knife or hatchet?

scfishr

scfishr

Joined
Nov 23, 2003
Messages
541
have always used my chain saw to cut small stuff(limbing out tree tops for kindling) this is really not a good practice and im trying to show my boys a better(safer) way to finish up a tree and not be wasteful of good hardwoods. im looking at
1. Greco explorer
2. Becker brute or bk-9
3. hatchet?

any suggestions or does everybody finish with a chainsaw

There could be a new knife in this for me:D or other new toy
 
I'd suggest a small axe that's still long enough for two handed use. The best small axes I know of are the Gransfors Bruks "Small Forest Axe" and "Hunter's Axe".

They're not cheap at approx. $65 but that's nothing for a hand forged tool that works better than any other.

Check the forum for more information on these axes.

Collecter
 
thats kinda what i was thinkin, was hoping someone would suggest a name, thanks I will look into that-while i havent ruled out a knife :D going to check out the kukri
 
How large are the limbs. If they are small, one inch and under for hardwoods, or two inches and under for soft woods (white pine), then a decent long knife will work fine and you should be able to cut them clean. Not any of those knives you listed though as the profiles are either too thick or the balance too light, you would want something like a Battle Rat from Swamp Rat Knifeworks if you were looking at a ~10" blade. However for just that task in particular you would be more productive with a longer blade I would suggest something like a Martindale Bolo, or one of their heavier machete patterns or a heavy duty Barteaux. You might have to work the edges with a file a little to get optimal performance.

If the branches are significantly thicker then a knife will start to be out performed by an axe. Gransfors Bruks makes a couple of decent limbing axes, the small and regular forest axe. The regular forest axe is enough to limb out even very thick wood (8" branches) and is overkill for most limbing, as it is enough axe for decent felling ability. The small forest axe would easily be enough for even fairly thick branches (4" or so) and would be much more friendly for novice users because it is fairly light. This also makes it less taxing to use in the long run and it can be readily used with one hand.

One thing to be careful of is that wooden handled axes are not very friendly towards sloppy usage. You can flail at a tree with a machete or decent long knife and do no damage to the blade, if you try that with a wood handled axe you can readily crack the handle by impacting the wood. I would suggest wrapping the neck just under the head with leather or cord to cushion any accidental impacts.

-Cliff
 
thanks for all the input on the various tools-one thing im finding out is that you can buy a handcrafted axe for about half of whay you would spend on a knife- and would add another dimension to your capabilities as for camping and home use-but really like the knives - especially that battle rat:cool: I have an email in to the folks at Treeman knives about their thought on what they would recommend, will post when I make my decision and give a little review
 
I literally had my hand on the order now button, A few months ago a plumber did some work under the house and came out with what was essentially a 1/8x1 1/2x19 1/2" length of tool steel with electrical tape tape wrapped around one end. After thinking about what had been said about a longer, thinner blade being a good alternative to an axe and reading some reviews on the Bolo`s and kukri along with the Battle rat, I went out to the vice and went to work with grinder in one hand and several very good files in the other. A few hours later I was putting the finishing touch on the high bevel edge with a medium course stone. There`s no doubt that the above mentioned knives are better in looks and quality-but this knife -with 1/8 x 14 1/2 blade(5" handle) wrapped handle in cord and worked wood glue into each layer of cord- not a bad handle.

So now its time to put it to the test-bottom line it works great-better than I would have thought-anything under 1 1/2" no sweat and with afew chops 2-3" easily. Will spend some more time on the edge and I`m sure it will do even better.My biggest fear was that the thin blade was going to jar or shock my hand but it does`nt, thanks for all the input, made my first (very primitive knife) and had some fun doing it-also more $$$ for something else like hmmmmm----an axe:D We do not have a digital camera or I would gladly post a picture:(
 
I've been doing a bit of yard work with my Becker BK-7. It'll hack through 1-1/2" hard wood or up to 4" of vine with about 5 strokes. I'm pretty impressed, the larger BK-9 would be even better because of it's weight, but I needed something smaller.
 
Ontario Knife or other machette - inexpensive, quite efficient on green limbs, and they often come with a sheath so it can be belt carried.
 
I was looking at some of the offerings from several reputable makers and noticed the very high polished bevel-so I used a marker as a guide and ground a very high bevel then spent some time working the edge with a file and then polished -this home made knife is now a very efficient cutter and made the chore of limbing a little easier and with a knife in your hand its just a little more fun as well-I also took the new knowledge and spent some time on my felling axe(an above average store bought) and and my wedges as well-they are all much better tools now-and had a good time working the steel-very therapeutic, thanks for all the good suggestions-I agree after looking at them that they are all good knives that I would like to own-I hope the home made will serve me for years to come-my boys love it
 
I'd really recommend an axe of some sort for your boys to learn with. The balance is more efficient for chopping usually so you don't have to swing as hard. Gives more control, and all the cutting edge is out away from you. If you go with a medium sized axe and they use it right there isn't any worry of overswinging and hitting themself. With a knife you have less reach so the cutting is much closer to your body.
With an axe you also have both hands on the handle which forces you to keep your free hand/arm out of the way. Just a safer proposition than a large knife.

Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of all cutting tools. I like my machete and other big knives, but I really love my Axe (an I'm kind of fond of my dad's Stihl chainsaw, although the old Partner saw was better). My dad has an old double bitted axe that takes an edge like a good knife and holds it, head is nicely shaped and just eats up hard wood. I can cut limbs off 3"-4" thick with one swing. Trouble is there's no marks on the axe head to know who made it, it came in a pile of miscelanious junk at an auction :(
 
after reworking the edge on a store bought felling axe that I had, I went down behind the house to give it a try-needed some green in the 8"dia range and wanted to try my axe and knife-without changing the subject-I felt like one of those guys you see on T.V.-the lumberjacks-I fell that tree in a matter of seconds and was limbing in no time-the knife with 14" blade made short work of limbing that tree and gave me a chance to see how the youngest would do with the knife-we kinda went in slow gear and while I really liked the knife- I could see that it was not right for him-good reason to still get a hatchet(two hands) for the little guys:D By the way I had a choice at the local supply between stihl and husqvarna-I went with the 55 rancher and have been real happy even thought he owner told me I couldn`t go wrong either way-his technician was a husqy fan and I figured if I ever had trouble that might payoff-but 3 yrs and no trouble:)
 
Of course you still need the hatchet/axe, you gotta have at least one of everything :D

Husqvarna's are supposed to be real nice.I really like my dad's Stihl Farm Boss (used to be 029, think called a 290 now). He's got a stihl weed eater too, and after using them both quite a bit I'll probably stick with stihl for life. Before I would have said partner for chainsaws but they quit making them, just before the old one finally died (it had cut LOTS of wood, but throttle went completely out only ran wide open and couldn't get parts) I think they still make rock saws and construction type stuff but no chainsaws :(

For a little cheaper alternative to a gransfor, you might look at an estwing camp axe. I think its about 24" overall length with a medium weight head, which would probably be a good starting point for your son. I've never been impressed with the spliting wedge factory edge but people have good things to say about them so its probably decent steel and can be sharpened properly.
 
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