Compact hiking/camping axe or hatchet

[littleknife]

Traditional axe patterns die hard. Many regions cling to old patterns out of habit. But all the old world patterns came to the new world and were thrown into the crucible of trial and invention. Forestry became an industry on a scale never seen anywhere else. Woodsmen learned what worked best and they wanted it - needed it - to stay competitive. And they invented the American poll axe. Still unequaled.

I (and likely everybody else here) mostly agree with this description of the phenomena.
To be historically accurate though, the American polled axe was designed in the 18th Century, much earlier than the forestry industry of North America became so vast. The whole population of the English colonies was just a fraction of that of Russia for example. Russia was expanding into Siberia (and Alaska) at the time, the Russians cleared an awful lot of trees and built a lot of wooden structures too, yet the polled axe was invented in the American English colonies.
The question what interests me very much is what were the likely mechanisms of this evolution in regards the different design aspects and parts?
How did the changes of some affected others? (For example if feature A changes like this, feature B has to change like that, or else the efficiency drops or sudden problems arise.)
I hope that discussions like this can help find the clues.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

FortyTwoBlades, thanks for the corrections and clarifications.

Many poll-less axes shown when compared to the American polled axe are shown with straight handles, for example like the 5th axe you posted in post #33 in this thread, a Brazilian Tramontina axe.
Based on what you have just wrote, these axes have an off-axis running handle, no crooked neck and they need a special technique to compensate for the easy to produce handle but less-optimal overall design of the whole axe.
No wonder a straight handled polled axe with an axis running through the handle will feel “more balanced”, since it does not require an additional technique to compensate for a sub-optimal design feature in the actual axe (head + handle).
Also, that would mean that the American polled axe developed to - among other things - to provide a user-friendly design solution by negating the need for corrective techniques while still keeping the advantages of an easy to produce straight in-axis handle. Later on the polled axe proved to be versatile enough to accept (mostly) in-axis curved handles too.
Do I understand this correctly?

Correct. Ideally, those axes would be fit with crooked-necked handles so that the handle would lay along a single axis. They can still be used effectively, without loss of efficiency, but do require more active mindfulness in use when a two-handed sliding technique is used, since any lateral force applied to the secondary grip point (typically the upper, sliding hand in this context) will be magnified and introduce wobble. If used with a cognizance of this dynamic it can be easily compensated for, but you use much lighter off-hand motions and grip than one would with an on-axis handle. You have to be aware of it so you can keep it in check. Lighter/smaller one-handed axes or ones used with both hands at the end of the handle without sliding won't demonstrate this dynamic since you effectively have a single grip point despite possibly having two hands on the handle. I find what works best is lifting the axe with the off hand beneath the head up into the ready-to-swing position, but then quickly sliding the hand to the end of the handle and using a stroke a bit more similar to the stroke of a baseball bat. The energy savings in lifting the axe below the head is maintained, but the threat of introducing wobble to the stroke by sliding during the stroke is eliminated. Or you can still use a sliding stroke but just be careful to align your sliding hand's stroke and the bit of the axe with the stroke of the dominant hand, so you're managing three forces rather than the two that you would be with an on-axis handle in such a stroke.

 

[rjdankert]

. . . If anybody every hooks up with Doug be sure to tell him Bernie Weisgerber said he did not know shit about axes.

Just out of curiosity:

http://www.oldhouseonline.com/repairing-a-historic-log-cabin/

Bob

 

[Old Axeman]

Thanks, How the hell did he keep all that hair since I last saw him 28 years ago? I will say again, if you are interested in the best way to broadaxe hew, look at Doug's article he did for the EAIA years ago.
I just realized the scoring ax and broadaxe in this recent (?) photo are the same ones (including the same hafts) Doug was using 45 years ago when we used to hew together. Just goes to show, if it works for you, and you take care of it, you can have and use it your entire life.
I talked with Doug a few months ago and he was still chasing it. He was in Astonia (not sure I have that correct) researching the origins of log building in America. He was all excited and told me most of the work written about the origins of American log buildings by the scholars was wrong. I am not surprised, a craftsman like Doug will do a better job . He was writting an article for the country of Astonia (?) on early log construction.
When I told Doug I had gotten involved with the axe forum, he said "why are you messing around with the internet, it's a lost cause" Hum !

 

[Hacked]

When I told Doug I had gotten involved with the axe forum, he said "why are you messing around with the internet, it's a lost cause" Hum !

It's like everything else, it depends. That is to say it is both good and bad and the line between the to is very subjective. That said it is a powerful tool. I know when I went to hang my first axe a few years back I learned a lot watching this video titled "an axe to grind" on the internet

Wonder if that article will be published online? I'd love to read it.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I just realized the scoring ax and broadaxe in this recent (?) photo are the same ones (including the same hafts) Doug was using 45 years ago when we used to hew together. Just goes to show, if it works for you, and you take care of it, you can have and use it your entire life.

I know at least one fellow, and have read of others, who have even bothered with getting old, worn axes re-steeled and they're on a fresh tour of duty! Indeed, it's incredible how long a well-kept tool can last.