Finnish/Earlier Scandi axes - Kirves

Och ja...

There's an Old World principle that rarely if ever comes up on this side,and it is this:

Any coniferous tree is divided into 3 very different sections.

1.From above the bole to the beginning of any (significant) branches.

2.From beginning of branches to where the branches,almost suddenly,get Much larger in dia.

3.That last section where branches keep getting larger relative the trunk size,the taper of this section also increases dramatically.

Ideally,the builder designs the elements of the future structure so as to not Mix these first two sections(#3 is not usable in structures).
Their taper differs,also the rate of their shrinkage(especially for horizontal log construction).

At a given locale,a given species of a certain size(that are normally harvested not far from each other) have a pretty well set length of those sections.

For me here,White spruce would have the #1 section of 18' average,and #2 a tad longer,maybe 20'.

So if (IF!) a guy could design a structure where all lengths conform to the above(jog it as much as you have to),one Can,conceivably,build a place out of #1 timber section entirely.

Given the lack(or rather minimum,in reality)of twist,one can possibly then finish the place by hewing with Piilu...
(what a lovely job it'd be,too!...alas and alack,such selection is Entirely impossible for me locally).
 
Here's a video showing how to hang a billnäs. I found it interesting because he uses a flame and pine tar. I don't know the specifics but I was told by my dad once that granddad used fire somehow when he hanged an axe, he was suppoed to be quite particular about axes. I wonder if he did it like the person shows in this video. I assume the tar and heat helps drive moisture out of the wood, maybe the tar also acts like a glue of a sort.


I started hanging my piilu last night but I found myself working to the same style and I accidentially made the taper lean forward too much. I have to make a new blank. I will save this one though, might be able to rework it for an ordinary model 12.
 
Dennis,thanks for the video.I don't speak a word of Finnish,but Love just listening to it,(If i was a Catholic i'd listen to the mass in Latin,or actually if given a choice-in Estonian!:)).

DennisCA said:
I assume the tar and heat helps drive moisture out of the wood, maybe the tar also acts like a glue of a sort.
Click to expand...

I'm not good at chemistry,and Ernest has corrected me in the past on particulars of using tar.Unfortunately you don't see it used much anymore,only once,very long ago,i chanced to've fished on a vessel where we tarred the planks in the spring before launching,i remember only how Right it felt to do that...

As a builder i know that any contact of wood and non-wood surfaces is not healthy,steel,concrete,other non-porous materials and wood are best gasketed;tar paper being a good solution.

Tar must certainly add to preservation and longevity of that tongue inside an iron sleeve,possibly also as lubricant for setting it there better.

The heat i'd imagine softens the lignin,allowing the wood fibers to adjust better to their new shape.
All in all makes a lot of sense,what that guy does.
 
We use it on wooden skis here. And in paints, and on outdoor wooden structures. We treat our deck with a mix of 1/3rd pine tar, 1/3rd linseed oil and 1/3rd turpentine.
 
jake pogg said:
Och ja...

There's an Old World principle that rarely if ever comes up on this side,and it is this:

Any coniferous tree is divided into 3 very different sections.

1.From above the bole to the beginning of any (significant) branches.

2.From beginning of branches to where the branches,almost suddenly,get Much larger in dia.

3.That last section where branches keep getting larger relative the trunk size,the taper of this section also increases dramatically.

Ideally,the builder designs the elements of the future structure so as to not Mix these first two sections(#3 is not usable in structures).
Their taper differs,also the rate of their shrinkage(especially for horizontal log construction).

At a given locale,a given species of a certain size(that are normally harvested not far from each other) have a pretty well set length of those sections.

For me here,White spruce would have the #1 section of 18' average,and #2 a tad longer,maybe 20'.

So if (IF!) a guy could design a structure where all lengths conform to the above(jog it as much as you have to),one Can,conceivably,build a place out of #1 timber section entirely.

Given the lack(or rather minimum,in reality)of twist,one can possibly then finish the place by hewing with Piilu...
(what a lovely job it'd be,too!...alas and alack,such selection is Entirely impossible for me locally).
Click to expand...
I've had a closer look at a pine here next to the house and it looks similar to this description though the #1 section's about four feet. Still to early to get into the pines up high for a look and then comes the matter of hauling and cutting.
 
Yes,Ernest,well,you know how it is-when a conifer stands all by itself it grows differently than when a bunch of them,close together,are all competing for light and stretching upward.

The economics of logging among other factors dictated that one targeted a Stand of trees,one of sufficient number as well as proximity to one another.

Here's a photo i pilfered elsewhere that this lady took in a National Park-kind of a place in (Eastern-ish) Finland.
The cabin is a historic structure from around 1700's,and the trees behind it must be the second-growth,original stand taken for the logs to build this,and other nearby structures.

Look what a long,straight,Clear section lengths were potentially available for building:

https://imgur.com/sjOAr10
 
Another photo from the same small natural preserve on the shores of the Baltic sea.

https://imgur.com/KPk5wkb

The "moral" that i see here is that The Environment,the Architecture,and the Tools used to construct such architecture are all three indivisible variables in a single equation.
(if you change one variable in any way then it affects the result and the entire equation must then be balanced anew).

I may be crazy(well,duh...:)),but that's how i see tools,especially the more unique ones such as the Piilu-they're a product of these many factors all balanced in the finest,most delicate fashion.
Some to do with the natural environment-the geology(ores) and forestry(fast-growing conifers for charcoal) combining to allow for that very specific iron-working culture;the forestry of course blending into these very particular building material,and all factors combined and solidified in the conglomerate we commonly term Culture.

But it's all one ball of wax,often loosing it's meaning if/when we try to tease these factors apart.In order for much about these tools to make sense they must be considered solely as this unified whole.
 
I finished the shaft for my axe last night. Finished with shellac, I have tried both shellac and BLO and come to the conclusion I like shellac more. Keeps the handles much more dirt free. I don't think the grip is slippery either.

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DennisCA said:
Here's a video showing how to hang a billnäs. I found it interesting because he uses a flame and pine tar. I don't know the specifics but I was told by my dad once that granddad used fire somehow when he hanged an axe, he was suppoed to be quite particular about axes. I wonder if he did it like the person shows in this video. I assume the tar and heat helps drive moisture out of the wood, maybe the tar also acts like a glue of a sort.


I started hanging my piilu last night but I found myself working to the same style and I accidentially made the taper lean forward too much. I have to make a new blank. I will save this one though, might be able to rework it for an ordinary model 12.
Click to expand...
Notes:
*haft is rowan, which is unusual, dried over a fireplace for a longer period of time; normally birch is used
*growth rings run HORIZONTALLY as is the rule here in Finland; this is to prevent the haft from bending sideways due to drying
*heart wood is placed downwards
*the birch wedge was dried in a microwave; old manuals say it should be old and hard pine
*haft was fitted into the eyes tens of times to get perfect fit
*pine tar was applied and heated to soften the wood, later after cooling the tar will act like glue/bedding material
*the haft has the classic drop as he shows with liner
*the coating is boiled linseed oil, thinned with denaturated alcohol and applied several timea ever a period of one week
The guy knows what he is doing;)
 
Ok, so Rowan, in other words Mountain ash. I understand, since my only Rowan was laid up to long and got a bug, making it into firewood, it as very flexible and resilient, just perfect for such work. Yet another fine example of the conditionality of the right handle wood.
 
Rowan / mountain ash has not been widely used for axe hafts here in Finland, mainly due to its scarcity. My grandfather (born 1904) told me that in his youth there was exactly one rowan in the village. Due to climate change they are all over the place in Western Finland these days, including the forests inherited from him. However, rowan was used to make wear resistant parts (pins, wedges...) in farming implements and horse equipment.

BTW, rowan was used to make the office desk of Finnish presidents when the current predential house Mäntyniemi (Pine Cape) was built.
 
Rowan has been long admired as axe-other tool -handle material in Russia but not used very often because of an ancient taboo against the killing of a rowan tree.
"Russia" of course is an abstract concept,in this case i think it comes from the north/north west of that (accursed) place,meaning that chances are the cultural roots of this belief are among the Ugric people.
Rowan Can be used provided it came from an already dead tree,and it does` make an excellent and long-lasting haft.

Veeteetee,thank you for that quick/concise translation/summary of the video.
Similar mores were involved in the making of the birch hafts preferred wood was from the bole portion of a tree,the tongue of the handle pointing down in a stave.
Sap wood was used,ideally some ways from the too close to cambium layer,but closer to that then the heart.
Grain orientation varied from vertical to horizontal according to choice.
(That's from the Finnish border eastward,and some ways into the Urals,as well as areas somewhat south of there).
 
Rowan is good, but it doesn't grow as plentiful as birch as has been said. It's also an excellent firewood. I have a wooden mallet made from rowan, picked out of a pile of firewood. The head was discarded last night, it was run too hard and was in bad shape. I will make a new one from oak, but the rowan shaft I will reuse.
 
Got another axe today, my dad found in an outbuilding and gave to me, he prefers the modern Fiskars. Looks like a 12/3 and in need of a regrind.

65wX9LAh.jpg
 
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It's not something I've looked into since it's not something I would really do if I needed it done. Instead it would lie on a shelf for a few years until I learned to do it myself.
 
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