Here are some quotes from an interesting blog, "axemen's news online", which explains how North American axemen need to adjust their technique to do well in Australian hardwoods:
"What to do if you go to Sydney Australia and cut hardwood"
from Axemen's News Online, posted by Arden Cogar, Jr.
http://axemensnews.blogspot.com/2004/06/what-to-do-if-you-go-to-sydney.html
...Preparing for a chopping trip to New South Wales requires a totally different attitude than a trip to British Columbia or a trip to West Virginia. Cutting hard wood is totally different. It almost verges on the realm of monotonous insanity. However, that is what it takes in order to prepare for the rigors of hard wood.
Let's begin by addressing the attitude necessary for cutting hardwood. Cutting softwood is easy; cutting softwood requires little preparation other than going really fast and placing your blows in remotely the right place. You don't have to worry about the angles of your hits nor the angles of your scarfs. All you have to do is get the log off.
Well, you can't do that in hardwood. Your approach to the log is totally different, totally relaxed and totally controlled. You can't go like a raped ape in hardwood log until you have adjusted to the bounce of the wood, the presentation of the axe, and the rhythm required to get a log off.
In North America woodchopping can be described as "wham bam thank you mam." In New South Wales woodchopping can be described as "drive, chip and put." Seriously, cutting the hard wood requires a methodical approach to the log, which includes a methodical approach to striking the log. You have to make sure that you present the heel of the axe to the log as a full head presentation will more than likely bounce out. You have to make sure that you place your blows heel to toe, at the same angle, with deadly accuracy, coupled with a relaxed swing (as you will be hitting the log at least twice as much as you would a typical white pine or aspen).
...The closest things we have to Silver Top Ash in West Virginia is either Red Elm or red Hickory. Silver Top Ash is very hard, but also very chippy. Thus accuracy of your hits is paramount. You have to set up these big maple, hickory, beech logs and work on placing the axe as accurately as possible (using the maximum amount of axe to minimize the number of blows/hits) with a slope that varies from 40 to 55 degrees. Angles any steeper than 40 degrees will risk the axe as hitting straight in in hardwood is similar to doing a belly flop in diving. It hurts the body, so a straight in hit will definately damage the fine edge on an axe.
...you have to really work on your axe presentation. Axe presentation is a round bout way of saying "how you strike or present the axe to the log." There are differing theories on axe presentation, but I've watched and studied David Bolstad, Bruce Winkel, Matthew Gurr, Mitch Hewitt, Bill Youd, and George Quigg. All of these axemen present the axe to hardwood heel first with the handle slightly cocked on both up and down swings (as well as the drive and chip hits in the underhand). In addition, all these axemen strike the log with their arms completely straight. I know this may be hard to visualize, but I have prepared an additional article concerning axe presentation in a different part of the book. Note that in softwood, heel presentation is not as important as the full face of the axe can be presented to maximize the axe's penetration in the wood. Also note that when the heel is presnted to the log first, the axe handle should be at a 20 to 30 degree incline if you were to stand and face the scarf and the center line on the log was indicative of 90 degrees. The converse can be stated for the down hits. The same hold true for the underhand except the geometry is altered.
...try to cut 12 to 14 [inch] hardwood logs from start to finish with established hit patterns in mind prior to cutting the log. For example, a good front in a 12" hardwood log is 15 hits (two up, two down, two up, two down, two up, two down, and three drivers up). If you can cut a 12" hardwood log in less than 30 hits, you're smokin'. If the log is 13" or bigger, realize that you will likely have to go to three hits after the initial round of eight (two up (far, near), two down (near, far), two up (far, near), two down (near, far), three up (far, middle, near), three down (near, middle, far), etc.). Try to get to where you can cut a 14" hard wood log with 23 hits in the front and 23 to 27 hits in the back. If you can do that in the 40 to 45 second range, you'll give Jason Wynyard and David Bolstad a run for the money.
...take two or three of your own old black hytests or pre 1980 keesteels (that are hopefully at least 6 and ½" wide and 7 and 1/4" long) and put the following grinds on them. A 16 to 19 degree flat 1/4" to ½" bevel, with in initial lift behind of the bevel of approximately 2 to 3 "thou" (that's basicly enough to where you can note a obvious depression behind the bevel, both by sight and touch - which is contrary to most hollow grind that cut softwoods in North America). The hollow behind the initial bevel will gradually taper to 20 to 30 "thou" 1 and ½" from the edge then gradually taper back to bevel hight at 3" from the edge. The reason for the big hollows is that the harder timbers require less axe touching the wood as to allow the axe penetrates the wood. The initial lift behind the bevel busts the chip out of the way and the big hollow allows the axe to travel further into the wood. When you put a straight edge on the axe, it looks like a big concave hollow that is uniform throughout the axe, particulary at the 1 and ½" from the edge
Now once you have your 16 to 19 degree flat 1/4 to ½" bevel with 2 to 3 "thou" as an initial lift with a big concave hollow maxing out at 30 to 40 "thou" 1 and ½" from the edge, it's time to edge the damn thing. My recommendation is get the bevel flat with a diamond stone, polish it with the a swatty or green side of a punjab, then continue polishing it with the white side of the punjab until the bevel looks like a mirror. Once you've got a nice shiny finish on the bevel, polish the edge slightly with the white side of punjab. Don't roll the edge, simply polish it. Put the case on the axe and wait to finish the edge when you get some wood to try it in..."
quoted from:
"What to do if you go to Sydney Australia and cut hardwood"
from Axemen's News Online, posted by Arden Cogar, Jr.
http://axemensnews.blogspot.com/2004/06/what-to-do-if-you-go-to-sydney.html
alternate site:
http://www.lumberjackplanet.com/australianhardwood.html
