The ax is a man’s favorite tool for thousands of years. His story began in the Stone Age, and now in any hardware store on the shelves are many axes of various shapes and sizes. The best ax is forged by hand. Once all the axes were made that way, now they are simply stamped. Find a good forged ax - a rarity, few factories forge them on the old technology.
The ax itself consists of:
- Blades, which are usually hardened separately;
- Boyka, many people call him an ax blade;
- About a sight (an ax is inserted into it);
- Butt (you can easily hammer nails with a good butt);
- Barbs (it is not on all models);
- Toporischa.
Good forged axes are the main universal tool of a carpenter, a hunter and a tourist. There are a lot of types of axes, but there are mainly such:
- Carpenters Ax - the main tool that a carpenter uses in his work;
- Carpenter's ax;
- Cleaver;
- Hunting axes;
- Butcher axes.
At home or in the country used carpenter or carpenter ax. The joiner's ax is the easiest. Its weight is from 600 to 900 grams. Its cutting edge is straight, the angle of grinding is about 20 degrees.
The carpenter's ax from forged steel is more massive and weighs more than a kilogram. It can be easily distinguished from carpentry by a rounded cutting edge. It is necessary to work with logs. In the old days, with the help of such axes, they easily put the huts without nails. The angle of sharpening a carpenter's ax should be about 30 degrees. This is necessary so that the blade does not get stuck in the logs.
A good carpenter has at least three axes, different in weight. Axes forged in the USSR, distinguished by good quality, are especially popular.
Forged taiga ax, its differences
Many take the usual carpentry axes or even carpentry axes in the forest hike, proudly naming them taiga. Real hunting axes are very rarely on sale, so few people order special handmade forged axes for wood. In the forest, working with an ax implies felling of a forest; it is completely inconvenient to do this with a carpenter's ax. Because of the wide cutting edge, a blow with such an ax is obtained weakly, and a short ax of force does not add strength at all. In addition, a short ax is the main cause of injury while chopping wood. If, with a miss, a long-handled ax plunges into the ground, the short ax will fall directly into the shin or knee.
The weight of the carpenter's ax is completely unnecessary in the forest, the mass of a 600-800 gram is enough for a hunting ax. Despite this, many people are dragging heavy axes into the forest, which can be used to chop woods into a whole warehouse, although they cut only a couple of thin trees on poles.
Handle for wrought ax
Your ax may be of damask steel, but if the ax is inconvenient, there will be little sense from this. If you plan to cut down trees (chop boughs, for example), then the length of the handle should be about 70 centimeters. This will save you from unnecessary inclinations and save you from injury. When missed, the ax will stick into the ground, not into the foot.
The shape of the pen profile should resemble an egg. Such an ax is excellent in the hands, and by working with it, you will not “namnite” a hand. On the long handle, no different bends and fungus at the end of the ax are needed. The long handle will never fly out of your hands.
The short handle has its advantages for carpentry, but if your ax is used more time in the forest, it needs a long ax.
The correct nozzle forged ax
If you purchased an old war ax from the time of the USSR from storage, it must be properly planted, because over the decades the ax has cracked. New domestic axes also often need reworking the nozzle, no one wants to lose an ax with a strong backswing. If this happens in winter, it will be difficult to find it in the snow until spring. It is best to stick the ax on five wedges, having previously missed them with epoxy resin and gulf from above with it. During prolonged work, even an ax mounted in this way can fly out, therefore the main rule when operating with an ax is to make sure that the ax is firmly seated on the ax and the wedges have not gone anywhere before starting work.
There is a way to attach the ax, in which it will never fly off the handle. This is a reverse ride. No wedges are needed for it, as during work it will fit more and more. In order to push the ax backwards, you need to remove some metal from the eyelet, so that it will look like a cone remotely in shape. When an ax handle breaks down on such an ax, it is easy to knock it down and put it on a new handle. To do this, take a birch, which has a thickening at the end, and the ax is put on by a reverse piercing. An important nuance is that the handle should stick at least five centimeters from the top of the eyelet (this is the place where the thickening should be).
Felling technique
How to hack a wrought ax? To do this, you need to look at how non-professionals cut. Powerful blows with a wide swing, valiant uhanie, as if a person is fighting with a tree? After a few minutes of such logging, the woodcutter is all wet with sweat, and the tree stands as it stood, because the mighty blows hit different points or were done haphazardly. Some chop up with a single ax blunt ax, many try to break wood chips by turning the ax, breaking the ax itself.
It is necessary to chop correctly and easily. The impact force is achieved due to the excellent sharpening of the ax and its high initial speed. The push gives acceleration only at the initial stage of the swing, then the movement goes by inertia. This method can be cut for an hour without getting tired. Sliver will fly out by itself, no need to break it. The ax should be sharpened in the lens, then the blade will not be stuck in the tree. The blows must be accurate, the first from above diagonally to separate the chip, the second horizontally to cut it off. That's the whole technique of proper cutting. With proper skill stumps after the log house will turn out even, as if he was cut down with a saw.
Technique forging axes
Forging axes can occur in several ways:
- The method of forge welding when the ax is made of two different metals. The ax itself, as a rule, is made of grade CT3, and the blade is made of tool steel;
- Solid forged axes are made of a single piece of steel, which provides increased reliability. Forged from steel 65g or tool steel can not be compared with the axes, made by forging;
- There is another method where the ax blade is fixed with rivets. Now this method is used only for the manufacture of decorative axes.
The best forged ax is one that is forged without the use of forge welding from a single piece of good metal. His eye pierced chisel, and not bent and welded.
When forging, the ends of the billet are bent and welded together. In the middle of the blade is welded.
Pros and cons of a wrought ax
Forged axes are often made entirely by hand. On copies made by private masters, usually stamped.
About the advantages of forged axes:
- Quality product, an order of magnitude superior to stamped axes;
- The ax is often of valuable tree species, the ax is well planted;
- The form of the ax itself is more suitable for specific works.
It would seem that there are only pluses in forged axes, but even there it was not without its minuses:
- The main disadvantage is the cost of the product. If you need an ax for a house or rare works, then it makes no sense to overpay several times. Any ax, with the right sharpening, will easily perform short works (some use axes at a construction site, where they break everything they can);
- Handmade forged axes are sharpened by the master at a certain angle for each type of work. To drag such an ax means to spoil its appearance. Moreover, its shape helps precisely in those works for which the sharpening is done;
- The choice of forged axes in the store is not very large. The price is two times different, but there are no external differences. When buying an ax in a store, one cannot be sure of its quality (often one batch of axes of one model can be perfectly tempered, and the other batch can be reworked or shortened). To order a good forged ax from a blacksmith will cost even more, and not everywhere there is such an opportunity (and there are few real masters for forging axes).
Those who have an ax in a box with tools and rarely used, do not buy a forged ax, because this tool is designed for daily operation in difficult conditions.
Swedish Army Wrought Ax
Oddly enough, the axes of the Swedish army were of Swedish production and were distinguished by Swedish quality and reliability. Military axes were produced by many local firms, and many of them supplied them for the needs of the army.
The ax for the Swedish army was to be of a certain standard and was used in the building, automotive and sapper troops. The length of the handle of the axes was 70 centimeters, the head of the ax was about 18, and the edge of the blade was up to 10 centimeters. Most often you can meet axes from Gransfors Brooks and - Hult Brooks.
Axes manufactured in the USSR
Axes since the USSR were famous for their quality. The best forged axes were produced between 1952 and 1970. Now everyone can buy a cheap real forged ax for a small amount, army depots sell their stocks from storage. Many companies buy military property and sell it to retail outlets. It is not necessary to focus your attention on the inconspicuous form of ax. The axes themselves are of excellent quality. They can be used as a donor for conversion into a hunting or tourist ax. Having mounted such an ax on a new ax, we get a new forged ax for various carpentry and household works.
When choosing an ax from storage, it is better to take a sample before the 1960 release, they were tested by the Brinell method for hardness. The steel on these axes is perfectly hardened and when you click your fingernail on the blade, it makes a long and resonant sound.
The weight of these axes is 1800 grams (together with the ax). At the moment - this is the only way to purchase a real forged ax at the price of a Chinese stamped model.
The world's best manufacturers of forged axes
Forged axes can be purchased in stores, but do not trust the inscription that in front of you is a real forged ax. Axes of well-known world brands, which value their reputation and give a guarantee on their products, are recommended for purchase:
- Gransfors Bruks is a company that has been producing forged axes since 1902. Even against the background of Swedish manufacturers stands out for stable quality. All axes are forged only by hand, and the master smith places his PERSONAL nominal stamp on especially successful products. The manufacturer guarantees the work of its axes for at least two decades (subject to the rules of operation);
- Hultafors is another Swedish company with an even older story. Founded in 1883, the company still produces a wide range of axes of various types. They are distinguished by excellent forging, nozzle and hardening;
- Hults Bruk is the oldest Swedish ax manufacturer for the needs of the army and the population. Founded in 1697. Its axes are equipped with wrought-iron blades made from Solid Swedish steel and hickory wood axes;
- Wetterlings - makes heavy and versatile axes. Metal for their production is not the best (recycled scrap metal), but the quality of products at a high enough level;
- Djarv Hantverk AB is a family owned company that produces very expensive axes for professional carpenters, restorers and wood carvers;
- Husqvarna - of all the manufacturers of Husqvarna represented, the most frequently encountered axes in our stores. Divided into two groups, each of which has several models. The first group includes the traditional axes on a wooden ax (similar to the old Soviet or the axes of the Swedish army). The second group includes more modern models with a handle made of reinforced polyamide. The axes of this brand are of fairly stable quality;
- Fiskars - the most popular producer of axes in our latitudes. Feedback on the products of this brand is very controversial and contradictory. Yes, and you can call it a forged ax with a big stretch. Products of this company are produced by stamping with partial forging (the so-called forging-stamping method). Thanks to the reviews, it can be understood that the role of the tourist hatchet of the Fiskars model is excellent due to the wide choice in length and weight. For heavier jobs in harsh conditions, these axes are not recommended. The most frequent problems in the operation of these axes are the failure of the ax (it is impossible to reassure in the forest), deformation and the hem of the cutting edge (easily displayed by the Fiskars sharpener).
Despite the high price, forged axes are superior to their stamped counterparts in everything. If you often exploit the ax, then the forged copy will save your strength and nerves, and in a few years it will fully pay for the investment.
