axe/hatchet for canoe trip?

I would bring a small axe. A boys axe is a good size for most any camping. Trying to process wood with a swiss army knife saw is not going to be fun for long. I like looking at antique shoppes and garage sales. You can find a nice axe head for cheap if you keep your eyes open. And its more fun than E. Bay. to go out and look.
 
The saw on a Swiss Army Knife is not going to outperform a folding saw or axe/hatchet, and I wouldn't trust it to be my only cutting resource. Any type of outdoors trip I take includes a "Plan B" in case Plan A doesn't work out. Depending on where a canoe trip is scheduled, what if there's an accident? What if the canoe dumps, and making it to dry land then surviving for few days becomes a reality? I vote for a axe/hatchet accompanied by a sturdy field knife of some sort. The Council Tools Velvicut line looks to be very good bang for the buck.
 
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KingKoma said:
All valid points as far as Im concerned, but none of it has to do with the tool. A 12" log is quickly turned to firewood with an axe, with no sweat and less waste than a saw. If you know how to use it.
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The original question was "should I bring "a" hatchet with me". Less waste with an axe when the kerf of a saw cut is 1/16 inch?
I appreciate good tools, and keen edges too, but have only ever had a use for a hatchet for minor tree pruning around the house and as a "persuader" in the shop. There is nothing a hatchet can do that a small axe can't do better. With a good sheath to protect the blade a pulp wood (often called a chainsaw axe these days) axe readily fits in a back pack. I came across a small Iltis Oxhead (made in W Germany) axe that accidentally wound up in the utility-priced Garant axe bin of my local hardware store 20 years ago and promptly snapped that up. Nicest axe I've ever owned. Thin blade and exquisite steel.
 
BRAVO2ZERO said:
Oh man, sorry to hear that. They have bear lockers at every campsite nowadays that are mandatory to use. I tried fishing too... Good thing we didn't have to rely on my fishing skills. It rained on and off the first day and then it was sunny for the next four days and then there was a whole day of rain, thunder and lightning. Do you plan on doing the circuit again someday?
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Highly unlikely I'll ever be doing any circuits in BC again nor doing established routes in Algonquin Park/La Verendrye etc. The problem with over-travelled routes in Prov Parks is there are an unnatural gamut of obnoxious squirrels/raccoons/bears to deal with (all accustomed to humans and clamouring for human food), ever escalating daily fees and rules, too many people, and you can't take a compact 22 rifle with you. The odd duck, rabbit or partridge in the pot at day's end is a real bonus, same goes for a fresh fish.
By the way if you want to have a good campfire chuckle and happen to have a bold bear or raccoon hanging around (and don't want to 'dissuade' the critter with a sling shot) just put out a few bars of X-Lax soaked in gravy. They won't be back to bug you the next night!.
 
300Six said:
....ever escalating daily fees and rules, too many people, and you can't take a compact 22 rifle with you. The odd duck, rabbit or partridge in the pot at day's end is a real bonus,...
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Well that sucks. We can still pack a firearm and take small game (in season) down here in the states. A snowshoe hare or grouse makes a fine dinner.


By the way if you want to have a good campfire chuckle and happen to have a bold bear or raccoon hanging around (and don't want to 'dissuade' the critter with a sling shot) just put out a few bars of X-Lax soaked in gravy. They won't be back to bug you the next night!.
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Now THAT'S funny!

(Just hope they don't come back into camp that same night looking for more gravy............hate to bust out the hogleg.)
 
300Six said:
The original question was "should I bring "a" hatchet with me". Less waste with an axe when the kerf of a saw cut is 1/16 inch?
I appreciate good tools, and keen edges too, but have only ever had a use for a hatchet for minor tree pruning around the house and as a "persuader" in the shop. There is nothing a hatchet can do that a small axe can't do better. With a good sheath to protect the blade a pulp wood (often called a chainsaw axe these days) axe readily fits in a back pack. I came across a small Iltis Oxhead (made in W Germany) axe that accidentally wound up in the utility-priced Garant axe bin of my local hardware store 20 years ago and promptly snapped that up. Nicest axe I've ever owned. Thin blade and exquisite steel.
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Well, I was talking about an axe. I agree that the usefulness of a hatchet is somewhat limited, at least to someone of my skill level. And, yes, less waste with an axe as the chips are easily collected and burned. The sawdust, not so much.
 
Square_peg said:
Well that sucks. We can still pack a firearm and take small game (in season) down here in the states. A snowshoe hare or grouse makes a fine dinner.

Now THAT'S funny!

(Just hope they don't come back into camp that same night looking for more gravy............hate to bust out the hogleg.)
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Guns are taboo in all Parks in Canada and handguns are entirely verboten outside of shooting ranges. Even a pre-1898 cap & ball revolver which is legally deemed an "ornament" by the feds, and requires no registration or licences to buy/own, is classified as a firearm by the Provinces the instant it goes "bang".
If critters come back looking for more gravy (had a brash black bear at the canoe-in area of Bon Echo Prov Park do that once) they cheerfully get another bowl of X-Lax. I can still get tears in my eyes laughing about this. Imagine a wide-eyed bear suffering from uncontrolled bowl movements and so dehydrated/thirsty it has to sit right in the lake for a day or two.
 
300Six said:
Guns are taboo in all Parks in Canada and handguns are entirely verboten outside of shooting ranges. Even a pre-1898 cap & ball revolver which is legally deemed an "ornament" by the feds, and requires no registration or licences to buy/own, is classified as a firearm by the Provinces the instant it goes "bang".
If critters come back looking for more gravy (had a brash black bear at the canoe-in area of Bon Echo Prov Park do that once) they cheerfully get another bowl of X-Lax. I can still get tears in my eyes laughing about this. Imagine a wide-eyed bear suffering from uncontrolled bowl movements and so dehydrated/thirsty it has to sit right in the lake for a day or two.
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Bad things happen when wild animals don't fear humans. Double bad when we give them food, intentional or not. I don't blame you for not wanting to deal with those kind of animals.
It seems that Boise has been having more Mountain lions in town the last few years. Some they dispatch, some they can't find. It's just a matter of time before a jogger or child is hurt or more than likely killed.
 
Brazen bears, raccoons and coyotes is our own fault but I would just as soon have them stay away from me when I'm outdoors. One day someone will mistake a rabid animal for a habituated one and then you'll hear about it! Ontario cancelled the spring bear hunt about a decade ago. This used to draw upwards of 50,000 hunters. Since time immemorial bears have learned to fear man and therefore tend to operate when humans are asleep or when we can't see them. Now of course many bears around here no longer face being removed from the gene pool (shot at!) and those sows that operate with impunity during the daytime manage to pass this trait on to their cubs. There is an increasing amount of 'shoot/shovel and shut up' going on here in rural areas because of this.
 
The Axe on the far right is Fiskars first generation 2.25lb splitting axe. The weight and profile works well for the type of light duty splitting you're likely to do on a canoe trip, and I've even used it to limb and fell small Douglas Firs. The synthetic handle would be pretty worry free in wet conditions and if you could somehow seal up the end of the hollow handle it might even float.

 
I have the Fiskars hatchet and really like it. I have played with putting water tabs, firestarter(ferro rod and tinder) inside and wrapping twine around the handle. Sealing can be done with a wooden plug and silicone caulk or parafin wax. Hole drilled through handle/plug with a bit of twine passed through and sealer poured on top.Neat little kit. I have also used my second one hard. For me it is great as a chisel on a stick, the steel is hard and bit runs through and through. I have used it with a mallet and a drifting hammer and no issues. Edges can be a little brittle but nothing major.

Bill
 
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