Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990 
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Post by Keith on Nov 30, 2019 18:06:02 GMT -7
I purchased my first hand forged tomahawk many years ago from a Blacksmith in Victoria. I realised after a while that the head on this tomahawk was simply too large for my needs, so I made a longer helve & turned it into a half-axe. I do not want to have to carry a saw, I do all my journeying on foot these days & carrying a saw is simply not practicle. But when I have heavier cutting to do the half-axe is just the thing I need.   Here you can see the half-axe secured under the blanket roll ties.Keith. |
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Post by Sicilianhunter on Dec 3, 2019 13:49:15 GMT -7
I purchased my first hand forged tomahawk many years ago from a Blacksmith in Victoria. I realised after a while that the head on this tomahawk was simply too large for my needs, so I made a longer helve & turned it into a half-axe. I do not want to have to carry a saw, I do all my journeying on foot these days & carrying a saw is simply not practicle. But when I have heavier cutting to do the half-axe is just the thing I need. Here you can see the half-axe secured under the blanket roll ties.Keith. LeLoup, Love that idea!! How long is the half axe helve in comparison to the original one? |
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Post by Black Hand on Dec 3, 2019 13:56:16 GMT -7
Remember that due to head construction/configuration, the swing might not be as stable as an axe. I find tomahawks tend to "wobble" more when swung - might just be the operator....
These heads are also light by comparison, which gives them less umph on contact.
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Post by Black Hand on Dec 3, 2019 14:11:00 GMT -7
My half-axe is made from a smaller axe head and a handle I cut down to 3/4 size.
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on Dec 3, 2019 19:22:47 GMT -7
I purchased my first hand forged tomahawk many years ago from a Blacksmith in Victoria. I realised after a while that the head on this tomahawk was simply too large for my needs, so I made a longer helve & turned it into a half-axe. I do not want to have to carry a saw, I do all my journeying on foot these days & carrying a saw is simply not practicle. But when I have heavier cutting to do the half-axe is just the thing I need. Keith. LeLoup, Love that idea!! How long is the half axe helve in comparison to the original one? The helve is twenty two & a quarter inches long plus what is in & above the head. Keith. |
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on Dec 3, 2019 19:26:01 GMT -7
Remember that due to head construction/configuration, the swing might not be as stable as an axe. I find tomahawks tend to "wobble" more when swung - might just be the operator.... These heads are also light by comparison, which gives them less umph on contact. I find this axe perfectly stable, & the longer helve gives a much harder strike (more umph)Keith. |
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Keith
City-dweller
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 990
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Post by Keith on Dec 3, 2019 19:41:13 GMT -7
My half-axe is made from a smaller axe head and a handle I cut down to 3/4 size. My felling axe has a much smaller head than average, not sure on its date of manufacture, but it is old. I found it in my forest, just the head, no helve.   Keith. |
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spence
Hunter
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Post by spence on Dec 3, 2019 22:20:08 GMT -7
You guys are still using axes? How quaint.   Spence |
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Post by Black Hand on Dec 4, 2019 7:32:50 GMT -7
An axe is for "permanent" camp and used for splitting larger pieces of firewood. A belt-axe is used for brush, pegs and cleaning small game. If firewood is needed on the trail, downed wood is usually used and rarely is my belt-axe needed. On rare occasions, a small bucksaw is used to drop standing-dead trees for firewood. In most cases, wood is broken (as Spence shows above) or burned in half and the resulting pieces again burned as many times as needed to get them to fit in the fire.
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Post by artificer on Dec 4, 2019 9:54:30 GMT -7
Remember that due to head construction/configuration, the swing might not be as stable as an axe. I find tomahawks tend to "wobble" more when swung - might just be the operator....It may well be the design of the helve that gives you problems with at least some tomahawks? Back in the 70's, H&B Forge tomahawks were the most common forged tomahawks. My best friend in life used the small "Squaw" Hawk, which was probably a more common size for the period, but he couldn't throw it that well. I used the next size up which threw better, but was really too big to use as an all around tomahawk in camp. However, neither helve really fit that well in the hand, so both had a tendency to not "index" properly for chopping. Finally I decided to buy their "Axe" which was nothing more than a larger head of the same design, but with a helve that went round not far below the head and tapered downward from there. That helve design may have been original (or not) but was HORRIBLE to use. It was very easy to twist in the hand when gripping and that meant the blade would not consistently hit where intended. The oval shape of many axe helves fits the hands much better IMO and "indexes" the head so the blade hits where you mean it to.
BTW, this reminds me that someday I'm going to have to get around to re-helving that axe with an oval shaped helve.
Gus |
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Post by Black Hand on Dec 4, 2019 10:05:37 GMT -7
Both my tomahawks (larger and smaller) have slightly-tapered, oval/tear-drop shaped handles. As best as I can tell, it is the shape/weight-distribution of the head that gives me problems and results in the wobble. The smaller "squaw" hawk works better, but the head is more compact with a shorter blade. Maybe I just prefer my polled belt-axe - it works more efficiently that either of my tomahawks. The blade edge also tapers far more rapidly than the more "blunt" tomahawk edges with the weight-distribution being more in-line with the handle. Once I made my belt-axe (from an Ace Hardware shingling hatchet put on a grinding-belt diet), I rarely have used a tomahawk. It is heavy enough to cut down 3-4" trees with little effort but nimble enough to be used for roughing trenchers and spoons.
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Post by artificer on Dec 6, 2019 8:46:45 GMT -7
I wonder if the rounded head of some tomahawks also makes it more difficult to see where the blade has chopped and thus more difficult to adjust one's swing to change where one wishes to make the following chops? With most axes the head is flat, though a bit wider than the blade, but straight in line with the blade and thus easier to adjust the following chops?
Curious sidebar, last night I found the large round ended axe helves I was talking about in a hardware store not too far away. Now I REALLY have to find my old H&B Forge Axe head and get it re-helved and see if that will improve its performance.
Gus
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