Issued Ax

Joined
Sep 20, 2012
Messages
505
Check out the "ax" that is issued to these folks for survival.


[video=youtube;P8V5nANXXMU]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P8V5nANXXMU[/video]
 
The ax looks like a good one. It's an Estwing :) Not a bad choice at all for survival gear.
 
Either an Estwing E24a or E14a. The E14a would be more compact and lighter....but properly sharpened amd used it is a little workhorse.
 
You owe it to the free world, to try and convince the British Military that a poster on an internet forum knows more about preparing people for surviving in the wild then their instructors do. LMFAO

BTW, did any one notice the sound & lack of flower like "feather sticks" that "Ray" with his "sharp scandi ground Woodlore knife" made in wood that was obviously dry & hard @ 9:49.

IMO, this really puts into perspective all the easy to carve straight grained & softwood "flowers" that are posted as feather sticks across the net.

Mick :D
 
Sometimes the wood just doesn't cooperate Mick.

I can't say about the RAF but in the US services the pilots and air crew members have a bit of latitude on some of the items in their kit. But space is very limited.
 
I would be happy enough with an estwing, would probably keep it sharper than that one though.
 
Survival really isn't pushed that hard for UK service personnel. Honestly you are looking at a week long or if very lucky a couple of weeks long course once in your training. That's it. You do get some additional training for extreme environments such as the arctic, jungle, desert etc.

The kit isn't great but it works. Maybe it's been updated since this video as a lot of stuff has been but I wouldn't bet on it. I think the guys do an ok job with what they have, just because they can fly a multimillion dollar plane at twice the speed of sound doesn't mean they should be as capable as Ray Mears.

BTW, did any one notice the sound & lack of flower like "feather sticks" that "Ray" with his "sharp scandi ground Woodlore knife" made in wood that was obviously dry & hard @ 9:49.

IMO, this really puts into perspective all the easy to carve straight grained & softwood "flowers" that are posted as feather sticks across the net.

Mick :D

Exactly. These guys don't get to pick their kit or location. Sometimes you use what you have and you make do.
 
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