Axes, what do you know about them ?

[Radagast]

Found this early photo of Rodders. 2nd from the right. He's been taking the piss for nearly a century!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goLwDzV4yZs/U ... ,+1937.jpg

[rodp]

Found this early photo of Rodders. 2nd from the right. He's been taking the piss for nearly a century!
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-goLwDzV4yZs/U ... ,+1937.jpg

That about sums it up to perfection

[hairyyoda]

Just found this ??? and I think that I like the idea ?

http://rockymountainbushcraft.blogspot. ... ystem.html

"can see a few plus points and one or two negative ones "

Thanks Phil

[sunndog]

Just found this ??? and I think that I like the idea ?

http://rockymountainbushcraft.blogspot. ... ystem.html

"can see a few plus points and one or two negative ones "

Thanks Phil

Pass the sick bag please

[hairyyoda]

Their quote,
Below is the Vario 2000 Universal 2.8lb head on the 31.5" Tomahawk handle, which Helko bills as a "lightweight, virtually indestructible fiberglass polyamide composition handle, eliminating the need for a fixing cap or overstrike protector."

At 29.3 ounces with the necessary bolts, I wouldn't call it a "lightweight" handle. However, it really does feel indestructible. Though hollow, it is much thicker than the handles on Fiskars' axes, for instance. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that it might be the toughest axe handle I've ever used.

The Vario Universal Axe can be used with or without the protection plate as well. The protection plate is quite stout and weighs almost a pound by itself (14.7 ounces). The protection plate comes in handy for splitting tasks. Without the protection plate, the axe is similar in weight to my Council Tool Jersey Axe and is lighter and easier to swing for felling/bucking tasks.

Adam you might not have a overwhelming urge to stroke and rub a composite axe shaft with liberal amounts of Linseed Oil and Beeswax like you might want too on a good piece of quality wood like a nicely shaped shaft of Hickory or Ash , but one must embrace all of this new technology with hope and trust . I have a feeling in my water that both the black composite Tomahawk and the composite Vario Universal could easily outlive several generations of mere mortals without any need for a replacement axe shaft or any axe shaft maintenance ?
"Cheap as fresh air to make a UK copy of this style of axe" A composite pickaxe handle, a recycled good quality old axe head, a few 10mm stainless Allen bolts with tapping drill and taps and your only a couple of hours from murdering some timber
Thanks Phil

[sunndog]

One of the finest axes ever made



Made in 1942.....still on its original haft and now earning its living in the hands of a professional user, i'll stick to fine tennessee hickory thanks
I don't like the vibrations you with synthetic hafts either tbh. Hickory just has a 'snap' and flex that got some magic to it...ash not so much

But to be fair i am completely OCD about axes, esp hafts. on my own tools i cant be doing with ash hafts, too thick hafts, even a sanded finish...they must be a cut finish a cabinet scraper, and yes i can tell the difference by feel
oh and the the worst crime of all.....varnish AAAAAAAARGH! The devils own work. Manufacturers do it to keep the hafts clean in shop but for the love of my old chopper, scrape that 'orrible crap off before you use it


So yeah, sorry dude not exactly a fan of that helko monster above....wonder how long those threads will last, do you need to carry a tool to keep em tight?
The helko does have a hickory haft.....so whats the point of it?, the cure for no known disease me thinks

[hairyyoda]

Adam I would think that the "speed of machining of all the parts and there being no need for any hand fitting of a machined raw length of Hickory for the finished haft that could also be assembled on a unskilled production line" has a lot of bearing on the big companies offering the choice of composite axe hafts.
You could probably give a numbskull redneck a axe with a composite haft that they would probably find hard to break ??? "they might loose the odd toe or have a few less fingers than when they started out with or might even sever a few blood veins in the process" but composite is a near maintenance free option. I am not thinking of "preference to use or pleasing to the eye" just a nearly maintenance free axe that is at home in the cab of a tractor or bungeed down on a quad bike.
Thanks Phil

[sunndog]

i struggle to agree tbh phil. quality Hickory is so tough you've really got to be trying to break it.
think of an old abused splitting axe where half the wood has been smashed off through over strikes and its still good and strong

As for speed of manufacture, maybe. I'm a craftsmen so i buy tools made by craftsman or i'll make them myself
But think about 90% of all the other axes/hammers/spades/shovels/hoes/rakes ect sold in the world. the fit and finish is generally fit for purpose even on cheap chinese axes (axes being the hardest to fit) so unskilled labour is not a huge issue
Those helko vario are just one more gimmick in a very long line of companies trying to reinvent a design that was basically 'finished' 100's of years ago
The hickory hafted one is esp daft

[Jp243]

Not keeping to the classics but a fair bit of skill

[youtube]https://youtu.be/GcQYiTbaMP4?t=490[/youtube]

https://youtu.be/GcQYiTbaMP4?t=490

[pickle]

Should I axe my Stihl 025 that refuses to start and run for any length of time. Is it the carb or is it the spark plug. Should Damacles fall. My Fiskars plastic has the edge. The edge has been over hardened and would chip at the slightest provacation - but soo pretty.