Small axe for wedge driving

[Evan]

the wife bought me a single bit axe yesterday with curved handle.

i think im going to cut the it shorter getting rid of the curved part and use it it for driveing wedges. i think the head is plenty big for smackn them

Brad
do they have the fiskars super splitter instock in your area. i got on baileys last night going to order it and its on back order

 

[blsnelling]

Brad
do they have the fiskars super splitter instock in your area. i got on baileys last night going to order it and its on back order

I haven't looked for it yet. I'll buy a larger axe for wedge driving first. I think I'll order one with a straight rafting handle though. I'm thinking a 20" handle on a 3# head at this point.

 

[Evan]

K

if you can wait till baileys are off back order ill buy pair of them and have one shipped to you. I owe you

 

[blsnelling]

K

if you can wait till baileys are off back order ill buy pair of them and have one shipped to you. I owe you

I'm in no rush. But that was a gift BTW, I just completed some serious new mods to my 372 last night

 

[Evan]

kewl

ill put your fiskars on backorder right now so dont buy it.

 

[blsnelling]

kewl

ill put your fiskars on backorder right now so dont buy it.

Thanks Evan

 

[SINGLE-JACK]

Does anyone else Who has one of the Fiskars axes think that the orange section of the handle is too slick to get a good grip on. I have one of the smaller axes and find it slippery especially with some types of gloves.

Here's THE solution for a lot of the slippery tool problems and other problems, too.

If your axe handle is too slick or you cut the curved end off your wedge axe (good tip), then dip the end in some plastic tool handle coating.

I've also dipped the bottom half of my throw bags in the coating - makes them last A LOT longer.

It's also is a fairly good substitute for whipping the ends of your ropes.

 

[blsnelling]

Sounds like a great idea. Well, except for the last part

 

[Evan]

done

it didnt say anything about being on backorder when i placed the order.

anytime its been drivn me crazy that ive been oweing all this time

 

[blsnelling]

done

it didnt say anything about being on backorder when i placed the order.

anytime its been drivn me crazy that ive been oweing all this time

I told you that was a gift when I gave it to you

 

[Evan]

then the axe is a gift not a re payment

 

[blsnelling]

then the axe is a gift not a re payment

That'll work

 

[John Ellison]

I think an axe works a lot better than a sledge or any round headed hammer if you need to double up or stack wedges. The wedges need to be inline or one of them is almost sure to break in half if it is hard going. An axe head is the best thing that you can hit one stacked wedge at a time with.

 

[bitzer]

I think an axe works a lot better than a sledge or any round headed hammer if you need to double up or stack wedges. The wedges need to be inline or one of them is almost sure to break in half if it is hard going. An axe head is the best thing that you can hit one stacked wedge at a time with.

I agree. Naturally you have to hit them one at a time in a double stack because you are lifting a lot of wood and its only a little at a time. If you try to hit them both one will break or pop back out at you under that enormous amount of pressure. A couple of weeks ago I had a wedge pop back out when I missed and hit them both. It nearly hit me in the eye and got my cheek. First thing I did was check to make sure I still had all of my teeth. It felt like I got punched good and it left a sore spot and a bruise for a few days.

 

[schmuck.k]

http://www.stihlusa.com/handtools/PA20-Splitting-Hatchet.html this is the stihl i use i love it a bit pricey but good has weight to it

 

[2dogs]

I have several axes for different purposes. The axe that gets 95% of the use is a 5lb Council from Madsen's. It has a 28" helve and a flat ground poll (The striking face.) My son now carries my old 4lb Council axe. I also have a 3lb Council rafting axe on a 20" helve. The handle is drilled and has a cord for hanging so it can be carried on my climbing belt and used in a tree. It is also nice to drive wedges when the trees are very close to one another such as when a cedar is killing a white fir or lodgepole pine. Sometimes I will have a 6lb. Council axe on a 36" helve in the truck. In the Sierras the ground is covered in granite rocks that just love to eat saw chains. I use the 6lb. axe to drive a wedge deep into a log while I am bucking it so I can easily see the ground.

My wedge belt or back pockets sometimes see a magnesium wege with a handhold or a 15" plastic wedge. Both will drive smaller wedges pretty well and don't weigh much.

My normal wedge belt has a multipocket wedge pouch and a Stihl wedge pouch that normally carries a water bottle. The Stihl pouch has a pocket for first aid supplies. My current firefighting web gear has an aluminum axe scabbard. I also have a saw scabbard designed for firefighting that has a pouch for a 2 1/4lb. boy's axe. I don't like using an axe this light but it is better than nothing. I would like to have one of the USFS modified pulaski wedge pounders.

BTW if I can drop a tree without pounding wedges that is what I will do. Unless I have a leaner then I will always set a wedge by hand just to be safe.

Edited to add: Council tools are American made! They are one of the oldest companies in the USA.

 

[OhioGregg]

This is what I been using to drive or tap wedges with. I got it off Ebay about a year ago. Its one of the more usefull handy things I ever bought. The name on it is Evensville Defender. Has a 20" handle, and weighs about 4 1/2 lbs. Handle is long enough to get both hands on, I love it.

Gregg,

 

[blsnelling]

This is what I been using to drive or tap wedges with. I got it off Ebay about a year ago. Its one of the more usefull handy things I ever bought. The name on it is Evensville Defender. Has a 20" handle, and weighs about 4 1/2 lbs. Handle is long enough to get both hands on, I love it.


Gregg,

That's a nice looking axe Gregg.

 

[1947wdx]

Late as usual...

Northern has a couple similar to what others have noted:

$10 1.5 lb http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200316257_200316257

$17 2.5 lb http://www.northerntool.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/product_6970_200325121_200325121

 

[Jon E]

I ain't in your camp at all, folks. I have a Scout axe, a Fiskars axe, and a couple vintage Hudson Bay axes 3-4 lb each, but I always reach for a 4 lb dead blow hammer. I keep the hammer and the Fiskars in a 2 gallon plastic bucket with my wedges, and carry it around with me, the bucket gets placed within reach of the tree I'm dropping, and when I have to drive a wedge, you bet I can give it a whuppin' with that bright orange plastic hammer. I don't go for carrying all that crap around on my belt either, I like to be unencumbered and flexible when I'm cutting and the axe and wedge pouch on the belt just gets me hung up. Never liked to wear a carpenter's belt either when I was doing construction for a living, maybe that's why I'm neither a carpenter nor a professional faller.