Best Made / Base Camp X Axes

I have been using my BMC Black Donald a lot lately, doing all sorts of stuff with it. Splitting, bucking, felling, hacking smaller trees, pruning (yes, pruning), driving stakes, etc.

It is a beast I must say.
 
Checked out both sites a few weeks ago. They sure are pretty axes. If they share the same passion and can make a buck selling nice axes good for them.

I did "take a page from their book" so to speak, and painted a few stripes on my felling axe. White base layer with a blaze coat helps see it real easy in the woods when it's placed against a tree or sunk in a stump.

Can't afford one of theirs yet, and I'm just havin' too much fun at the flea markets. Finding an old treasure and doing some research is almost as fun as using it....almost.

Here's a pic from the old Collins factory I visited this past weekend.

P1000866.jpg
 
Operator1975 said:
I have been using my BMC Black Donald a lot lately, doing all sorts of stuff with it. Splitting, bucking, felling, hacking smaller trees, pruning (yes, pruning), driving stakes, etc.

It is a beast I must say.
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Even if this particular axe is "dressed up," it's not just all show and no go. Good knowing it can perform as it was intended to!

Casehardn said:
Here's a pic from the old Collins factory I visited this past weekend.

P1000866.jpg
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Nice picture shot! Brings me back to somewhere I can't place my finger on at the moment. . .
 
nickzdon said:
So cool. What's there now? Anything in the building?
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Not that I know of. They did convert some of the adjacent buildings into shops and a restaurant. The restaurant is caled "the crown and hammer", after the Legitimus logo. Good pub food and microbrews. Here's an enlargement of the old Collins sign.

CollinsSign.jpg
 
Blunt Forged Edge said:
Good to know. I've yet to take it out into the wild. I wonder if joining/volunteering with the WTA on their trail work that's scheduled throughout 2012 they'll let me?
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Yes. They'll let you...with some provisions. Tree felling operations are only allowed under the supervision of a trained person. But you can cut brush and clear some downed trees that are blocking the trail. Working on a WTA crew is about the funnest thing you can do while out in the woods. I really think you should give it a go.

Furthermore, this Saturday, June 2nd is National Trails Day. Find an event and lend a hand. It's a blast. If you're in the Seattle area then you might want to join the Friends of the Cedar River Watershed up at Taylor Mtn. Forest.
http://www.cedarriver.org/events/event-descriptions#national-trails-day
http://www.cedarriver.org/about-us/signup-for-restoration-event
 
Square_peg said:
Yes. They'll let you...with some provisions. Tree felling operations are only allowed under the supervision of a trained person. But you can cut brush and clear some downed trees that are blocking the trail. Working on a WTA crew is about the funnest thing you can do while out in the woods. I really think you should give it a go.

Furthermore, this Saturday, June 2nd is National Trails Day. Find an event and lend a hand. It's a blast. If you're in the Seattle area then you might want to join the Friends of the Cedar River Watershed up at Taylor Mtn. Forest.
http://www.cedarriver.org/events/event-descriptions#national-trails-day
http://www.cedarriver.org/about-us/signup-for-restoration-event
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Thanks for the heads up. I'm sort of new to the PNW and still finding my way around, but it appears that Tiger Mountain is right in my backyard so to speak.
 
I just don't think much of Base Camp X axes - they are clearly Snow & Nealley (i.e. Chinese) axe heads. Painted handles are ok but theirs are fully shellacked. Untrimmed fawns foot handle as well. This says to me - wall hanger axe.

I like that BMC is honest about the sourcing of their axes.
 
Seems like the Base Camp X Titanis Axes are temporarily out of stock. More on the way from New Zealand? My own take is that it'll be better to order straight from Tuatahi if one has the $$$ for same said axe, probably for a lot less.
 
Blunt Forged Edge said:
Here's a quick flick on the BMC AFA doing what it was built for.

[video=vimeo;20341966]http://vimeo.com/20341966[/video]
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Oh god, that was painful to watch. same with the video of the BCX dude (and dog) chopping a downed tree with that gorgeous racing axe. How can you sell axes if you barely understand how to use them well and efficiently? I am happy that they are selling axes, but for PR sake, hire some timbersports fellow (or fellow-ette) to demo your axes! show us not just the 'aesthetic' but what your axes can actually do!
 
if i may ...
i swing an axe almost every day,but i'll never use an axe that size considering my weight! with a heavy axe it's easy to miss the blow,and get tired quickly.
to buck a tree a boy axe is enough as it is properly sharp ,it might take off a piece of wood the size of the steel forward the hole.

i must admit those axes you show are truely mannish,and fine looking
 
flexo said:
if i may ...
i swing an axe almost every day,but i'll never use an axe that size considering my weight! with a heavy axe it's easy to miss the blow,and get tired quickly.
to buck a tree a boy axe is enough as it is properly sharp ,it might take off a piece of wood the size of the steel forward the hole.

i must admit those axes you show are truely mannish,and fine looking
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The 5-6lb axes might not be as inefficient as you might think. I haven't chopped with them a lot, but I have fooled around with some of my friends' big Hytests. but here's what i do know: I am a fairly slim dude and I swing a 4.5 lb single bit all day long for several months during trail clearing season. I hesitantly made the switch from 3.5lbs axes because i found i could chop more wood without any noticeable difference in fatigue. It is important to note that to make the extra weight worth it, you have to pay fine detail to your axe's blade profile, but once you get it right.... damn-- you never knew how easy chopping was! I even have a notion that the heavier head is easier to place accurately because the extra heft stabilizes against little warbles in ones swing.

with chopping, especially, blade profile is tantamount. any blade with little care can split, but to chop you have to make sure you have a thin (but not too thin!) profile with relieved bevels and even a slight bit of a hollow grind between the eye and about 1.75 inches before the blade--- this of course is highly debated ;) and depends on wood type and conditions. I have definitely out-chopped folks on my trail crew with a boys axe vs their 3.5-4lb double bits, but I attributed that to the difference in profile. once you add both weight and a good profile, you are chopping quick!
 
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