I think I got the last bottle at Wal-Mart. You might give your local Wally a call. Here's the Birchwood Casey web site.
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/index.html
I think I got the last bottle at Wal-Mart. You might give your local Wally a call. Here's the Birchwood Casey web site.
http://www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/index.html
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
thanks again rick and crash! i think im gonna check out wal-mart and if i have no luck i will check out those links you guys sent me.
how dare i call this love and not bare my cross
Bear Clan
Hope and Coot - What do you guys use on your axe handles? Do you treat them or just use au natural?
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
I just go naked........The one thing I do is soak all wood handled tools in water before using. It swells the head a bit, and the handles are far less brittle. The owner of a tool rental co. taught me that. You don't need to soak it for very long either. I never refinish the handles, sometimes I'll sand it lightly, very lightly. Also I have gone to Estwing tools with all steel handles, and plastic or fiberglass on the mauls, when replacing old tools.
i was chopin a log about 6in thick last night with my new 19in wetterlings and the handle split down the middle!
how dare i call this love and not bare my cross
Bear Clan
Ok my 2 cents on axes. Saws do ok if ya like to work hard sawing. I tryed to do all my camp wood with a saw one time and went back to the one easy chop of an axe. Ever try to split a 8" log with a saw? My base camp has a saw and small axe and a large axe for large log splitting. They make diffrent size tools for diffrent size jobs. Same reason they make diffrent size knives. If I was backpacking then of coarse I go lite as possible and the saw is very quiet to use but to say one tool is the answer to all situations I think not.
I report you decide.
Hard to argue with that logic. I carry a Gerber Sportsman saw, an Estwing Sportsman axe, a RAT 7 and a Mora 780. Different tools for different jobs.
Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
OH!!! I have the best axe/saw EVER! Gerber makes it. It's the Gator Axe II and it's awesome. For me, it's all about quality and weight. If it's going to weigh me down, I don't care how it works. I will look endlessly for something the EXACTLY fits my needs. This axe has a smaller version of the traditional gator saw, in the handle. 2 for 1 baby!
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- St. Augustine
A government big enough to give you everything you want,
is strong enough to take everything you have.
- Thomas Jefferson
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For those of you that have an Estwing,this is what I did to mine to make it easier to use one handed .I used hockey tape.And yeah,I can see my toes too!
Slap shot and he scores!
Good idea.
I cut the handle down on mine and regripped it in leather.
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Tracks Across the High Plains...Death on the Bombay Line...A Touch of Death and Mayhem...Dead Rock...The Griswald Mine Boys...All On Amazon Books.
Ha ha.That's good.Beautiful work,every bit as good as the factory!
Reading through this thread I thought I would mention how to sharpen an axe. The topic was danced around so much it makes me wonder. Only one guy said use only a file, the way I do it. The edge of an axe takes a pounding and sharp edges are thin edges and cannot take a pounding. Axes are not sharpened like knives. The first thing to know sharpening anything is to push into the edge. Going the other direction will leave a thin burr that breaks off easily. First I file sides at 30 degrees or in line with angle of axe. It will become apparent quickly that it would take a long time to remove knicks at this angle but it must be done for subsequent sharpening like knocking down depth gauge when sharpening chainsaw. After a reasonable amount of filling at that angle fill directly across edge of axe to remove knicks. This will flatten out edge. When they are removed, file the thin flat edge at a 45 degree angle to get edge. This is a stronger angle that can take the pounding. I never heard of anybody using diamond embeded sharpeners or leather straps to sharpen an axe but I would be interested how you do it not just that's what you use.
Some Survival Video that could be learn.
and don't forget to Respect The Wild.
Ive been using a saw/large knife combo for a couple of years now. Seems a lot more efficient and lightweight that carrying an axe, although i have very little experience with axes. Am i just ignorant? An axe seems way too dangerous considering i have know one to teach me how to safely use it. Plus, full body motion swings seem like they would take a lot of energy, with a knife all you are working is your arm to smack at your blade.
Last edited by justin_baker; 04-15-2010 at 12:35 AM.
Keep in mind the problem may be extremely complicated, though the "Fix" is often simple...
"Teaching a child to fish is the "original" introduction to all that is wild." CS
"How can you tell a story that has no end?" Doc Carlson
Dip netting opens on the Kenai river on the 10th of July so I figured I better clean up my Estwing to clean all the fish. I’ve mentioned before that I modified my hatchet to serve as a knife as well. It works much better than trying to use a knife as an axe. This is an Estwing Riggers axe which is like the carpenters hatchet only with a longer handle. I’ve had this one for 30 years and as you can see it gets used.
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I’ve been maintaining this way since I’ve had it. I use a die grinder with a Scotch Brite sanding disc to remove pitch, rust and whatever gum that builds up.
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I then go over the whole thing by hand with a Scotch Brite pad to get an even finish and get places hard to get to with die grinder. The whole job can be done by hand it would just take longer.
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The grooves in the hammer head are to grip nail heads when struck. If they become worn I use a triangle shaped file to restore them. I do not use this to hit metal unless it is a nail or I am trying to shrink sheet metal. This time they are still in good shape so I just used a wire wheel to clean the grooves.
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Now for the sharpening. As I stated in comment #233 begin by taking out 30 degree material. You will note that on the upper edge I have rounded it and extended the 30 degree grind around the corner. This is what makes this the best survival tool there is and I mean this particular one because you cannot buy them like this. This portion of blade is sharpened as a knife is and used much like an Ulu.
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Then as I described in how to sharpen an axe I flatten blade to remove nicks except for the upper portion of blade. Then the lower section is filed on a 45 degree angle for strength and the upper portion is done with a stone and sharpened like a knife.
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I made a leather cover to protect the edge years ago and the file and stone are part of my kit.
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I know my ways seem strange but that’s because they don’t come from a book. Faced with the situation I worked with what I had. Sometimes you will find improvisations you come up with are better than anything else available and stick with them. This Riggers Axe has proven itself over and over.
It cleans up real nice.
I have a small WW2 hatchet from germany made of 1 piece of metal with hammer on the back and and screwdriver on the handle. It was so small that it was pretty much useless for any real forest use... I understand why the GIs had better foxholes then the germans lolll.
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