Test 63rc 1095 Thin Edge Bevel Felling Axe

Looks like they held up well.

Sorry to be nosy, but I’m kinda curious as to why you were chopping those trees up. It looked like you were in a public park and they were off-trail…?
 
houla! such a pain to see! i would never chop a tree in shorts and no iron sock (sorry i don't know the real name for it)(even thought i spend 2 hours bucking with trousers only this morning, but i am a bit seasoned and i don't allways do what i preach)
to axes:
first one ,apart from beeing an ugly tinkering, is too short for the purpose you put it in . i can see once or twice your leg too close and in the way... it is rather made for chopping on a block using thick part of the tree, to do so.
big one : some same tinkering, and plastic handle; the kind i like on a splitting maul but hate on an axe! to much vibrations . you hit from above ;fine; but you end plowing as you came for bucking! it is better to chop from the oposite side of the log towards you. and obviously placing your feet paralel to the cut.
the wood used is one of good will, as i use to say ,don't try on a harder one.
you say steel is 63 hrc , fine, but it just needs basically to be harder than wood.
you worked on eucaliptus and beeing in shorts i guess you are from down under.
to far from Italy, France or Spain and Portugal to get real thin axes on cheap to work with and see a world of difference!
is that to much honesty?
 
scdub said:
Looks like they held up well.

Sorry to be nosy, but I’m kinda curious as to why you were chopping those trees up. It looked like you were in a public park and they were off-trail…?
Click to expand...
Yep, off a public trail near a junction thus ppl passing by. In dry season, I walk deeper into woods/almost-forest but too muddy this time of year.
 
flexo said:
houla! such a pain to see! i would never chop a tree in shorts and no iron sock (sorry i don't know the real name for it)(even thought i spend 2 hours bucking with trousers only this morning, but i am a bit seasoned and i don't allways do what i preach)
to axes:
first one ,apart from beeing an ugly tinkering, is too short for the purpose you put it in . i can see once or twice your leg too close and in the way... it is rather made for chopping on a block using thick part of the tree, to do so.
big one : some same tinkering, and plastic handle; the kind i like on a splitting maul but hate on an axe! to much vibrations . you hit from above ;fine; but you end plowing as you came for bucking! it is better to chop from the oposite side of the log towards you. and obviously placing your feet paralel to the cut.
the wood used is one of good will, as i use to say ,don't try on a harder one.
you say steel is 63 hrc , fine, but it just needs basically to be harder than wood.
you worked on eucaliptus and beeing in shorts i guess you are from down under.
to far from Italy, France or Spain and Portugal to get real thin axes on cheap to work with and see a world of difference!
is that to much honesty?
Click to expand...
Your time & honesty(takes courage nowadays) are well appreciated.

For context - here is my previous video, where 62.5rc 1095 axe edge deformed badly chopped seasoned eucalyptus:

This Harbor Freight 3.5lbs felling axe with 35" plastic handle is far from a nice axe but cheap to cutoff the edge (removed 7oz edge with angle grinder) and welded 10oz 63rc 1095 bit. 35" is long for power chop but mis-hits would strike ground rather than leg. I also drop my hands to make axe head even further from leg, albeit losing velocity (less gravitation & pivot accelerations). I can handle choppers and small axes well enough but not big axes so I sure will takes your advises/comments into consideration in future videos with axes.
 
BluntCut MetalWorks said:
Yep, off a public trail near a junction thus ppl passing by. In dry season, I walk deeper into woods/almost-forest but too muddy this time of year.
Click to expand...
Ok - just FYI - that might not be legal unless you got permission.

Generally folks want parks to be relatively natural and undisturbed, and fallen trees are generally a protected feature of the park unless you’re on a volunteer trail crew, etc. and targeting trees that are dangerous or blocking trails.

Not trying to tell you what to do, I just don’t want you to get in trouble unexpectedly. ✌️
 
scdub said:
Ok - just FYI - that might not be legal unless you got permission.

Generally folks want parks to be relatively natural and undisturbed, and fallen trees are generally a protected feature of the park unless you’re on a volunteer trail crew, etc. and targeting trees that are dangerous or blocking trails.

Not trying to tell you what to do, I just don’t want you to get in trouble unexpectedly. ✌️
Click to expand...
I'm pretty sure We can clean out fallen trees here in my area. It helps prevent fires spreading
*I haven't, but I know someone who Does....but like you said, maybe he has a permit
 
scdub said:
Ok - just FYI - that might not be legal unless you got permission.

Generally folks want parks to be relatively natural and undisturbed, and fallen trees are generally a protected feature of the park unless you’re on a volunteer trail crew, etc. and targeting trees that are dangerous or blocking trails.

Not trying to tell you what to do, I just don’t want you to get in trouble unexpectedly. ✌️
Click to expand...
Thanks.
Park Ranger OKed with this. Last Autumn they fell & wood-chipped ~20% of trees(live & brown). These new dead-falls with branches for monkeying aren't desirable/safe. They will wood-chip a few of these once the ground supports wood chipping equip & truck to haul away. A few times in the past, I went off-trail (near a few homeless shelters) to make chop videos. Currently, area too muddy. I brought home a few dead fall logs (from freeway deadfall cleanup pile) for next few test rounds.
 
Square_peg said:
How did you test the hardness? RC63 is too hard for an axe. The O1 might hold up.
Click to expand...
Inferred via Rockwell Hardness Tester reading of a 1095 2.5mm thick charpy impact specimen, that was hardened along with this axe bit (which welded to axe head later on). 1095 is a shallow hardening steel (aka low hardenability) so for the quenchant I used - it only fully hardened up to 4mm thick, thus sort of differential hardened. O1 is an oil hardening steel, so easy to full harden 10mm thick axe bit (shown bit only 8mm but I do have 10mm thick bit at 63.5rc). In the past I used interrupted super-quench to fully harden all shallow hardening steels, W2 included. I need repeatability, where super quench brings high variances of result.

15 degrees bevel + small sharpening bevel is too thin for chopping Eucalyptus however 63+rc provides high yield strength to support this... as you can see - edge afterward is fine. Chopping this green Eucalyptus, I felt the wood janka hardness around 1000, rather than 1400+. In my 2nd video link, the partially dried eucalyptus probably around 1400 and the 5" diameter log is probably 2000+. Also keep in mind, competition standing block chop axe with edge bevel near 15* often chops white pine with janka around 400.

I am testing research hardened steel impact/shock load (stress strain curve) using thin cross section of an axe edge... not axe: profile, technique, performance. Nevertheless, good to have a thin edge option but don't need it than settle for a thicker edge because steel limitation.
 
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