Double bit axe for firewood

[dancan]

Yup , They work great for kindling .

 

[Mustang71]

I only refuse to burn a couple types of trees. White pine, Basswood comes to mind.

My whole woods is basically ash and basswood. Some cherry and some birch. There's a few maple and cotton wood.

Basswood is so nice to cut and split. Lol

 

[milkman]

Yup , They work great for kindling .

Find a piece with no knots? Nobody told me that, and I didn't have pajamas to work in either, I just did it all wrong!

 

[sirbuildalot]

Find a piece with no knots? Nobody told me that, and I didn't have pajamas to work in either, I just did it all wrong!

Lol, I was thinking the same thing. Pajamas and moccasin slippers.

 

[Trx250r180]

I've tried using a regular axe for splitting, and no it doesn't work at all in eastern hardwoods. Well some of the straight grain easy splitting wood like Ash, walnut and a few others it would, but even then a maul is nicer to work with. The stuff Billy splits looks straight and the way it moves around you can tell it weighs nothing and has no density. They just have different species of wood in the north west.

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Strait grain fir splits easy when wet still ,stuff is fairly heavy till it drys out down by the stump is real hard to axe split ,knots are hard to split also ,Billy is a fairly strong guy is why it looks light when he lifts it.

 

[Andyshine77]

Strait grain fir splits easy when wet still ,stuff is fairly heavy till it drys out down by the stump is real hard to axe split ,knots are hard to split also ,Billy is a fairly strong guy is why it looks light when he lifts it.

He is a strong dude, but you can tell by sound and how it moves the wood is quite light. Some species of wood can be nearly impossible to split, no matter the axe or technique. I don't care how big you are, you're not going to split Rock Elm, Hickory while it's laying on it's side, period.

It's just totally different, even Billy talked a bit in his last video about how much he learnrd about the type of wood he cut in Indiana. He thought both saws had something wrong with them, no it's just crazy hard Shag bark Hickory.[emoji106]

 

[Andyshine77]

It all burns lol

It does, but those two are just weeds in my book, especially Basswood. Basswood is so soft it will turn oval if you leave it on the ground 6 months. White pine just has all the radial branches, makes splitting a pain+ the pine sap gets everwhare. We don't have much fur trees so it's not a problem anyway.[emoji4] Everything else I grab.[emoji106]

 

[Andyshine77]

My whole woods is basically ash and basswood. Some cherry and some birch. There's a few maple and cotton wood.

Basswood is so nice to cut and split. Lol

That is very true, easy to move as well.[emoji6]

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[kevin j]

I was told years ago that the double bit axe was sharpened differently. One side for chopping crossgrain and one side for splitting. It makes some sense for a cabin or trapper, but it doesn’t make any sense for a lumberjack because they obviously weren’t doing any splitting. Did it just save time between
sharpening? balance? tradition?

 

[kcurbanloggers]

I split about 10 cords a year by hand. I highly advise against a double bit for splitting. Get a good quality maul and a splitting axe. You’ll thank yourself later. Double bits aren’t designed to split. The idea is for fallers that work near and around the dirt, they could have one sacrificial edge to use for roots and the like and the falling edge will stay sharp.


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[Multifaceted]

I will split with a double bit if needed, but I don't really like to exclusively. Doubles feel better balanced, but I keep my bits profiled for felling and swamping respectively. I can and have split with my swamping bit, but it's really only when doing ax-only wood processing.

To purchase a new, Council Tool would probably be your only American made option. Gränsfors Bruk makes a double bit that runs upwards of $300, and not much less is the Hults Bruk Motala. And for about the same price or less, Helko has their Hinterland 3.5 lb double bit, quality German steel.

Your best bet would be finding an old vintage Western pattern double and restore it. But if you want new and American, then Council Tool. Before you pay the extra for the Velvicut line, try and hold one first. I've seen a few and the fit and finish aren't much better, if at all than their regular line. Not worth the upcharge, imho.

Can't remember if they made a full sized double for their Velvicut line, the only one I see on their website is for the Saddle Axe.

 

[Trx250r180]

I will split with a double bit if needed, but I don't really like to exclusively. Doubles feel better balanced, but I keep my bits profiled for felling and swamping respectively. I can and have split with my swamping bit, but it's really only when doing ax-only wood processing.

To purchase a new, Council Tool would probably be your only American made option. Gränsfors Bruk makes a double bit that runs upwards of $300, and not much less is the Hults Bruk Motala. And for about the same price or less, Helko has their Hinterland 3.5 lb double bit, quality German steel.

Your best bet would be finding an old vintage Western pattern double and restore it. But if you want new and American, then Council Tool. Before you pay the extra for the Velvicut line, try and hold one first. I've seen a few and the fit and finish aren't much better, if at all than their regular line. Not worth the upcharge, imho.

Can't remember if they made a full sized double for their Velvicut line, the only one I see on their website is for the Saddle Axe.

They have a 4 lb i think with a 36 inch handle at council in velvicut line ,i am going to check out hb ,hard to find the bigger ones in the states still ,i would prefer a sweedish one for the steel.

 

[Multifaceted]

They have a 4 lb i think with a 36 inch handle at council in velvicut line ,i am going to check out hb ,hard to find the bigger ones in the states still ,i would prefer a sweedish one for the steel.

Are you sure it isn't their Classic Double Bit Michigan 3.5 lb on a 36"?

http://counciltool.com/shop/michiga...ichigan-double-bit-36-straight-wooden-handle/

The Velvicut ® line from their website only offers the little saddle axe for a double bit.

http://counciltool.com/velvicut-premium-axes/

I did a brief web search and it turned up nothing on any full sized double bit from the Velvicut line.

 

[Trx250r180]

Are you sure it isn't their Classic Double Bit Michigan 3.5 lb on a 36"?

http://counciltool.com/shop/michiga...ichigan-double-bit-36-straight-wooden-handle/

The Velvicut ® line from their website only offers the little saddle axe for a double bit.

http://counciltool.com/velvicut-premium-axes/

I did a brief web search and it turned up nothing on any full sized double bit from the Velvicut line.

I was going off memory ,the 3.5 lb is one i was looking at ,baileys sells them also ,i was mistaken on the velvicut line ,the silver color on the head threw me off ,the lower end ones are red i believe http://www.baileysonline.com/Forestry-Woodcutting/Axes-Mauls/Double-Bit-Axes/

 

[GVS]

Agree.

I use a hyd. splitter,maul ,kindling maul or a hatchet.Very seldom use a full sized axe.

 

[rarefish383]

It does, but those two are just weeds in my book, especially Basswood. Basswood is so soft it will turn oval if you leave it on the ground 6 months. White pine just has all the radial branches, makes splitting a pain+ the pine sap gets everwhare. We don't have much fur trees so it's not a problem anyway.[emoji4] Everything else I grab.[emoji106]

A little off topic of axes, but I run across Firs now and then. From now on I'll mill them. This was a little one I took down for a friend, might have been 50'. My wife wanted a bench in her potting shed. I milled the wood one day and built the work bench the next. May have been the next weekend. Any way it was green green. It had a narrow pink stripe down the center of the board and the sap wood was almost white. I put 3-4 coats of Minwax wipe on poly on it. The longer it sat the more red the heart wood got and cream color the sap wood got. It's been several years, this pic was this morning. I built a 2X4 frame and all the screw are from the bottom, Joe.

 

[Andyshine77]

A little off topic of axes, but I run across Firs now and then. From now on I'll mill them. This was a little one I took down for a friend, might have been 50'. My wife wanted a bench in her potting shed. I milled the wood one day and built the work bench the next. May have been the next weekend. Any way it was green green. It had a narrow pink stripe down the center of the board and the sap wood was almost white. I put 3-4 coats of Minwax wipe on poly on it. The longer it sat the more red the heart wood got and cream color the sap wood got. It's been several years, this pic was this morning. I built a 2X4 frame and all the screw are from the bottom, Joe.

Really nice bench you made there.