast and safe,
that cold be used to ge to some dry wood; but if I really
needed to split wood to fit in a small wood stove,
then the draw-knife is not a solution.
I own an actual froe and it is very heavy, and again, it is
a single purpose tool.
Are plastic wedges of no help(??), even if the split is started
with another tool?
frank
Guys,
OK, a light just dawned. I had imagined that making
wedges was time consuming and a distraction in an
emergency. (made from roots)
Now, I am thinking it might only take a minute,
because you use a limb, as you posted above.
You modify the limb only enough to make it work:
it does not need to look like a perfect wedge.
Several limb-wedges could be made in a few minutes.
frank
I like a good 3# collons felling ax for a good all porpose ax
http://onlinestore.forestindustry.com/baileys/images/items/15850.jpg
you can get one for under $20 from bailey's one of the sponsers to the left
Woody
I sent an Email to Baileys about the Hudson Bay Ax.
Baileys promptly responded :
It is cast and Collins have their axes made in Mexico now,
since last year.
frank