axe, tomohaek or large blade??

[Fonly]

thats nice looking hartsell, do you know who makes it?

 

[Hartsell]

Hi Fonly,

Thanks. It is stamped Sisemore. From what little info I got when I bought it, Sisemore is/was an Oklahoma based knifemaker. He was listed in the Knife Digest knifemaker directory up until about '96 or so. I haven't had any luck tracking him down via Google. Maybe someone who sees this will know more about him? It is a well made item, and a lot of attention went into the sheath.

 

[Fonly]

Yeah, Its a very nice piece. And the sheath is great. If you find anymore info let me know.

Thanks

 

[Thomas Linton]

Thomas,

How much splitting would one need to do in the wild. Except for messing around and batoning my knives, I've never split anything in the wild. I mean, you may need to split a plank off a log for a bowdrill firemaking setup, etc. But you're not going to be splitting chords of firewood at the campsite. Are you?

Just wondering.

Not much.

No.

Mostly you can burn what you break off/gather with bear hands. If it's too long/too attached, I can saw it off with a very light prunning saw. If I need it split (to get to dry or for hearth board(s), the size stuff I use can be batoned with a 4-5" knife. If the knife were bigger (like my Barkie Golok), it limbs and splits better and can even chop for felling purposes (but I would still buck wood to length with the saw - just too much easier).

 

[Thomas Linton]

While I don't think he's "incorrect" about what he plans to do, I otherwise follow the points you are making up to this, which I am having difficulty understanding:

Dry wood cutting needs straight bevel. Not only is the thickness of the bit is important for the strength, but a rounded curvature of the edge is stronger than a flat curvature.

Traditionally in North America, axe bits had a convex primary bevel. The final edge was an edge - not rounded. At least, that is my understanding. I have a booklet from Plumb that says just that, and they sure made a lot of axes in their day.

 

[Andros]

G Moutafis, The axe im reffering too would be the wetterlings large hunters axe, Its basicly a flat V, though its a "thiner" V, it works extremly well.
Heres a little bit for you to read on the axe.
http://outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=147

Thank you on the link. This certainly appears to be a very interesting axe.

 

[Andros]

While I don't think he's "incorrect" about what he plans to do, I otherwise follow the points you are making up to this, which I am having difficulty understanding:

Traditionally in North America, axe bits had a convex primary bevel. The final edge was an edge - not rounded. At least, that is my understanding. I have a booklet from Plumb that says just that, and they sure made a lot of axes in their day.

Imagine that that you take an axe and look at it from the top of the axe eye (where the handle is inserted) down. This way you will be able to look at the profile of the bit. If you were looking at the profile of an axe made for hardwood, you would see that this axe has a fairly thick bit with a high convex formation. In case you were looking at an axe made for softwood, the profile of the bit would be less thick but still with a high convex formation. If the axe you were holding was made to handle dry wood the profile of the bit would be less thick as well, but the formation would be like a V shape, kind of flat ground. Still though, even a straight bevel face (V shape) has to be a little convex at the edge. A convex bevel has more strength.

I hope this helps.

 

[skammer]

Thats what I've said. If im hiking I'll take my saw, If I'm going somewhere camping, i'll take an axe, But im never leaving the fact that ( for me ) A knife is NO substatue for an axe, I'm not going to take a large knife in place of an axe. Theres a place for a big knife, and a place for an axe, Up here I'll take my axe, and a 4" fixed.
And I cant say this enough, Its the owners opinion, everytime no matter what. If your better at using a big knife than an axe, fine but the axe is what works for me.

No disrespect Skammer, Its only my opinion.

Dude if you can hump a large axe over hells half all the power to you.

Agreed a blade is not an axe substitute, my point is unless you are building a cabin you do not need an axe when on foot.
A large blade is a decent compromize that weighs less and is easier to carry.

at least in my limited experience.

Skam

 

[Fiddleback]

Thanks Thomas.

 

[Andros]

Dude if you can hump a large axe over hells half all the power to you.

Agreed a blade is not an axe substitute, my point is unless you are building a cabin you do not need an axe when on foot.
A large blade is a decent compromize that weighs less and is easier to carry.

at least in my limited experience.

Skam

Same here!

 

[Fonly]

Dude if you can hump a large axe over hells half all the power to you.

Agreed a blade is not an axe substitute, my point is unless you are building a cabin you do not need an axe when on foot.
A large blade is a decent compromize that weighs less and is easier to carry.

at least in my limited experience.

Skam

I'm not saying im taking it every where, But when I go camping i'll take an axe over a big knife. A saw when im hiking, plan and simple.

Now, enough of this thread

 

[mr.trooper]

* 6-8" fixed blade like a Ka-Bar

* 2" fixed blade like a BM activator or a CS bird and trout

* GOOD folding saw like a Spyder Saw

Its like comparing an El-Camino to a 1 ton truck for hauling.

And just to be a Pain in the butt, the only truck i could find with more torque than a 70 El Camino SS is the Ford Super Duty with the 6L turbo diesel; it has 570lbs compared to the El Caminos meager 500lbs. The El Camino has it beat by 125 horses though

 

[misanthropist]

I am a Wetterlings Large Hunter's Axe man, myself. I live in BC, and of course that means forest in most areas. Often I am on the coast, which means everything is wet. An axe is pretty well mandatory for getting your hands on the dry wood in the middle of trees, I find, although I guess if a man was so inclined, he could probably manage with a saw and a big knife.

I know some guys who beat the hell out of their knives, but I just can't bring myself to do much other than cut with one. I usually take a 4" mora and the axe, and that covers me for all kinds of cutting and chopping.

The only times I wish I had anything else are when it's dark and I would like to cut wood. I don't like to chop in the dark, so once in a blue moon I'll get to sawing. But that's pretty rare.