HAX - Chopping and making wood curls

halzucati

halzucati

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Oct 19, 2010
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[video=youtube;RT6AlEz3sRA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RT6AlEz3sRA[/video]
 
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300Six said:
This is a toy! Nice of you to pretend it's actually useful.
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I kinda speed through the video. Yep, it sure looks like a toy. I guess it would have its place, just not sure were it would be. Maybe in your BOB.

Tom
 
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Couple pictures for a look at the HAX still.

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If there's anyone interested in trying one out for yourself, I'm happy to send a few out to the community to use and give feedback on.
Post up here if you're interested and I'll be happy to send one to you free of charge.

Thanks for looking.
 
I guess I'm the minoraty here but I can see it being useful. Also if no1 ever thinks outside the box we will always be using the same tools. Maybe this is perfect for in your car or truck for part of your kit or maybe you ride enduro and this fits just right or ultra light hiker and this is your choice? i wouldn't put one down till I tried one. I do see possibilities there.
 
It's definitely cute, and looks to be very nicely made, but I'm curious as to the intended context of use? What circumstances is the tool envisioned as being designed for, and how do the features translate into benefits for that context? It's just not quite jumping out at me so I'd love to hear how you arrived at the design.
 
The idea came when I was hacking at knots on a piece of dead wood I was trying to use as a hot-dog stick.
The camp knife I had just wasn't cutting them and my attempts at chopping wood with it earlier lead to lots of splinters everywhere without any chopped wood.

The design is intended to be one that allows clean chopping of branches up to 1" or so in diameter, and also to be used as a traditional axe to cut through larger branches and wood.
Additionally its beveled to stick in wood when thrown as a small hatchet so the purpose is to both use for normal chopping and for throwing as well.

The size is small to allow for carrying in a pack or pocket and its heavily head weighted to keep the center of balance up towards the blades.

This is intended to allow someone who prefers to chopping over slicing to do just that.

The benefits are the size and weight and the cutting power at that size and weight.

Its to be used anytime a hatchet or small axe would be used vs a knife.

It's 11" tip to hilt and 14oz.
 
Certainly your offer to send out a few of these gratis for testing is a very kind gesture!
The reason there is usually a hammer or square poll on hatchets is for pounding stakes and tent pegs etc. Would be a sonovagun to get a buried double bit out from being stuck in a firewood round for instance.
 
The handle looks thin, even with the paracord wrapping. I'd like it better if there were some scales underneath the paracord to fill it out in the hand. I also worry that the curved lower profile puts the "heel" of the bit not in use right near the meat of your hand behind the web of your thumb. It seems to me that it would be better/safer to have a straight edge to the lower profile vs the curve. Although it might not look as cool. Functionally I'd guess that the weight/balance of it makes it much more of a knife than an axe so how it functions "choked up" would matter a lot. Just guessing. Looks very well made, fit and finish-wise.
 
Sent one HAX out today for evaluation..

Anyone else?
I've got time to do a few pictures/video like I did, but not enough to run this little axe through all the design issues mentioned here.
This is the first release of this axe so I am very interested in how real axe and hatchet users use it and how it performs.

To avoid ambiguity, lets say I've got 2 more HAX to send out gratis.

Last call?

- Hal Zucati
 
I took Halzucati up on his kind and generous offer to give a HAX a try. He mailed it out and I'm just waiting now. Now I got plenty of Hawks and 2 swamprat ratchets and 2 Busse Paul's hatchets. So I feel that there will be some good competition and comparisons here. I may add a knife or 2 in I just haven't decided yet. I'm gonna look at this from a hikers stand point, yard tool, car camping, and just a fun thrower and anything else I can think of. Thanks again for this opportunity to try something new! I greatly appreciate it!
 
I would love to try one out. I sent you an email.
 
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I think for a thicker handle the easiest way to solve this would be to add more paracord? It would be cheap and effective. But that's just my opinion.
 
Looks really well made but I don't know if it would be any more useful or have any additiona bennifits than a traditional hatchet, would probably be a fun thrower tho.
 
It puts me in mind of my Fiskars/Gerber Back Paxe, which I keep in my get home bag in my car. I have used the Gerber many times and often thought two or three inches more of handle would help. You've done that here. I like the Gerber's hammer poll, though, and I would miss that if I swapped out your Hax for it. I can see starting an end-split on a small branch or log would benefit from having a striking surface for a baton. I would personally prefer another wrap or two of para cord as both chopping and whittling would benefit from a thicker grip. But that's just me, I suspect. Not sure about the ring pommel. Reminds me of a traditional southern Chinese weapon in that regard. Finally, I bet it's fun as all get-out to throw! Can it handle that sort of abuse?

If you're sending out testers, I can give it quite a workout on the farm.

Zieg
 
I recall that I also posted last year about a short fishing overnight I conducted with only a small axe, no knife. It was successful. The Hax might have been a good tool to test in that way.

Zieg
 
The Zieg said:
It puts me in mind of my Fiskars/Gerber Back Paxe, which I keep in my get home bag in my car. I have used the Gerber many times and often thought two or three inches more of handle would help. You've done that here. I like the Gerber's hammer poll, though, and I would miss that if I swapped out your Hax for it. I can see starting an end-split on a small branch or log would benefit from having a striking surface for a baton. I would personally prefer another wrap or two of para cord as both chopping and whittling would benefit from a thicker grip. But that's just me, I suspect. Not sure about the ring pommel. Reminds me of a traditional southern Chinese weapon in that regard. Finally, I bet it's fun as all get-out to throw! Can it handle that sort of abuse?

If you're sending out testers, I can give it quite a workout on the farm.

Zieg
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Replied in mail directly.
Mails out today.
Thanks!
 
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