Axe Vs. Knife

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Old Axeman said:
PEG-"It's like asking the question car vs boat? One will hardly substitute for the other"
My Tongan friend Ulu and I are going to compare his outrigger canoe to my Toyota 4x4. I will let you know which is best.
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For some reason, your post brought to mind the pictures I've seen of tractors in rice paddies, up to their bellies in muddy water and often with paddles instead of or in addition to wheels. Your Toyota might have a shot in the right environment given the right task :)! Pictures either way!
 
I think it will be almost equal.
But the ax not tired either.

heavy knives work well!
I manufacture some in Brazil, see:
facc3a3o-forjado-bushcraft.jpg
facc3a3o-2-mc3a3os.jpg
facc3a3o-artesanal-forjado-bushcraft-sobrevivencia.jpg
facc3a3o-12-artesanal.jpg
 
Didn't seem fair to not have axe chopping pictures so heres a 4-5" party seassoned pear branch from today. My way of relaxing after a longgggggg week at work.

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After 3 swings

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After 7
 
So we ARE talking about equal sized blade and axe right? So lets get this straight, I have a 15 inch oal fiskars hatchet and I have a 15 inch oal knife. A 15" hatchet is not an axe. In any case, if we are talking equal sized items that I would carry on my belt, not a 2.5lb axe head with a 33 inch handle which I would not carry on my belt, the difference in chopping performance is negligible. In fact, a comparison was done so you need not speculate.

http://jungletraining.com/forums/showthread.php?9282-Junglas&p=108143#post108143

of course not only can the blade perform on equal ground with the hatchet, but it will perform a ton of other tasks the hatchet cannot do. So it is certainly the better tool.
 
Axe. The longer handle would give you a lever and crate more PSI. As long as it is sharp and used properly it will win hands down.
 
lucas teixeira said:
I think it will be almost equal.
But the ax not tired either.

heavy knives work well!
I manufacture some in Brazil, see:
facc3a3o-forjado-bushcraft.jpg
facc3a3o-2-mc3a3os.jpg
facc3a3o-artesanal-forjado-bushcraft-sobrevivencia.jpg
facc3a3o-12-artesanal.jpg
Click to expand...

Cobalt said:
So we ARE talking about equal sized blade and axe right? So lets get this straight, I have a 15 inch oal fiskars hatchet and I have a 15 inch oal knife. A 15" hatchet is not an axe. In any case, if we are talking equal sized items that I would carry on my belt, not a 2.5lb axe head with a 33 inch handle which I would not carry on my belt, the difference in chopping performance is negligible. In fact, a comparison was done so you need not speculate.

http://jungletraining.com/forums/showthread.php?9282-Junglas&p=108143#post108143

of course not only can the blade perform on equal ground with the hatchet, but it will perform a ton of other tasks the hatchet cannot do. So it is certainly the better tool.
Click to expand...

Used a axe all my life and before I started making choppers so I could afford to use them I would have said axe. After usings some nice choppers when you say 2.5lb chopper or axe I would start to sway the chopper way. When you get into bigger logs yes the axe shows its worth. On the otherhand the thinner geometry of the chopper works better for standing timber up to a size. The axe has less cutting area so the blows need to be more exact. A better was to put it is would you bet money chopping with a 2.5lb axe against a 2.5lb chopper. Me not so much anymore. I chopped a 8-10 inch half really hard 1/4 punky 1/4 medium tree yesterday with a 2.125lb 23.5 inch chopper yesterday. I dont belive you would have won the pot against me with a 2.5lb axe.
 
gsx-rboy750 said:
Used a axe all my life and before I started making choppers so I could afford to use them I would have said axe. After usings some nice choppers when you say 2.5lb chopper or axe I would start to sway the chopper way. When you get into bigger logs yes the axe shows its worth. On the otherhand the thinner geometry of the chopper works better for standing timber up to a size. The axe has less cutting area so the blows need to be more exact. A better was to put it is would you bet money chopping with a 2.5lb axe against a 2.5lb chopper. Me not so much anymore. I chopped a 8-10 inch half really hard 1/4 punky 1/4 medium tree yesterday with a 2.125lb 23.5 inch chopper yesterday. I dont belive you would have won the pot against me with a 2.5lb axe.
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I agree. No fixed blade is going to match a full blown felling axe or even a 20 inch handled forest axe
 
Yes indeed, lets settle this in a traditional manner, with money. The original post question was which was better on a 6" liveoak branch and felling a 12" pine tree. The Axe Vs. Knife were to be in the 2.5 pound range. I have a James Madison bill that says I will beat any knife with my 2.25 pound boys axe. I am even going to give a handicap, I am over 70 years old. Any takers?
 
If the weights are the same (not the necessarily the lengths) the axe should win on anything 6" or larger if a person knows how to use an axe. I'm not sure why it's a point about the need to be more precise with an axe. It's assumed that any comparitive testing would be by a competent person, otherwise what is the point of testing the equipment? I like and use both, but a 2.5# axe on a 14"-19" handle will outchop a 2.5# knife of any length or style when both are competently used on a tree of 6" or larger.

In carrying either a long knife or an axe to me it would not preclude a carrying a pocketknife. When my britches go on in the morning a pocket knife is always there. That knife would perform many other tasks that are most suitable for it whether carrying a long knife or an axe. The only advantage I can see for a long knife is to clear brush or smaller whippy saplings. For processing wood, the belt axe is preferred.

My comments are relative to typical north American forests. The contemporary trappers and woodsman of today still use pocket knives and small axes as their main forest gear. Go on any hunting or backpacking trip with a local guide into a wilderness area and I'm quite sure you'll see more combos of pocket knives and belt axes then pocket knives and machetes/Kukris.
 
The answer is simple. What will chop better, a tool with a weight distribution which makes its momentum weaker, with worst cutting geometry and more prone to lose energy by vibration or the tool with better leverage and momentum, with the geometry optimized to cut the given material and better energy transference?
 
Old Axeman said:
Yes indeed, lets settle this in a traditional manner, with money. The original post question was which was better on a 6" liveoak branch and felling a 12" pine tree. The Axe Vs. Knife were to be in the 2.5 pound range. I have a James Madison bill that says I will beat any knife with my 2.25 pound boys axe. I am even going to give a handicap, I am over 70 years old. Any takers?
Click to expand...

I had to look that up:

US_$5000_1934_Federal_Reserve_Note.jpg
 
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