Finnish/Earlier Scandi axes - Kirves

rjdankert said:
FWIW:

EH2tFLF.jpg

Weisgerber, Bernie; Vachowski, Brian, 1999. An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual
edit above for citation.

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Bob
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Yes, the steeply bent handles make it pass the 1/3 test but never the less it's a very closed hang. And I've never understood why they are always so short in the toe, the area that receives the most wear.

It all just seems very contrary to how I use an axe.
 
Bought this last weekend: a Billnäs Bruk head qualifies as Finnish axe, but the shape is not Scandinavian but ruZian, as shape and imensions seem to match
model 41/3 i.e. Pietarin mallin hakkuukirves / St. Petersburg style felling axe. The head is as new, it has never been (ab)used in its 100+/- years of life.
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My latest purchase: Billnäs-made / Fiskars-labeled 1134 in as new condition, without a scratch and with stickers. "S SOKKELI TAKUULAATU" (S Plinth Guarantee Quality) tells that this was an exlusive model made for S Group retailing chain in southern Finland in the 1970s. The purple colout was their trade mark and typical for the era :eek:

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Great old thread ! I have always been curious about these axes ,and have no experience with them. Since my primary interest in axes is using a axe for it's intended use, I observe from the pictures that most (not all) have a very closed hang. Could somebody comment on using a axe with this closed hang. It just looks awkward to me. Thanks
 
Old Axeman said:
Great old thread ! I have always been curious about these axes ,and have no experience with them. Since my primary interest in axes is using a axe for it's intended use, I observe from the pictures that most (not all) have a very closed hang. Could somebody comment on using a axe with this closed hang. It just looks awkward to me. Thanks
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I wouldn't characterize them as particularly closed hangs. If anything many of them seem to be a little open. But they do have a very angled neutral wrist position.

I've used Italian axes with very closed hangs like the Calabria pattern and for the most part you can summarize it as having a few major effects--one is just that for making the bit land square you adopt a stroke where the hand leads the head. You very quickly intuit this and may not even notice you're doing it. The other is that if you use your usual "default" stroke when swinging it, it'll be prone to landing more square when striking targets above waist level. Alternatively, the toe is just going to wrap around your round target and end up producing a square cut further back on the trunk than you'd have with a more neutral or open hang--say, around the 10 o'clock or 2 o'clock positions rather than 9 or 3.

As always it's a matter of technique and how you go about it changes a lot, but the shape of the axe does have influences--it's just those influences depend on the technique used.
 
veeteetee said:
When using SA-Kuva photos it would be a great idea to write down the individual number of the picture at http://sa-kuva.fi/webneologineng.html

This would make it possible to find the pictures in original resolution, regardless of the status of links at BF.
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I have no experience posting image links to the SA-Kuva site. Are you advising people that a link to an image on SA-Kuva may not remaine valid?

It appears that anyone can download full images from SA-Kuva. The Image number will be in the default file name.

In regard to my recent post (#1,067) above, the image links do not link to SA-Kuva.
The image links in post #23 (Sep 14, 2016) I responded to are also not to SA-Kuva. These links are to a site that appears to be unavailable. The OP has not posted on BF since 2019.




Bob
 
rjdankert said:
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Bob
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Master Finnish Knife Maker, Pekka Tuominen sent me a series of Cultural Films done back in the 1930's in Finland. One had an older gentleman, also making a new axe handle, with the same tools. A saw, another axe and a puukko. Most of the work done with the axe and a puukko. No idea if axe handles were available, or in the case of the man, how far was he from a store? No need to go, just make the axe handle yourself. John
 
These last two haft making videos are hands down the best I have ever seen. Keep it simple, keep it traditional and historically correct. Use the human animal's first two, and still most important wood working tools-the axe/hatchet and a knife. I would put the adze and the draw knife third and forth. It is also true that once you get proficient with a axe, a different open or closed hang should only take a few swings to "get the hang of it". My comment was not a criticism, just a question. Thanks for the great responses.
 
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