- Joined
- Jan 30, 2002
- Messages
- 7,269
(taken from BladeForums WildernessForum) Question about preferences between hatchets/axes/large knives
The Master speaks: (I feel so lucky to have his insight available.)
Cliff Stamp
Basic Member
Registered: Oct 1998
Location: Nf,Canada
Posts: 6969
V Shrake :
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the sort of question that usually comes down to 2 things: personal preferrence and experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are large difference in performance which would readily swamp out personal attributes. For example use a quality hatchet and a quality long knife to cut very live brush. Even a novice with the blade will easily outperform a exeperienced woodsman with an axe (who would never do such work with an axe anyway), because the blade has a much longer contact area, will not hook in vegetation (it can get under the bit of the axe in the neck), and the axe will push such vegetation out of the way rather than cut it due to the thicker cross section.
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pound for pound, without doubt, the hatchet will chop quicker than even a good khukuri. That's simply physics: the hatchet has a smaller head on the end of a lever (handle) that puts all of the available energy into the chop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This ignores half of the relevant equation which is the geometry, specifically large wood cutting knives are far thinner in cross section which enables them to achiece greater penetration with less effort. Axes need stiffer wood to allow the power of the axe to be functional, otherwise all it does is move the wood. There is also the question of efficiency, how much cutter gets done for how much work is expended. However the axe does have a balancer in this regard as it draws on larger muscle groups which will fatigue slower.
grant4353 :
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think is better, a large knife or a hatchet?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A hatchet will work better as an unassisted splitter and hammer. It will also outchop the long blade on thick woods, 4"+, however out side of internet fantasy logging, this size of wood rarely cut to build shelters or light a fire. Consider that in a modern wood stove, with a 3"+ layer of red coal, which is fully heated, I can place a 4"+ piece of wet wood and it will do nothing but smoke as all the water boils off. In order to burn such wood you have to split it multiple times and leave it by the fire to dry out. You are *much* better off colecting smaller wood, specifially looking for deadfall and other dried and dead branches.
Similar for shelter building, no one chops down logs to build a lean-to, not only it is very wasteful, but the danger increases dramatically in felling wood as the size of the tree increases. Plus you would want to consider how difficult it is to move a 6-8" stick (~250 lbs limbed out). Yes if you are 10' tall and eat a whole moose for breakfast, picking your teeth with a 2x4, you might need such wood to sustain your great limbering bulk, but for the majority of humanity you are looking at live wood in the 1-3" range for shelter building. This type of wood is much more efficiently cut and limbed out with a long blade (a nice folding saw easily zips these sticks down as well but is much slower when limbing).
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would a large knife be safer?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Axes have a more complicated technique because they draw on larger muscle groups to give full power and the swing is thus generally wider and thus more likely to cause problems. However it takes skill to use both and I would recommend starting slow and easy and learning how to place your hits where they should go before powering hard into a stroke. It is no use after all to have piles of energy if you are wasting hits constantly by missing your target.
-Cliff
The Master speaks: (I feel so lucky to have his insight available.)
Cliff Stamp
Basic Member
Registered: Oct 1998
Location: Nf,Canada
Posts: 6969
V Shrake :
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the sort of question that usually comes down to 2 things: personal preferrence and experience.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There are large difference in performance which would readily swamp out personal attributes. For example use a quality hatchet and a quality long knife to cut very live brush. Even a novice with the blade will easily outperform a exeperienced woodsman with an axe (who would never do such work with an axe anyway), because the blade has a much longer contact area, will not hook in vegetation (it can get under the bit of the axe in the neck), and the axe will push such vegetation out of the way rather than cut it due to the thicker cross section.
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Pound for pound, without doubt, the hatchet will chop quicker than even a good khukuri. That's simply physics: the hatchet has a smaller head on the end of a lever (handle) that puts all of the available energy into the chop.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This ignores half of the relevant equation which is the geometry, specifically large wood cutting knives are far thinner in cross section which enables them to achiece greater penetration with less effort. Axes need stiffer wood to allow the power of the axe to be functional, otherwise all it does is move the wood. There is also the question of efficiency, how much cutter gets done for how much work is expended. However the axe does have a balancer in this regard as it draws on larger muscle groups which will fatigue slower.
grant4353 :
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What do you think is better, a large knife or a hatchet?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A hatchet will work better as an unassisted splitter and hammer. It will also outchop the long blade on thick woods, 4"+, however out side of internet fantasy logging, this size of wood rarely cut to build shelters or light a fire. Consider that in a modern wood stove, with a 3"+ layer of red coal, which is fully heated, I can place a 4"+ piece of wet wood and it will do nothing but smoke as all the water boils off. In order to burn such wood you have to split it multiple times and leave it by the fire to dry out. You are *much* better off colecting smaller wood, specifially looking for deadfall and other dried and dead branches.
Similar for shelter building, no one chops down logs to build a lean-to, not only it is very wasteful, but the danger increases dramatically in felling wood as the size of the tree increases. Plus you would want to consider how difficult it is to move a 6-8" stick (~250 lbs limbed out). Yes if you are 10' tall and eat a whole moose for breakfast, picking your teeth with a 2x4, you might need such wood to sustain your great limbering bulk, but for the majority of humanity you are looking at live wood in the 1-3" range for shelter building. This type of wood is much more efficiently cut and limbed out with a long blade (a nice folding saw easily zips these sticks down as well but is much slower when limbing).
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Would a large knife be safer?
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Axes have a more complicated technique because they draw on larger muscle groups to give full power and the swing is thus generally wider and thus more likely to cause problems. However it takes skill to use both and I would recommend starting slow and easy and learning how to place your hits where they should go before powering hard into a stroke. It is no use after all to have piles of energy if you are wasting hits constantly by missing your target.
-Cliff
I agree Pappy. I use mine without any remorse, sometimes very heavily too. Cliffs testing justs let me know that I don't have to worry about my puny use ever being over the edge.