CT Boys axe experiences?

[Zimbabwe]

Hey y'all,
I have been looking at the Council Tool Boys axe ( http://www.counciltool.com/product.a...duct&item=22BR ) for mostly general use Camping/Backpacking. Anyone had any experiences with this particular axe? Also how it comes out of box, sharpness wise, is important. At the moment all I have to sharpen an axe is my Lansky Puck, so preferable it would be sharp out of box.

Thanks.

~Zim

[wildmike]

Mine came with a usable edge. Only took 20 minutes or so to bring it to shaving sharp.

Fantastic axes. The edge and head profile on mine is actually better than the head profile of my GB'S.

[Zimbabwe]

How long do you think it would take to get it sharp with a Lansky Puck which is coarse/fine. Most people I find use belt sanders followed by nice files but I do not have those at my disposal.

Thanks

~Zim

[Operator1975]

I would rather buy an axe and sharpen it to my own specs really.

[wildmike]

I have a puck and they don't take that long as long as major reprofiling isn't needed.

Make sure to keep the puck lubricated, and it probably won't take more than 45 minutes.

Another option is to take a piece of scrap belt, and glue a strip of wet or dry paper to it, start with 250 grit, then 400, etc.

[Operator1975]

Most pucks u don't need to lube, right?

[Zimbabwe]

My Lansky one uses oil but you really don't need that much per sharpening, however I don't know about a toal reprofile

[Zimbabwe]

Also anyone who bought it, did it come with a sheath?

[wildmike]

No sheath. But it is easy to make a mask.

[wildmike]

OP. I have always used a lubricant it keeps the stone cutting correctly.

Some puks you can use water, just keep dipping it in a bowl.

For the puks which need oil I use charcoal lighter fluid (kerosene ).

[Zimbabwe]

Mmmmm kind of rethinking the size I want, if I will be using it mostly for backpacking and maybe light splitting at the house. Do you think this is an ideal size or should I got 24in or less?

[wildmike]

Boys axe will work fine.

I have a couple of the 16"-19" axes. Most of the light stuff I'D rather have a hatchet, and if it comes to real wood's work the extra length of handle and weight of the boys axe does way more work for the effort.

[Sidehill Gouger]

Use a large mill file to profile the edge the first time and after that the puck will be all you need to touch it up.

[Zimbabwe]

Anyone know if it comes with a convex or V grind? If it come with a convex, would reprofiling it to a V be bad? I have no idea how to convex an edge. I do have a strop that I usually put a very small convex at the end of my Scandi's, but it's definitely not coarse enough to fully convex an edge.

[wildmike]

Comes convex. But you'll be surprised how little you have to do to it.

[Zimbabwe]

Alright sounds good, its prolly gonna replace my hatchet for backpacking, think I should get a larger knife to go with? I normally just carry my hatchet and my Mora Classic, or my BHK patch knife, think I can still make small enough kindling with a 28in axe?

[Square_peg]

....... think I can still make small enough kindling with a 28in axe?

No problem.

[wildmike]

You won't really need a larger knife with it. I usually carry one of my 5" ers. Winter I may carry more.

[Zimbabwe]

Alright awesome, also just found it for 20$ so will definitely be buying it

[kelseyboy]

Just to chime in on the oil on a puck, if you havent tried it, try it. for me it floats the shavings and really starts cutting almost like a file, just be careful and NOT SPLIT YOUR THUMB DOWN THE MIDDLE ,THEN HAVE TO USE YOUR TOOTHBRUSH TO GET ALL THE GREY SLUDGE OUT BEFORE YOU SUPERGLUE IT!!!!!!
and yes I felt like upper casing some words when I did it too.