Interesting take on the Central/South American trade axe.

FortyTwoBlades

FortyTwoBlades

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Rinaldi has this listed on their website as an "American" axe but the stock image wasn't clear enough to tell if it was an interpretation of a North American tomahawk or a Central/South American trade axe. Turns out it's the latter, and it has a small flat poll and curved handle with an offset neck to aid in the balance. 700g head and 24 and 1/4" handle. I'm liking it a lot. :)

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Looks pretty cool. Makes me want to load the canoe and paddle the Amazon. That would be the type of axe I would take.:thumbup:
 
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This is an axe at a gaucho's (cowboy's) ranch in Patagonia. From what I saw there just about all the available axes are the same or a similar pattern to this and most of them are on 30-36"ish handles. At least half of the axes I saw had handles that the owners clearly made themselves like this one. Unfortunately when I was living/working there I wasn't really into axes like I am now. A lot of Patagonia is basically like the western US about 50-75 years ago and axes are still a staple tool for a lot of people there. I kick myself now for not bringing an axe head or two home. I got a couple buddies that still work there seasonally though so I may see if one of them can bring me an axe head or two. I can't say how well-made they all are but I imagine they're pretty good since people still use them down there.
 
The commercially-made handles that I usually see on CA/SA axes are pretty crummy, and the sweat-equity factor being a plus for many folks there it's not surprising to see them all with homemade handles. Curved slip-fit handles are a commercial rarity, which is one of the things so fascinating about these Rinaldi ones--most of their models use varying degrees of curved handles, with the exception of patterns that are traditionally used with straight handles by design. The more I've played with these styles of axes the more I've come to believe that the bias against them stems chiefly from a lack of understanding; they work very well but use different design principles to accomplish their functional goals.

That's a beauty right there!
 
That square poll reminds me a lot of colonial pattern axes. Looks like a dandy tool.
 
Quite! If I manage to find my dang snowshoes or if we get some more thawing (it finally got above freezing a couple days ago for the first time in months) I hope to do some demos with it. :)
 
Be interesting to hear how you fare with that offset edge on the blade. Toe makes contact long before the heel. I do like that gentle 'sway' on the haft.
 
300Six said:
Be interesting to hear how you fare with that offset edge on the blade. Toe makes contact long before the heel. I do like that gentle 'sway' on the haft.
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Actually with axes like this the "closed" set of the blade makes it so that the swing lands square. The balance of the piece causes a different mode of presentation to the target than with a North American or German style axe. The toe does not contact early like you might expect.
 
Looks like one heck of a limb whacker!

I'd personally be interested to see it's capability for choked up use.
Rinaldi's line seems to be a pretty good and affordable option for a bushcrafting axe/tomahawk.
 
I'd like to do a demo video with this one, but I still can't find my snowshoes (they were buried in the most recent move and haven't resurfaced) so I can't get out to the tree line without wading through waist-deep snow. :p
 
This axe type is very used here in its birthplace, the Basque country. You can find a lot of little profile changes,

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Looking to the overall head profile I would say your axe is a western type of the Biscayan axe.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Actually with axes like this the "closed" set of the blade makes it so that the swing lands square. The balance of the piece causes a different mode of presentation to the target than with a North American or German style axe. The toe does not contact early like you might expect.
Click to expand...

I'm obviously becoming a bit dense in my old age. Perhaps you're really trying to say 'this is a wrist action' implement instead of 'forearm swung'-type hatchet? That's about all I can figure. An axe that was shaped like that would be relegated to my recycle bin.
 
300Six said:
I'm obviously becoming a bit dense in my old age. Perhaps you're really trying to say 'this is a wrist action' implement instead of 'forearm swung'-type hatchet? That's about all I can figure. An axe that was shaped like that would be relegated to my recycle bin.
Click to expand...

No...that's definitely not what I'm saying. Think of it this way: the tool itself has a balance point that, by virtue of its "7" shape, lies external to the body of the axe. When gripped the tool is then effectively being suspended, and the axis of balance will exist as a line passing through the suspension point and the point of balance. When held in this balanced position the bit will be oriented a certain way relative to the arc of the swing in use, and so the bit's presentation relative to that arc needs to be brought square by some means or another. One way is to open or close the set of the bit relative to the eye. Another is to add an offset to the handle or change the location of the eye. There are lots of ways to ultimately balance the pairing of a head and handle, and this axe simply does it in a way that you're apparently unfamiliar with. Blows land properly without any trouble whatsoever, and the bit is properly square with the strike.
 
Ugaldie--an Italian fellow on another website has informed me that apparently this so-called "American" model is pretty commonly used in the south of Italy, while "Trento" pattern ones are the most common in the north.
 
A quick video chopping a downed beech. The springiness of the target absorbed some of the force of the blows but that thin bit blew right through it despite the short handle length and my relaxed "lazy" swings. As can be seen, no issues of the toe of the blade hitting first despite the closed set of the bit because that's how the tool is balanced.

[video=youtube;ruu1s2-bdsA]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruu1s2-bdsA&feature=youtu.be[/video]
 
Thanks for the video. On branches and small trees the blade 'offset' makes SFA difference because there is never full blade contact anyway. Most wear on axe heads is at the toe so maybe this is a novel way to allow owners to get many more miles out of a head!
 
A different axe, but here's an example of the axis of rotational balance on a "Calabria" axe.

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More specifically, the axis of rotational balance will exist as a straight line from the grip point and the center of balance, which I approximated via photo overlay of two suspension points since it exists external to the body of the object in such a case. The red dot is the center, so a change in grip location would cause the axis of rotational balance to shift to a straight line from the new grip location through the red dot. This would change the presentation of the bit relative to the arc of the swing, and thus orientation of the bit relative to the handle is important. While small adjustments can be adjusted with the hang of a handle, it's best to have the proper orientation of the bit built right into the design of the head.

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