They are an indispensable tool for just about any camping or outdoor excursion. Familiarization with the various styles (splitting, hand axe, splitting maul, etc.) and safe handling procedures will ensure that you will get the most from your new tool. First, make sure you have selected the best tool for the job. The hand axe, whilst the name implies, is designed for single-handed use and is most suitable for cutting small firewood or thinning branches. Hand axes might have either wood or metal hafts (or handles). A good principle is always to depend on a hand axe for anything around 3″ in diameter. Bigger than that, and it’s time and energy to upgrade to a ribbon saw or two handed instrument.
To bring down live trees, a felling axe is required. Felling axes are produced with various head weights and haft lengths – make sure you choose a dimension that’s comfortable enough to wield safely. A medium-size felling axe generally includes a 3.5-4.5 pound head and 30-35 Viking axe for sale inch haft, with larger axes sporting heads around 6 pounds. The point is, whether you are working together with hand axes or felling axes, keep carefully the blade masked when not used and never leave your axe outside overnight or in wet weather. An excellent felling axe is a very valuable tool which will last a lifetime if properly cared for. Make sure to keep carefully the axe head well oiled to prevent rust, and sharpen the axe with a carborundum stone when necessary.
If you plan to use your axe primarily to split seasoned wood, consider investing in a Scandinavian-style splitting axe. These splitting axes have a wedge-shaped head which are ideal for wood splitting but poorly suited to felling work. Scandinavian splitting axes usually have shorter handle lengths than other two handed axes, and commonly depend on a 3 pound head, although other sizes are generally available. Larger splitting axes may be known as splitting mauls. These kind of tools normally have much heavier heads, and have a direct handle, rather than the curved handle. Turnaround hooks are frequently shaped on the end of a mauls splitting head to be able to benefit flipping logs over throughout the splitting process.
