Different axe for live versus dead trees?

B

bluesmandan

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Oct 31, 2013
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I've noticed that some people prefer different axe types for soft versus hardwood... I wondered if there is a similar principle for different types when cutting fresh versus dead wood? I'm harvesting mostly dead trees for firewood, rather than cutting down live trees... what would be the best axe for the job, or does it matter? Dead wood seems to be harder to me than fresh (harder but more brittle).
 
Dead wood is harder. Around my house, like you I cut dead stuff for our wood stove. We have a lot of Live Oak and Emery Oak. Both get hard after dead but the Emery Oak gets much harder. IN comparison the Juniper doesn't get much harder, alive or dead. Just the absence of sap in the dead. Which helps with cutting. Plus, if your area has blowning sand, this can get embedded in the bark and works on dulling a chainsaw. I have a double bit, Kelly True Temper and use it on all these woods, sharpened the same. DM
 
For harder wood, generally a narrower bit is preferred, though it will take more blows to connect across the cut to complete one side of a chip.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
For harder wood, generally a narrower bit is preferred, though it will take more blows to connect across the cut to complete one side of a chip.
Click to expand...

By "narrower bit" do you mean "narrow" in reference to the length of the bit from toe to heel, or regarding the width of the bit behind the edge? (the distance from cheek to cheek, when looking at the profile from the top at the eye of the axe). For instance, a maul has a short bit that also has a wide "wedge" taper behind the bit. A felling axe has a longer bit and is also narrower (hollow ground) behind the edge to cut deeply rather than split. Which do you mean by "narrow bit"? I'm thinking you mean narrow from cheek to cheek, a slim hollow grind... (as I understand it the bit is just the leading edge, so it doesn't technically have a width... the grind profile can be narrow, but the bit is just the silhouette of the edge from the side...) ????
 
The distance between the heel and toe. What you're describing is the thickness.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
The distance between the heel and toe. What you're describing is the thickness.
Click to expand...

Okay. Yes, that's what I would call a "small bit"... (narrow is confusing in that context to my mind, but I follow your meaning now, thanks)

I've been looking at full size felling axes, but I'm wondering if I wouldn't do better to get a Hudson Bay (with a little longer handle)
 
A Dayton pattern is a classic American Felling axe.

CatDaytonAxe.png


Tom
 
I'm not the most gifted when if comes to sharpening so there my be nuances I'm unaware of but I've found that long bits like those on Connecticut or Jersey patterns don't seem to perform well on dried soft wood logs such as pine or fir like they do when green so I mostly stick with Dayton pattern stuff. I also find that, when bucking, the drier the wood the stronger the angle I have to chop at - at times in the 45º range versus maybe 35-40º when stuff is fresh and juicy. I also find it helpful to kind of slice in with the bit sort of drawing from heel to toe though I may be imagining that more than I realize.

With green soft woods and narrow bits (Puget Sound pattern?) I seem to stick the bit too often and waste energy pulling it out.
 
With green woods you often want a wider bit to limit penetration so you're cutting more across the face of the target per stroke instead of sinking a narrow bit so deeply into the wood that it becomes stuck.
 
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