what do you think about this fella?

Funny you posted that I literally just unsubscribed form his channel then clicked onto the forum. He has some good axe, chopping and leather tips; the rest of it I do not like.
 
I hadn't seen that before, but that is the same way I thin handles - except I use a woodman's pal instead of a pocket knife and then the same little 4 in 1 wood rasp. I just skimmed the video with the sound off so I'm not sure what he was saying.
 
Generally a very good video. He's talking about the things we've talked about here for years, thin comfortable handles with some flex to them. But he makes these ideas more accessible to a wider audience. And videos are often more instructive than text.
I like many of his videos. I appreciate that he doesn't endlessly self-bloviate like another popular youtuber.

A lot of what he is doing can be done much quicker with a larger wood rasp or new sharp farriers rasp.

His wooden maul is well made. I like how the transition from head to handle (see 17:45) is a gradual taper that doesn't create a weak spot.

Adding 'hook' for the little finger at the bottom of the swell is something I've preached here for years. But I don't want the hook too close to the end of the haft. If you do that, especially with an clipped fawnsfoot, you end up with the end of the swell in your palm where it can raise a hot spot. Better if the top of the swell continues all the way through your hand. And he's right that wide swells are better.
 
I've watched a lot of his vids. I think he has a lot of information to share I'm also not a big fan of survivalist hippies
 
Whiskey_Jim said:
I've watched a lot of his vids. I think he has a lot of information to share I'm also not a big fan of survivalist hippies
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As long as you don't have a hippie hair in your french fries I don't see a problem...:confused:

He has his opinions and they are based on his experience using the tools, so better than most of the youtube guys. I don't have the attention span to set through his videos. I can kind of skip through though. Don't know why he cares if the axe has flex side to side. If you remove to much material from the side of the haft you will make it stiffer in the other plane. Kind of like a popsicle stick. I do that some times.
 
garry3 said:
Don't know why he cares if the axe has flex side to side. If you remove to much material from the side of the haft you will make it stiffer in the other plane. Kind of like a popsicle stick. I do that some times.
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He explains (should be around the 5-minutes mark) the reason he does it here:

.
 
He bought a few budget friendly hatchets and wrote them off in a video because they'd require an afternoons work or so.
He should at least give them a fair chance in case they might be good options for a viewer on a budget who would be willing to put a bit if time in.
That video turned me off and I've never watched anything from him again.
 
Moonw said:
He explains (should be around the 5-minutes mark) the reason he does it here:

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Yes, he does a good job of explaining the physics there.

And I don't care what his hair looks like. He's smart, he understands axes, and that's a nice change from so many other youtubers.
 
He seems knowledgeable but a stress point is still always a stress point. I will have to look for the budget hatchet video. I can't see spending hours on a $200 axe and not wanting to spend some time on something cheap to make it shine. Last year I got a link hatchet handle for a no name head I had laying around and hafted it, carved the handle into an octagon and did some decorations. It made a great inexpensive gift for my buddy to use and beat on if he wants. Great use for a cheap hatchet.
 
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Axe handles by their ergonomic design have side flex. We all know not to pry sideways on an axe haft.
 
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