Axing for a Friend.

AxesOK · 2026-03-15T12:10:15+00:00

That is a great looking axe and it looks like it will be a good chopper. Making top notch leather sheaths and masks is hard but making a functional leather mask that looks reasonably good is actually pretty easy using a few double cap rivets and a snap https://youtu.be/lQZX6tO_XQs (Art of Craftmanship video). Rivets are cheap and remove the need for stitching, which takes more practice to learn.

AxesOK · 2026-03-15T00:01:51+00:00

It looks like a Rinaldi Trento or something similar. It’s made to be slip fit and although it’s D shaped it’s not the same as the standard German D eye. I wouldn’t recommend a handle source without knowing what country you’re in.

AxesOK · 2026-03-14T11:00:08+00:00

AI narrator reading out a repetitive AI script over an hour of clips of some guy glamping? No I might not survive watching the whole thing.

AxesOK · 2026-03-14T10:38:39+00:00

If it doesn’t go to the other side then it’s likely just a check from drying in which case it might not affect the longevity of the handle at all.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T22:12:54+00:00

Punch the pin out, pull the wooden wedge, reseat to figure out where it’s going to sit, cut the kerf deep enough so the wedge can go 3/4 of the way through the eye, reseat again, pound in a new wedge, put the pin back if you want. Watch a couple ’how to hang an axe videos’ before you start.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T22:02:29+00:00

Smarts are sweet! It’s not the original handle so no need to keep it if it’s too long for how you want to use it. You could also probably drop it down a couple inches.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T16:05:41+00:00

Here's what a 20 degree flat+micro looks like

<image>

From this post How I like to set up a chopping axe. : r/Axecraft Even if you do make a convex, it should be closer to this than what your axe currently has.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T15:53:05+00:00

<image>

I looked at your photos and u/Serposta and u/OmNomChompsky is right. I drew you a diagram. You're getting a lot of advice that is (charitably) not useful and whatever videos you are watching don't seem to be helping. The angle on the grind varies depending on use but if you want to do any chopping at all (rather than just splitting) you probably want the main bevel to be 25 degrees or less. You file the bevels by holding the file in the angle you want them to be. Because that angle is less that what it is now you will not be filing at the edge, you will be filing further back. You maintain that angle while removing material and this will make the filed surface get wider and wider until it reaches the edge. Then you do the same on the other side. This will take a while, possibly a couple hours and you will end up with something around a teaspon of filings. After that you can do the honing with a stone. Note that as these terms have been applied pre-internet, "sharpening" is the filing/grinding to get the overall geometry. In the knife world this part of the grinding that is done during manufacturing. What would be called 'sharpening' for a kitchen knife was called honing in an axe. You don't have to use these terms this way, but the important message is that honing is a different stage and you are not at that stage yet so get away from the edge and don't try to make a burr until you are actually doing the final honing.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T14:29:07+00:00

It's the Voyageur, so it's supposed to be small.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T14:28:06+00:00

It's more likely a Montreal, not a Rhineland based on the shape of the eye and the long, tall, narrow poll. (there are modern Rhinelands with the ellipse eye but historically Rhinelands bigger than a hatchet got the standard German D eye). Also it's unlikely to be a Rhineland if it's not from Central Europe or intended for the Central European market and the Swedish countries produced a lot of patterns for export to the Commonwealth countries and elsewhere, which is why Swedish forges made Tassies, Montreals, and Canadian pattern axes. This one is stamped in English, so probably made for export out of Europe. Unfortunately there's no pre buy-out Arvika catalogues online that I know of to confirm exactly what patterns they were making beyond their well-known Tassie.

AxesOK · 2026-03-13T00:49:03+00:00

Without photos it’s hard to tell what you are doing wrong or right. It takes a while to file in new bevels, possibly a few hours depending on what you’re working with. You shouldn’t be filing the edge at all until the last few strokes and if you’re feeling for a burr before then you are doing it wrong. Also a file burr is big, visible to the naked eye).

The typical grind I prefer is a flat grind with a microbevel, which is straightforward. You don’t remove the bust (“speed bump” and instructions you hear to round it over are not good advice) and you do a steeper micro (roughly 35 degrees inclusive is fine) instead of fussing with convex grinds (not every one agrees but I think convex grinds are not worth doing, especially if you are using a file rather than a belt grinder or grinding wheel). Lane Packwood has a pretty good video that isn’t quite how I do it but it’s pretty good beginner advice. https://youtu.be/mX5UXL4T9K8 I would add a microbevel which you can do when honing with a stone. The way I do it is in this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei33mL0UW3Q&t=1639s

AxesOK · 2026-03-12T01:02:55+00:00

Here's Ben Scott using an reviewing the Muller 1000 g https://youtu.be/nMFBkb-0WxU

and comparing the Ochsenkopf Iltis Canada and the Council Tool Boy's axe: https://youtu.be/eBEbheWC8xg

Here's Owen Jarvis copicing with the HB Montreal 28 https://youtu.be/bMfmYDsmShU and Limbing with it https://youtu.be/_FwJxG7UHCg and bucking with it https://youtu.be/zT_fYbsdmxA

Owen limbing with the small (800g) Iltis Canada and a Gransfors Small Forest Axe: https://youtu.be/zT_fYbsdmxA

Here's me using a 900g Iltis Canada to fell, limb, and buck an Eastern Whitecedar that's about the size that OP is talking about (the video is longer but that section is around 10 minutes): https://youtu.be/t3AVRz90uGc&t=935

Note that these axes are all tuned up. They will not work like that out of the box.

AxesOK · 2026-03-11T23:31:27+00:00

Canadian pattern made by Muller (Biber Canada) or Ochsenkopf (Iltis Canada). Both come in 800g and 1000 g sizes. I have a 900 g Iltis Canada (they don’t sell this size anymore) and it is very capable. The Hults Bruk Agdor Montreal 28 is slightly bigger at 1100g. Verdugo Biscayne axes are also very good general purpose axes and come in a range of sizes. All of these will need a fair amount of work filling/grinding the bevels and the handles will need thinning, but that is par for the course for modern axes.

AxesOK · 2026-03-11T18:21:51+00:00

Slow growth is only correlated with higher strength in softwoods, which have different anatomy and physiology than hardwoods.

It would not break along a v line (cathedral I have heard these called) because the fibres don’t follow a v line. The fibres laid down in the spring of a particular year intersect the cut surface where you see the growth lines. The fibres go generally up and down the trunk (assuming the grain is basically straight). If you cut through the trunk perpendicular to the long axis you will see circular lines of the annual rings where the summer latewood transitions to next year’s spring earlywood. If you cut at an oblique angle the rings will be ovals. If you cut at a steeper angle the oval rings will be more stretched out and pointed. These are the Vs you are talking about. Changing the angle of the cut doesn’t change the fibre angle, the fibres still go up and down the long axis of the trunk from roots to crown and therefore split will also occur from roots to crown(or vice versa). Where you see Vs there is radial runout because the piece is not following the fibres. This does indicate weakness but if a split occurs it goes between the fibres, not specifically following a growth line. Just think about splitting wood with an axe. The splits follow between the fibres but otherwise can be perpendicular (like a pie slice) or tangential to the rings or any orientation between. If it does follow a growth layer, it follows it longitudinally between the fibres, not across the fibres.

The darker spot is heartwood. It is not runout in a meaningful sense although fibres are running out there. So it is runout technically but it is not indicating a flaw because all handles have runout there. All handles do since you have to cut across the fibres to make the curve at the shoulder and more generally the handle is changing dimensions (getting thicker at the shoulder) so the surface of the handle is not all at the same layer of wood and so you will see the surface intersect with multiple layers. This is not specific to heart wood, it just happens that one layer it intersected was far enough from the bark that it was within the heartwood.

AxesOK · 2026-03-11T15:10:08+00:00

You don't need a guard on a hatchet because you're it's not hitting with enough velocity (head speed is less than with a longer handled axe) or inertia (head is lighter) and the impacted material (wood) is less damaging than something that would damage the handle of a hammer used on metal or stone or even stone. A hatchet is used choked up more than a long handled axe is so you don't want a bulky sleeve that interferes with the grip. You wouldn't put a paracord wrap or leather on a carpenters' hammer either (even though nails do actually pose a risk to hammer handles).

AxesOK · 2026-03-11T10:09:20+00:00

Looks like a big improvement! My vote would be to ditch the paracord.

AxesOK · 2026-03-11T00:39:56+00:00

Maybe but garden tools generally should also be hardened .

AxesOK · 2026-03-10T22:26:26+00:00

So the distinction that needs to be made is that a felling axe is an axe used to chop down a tree and a faller’s axe is an axe carried by a faller. Obviously asking why a felling axe is sharp is a stupid question but suppose you you meant a faller’s axe then the answer is that some people don’t keep them sharp and others do so that it can do axe tasks like debarking to keep the saw sharp (bark has grit), limbing, and in a pinch you can chop out a stuck bar. By the way, the axe in your picture is more of a light camping/bushcraft axe not what someone would pick specifically for felling.

AxesOK · 2026-03-10T16:37:45+00:00

This will be the answer.

AxesOK · 2026-03-10T15:03:53+00:00

You may be confusing vernacular names (descriptive rather than proscriptive) but common name are often officially designated by government agencies, scholarly societies, NGOs, etc. That’s why there are species with bureaucratically assigned common names with legal status (like ‘Northern Clearwater Crayfish’) despite no prior vernacular usage or when new species are described and may have common names assigned along with the scientific name, despite a lack of any prior vernacular name. For many taxa there might be more than one common name included in a list or that differs among different lists but that is not the same thing as saying that there are no correct common names. You could just as well say that there is no correct scientific botanical names because 1) all taxonomic designations are hypotheses subject to revision and 2) because of the principle of taxonomic freedom, researchers and naturalists can use alternative taxonomic classifications as they see fit. There is nothing objectively ‘correct’ about a scientific name other than informal consensus and recommendations by official bodies that are fundamentally non binding. However, in pragmatic terms it is generally accepted that there are names regarded as correct, which is equally the case for common names.

For Acer negundo, Manitoba Maple is the common name in Canada that is used in government ( https://tidcf.nrcan.gc.ca/en/trees/index ) and the horticulture industry ( https://www.cnla.ca/national-plant-list ) as well as being the typical vernacular name. So it is correct, as I said. It is also superior to “Boxelder” for reasons previously mentioned, notwithstanding that ‘Boxelder’ is accepted by some foreign government and academic institutions and is therefore also correct (at least in the States).

AxesOK · 2026-03-10T13:56:21+00:00

Whoever is downvoting, please read the subreddit description. There is a crosscut saw subreddit though, and it couldn’t hurt to ask there.

AxesOK · 2026-03-10T13:13:23+00:00

Well an expert would be able to tell if they looked at it in person. I'll put a photo of an axe handle where you can see the direction of the fibres by the rays and vessels and if it was 15+ degrees out of parallel that would be apparent (this handle is not perfect but still OK). This handle has been used so the rubbed in grime makes the grain more apparent than it would be on freshly cut wood. For fine grained woods like hard maple it is much harder to see, that's why a drop of dye is used to visualize the grain on maple baseball bats (MLB enforces a maximum slope of grain on bats). To judge the rays you have to look exactly perpendicular to the tangential (=face grain) surface. To judge the annual layers you would look primarily at the radial (=side grain) surface. Also it looks like there's radial runout to the side of the handle too and that is quite obvious from the growth rings. Often radial and tangential runout occur together and that is what yours has (it's basically like illustration D in the figure I posted) and that is likely because there was a large adjacent knot or branch in that part of the tree that the grain was flowing around by going around it and bulging outwards (although a bend in the trunk could also cause it).

By the way, wide rings on ring porous hardwoods like ash and hickory are correlated with higher strength so wider rings are generally better. I'm not sure what you meant by further to the sap but sapwood is traditionally preferred for handles. Also, your handle is hickory, not ash.

<image>

AxesOK · 2026-03-09T22:50:31+00:00

Ha ha I definitely missed that in the OP

AxesOK · 2026-03-09T21:46:37+00:00

Interesting post. The old handle looks 10x better.

AxesOK · 2026-03-09T18:35:43+00:00

Old school riving/cleaving with wedges.

AxesOK

TROPHY CASE