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- Jun 4, 2010
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This might be more appropriate in the Outdoor subforum...
Had a chance to to some backpacking this weekend and planned to try out some improvised sharpening as well. Was at the site of an old girl's camp that was abandoned in the 40s, so some masonry lying around, some pipe, ceramic drain and flue tiles.
Copped a very small ding in my hatchet going through a knot, and that was all the excuse I needed - "She needs a sharpening, pronto!"
Used one of the flue tiles to grind it out to a burr, removed same, and stropped it with ash from a hardwood coal appled to a piece of wood I split and flattened with my hatchet prior to grinding. I have heard of folks using this as a honing compound but haven't really given it a try as part of a progression.
The edge was not nice and polished as normal, but a respectable edge that easily popped arm hairs. Turned out better than I expected, far better in fact.
I also have to admit this 1.25 lb hatchet with its traditional convex at the bit and concave at the cheek configuration outperformed my Fiskars X7 in chopping power. Notably more pleasant to work with when choked up on for detail work. Keeping in mind I have done a ton of filework shaping on this hatchet, from off the shelf is unrecognizable. It might even split better too...Is a US made Tru Temper I picked up for about $18 at the local hardware store, came with a massively overbuilt V edge. This was only the second time I've camped with it, held an edge very well too. I have it done up to 30° inclusive convex at the edge, and ground thin behind the edge at the heel, becoming thicker as it progresses up to the toe. According to some references I've come across this encourages it to "spring the chips nicely", and it did just that.
I had a chance to reflect on the art of chopping in general, as I now live on a true suburban lot and no longer get to do all kinds of heavy brush work and ponder these things on a regular. It may sound like a no brainer to those with a lot more experience than I, but throwing good chips toward an end really requires planning and removing them on a near individual basis. Simply starting an appropriate distance apart and hammering away formulaically with hazy focus is a recipe for exhaustion.
Wedging chips out along the grain with the least amount of effort takes some observation and makes a massive difference in how easily and quickly the work goes. With an axe one can sometimes count off the strokes, but with a hatchet it pays to stay dialed in. If I get tired and forget this, I'm only going to get more tired and a lot faster as well, so I have to remind myself to stay with it and aim my strokes with a purpose.
I believe this explains why some folk (including myself years ago) discount the ordinary hatchet for many chopping chores that it can actually handle fairly easily if proper care is taken to shape it well.
Had a chance to to some backpacking this weekend and planned to try out some improvised sharpening as well. Was at the site of an old girl's camp that was abandoned in the 40s, so some masonry lying around, some pipe, ceramic drain and flue tiles.
Copped a very small ding in my hatchet going through a knot, and that was all the excuse I needed - "She needs a sharpening, pronto!"
Used one of the flue tiles to grind it out to a burr, removed same, and stropped it with ash from a hardwood coal appled to a piece of wood I split and flattened with my hatchet prior to grinding. I have heard of folks using this as a honing compound but haven't really given it a try as part of a progression.
The edge was not nice and polished as normal, but a respectable edge that easily popped arm hairs. Turned out better than I expected, far better in fact.
I also have to admit this 1.25 lb hatchet with its traditional convex at the bit and concave at the cheek configuration outperformed my Fiskars X7 in chopping power. Notably more pleasant to work with when choked up on for detail work. Keeping in mind I have done a ton of filework shaping on this hatchet, from off the shelf is unrecognizable. It might even split better too...Is a US made Tru Temper I picked up for about $18 at the local hardware store, came with a massively overbuilt V edge. This was only the second time I've camped with it, held an edge very well too. I have it done up to 30° inclusive convex at the edge, and ground thin behind the edge at the heel, becoming thicker as it progresses up to the toe. According to some references I've come across this encourages it to "spring the chips nicely", and it did just that.
I had a chance to reflect on the art of chopping in general, as I now live on a true suburban lot and no longer get to do all kinds of heavy brush work and ponder these things on a regular. It may sound like a no brainer to those with a lot more experience than I, but throwing good chips toward an end really requires planning and removing them on a near individual basis. Simply starting an appropriate distance apart and hammering away formulaically with hazy focus is a recipe for exhaustion.
Wedging chips out along the grain with the least amount of effort takes some observation and makes a massive difference in how easily and quickly the work goes. With an axe one can sometimes count off the strokes, but with a hatchet it pays to stay dialed in. If I get tired and forget this, I'm only going to get more tired and a lot faster as well, so I have to remind myself to stay with it and aim my strokes with a purpose.
I believe this explains why some folk (including myself years ago) discount the ordinary hatchet for many chopping chores that it can actually handle fairly easily if proper care is taken to shape it well.
