Chopping tools foor hiking, camping or survival in temperate climate woods

[littleknife]

I posted this yesterday on the other forum, but I think it would be useful to post it here too, due to its extensive axe related content.

I was searching for the past several years for a versatile, efficient but not too heavy chopping tool for camping, off-trail long-hiking and in case of emergency, as a survival tool.

I've read tons of info in a lot of books and on several web-sites or Forums, compared it to my own limited experience, tried out a lot of options and this is what I found to work for me.
I am in no way an expert in outdoor survival, primitive living or bushcraft, so please read this as a personal report rather than a recommendation. People and their tastes are quite different, but there are some similarities too, so there is the slim possibility one might have the same preferences as I do.

At the beginning I was looking for a one-does-it-all-equally-well type of tool, but it did not take a great brain-effort to realize that there is no such a tool.
So, I started looking for some good compromises.

Being a knife-nut, naturally I was searching for a large knife at first. The Ontario RTAK and the BK&T Brute are suitable, but I thought (and this might be my mistake) that both are limited to a specific type and size of vegatation they can efficiently and quickly chop.

My next logiical step was to consider some more exotic and more dedicated chopping tools, like the machetes, bolos, parangs and khukuries.
Despite the numerous positive reports on the contrary, I've found the machetes to be too thin and not so versatile for me in the woods of temperate climate. Once again, this is just my experience.

Next, I considered the khukuries.
Fortunately for me, I decided to order from Himalayan Imports (HI), which sells a series of heavy-duty khukuries specificly produced to be dedicated woodchopping tools.
I ended up with ordering more than a dozen khukuries of different types and sizes (most of them were given away while searching for the optimal one).
What I have found out was that the HI British Army Service (BAS) and the Baby Ganga Ram Special (BGRS) models in the 15-17" range, especially the villager models were the ones which worked the best for me, considering the portable size, knife weight, versatility and dynamics mostly.
I've found the smaller models less comfortable to hold and less versatile, while the larger than 18" models are just too heavy for a prolonged chopping and too long to carry comfortably.

I am happy with these khukuries, but sadly, we live now in a politically-too-correct society, in which people with too much free time or to little common sense, backed up by politicians fixated on press-reports and polls, and by lawyers fixated on fame and money, try to enforce their limited views and prescribe us what is aacceptable.
Shortly, while these khukuries are wonderful chopping tools, they are considered by many if not most as dangerous weapons.

This lead me to my next stage of my search for something (hopefully) less controversial and more in the traditions of our society: the axe.

Since I am not a lumberjack, neither need to build a log house or big wooden camp in the woods, I don't need a felling axe. They, or even the smaller, 24-26" boy's axes are also too bulky to carry around.
For quick firewood processing or cutting a few poles a smaller axe or hatchet is more than sufficient.
However, I found out personally, and many reported this too, that a light hatchet needs much finer hand coordination for a safe and efficient use than a heavier axe.
The smaller the hatchet the less efficient or versatile is it to use, especially in cold, adrenaline-rushed situation or in knotty, hard wood.

While the lightweight, short hatchets are very cute, easy to carry on a belt or in a pack, for me these advantages are outweighed by the disadvantages above.
Recently I visited about 10 different hardware stores, both the omnipresent Lowe's, Home Depot, Sears, Ace and many smaller, quickly disappearing mom-and-pop operations, but nowhere could I find a useable hatchet.

Most had the all-metal Estwings with their horrible grips, orr the new, plastic-handled Fiskars or Gerbers, which I am not fond either. Some stores carried bulky, very thick Chinese made hatchets, which at least were finished nicely, others Mexican ones, which while lighter, were poorly made and of questionable quality materials. Sadly, the poorest quality cheaper traditional camping hatchets were made here in the old USA. These had the thickest bits, were very poorly fitted on some non-hickory, knotty wood handles, and had no edge at all (around 50 degrees!). These need an immense amount of reprofiling just to put an initial edge on them.

Considering these options, the more expensive, but quality Wetterlings seems like a great deal. The Gransfors Bruks Wildlife hatchet is considered by many the best production hatchet available nowadays, but with its mere 1 lb head and 13-14" handle is too tiny for me (see my personal safety concerns above). At this size, it is also not so versatile, to justify the high cost (60-90 $US).
Wetterlings makes a 16" long 1 1/2 lb head medium hunters hatchet, which is advertised for less than 30 $US by many internet-dealers, but it is unavailable for most of the times.
Also, I find it a little bit too bit heavy for this handle size.

So for me, the 19" size, 1 1/2 lb head traditional hatchets are the ones which I find to be safe enough, versatile for both smaller and larger job, but not too bulky to carry, and most importantly not too intimidating. Wetterlings calls this size the Large Hunters Hatchet, while Gransfors Bruks the Small Forest Axe.

While optimal in weight and length, both come with curved handles which I presonally don't like too much.
That's why it was logical to consider the tomahawks, especially the camp axe types.

My first was the Cold Steel Trail Hawk, which turned out to be too handle heavy for me. Its narrow, thin bit is god for quite a few woodlore tasks, but I found it less safe and versatile than what I hoped for. On the positive side it throws well and has a nice hardened hammer poll, also it is very cheap.

I ended up ordering the Fort Turner's Buck Hawk from Dana Turner, the H&B Forge Shawnee tomahawk, and a 6150 cast carbon steel Allan hawk, the Octagon hawk from Ragnar (Ragweed Forge).
The Fort Turner and the H&B are hand forged from milder steel for the eye and 1095 steel for the bit. Both are around 19" long, but the H&B is about 40% heavier than the Fort Turner.
My impression is that the very robust H&B Shawnee is more optimized for frequent heavy throwing, while the Fort Turner is suitable for both throwing and bushcraft.

The Octagon Hawk was heat treated by Ragnar, he also put an excellent handle on it and sharpened it to a razor sharp edge optimized for hardwood chopping. This is the lightest of the 3 hawks, and while I prefer a more solid head in a hatchet, I like the lighter ones when it comes to tomahawks (similar edge size can be achieved in a much lighter hawk head due to the difference in construction).

What I've learned from hese tomahawks is, that they can be a lot of fun, and can provide a lot of versatility, but they are not as optimized for heavier wod chopping or especially splitting as the large, dedicated woodchopping hatchets/small axes. They can be on par however, if not superior, if quality made, to the smaller hatchets, IMHO.

Many people like the Nessmuk type light, double bit hatchets. I found them akward and dangerous to use, especially when choking up on the handle. If anything, I would prefer a hammer poll rather than a second blade facing me.

In summary, MY choice for the hiking, camping and eventual survival scenario in temperate climate woods are the 15-17" woodchopping khukries or, where "political correctness" is a major issue, a 17-19" woodlore tomahawk.
I would also strongly consider the 19" large hatchet/small forest axe option if they would be available with less curved handles. (Even the Gransfors Bruks Hunters Axe has an extreme for me curve at the very end of its 19" handle.)

 

[littleknife]

Hollowdweller had the following comment to the above post:

19" would be too heavy for me but I bet it would have good chopping power. I like shorter handle with heavier head and I seem to be able to get better control with it. Less leverage but more precision.

This made me to think further on the topic:


You make an interesting and important point, Hollowdweller.
Heavier heads don't require very strong swings, so there is no need for very long handles either.

I like the longer handles because they provide more versatility: I can choke up and use it as a shorter handled hatchet too. That is why I prefer the straight handles, as found on tomahawks too, it is easier to choke up and also, they can be held in a variety of positions.
A curved handle might be very comfortable in a specific gripping position but in the same time this restricts the number of comfortable enough alternative holds too.

This brings me to the next stage of my personal quest for yet another outdoor chopping tool.
If I consider my chopping needs during my hiking/camping or eventual short term surviving in the woods, the felling of larger trees is quite unlikely. Actually, nowadays in most hiking/camping locations, the felling of any kind of tree by visitors is strictly forbidden.

Since I don't hike extensively in the winter, and definitely not too far from town, procuring wood for fire or a survival shelter does not require chopping up huge logs.
The branches and smaller dead trees can be cut efficiently with smaller axes. Small hatchets would do the trick too, but it will take longer.
That's why I prefer heavier hatchets/small axes.

Most of the work requiring axe would be lopping off branches, cutting them up to smaller pieces and/or splitting them.
These tasks can be very efficiently done with a heavier carpenter's axe. A lighter, very thin blade carpenter's axe won't be my first choice though, but Wetterlings makes one with a 2 1/4 lb head, which while on the heavy side is quite strong too.

I recently ordered one from Ragnar and he put on it a strong but still shaving sharp edge.
The handle is not completely straight but not too curved either.
Compared to the Wetterlings the Gransfors Bruks carpenter's axe is lighter (1 1/2 lb head), smaller and thinner. It would be definitely more portable, has the kind of straight handle I prefer, but is likely to be not so sturdy for outdoor purposes. I would be surprised however if it would not be sturdier than the GB Wildlife or Mini hatchets.

The carpenter's axe is definitely not a felling pattern, but it excels in cutting up branches or splitting them, if used as the carpenters use it: with smaller and lighter swings, or simply letting the weight of the axe head to do the splitting.

IMHO the heavier head on the Swedish type carpenter's axe combined with a straighter handle makes it a good choice for the type of chopping and splitting a modern day hiker/camper might have to do.

This also reminds me of the utility of a heavy duty adze I was using frequently as a young lad. This was a European adze, much heavier, broader and stronger than the ones currently available from German, Swedish, English or American makers.
It was a very strong chopper and could be used easily for rough shaping too. I wish I still had it, it would be my first choice for hiking.

I was looking at the old Viking adze in Ragnars catalog, but I think even the GB carpenter's axe would be stronger for outdoor purposes. Of course, I might be wrong again.

 

[JW]

I have found the handle of GB's Hunters Axe to be very useful. The handle is straight until the lower 1/3 and there the single forward curve allows alot of leverage if you do want to cut deep. I have done side-by-side chopping with a Wildlife hatchet and the Hunter and with 6 oz more weight and a few inches more handle, the Hunter cut thru 6" black walnut in half the strokes. The straight upper handle still works for fine control. It would be interesting to compare to a hawk of same weight but I suspect the Hunter would outcut by a small advantage if handle shape was the only factor. Hawks are OK, but I don't throw my tools and personally, I just don't find them as all-around useful as the small axe.
I tried the HI BAS but the handles didn't work for me, sharp corners that dig into the heel of my hand.
What I really want is a SFA with the Hunter's handle since the Hunter's "flay poll" is much less useful for it's intended purpose than a flat poll would be for light hammering duty around camp.

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

First, let me establish that I am a traditional tomahawk lover. They're versatile and to me generally a pleasure to use.

That said, for collecting and shortening smaller branches and sticks for firewood I can think of a light weight solution that doesn't involve axe, hawk, or large chopping knife, unless you want a heavy knife you can baton to split larger wood pieces with. I would suggest a folding saw such as the Coughlan type, very lightweight, and your hands/feet. If the wood is dry and smaller branch size, then you should be able to just break much of it into sections. For those slightly larger, stubborn pieces use the saw. By your post I understand you won't be dealing with 4 inch and larger diameter wood that much except for the occasional find. The saw cuts quickely enough. On anything that really needs cutting the saw will be quicker than a blade unless you inisit on cutting 1-2 inch sticks instead of breaking them. In that case you might get through in a whack or two with a chopper.

I know it doesn't sound as romantic as swinging steel to satisfy your wood needs, but breaking and sawing are quick ways to build a wood pile. Much cheaper too. Once you have something to rest it on, you can reduce a 3-4 inch branch into fire length sections in short order. If you just have to have few of those little logs split for kindling, a decent knife will do the job. Or a hawk.

 

[littleknife]

Amos Iron Wolf, you have a point.
I avoid breaking up dry branches and sticks, except the smallest ones (1" and less). Chopping them up takes less effort for me.

I've used saws outdoors, and I think they are not as efficient or versatile as a good chopping tool.
Even if I place several branches parallellely and saw them simultaneously, the sawing is still a slower process for me than the chopping.

On the other hand saws are definitely safer. IMHO saws might be the better choice when cutting thicker trunks or high standing branches (the latter being a dangerous situation anyway). But those situations require larger saws, the smaller ones are less capable than the small axe or khukuri.
Also, saws tend to bind more in thicker, greener wood in my experience, but I might be wrong on that one too.
Overall, due to their light weight and relative safety, folding saws are a good backup (or even a must) to have in addition to the chopping tool. :thumbup:
I always take one with me too, it just rarely sees any action.

 

[littleknife]

I tried the HI BAS but the handles didn't work for me, sharp corners that dig into the heel of my hand.

JW, granting that one has to find the optimal for that person handle shape in a khukuri too, I think many Westerners are not gripping the khukuries properly. Our instinct is to grip the khukuri close to the handle butt with one of the butt flares facing our palm.
I've found that when I hold the khukuri closer to the bolster and somewhat from the side, i.e. the plane of the butt flares is parallel to the base of my palm, I can pivot the khukuri so the sharp corners of the butt flares don't touch my hand at all. I hold the khukuri with the front of my palm and the base of my thumb and fingers, and at the end of the snap, the hind flare's curve hits the fleshy part of my palm below the thumb. It brakes the pivoting motion and the concave curve of the flare complements the convex curve of the palm.

It is really much easier to do than to describe it. To find the proper gripping position one just has to hold gently the khukuri and slowly and gently pivot it, slightly change positions until the proper grip is found. It also helps, if the khukuri is mostly hanging downwards during that time. If the blade is horizontal or facing up, stronger grip is needed which might prevent the readjustment of different muscle groups in the hand.
Once the proper grip is found, you may progress to replicate it with the blade pointing higher and higher and also may try to actually chop with it.
The trick is similar to that with the axes: let the weight of the blade do the job as much as posible.

One just has to find a khukuri with the personally optimal handle length and flare curve. I found that the traditional hidden tang handles worked much better for me than the chiruwa (full tang) style ones. YMMV.

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Amos Iron Wolf, you have a point.

Your postings and everyone elses really makes your original point. Each person has to experiement to find what works best for them in the majority of their situations. By talking about where we are and how we got there in our quest everyone learns and may find something they want to try they never thought of. So we try it out and maybe it works for us, maybe it doesn't. Either way we are farther along the, ahem, trail to working out the best series of compromises for our situation.

Obviously a honkin 4x4 with a wench, er I mean winch,or both, a chainsaw, fuel, and a full toolbox of chopping and cutting tools would probably cover about any woodland wood working needs. Even more obvious is that such a setup also ruins the whole woodland experience most were going for in the first place. So, we find the balance point that helps us best achieve the experience.

I hope many respond here. It will be interesting to see what people have come up with that works for them and how they arrived at that point.

For me, I don't get out as much as I used to and would like to still. As you pointed out, most places you can go won't let you do major wood felling or gathering. So larger stuff is usually not on the menu anymore. One thing I used to do was gather sapling sized wood for making walking sticks. Sometime this would entail taking down saplings, (with all conservation in mind) then trimming them to fit into truck or the car. Other times it would be dead wood that was either standing, seasoned in place, or had been knocked out/over when the country bulldozed the edges of the gravel roads around here. Then at times I would find where someone had been trimming on their property and put a pile out by the road that would have some prime stick material in it. As a result I dealt with both green and dry wood and points in between. For me the folding saw worked great as did my tomahawk. I never had much problem with the saw binding in the green wood I was cutting, but that is my situatoin. When an unexpected find would appear and I didn't have anything else with me, I've even used the saw on my SAK. Takes a bit more, but it works well. Just a little small for the job. That said, this is what worked for me in my particular situation and style of use. It may be a total bust for someone else and what works for them may be a terrible setup for me.

I'm also starting to appreciate what I have heard called, "The Shoshone Way," or the "Art of Doing Nothing." Here is a link to an article about it.

http://www.primitive.org/nothing.htm

While I'm not actively practicing primitive living on this level I do appreciate the whole idea when it comes to survival. You look at the postings here and across the net, in the books and magazines, and they all end up with you having a bunch of gear that is considered the absolute minimum to survive. Surely anyone with out a pack full of the best gear money can buy is sure to die a horrible death. No way can they survive otherwise.

Then I think okay, what happens if you and that gear gets separated? What happens when the stuff wears out or runs out. Most PSKs are geared to short term survival so it makes sense to have certain items packed up for just that. In a real SHTF situation, total breakdown of society, etc., the more stuff you have, the harder you have to work at keeping it and the more noticeble you can become. If you move quietly with minimal gear, like the Shoshone, then you can leave less sign of your presence. Developing the capbility to live and move with the minimum of stuff can be a life saver. You aren't dependent on the stuff so there is no stuff to lose thereby leaving you at a loss on how to survive without the "stuff" since your way of life is sans stuff.

Even if a person doesn't want to embrace such a minimalist approach when enjoying the outdoors, it does us good to give some thought to it as we are a bunch of gear heads. Go to any forum on here and you find that most people carry two, three, even more knives/multi-tools on them, even as everyday carry. When they go to the woods it's a metal fest. In some discussions in the Traditional folder several mentioned how their fathers or grandfathers carried a single folding pocket knife all their life only replacing it when they had sharpened the blade out of existance. THen there we were talking about our EDC rotations.

Sorry to get so carried away. I'd blame it on the fact I've been sick and alternating between 101+ fevers and heavy breaks in them. However, that isn't really the case. I just get carried away.

In league with the above, as people post what they use and why they came to use it. I would be interested in their philosophy behind what and how much they carry. Do they find their basic woods setup the bare minimum they can get by with, even if its 5 different tools, or do they consider what they carry to a bit of luxury, but feel they can get by with less

Yep. should be interesting reading between bouts of fever.

 

[JW]

When I hunt hard and I'm out for the whole day, I carry a small backpack with water, dried fruit and nuts, dry socks and a lightwt extra layer for upper body, surefire Aviator and a pair of extra batteries, 20ft of para cord, and a spare knife (eriksen 710), small folding saw, a small tube of superglue, and a red bandana. My GB Hunter is rigged on outside pack carry. I carry a primary sheath knife on my belt. I've hunted riverbottom whitetails, dessert mulies, antelope, and I've hunted elk at 12000 ft and never felt under-equiped.
If I hunt within a couple miles of my truck I can carry everything I need in my pockets and belt and no extra knife. Most of my time in the wild is spent carrying a bow and a few arrows.

 

[littleknife]

Amos Iron Wolf and JW, thank you both for your valuable comments and for sharing your own experience. Also thanks for the link.:thumbup:
I don't think you got carried away, in fact I like those types of posts where people are willing to share they knowledge and experience.

I never tried to hike with the intention to practice minimalist or primitive skills, but ended up more than a few times to wish I had more gear. Luckily none of those situation was a survival situation.

You are right that we should put more emphasis on skills than gear.
I have to admit I have only limited number of skills and I am more gear oriented.

Amos I.W., from your response it became clear to me that either my sawing technique is inappropriate or I have been using only very poor qualkity saws.
What kind of saw are you using?

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Littleknife, I just used the Coghlan folder. Mine had the tan handle. All the ones I see now are green. I don't know if anything else has changed on them (read that, been cheapened). When I got that one I didn't really expect that much and was realy impressed at how good it worked. Very handy around the yard too. To show you how long its been since I've been out chasing sticks, I don't really know exactly where that saw is right now. I've moved things around so much I can't remember which box/pile it's in. Come to think of it, I might have even left it in an Air Force survival vest I sold at a yard sale last year. That would just suck. Guess I need to get a new one.

In doing a search (trying to find how to properly spell Coghlan) I was amazed at the number of different folders out there. A variety of shapes, countries of origin, and price ranges. A guy could probably spend way too much time and money just trying them all out.

I would have problems now and then with the saw if I got in a hurry or tried to force the saw. The darn things seem to have their own rythmn and cadence at which they work best and will only work well when you let them set the pace.

Really, I think for the sizes of wood we're talking an effective chopping tool and a good, folding saw both work out to be a good means to an end. I don't think in this situation one is vastly superior over the other. Personal preference and style determines who uses what. The saw has some weight advantages, but overall either serves well. Also,both are only part of the overall cutlery package. I think one thing that can make a difference is how that package is put together. If the various components compliment each other and work as a system it makes life a lot easier and certainly more comfortable. Just like trying to make one knife do everything from large to tiny jobs. Better, IMHO to have at least one knife for the heavy work and another for the light, detailed cutting. The heavy blade that hacks up the firewood probably isn't going to be the best choice for slicing up veggies for the stock pot.

JW seems to have developed a cutlery system that works well for his situation.

I agree with you on straight handles on axes and hawks. I generally don't care for curved gripped handles. It is often hard to find a straight handled axe. If you can find what some call a boy's axe with a straight handle it makes a nice compromise between bulk/weight and performance. I think the straight handle is one of the appeals of the double-bitted timber cruiser type axe. Light and handy in size with one edge sharped for heavy work and one for detail work. Yeah, I'm still a little leary of where that back edge may end up should you get a bounce back or deflection. Especially since when chopping it would be assumed the keener edged side is the one facing you.

Yikes, there I go getting gear happy again. I like axes and hawks. I'd rather chop a tree down than saw it. It just feels more, well, woodsy. I don't have much call to use such tools these days, but I still have a few around. I would love to be where I could use them more frequently again.

 

[littleknife]

Amos Iron Wolf, thank you for the detailed answer.
I was using an older cheap (Chinese made?) folding saw or the small saw on the SAK. Just yesterday I've seen 2 different Japanese made Silky folding saws in a garden shop. Those have definitely different tooth pattern and it could be easily that they are really very efficient. They were also around $45.

I agree, that here in the USA is very hard to find a straight handled traditional axe (the only exception being the double bit felling axe). So the only readily available alternative is to get a tomahawk.

Also, don't worry about being "gear happy". We are all pretty much gear happy here, that's why are we frequenting this forum.

I am also impressed with JW's gear of choice.:thumbup:
I never had enough skills to easily improvise, that's why I feel more confident with more gear. I usually carry either a large and small fixed knife (usually a khukuri and a Mora) , a SAK and a folding saw, or a hawk, a small fixed knife (Mora), a SAK and a folding saw.
The Mora, the SAK and the folding saw are so light and relatively compact, that I don't feel I am hauling a whole hardware store.
I also try to distribute them all across my clothes and gear, so that I am never left without at least one.

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

When I used to go the field in the Army I usually had something like a Trailmaster tucked on the side of my rucksack, a mid-size fixed blade on my LBE belt and a large folder (later switched to a SAK) in a sheath on my belt. Each had their place. As usual, the same people who would tease you about all the hardware would come looking for you when things needed cut, chopped, or carved.

I don't have a khukuri yet, but love the style. I think there is something special about using patterns that have been around for ages, be they a khukuri, tomahawk, Mora, or any of the old styles. You can almost feel the assurance of those who have gone before and sense you belong to an order that is larger than any one person alone.

As I get older though, I'm starting to appreciate simplicity. I still feel a three piece set is sensible and as you put it, spread out, you are never without at least one.

 

[littleknife]

Some update, due to my recent acquisitions.

I've got a Grans Fors Bruks SmallForest Axe.
The thing is as good as they say. :thumbup:
Light, great balance.
Attention to small details, nice finish, classy look.
Quality craftsmanship.

While it is as long as many of my hawks, it is definitely more substantial.
It still can be strapped securely onto a backpack and is not heavy at all for carrying along on a trail.

For me it is not too convenient to swing it two-handed, I f personally find it on the small side for that.
The curved handle-butt restricts some one-handed grip positions, but overall, the handle is comfortable and allows choking up easily.

The bit is neither too thick, nor too thin, can be used for felling, limbing and splitting in variety of woods.

My other new axe is a 26" Wetterling Forest Axe, an excellently balanced and very comfortable short, truly two-handed axe.
For its 2 lb head, it feels surprisingly light.
It would be too bulky to carry constantly on a trail, but it would be an excellent camp axe for short term camping.


The SFA got me thinking about the 15-16" size hatchets, specificly the Wetterling Medium Hunter.
With its 1 1/2 lb head it would be relatively light but substantial enough to swing it without too much force. The slightly shorter (compared to the 19" length) handle would make it even less bulky, it would be really easy to put in a pack.
I might give it a try.

Assomeone pointed out else, the search is half (if not more) the fun.

 

[JW]

For me it is not too convenient to swing it two-handed, I f personally find it on the small side for that.

different strokes...
I find that size quite manageable for 2 hands as long as I am the correct distance from my cut. works well if I am on a hillside or on my knees. or if my work is up off the ground in front of me. Just don't make me reach for it.
Congrats on your fine choice! (They are some sharp sumbiches, eh?)

 

[littleknife]

Thank you, JW.

 

[UMaineWoodsman]

littleknife, I noticed in a previous post that you had mentioned poor sawing technique. Recently I was reading a Woodworkers magazine, and a letter to the editor mentioned that when sawing, the proper technique is to extend your pointer finger in the direction of the blade, leaving your thumb and three other fingers wrapped around the handle. I tried this and it makes a significant difference.
While I much prefer axes, if someone is looking for a small saw, I would recommend an arborists pruning saw. You can find them @ baileys-online.com. They aren't folding saws, but you can buy excellent scabbards which will attach to a belt or a pack. Ibuki makes a very nice saw and in anything less than 5" in diameter, especially softwood, it cuts very nicely. Fanno makes some good saws as well, and they're quite cheap. Hope this helps.

 

[Amos Iron Wolf]

Littleknife, sounds like some nice toys for boys. Makes you wish you lived in the middle of a large woods that just needed thinning doesn't it?

UMaine, thanks for passing along the sawing tip and the suggested saws.

 

[littleknife]

UMaineWoodsman, thank you very much for the tip. :thumbup:
I never gripped the saw that way, I'll try it for sure.
That is what I like in this Forum, you get good advices from knowledgeable folks while having fun.

Amos Iron Wolf, you are right, it would be nice to play more with these toys.

My dream is to get a nice small house near some woods but not too far from town either. I don't know if it is possible to get the best of both worlds though, or it will combine only the downsides of both.

 

[Temper]

I have the 26" too, its great isnt it, even one handed is no problem. This is my long hike axe, I just drop it right into my pack.

 

[littleknife]

Temper, you must have a big pack. :thumbup:
But you are absolutely right, the 26" is a great axe. Light for its length and has an amazing balance.

I thought if the curve at the end of the handle will be uncomfortable, I'll just saw off the last 4-5 inches. It turned out that the balance of this axe is just right. Those guys at Wetterlings know what they are doing.

It is not too heavy for hikes, but it is quite long to tote around. I think I will stick to the small forest axe or tomahawk lengths. Even those are a bit long for my backpack.