"Gas-less" logging tools for Grizzly Adams

[01crewcab]

I'm sorry, but I have watched that show(story) several times on TV, plus have his books and videos. He was not married. The only mention of family was his brother.

[john_boylan]

Add a fro, adze, and bent handle broadaxe to your list and I think you'll have most of what the better equipped pioneer ancestors had at their disposal.  Growing food and making servicable clothing would be a whole nother challenge.

[mrcaptainbob]

You are right, 01crewcab. I stand corrected. I watched the story again and was amazed at me. I can't figure WHERE I got it that he had a wife and daughters! I'd've stood on Bibles and sworn to God that that was stated at the end and that that's who donated his cabin!  :-\ Well, here's a small bio of him and his talents: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Proenneke. I recommend watching this talented guy at work. Very impressive.

[Bro. Noble]

I read the book 'Alone in the Wilderness' and also DickP.'s diary and found them very interesting also.  A story that wasn't told and that is still going on is about the Alsworth family.  Alsworth was the old man that flew Dick P. up to his cabin site and flew in to deliver supplies and to check on him.  He flew in from Port Alsworth on Lake Clark and was a real pioneer and adventurer in that area.  His son and grandson still run Lake Clark air and are still taking care of visitors.  They have regular flights from Ancorage to the Lake Clark area as well as taking people on guided fishing and hunting trips and sightseeing trips including Dick P.'s cabin.  One thing they do that isn't as well known is the rescue of downed flyers and the salvage of their aircraft.  Somestimes they can repair a downed aircraft on site and fly it out.  Their pilots are above average in skill and courage.

[mrcaptainbob]

This sure is an interesting thread.

[mad murdock]

Hi guys. I am brand new here, but was hoping you guys could help me in my thought process. My questions revolve around "early chainsaws" that ran on muscle instead of gas, so I guessed this might be the place to post.

I have a dream of one day going Grizzly Adams on the world... but with the wife and daughter. They may not share the same dream, but that is a different story.

If you guys were going "back to the basics," and you had to invest a few hundred dollars in "logging tools" for long term sustainability in the backwoods (no gas), which ones would they be? Assume that your needs were mostly for firewood and some very basic carpentry. I have a shop full of tools to work with processed lumber, but nothing to work with from scratch. I started my list but have not gotten very far:

    - Fiskars 7884 X27 36" Splitting Axe
    - Maybe a felling axe?
    - Axe sharpener
    - 5-6' one man/ two man crosscut bucking saw for when friends Mad Jack or Nacoma come over (tooth style to look for? brands? easiest to maintain for beginner? ebay or new? lots of questions here)
    - Long jointer
    - Sharpening files

I am not married to this list nor is it complete, but I was hoping to start a dialogue with you guys. Any thoughts? Thanks for reading!

Simonds Internationalhttp://simondsinternational.com/ makes any file for sharpening anything, including all types and flavors of saw files.
http://www.crosscutsaw.com/ manufacturer of new "old" crosscut saws, saw maintenance tools etc. and other quality tools like axes, froe, adz, timber carriers, peavey, etc. etc. 

Logrite(sponsor of the Forestry Forum) has a very good line up of quality tools as well, just may not have the breadth of selection that the crosscut saw co. has, when it comes to old style tools.  The timber framers forum on here is a great place to look for old tools as well.

[ickirby]

...learn how to hang an axe with a wooden handle and maintain it properly.

USFS has a couple good publications on the topic.

Here is the link that you want all about axes.

[mad murdock]

Thanks for posting that link ickirby, that is a great resource.