In the piggy bank of a home craftsman is a selection of universal tools that can replace a hammer, wrench and saw. How to make a knife from a saw with your own hands Making a knife from a blade

It is believed that in terms of its parameters, any multifunctional tool is worse than a tool designed to perform any one job. Despite this statement, the inventor from the United States, Glenn Klecker, decided to improve the well-known ax and turn it into a multitool. Moreover, all the new functions of the ax should not go against the main purpose of this tool - cutting wood.

According to Glenn, he, being an avid traveler, more than once faced a situation when it was necessary to chop branches for a fire, unscrew or twist a nut, open a bottle with a metal cap. Carrying a whole arsenal of tools for this is not an option: it is both difficult and inconvenient, and there is no extra space in the backpack.

After some thought, Glenn decided that the ax, with some modifications, could be turned into a multifunctional tool. The inventor decided to first get rid of ... the ax.

Glenn thought, "Why carry an extra piece of wood with you when any stick of suitable thickness will do for an ax handle?" As a result, having drawn several sketches, the inventor developed the design of a universal metal blade for an ax.

The blade can be planted on the hatchet in a couple of minutes.

For this, the blade is equipped with a special screw clamp and swivel "paws". All that a traveler needs is to find a stick that is suitable in length, wedge one of its ends, hammer in and then fix the canvas with a screw.

Due to the wedging effect and the legs that grip the handle, the blade is securely fixed and does not fly off during operation. Those who do not want to search for a suitable stick are encouraged to purchase an especially durable wooden ax with a ready-made slot at the end.

The versatility of the tool is achieved through special curly cutouts in the canvas. With an ax, you can open bottles, tighten hex nuts and bolts, turn screws, chip wood, hammer in nails. Also in the blade of the ax there is a bore for the bit holder, and a notch with numbers is applied on the butt, which can be used as a ruler.

In total, the inventor has developed four types of canvas. They differ from each other in functionality and in the method of fixing the blade on the ax. In the cheapest model, the canvas, which does not have a special screw fastening, is attached to the ax with a thin nylon cable - a paracord. In the most expensive model, the ax blade is laser sharpened and made of titanium. To carry the ax, a lanyard hole is provided in the canvas.

Another universal is the multitool, which combines three tools at once: an ax, a hammer and a saw.

In fact, the tool is an ordinary ax, in the ax of which a pencil case is made for storing a saw blade about 40 cm long.

If you need to cut a tree, a protective plastic cover is put on the ax blade, which has a screw for attaching the saw blade. Thanks to the cam clamp, the blade is stretched between the handle and the blade and brought into working position. The ax turns into a saw.

The handle and cover of the ax are made of high-strength plastic, and all metal parts are made of stainless steel.

Having made a knife from a saw with your own hands, you can get at your disposal a cutting device, which performance characteristics much better than factory counterparts. Making a knife with your own hands, they give it exactly the shape that suits the master best. Factory knives are beautiful but not always reliable. There is no guarantee that they will not fail at the most crucial moment.

A homemade knife from a disk, a hacksaw for wood or a saw for metal will last for many years, regardless of the conditions of storage and use. Consider how to make a knife from factory-made metal parts, what is needed for this and what you should pay special attention to.

Raw materials for manufacturing homemade knife can be any new or old hardened steel cutting part. As a workpiece, it is better to use cutting discs for metal, hand and pendulum saws... A good option is old chainsaw... From its chain, you can forge and carve a blade that is not inferior in quality and appearance to the famous Damascus steel.

In order to make a knife with your own hands, you will need the following equipment and materials:

• bulgarian;
• grinder;
• electric drill;
• ruler;
• a hammer;
• sandpaper;
• sharpening bars;
• files;
• core;
• epoxy adhesive;
• copper wire;
• marker;
• bucket with water.

Separately, you need to think about the issue with the handle. The finished product should fit comfortably in your hand.

For making a handle, it is better to use:

• non-ferrous metal (copper, bronze, brass, silver);
• wood (oak, alder, birch);
• organic glass (plexiglass, polycarbonate).

The raw material for the handle must be intact, without traces of cracks, rot and other defects.

Rules for working with metal

In order for the blade to be strong and resilient, in the process of its manufacture it is necessary to follow the rules of working with metal. They are as follows:

1. The workpieces must not have visible and hidden damage. Before making a knife, the workpieces must be inspected and tapped. An integral part sounds ringing, and a defective part sounds hollow.
2. When designing the shape of the blade, angles must be avoided. In such places, the steel can break. All transitions should be smooth, without kinks. The cuts of the butt, handle and guard must be cut off at right angles.
3. Do not overheat the steel when sawing and sharpening. This leads to a decrease in its strength. An overheated blade becomes brittle or soft. During processing, the workpiece must be constantly cooled by completely immersing it in a bucket of cold water.
4. When making a knife from a saw blade, you need to remember that this product has already gone through a hardening cycle. Factory saws are designed to handle the hardest alloys. If you do not overheat the canvas during the grinding and finishing process, then you will not have to harden it.

The blade shank must not be made too thin. It is on this part of the product that the greatest load will fall.

Making a knife from a canvas

If the blade is large and does not have much wear, then several blades can be made from it. for different purposes... The effort and time spent are worth it.

Knife out circular saw do it yourself in the following sequence:

1. A pattern is applied to the canvas, the contours of the blade are outlined. Scratches or dotted lines are applied over the marker with a core. So the drawing will not be erased when cutting the workpiece and adjusting it to the desired shape.
2. Workpieces are cut from the circular saw blade. To do this, it is better to use a grinder with a metal disc. Leave a margin of 2 mm from the contour. This is necessary in order to remove the material burnt by the grinder. If you don't have a grinder at hand, then you can grind the workpiece with a vice, a hammer and chisel, or a hacksaw for metal.
3. Everything unnecessary is grinded on the grinder. This process will take a lot of time so as not to overheat the steel. To prevent this, the workpiece must be regularly lowered into water until it cools completely.
4. The blade is outlined. Here you need to be careful to maintain the contour of the knife, not to burn it and maintain an angle of 20º.
5. All straight sections are aligned. It is convenient to do this by placing the workpiece on the side of the grinding wheel. The transitions are rounded.
6. The part is cleared of burrs. The blade is ground and polished. For this, several replaceable wheels are used on a grinding machine.

Separately, you should dwell on how the pen is made. If wood is used, then a monolithic fragment is taken in which a longitudinal cut is made and through holes... After that, the blank is pushed onto the blade, holes for fasteners are outlined in it. The handle is fixed to the blade using rivets or bolts with nuts. In the case of a bolted connection, the heads of the hardware are recessed in the wood and filled with epoxy glue.

When the handle is assembled from plastic, 2 overlays are used, which must be symmetrical. To give the knife originality, the plastic linings are painted with inside... In onlays, you can make cavities filled with decorations, products from colored and precious metals, small compasses and photographs.

After fixing on the blade, the handles are sharpened until they acquire the desired shape and smoothness.

Chainsaw chain knife

Saw chains are made of a quality alloy that can withstand long-term friction and high temperatures. The process of making a blade is long and laborious, but the result is a beautiful, unique and very durable knife. For work, you will need a heavy anvil, barbecue and charcoal. To make it easier to handle the hot workpiece, you need to purchase blacksmith tongs.

Making a blade from a chainsaw chain must be carried out in the following sequence:

1. Prepare thick cloth clothing and gloves and a face shield. Pour charcoal into the hearth and set it on fire with a special liquid.
2. Fold the workpiece out whole piece chains. In the place where the handle will be, you can add several pieces from the chain. It should be remembered that the result of the work should be a single monolithic product. The handle for the knife is not made separately.
3. Put the workpiece on the coals. Provide air flow to raise the temperature. Wait until the steel turns dark red. In this state, it becomes forged without losing quality characteristics.
4. Remove the hot chain from the fire and place it on the anvil. With a few strong blows, flatten it so that the links fuse together, turning into a single monolithic part.
5. Step by step, by heating the workpiece in the oven and shaping it with a hammer, forge a knife, which has a handle and a blade. After the workpiece has cooled down, sharpen and polish it.
6. Temper the product. To do this, it must be red-hot again and lowered into cold water... After that, you can finish the knife. It uses an acid and an engraving machine. The finished blade is polished again and washed in warm soapy water.

When making a blade yourself, you must adhere to certain parametersso that ready product did not fall under the melee weapon category.

This hatchet combines three functions, it is an ax itself, and there is also a small sharp hacksaw and a beer opener. The author calls this device a survivalist's ax, although it is rather just a small assistant in tourism.

A hatchet was made for mountaineering and, in general, outdoor recreation, with the use of beer, so an opener is provided here. As for the hacksaw, it is convenient for her to cut moderately thick branches, and then chop with a hatchet into chips for kindling. The ax is made easily, we use a saw blade as a material.

DIY materials and tools that I used

List of materials:
- saw blade;
- wood for making the handle;
- nails for making pins;
- epoxy adhesive;
- washer, nut and bolt;
- Sawzall hacksaw blade (the author used 200 mm).

Tool list:
- marker;
- ruler;
-
- ;
- a good set of files;
- sandpaper;
- it is highly desirable to have a vice or clamps.

Hatchet making process:

Step one. Designing and cutting out the main profile
The first step is to come up with the shape of your hatchet. Always remember that the main chopping characteristics of an ax depend on its weight. The more metal there is, the heavier the ax will be, and the better it will cut. Also decide on the shape of the blade, it all depends on the purpose for which you will use the hatchet. We draw the profile of the ax on the cutting disc. Alternatively, you can first do it on paper and then cut and transfer to metal, this is a more professional solution.

In addition, you will need one more piece to cut. But it will be needed if you install a saw blade in your hatchet. A narrow steel plate must pass through the entire length of the handle, as a result, a groove is formed in the handle in which the hacksaw will hide. Of course, the shape of this steel plate should be such that the hacksaw blade goes into place without hindrance. Since the author's handle is quite long, it will not work to cut these two parts in one piece, we cut out the ax and the long plate that goes through the handle separately.

As for the tool, you can cut the whole thing with a grinder. Try not to overheat the workpiece for the ax, as this will temper the metal and it becomes soft. However, this problem is solved by repeated hardening. This work can be done with a hacksaw for metal, however, in this case, the metal is usually released by heating, after which it is easy to cut. Grind the remaining fragments on a sharpener or the same grinder.

Step two. We make a handle
This step will be pretty simple if you have a CNC. But this pleasure is expensive and few people have such a device. But all this work is quite easy to do by hand. Draw a handle profile on the tree and slowly cut it out. It's good to have a jigsaw, if not, it's not scary, everything can be done and hand tools... You will need to make two halves. Make sure that the handle is not too thick. Then grind the workpieces well so that they are smooth and uniform.

Step three. Drilling holes in metal
The metal of the saw blades is hardened and made from high carbon steel. You won't be able to drill it with an ordinary drill just like that. For these purposes, you will need a special drill with a carbide tip. Usually it is realistic to do this with the drill with which the concrete is drilled.
There is another option, you can always heat the metal to red, and then let it cool in the open air. As a result, it will drill without any problems with an ordinary drill. Don't forget to drill two holes in the long metal plate that runs the length of the handle. However, you can release this metal without any problems; hardening is not required here.

Step four. Beer opener
It just so happened that our author is a fan of rolling beer around the fire with friends. Of course, you can open the bottle with a knot, but it is much more convenient to do this with a prepared tool, in our case it is an ax. The opener is not difficult to make, just cut out a clove with a grinder, which will securely cling to the lid. Works great, according to the author.

Step five. Trial assembly
First of all, you have to deal with the locking mechanism. hacksaw blade... That thin metal plate that runs through the entire handle acts as a spring and retainer. First, the author assembles everything on bolts and checks if everything works well. To do this, we drill holes in the right places, where exactly, look at the photo. If something is wrong, it's not too late to adjust everything. Try to pull out the blade and cut something, it should be securely fixed.

Step six. Sharpening an ax
The most crucial moment in the manufacture of an ax comes - it is sharpening. Since the hatchet is made without subsequent hardening, it is important for us to sharpen it correctly. When sharpening, the blade will warm up, which means that metal tempering can occur if the temperature gets too high. After tempering, the metal will be soft and the ax will quickly lose its edge. Before sharpening, stock up on a bowl of water and cool the blade in it constantly. The author sharpens gently with a grinder and a grinding disc. This creates a bevel, and also rough sharpening occurs.

For a finer sharpening, we take files, as well as sandpaper. If desired, using sandpaper, the hatchet can be sharpened to a blade. But since we will chop wood for them, we do not need it very sharp, and besides, it is unsafe.

Step seven. We glue the hatchet
We use epoxy as glue. It is convenient to use a double syringe that simultaneously applies resin and hardener. The glue must be applied carefully as there are moving parts inside the handle. Prepare the pins before mixing resin with hardener. The author used ordinary nails as pins. We cut them to the required length so that they protrude slightly from the handle on both sides.

We apply glue in the part where the hatchet is attached, and also glue the upper half of the steel plate. The lower part does not need to be glued, it works like a spring. We tighten the whole thing with clamps and leave it for 24 hours, this is how much epoxy glue often dries.

Step eight. We shape the handle
When the glue is completely dry, take a file and thoroughly process the surface of the handle, remove excess. After rough handling take coarse sandpaper and continue sanding. Finally, by gradually reducing the graininess of the paper, we make the pen completely smooth. After that, the hatchet is almost ready, try it out!

Very useful project from detailed video the process of making a knife from the blade of old circular discs. All stages of manufacturing are present here, including hardening and sharpening. I especially liked the horn made from a regular hair dryer. The author's persistence is surprising - the entire manufacturing process was carried out without the use of electric tools. Well, he had such a fantasy. On the other hand, a good experience. With a certain amount of perseverance, such a knife can be made practically on the knee.

My friend and comrade Youtuber wanted to make a joint video. We bounced around some idea and eventually decided to film ourselves making knives. The catch was that I would like to do it by hand (except for the drill and the oven) and he would do it with power tools. We both started with the same blade, the same steel, but the rest of the aesthetic design was left to us. I also wanted to do this because I have read many times everything you need to do with a knife a few files and a drill or something. I was wondering how long it would take for me to make a knife with my hands and to see if I could do it without cheating and using my tools. So I realized that this was a great opportunity to try it. It was a lot of fun to create, took a lot longer than I expected, and gave me a whole new appreciation for the people who make knives entirely by hand. Overall I'm very happy with how the knife turned out and I hope this helps someone out there who wants to give it a try.

Step 1:

I tried to increase the size of the knife by using the designs that are used for the saw as much as possible. I made a paper template using card stock, which is simply the heavier weight of the paper, so that I could easily trace the paper template onto the saw blade. I used a fine tipped marker, although this is a small detail in my opinion it is very important. The fine tip of the marker leaves thin lines to cut or too file in contrast to the conventional tip of the marker. The cut line can become ambiguous if it is too wide, which can affect general form and lead to disturbances in shape and more problemsdown the road.

Step 2:

With the saw blade clamped onto the worktable I started by cutting out a rough blade shape using straight line segments. If you have never used a hacksaw, first make sure the blade is correct, the direction of the teeth should be directed forward or away from your body. The cuts are on the prop so make sure to set the blade correctly.

Step 3:

In order to cut out the curved portions of the handle, I made several perpendicular relief cuts along the entire length of the curved portion of the handle. Then using a hacksaw at a slight angle, I would cut from each small area... Cutting the reset make it easier to follow the curve as you cut.

Step 4:

I needed to refine the shape of the blade, so I attached a 2x4 scrap piece to my work table and clamped the blade into a 2x4. This allowed me to work shapes from my file, and the blade was nice and safe. I also used the file to assess where additional work is needed. The spine design was slightly tilted and I could use the flat part of the file to check the progress on the curve. If the spine has a flat spot it will be visible.

Step 5:

I used multiple files to get the shape or as close to the line as possible. At this point, it begins to look more like a knife and flaws are more difficult to detect by eye. If I noticed that the zone needs work, I would like to use a marker to re-draw the shape and then file with this new line. He served as a guide, so I'm not in favor of correct and mess up the design. The last painting of the blade after it has been filed and sanded off the shape. I don't have a single photo of me sanding the blade, this is the last step to shaping, which removes any file marks. I would start at 150 grit and work my way up to 220.

Step 6:

I originally planned to plunge with a good high bevel, but my modest skills weren't up to a problem. The saws are pretty thin material and I don't think I can extend the blade to reach the line of plunge and tilt I was after. More on this topic later. At this point, I also measured the placement of the contact center and punched out and then drilled the holes with my drill.

Step 7:

Using a marker I have marked the entire length of the blade. Then, using a drill with the same thickness as the blade, I hammered a line down the center of the blade. The last picture shows, on the line it is not visible well in the picture, but it is. This line comes in handy when feeding the tilt blade, it will keep me from crooked and lopsided edges.

Step 8:

I used a bastard file to define the bevel that's when I realized that I didn't have the skills to make a nice dip line by hand. So I chose a smoother angle and fed the working blade my way from the edge to the spine. I'm new to this and inexperienced, so I took a more conservative path in terms of pickup. Once I was happy with the bevel, I sanded the entire blade to 220 grit.

Step 9:

Here is the blade after all shaping, filing and sanding ready for heat treatment.

Step 10:

Before I leave I would like to say that while you can heat-treat the blade with an open wood-burning fireplace I personally do not recommend it. This is one of those cases that I really don't feel secure about performing the operation. And I wasn't sure about the heat it took so I ended up using my mini-forge (here's my Instructable on how I made my mini-forge http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to- Make-a-Mini-Forge /) into heat instead of curing the blade. If you don't have a mini-forge you can actually send your blades from them heat treatment... There are several companies that offer this service for a fee, of course. With that said, I'll explain my setup. I built a fire. Then, using a hair dryer with a pipe attached to it to act like bellows, I turn on the hair dryer and eat the coals red hot. It does not take a lot of time. I put the blade on fire and heat until it is magnetic, then quench it in a peanut butter container. The last peak indicates that the blade looks as if it had been hardened. Although possible, heat treatment in an open flame is not recommended.

Step 11:

Now it was time to harden the blade, but first I sanded all the scales from quenching. Then in my oven I set the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (in my oven, setting it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit will reach 400 degrees Fahrenheit mark, I suggest you check your oven to see what temperature to set so that it goes up to 400 degrees Fahrenheit) and placed the blade in the oven for 1 hour. At the end of 1 hour, I turned off the oven and let the blade rotate inside the closed oven door until it was cool enough to process. You can see the blonde-ish or light bronze-ish color that the blade is obtained after hardening. After tempering, I grind the blade to clean it using 220 grit and work up to 400 grit. The last time I use rice wooden block With 400 grit sandpaper wrapped around it and sanding from handle to tip of spatula in one direction only. This leaves a uniform sanding line on the blade.

Step 12:

Using the blade as a template, I trace the shape handles onto the wood. This piece of walnut was given to me by one of my neighbors and a piece was cut off and ground down. Here again using my 2x4 scrap and clamps I sawed two 1/4 thick pieces. In my excitement, I threw myself into cutting wood, if I took some time to think about my operation I could do it easily and possibly with better results. My first mistake was to cut off the waste material. I could use this material to pinch the piece down and then cut out the two handles. Here again my inexperience, in this case with hand tools, raises its ugly head. I managed to make two useful parts of the pen, but I'm sure I worked a lot harder than smarter to make them.

Step 13:

In order for the handles to be attached to the blade using a snug fit I made sure to sand one side of each handle with as flat an even surface as possible and sandpaper. This will ensure there are no gaps after gluing. At this point I decided that the handle would be the shape and drew a reference line on the blade to make sure I liked it. appearance... I then traced the blade of the handle back into the woods. Using a jigsaw I will roughly shape on one handle, then take the handle and track it on the other handle. This will ensure that they are roughly the same shape, which will come in handy when gluing to the handles. The last peak is a test fit to make sure they cover all of the Tang.

Step 14:

Time for more sanding and shape refinement. It is important at this point to finalize the shape to support the section or rather the upper part of the handle, because once it is glued to the knife it will not be easily accessible. And any further work in this area after gluing can lead to scratches on the blade. So I sanded up to 800 with sandpaper and made sure that the particular section was finished in terms of sanding and finishing.

Step 15:

When drilling dowel holes through the wood, I made sure after the first hole was drilled that I used a drill of the same diameter as the hole to index the hole. In other words, it keeps the blade from moving or getting messed up when drilling another hole. I used the same indexing process for the opposite side to make sure all the holes line up when inserting the pins.

Step 16:

I used 3/16 '' stainless steel pins that I cut from a stainless steel rod. Before sticking on the mask, blade and clean everything with acetone or alcohol to remove any dirt, dust or oil.

Step 17:

After everything is dry from cleaning. I mixed it up epoxy resin and slathered by a generous amount of handles and pins. Then I clamped everything together and let it cure within 24 hours.

Step 18:

Once the resin has cured me, cut off the pins with a hacksaw. Then, with the help of a raspator, the beginnings of the shape and outline of the handle.

Step 19:

The taiga has two main tools - saw and ax, and the ax, perhaps, and more glav. Dimensions, weight and shape of the ax ("pieces of iron" and hatchets) must be such that handling this essential hunting tool is not a burden. It seems to be a common truth, however, it is not always followed. Although I am a fan of primordially Russian things, I cannot fail to note that the so-called ax canadian lumberjack perfectly suited for work in the taiga. Its wedge-shaped shape makes it possible, with equal success, to dump a good sushina, to chop wood, and to hew out some kind of plank. The hatchet has a peculiar bend and when struck, it does not give into the hand. Until recently, there were no such axes in our stores, but now they are almost everywhere and the most different sizes... Now you can choose both by hand and by your build. What to look for when choosing an ax?

Firstly - weight... You won't wave a heavy ax for a long time, and it is tiresome to carry it on foot. A hunting ax, in my opinion, should not weigh more than one kilo along with the ax. Secondly - ax shape and sharpening... Of course, you can do with an average carpenter's ax, but a thin wedge-shaped shape, as I said, is preferable.

Ax need sharpen correctly, it is better with a wide bar of medium grain size, and the final aiming should be done fine. It is very convenient to sharpen the ax with a bar not of a rectangular shape, but a special round one. But the best sharpening, in my opinion, of an ax is obtained on a large circle of fine sandstone, which is placed underneath in a wooden trough with water, and rotated by hand. Such sharpening devices can still be found here and there in the villages. When sharpening, the ax blade is advised to be held against the direction of rotation of the stone. However, due to inexperience, you can blunt the blade and spoil the stone itself. So it is more correct, in my opinion, to hold the ax with the blade in the direction of rotation. Small burrs, which inevitably form, can be removed with a fine stone. Of course, you can sharpen an ax with an electric grinder in five minutes. However, an inept person will spoil it right there. As a rule, the toe and heel are instantly annealed. After that, either you need to remove the ax from the ax and harden it again, which, of course, no one ever does, or grind off the annealed area. As a result, the blade takes on a rounded shape. Actually a blade hunting ax and should be slightly rounded, but, of course, not approaching a semicircle.

Finally, you need to pay attention to the shape hatchets and the material from which it is made. Some of the Canadian axes sold in our stores have an ax. correct shape, but often finished with either rubber or some kind of plastic. I think that this is not only superfluous, but also completely unnecessary innovation. Indeed, the palms will not slip on the ax handle, but they will sweat in summer and freeze in winter. And it is much easier to fill calluses on rubber than on smooth wood.

It is believed that elm, mountain ash, birch (butt part of the trunk) are best suited for making an ax. That's for sure. The most durable, however, will be a handle made from a so-called “scar,” a long bead on the edge of an old, usually frost-bitten crack on the trunk of a birch. Its wood structure is so dense and twisted that it is absolutely impossible to split it. True, to find a "scar" suitable sizes pretty hard. Taken late autumn The "scar" must be dried for at least a year in the open air, like any other piece of wood. The length of the future hatchet is determined by taking it by one end. In this case, the other, on which the ax will be planted, must touch the ankle. When cutting, shaping and shaping the workpiece, leave a place behind the ax slightly thicker and twice as long as the garden of the ax. If the handle suddenly breaks, it will not need to be thrown away. Tighten this place and plant the ax again. It's okay if the handle is a few centimeters shorter. But a good workpiece will remain. Of course, if the handle is made of scar, this is unlikely to happen.

In one of the hunting publications I read advice on strengthening the ax on the ax. The point is to make the metal and wood a monolith by filling all the gaps between the ax and the ax with epoxy glue. Of course, it will be a monolith, and the ax will never jump off the ax or even loosen. However, any thing will ever wear out. If the handle of such an epoxy-treated ax breaks, the tool can be thrown into the trash heap or the remains of the ax can be drilled out of the garden for a long time. Well, this is how anyone. To prevent the ax from loosening on the ax, the end must be wedged. Before hammering in the wedge, they make a cut, but not vertical, but obliquely. This can be seen in the figure. Then the wedge will hold well and will not fly out for a long time. It is better to make it from the same wood as the hatchet. You can put a wedge on glue. I do not recommend using metal wedges. They pop out quite quickly and, moreover, rusting, spoil the wood. You can temporarily remove the shat by soaking the ax in water.

Igor Shipulin, a wonderful artist, hunter and jack of all trades, published in the magazine "Hunting and hunting economy" (No. 10, 1982) a short article about axes, which he got along on his own due to the lack of suitable axes in shops of that time and Not bad. I offer the text of this article and drawings by the author.

“A hunter in the taiga cannot do without a reliable ax, which should be as versatile as possible. There are many axes on sale: from large and medium-sized construction and carpentry axes to small axes, suitable for various household needs. But taiga ax must have special properties that can be given to an ordinary ax by altering it.An ax with soft and lightly hardened steel should be preferred to an ax with "dry" steel. When the blade is chipped, this drawback can be easily eliminated with a sharper sharpening. The shape of the sharpening should be parabolic, but not razor-sharp or straight (fig. 1). An ax with such a sharpening does not jam in the wood, it splits firewood well, and is less blunt. With sufficient sharpness, such a blade is quite suitable for carpentry work.

Much in the understanding of rationality is given by the forms of old Russian axes, as well as the axes of lumberjacks of the Carpathians, North America, in which the upper edge of the blade never forms an angle more than 90 ° with the axis of the ax. All commercially available axes have a wide blade and a prominent top edge (Fig. 2). The shaded part sharply reduces the efficiency of the ax, since at the moment of impact, this part tends to straighten the ax handle, creating unnecessary vibration in it, and thereby dampens the force of the impact. To eliminate this drawback, the shaded portion is removed. The easiest way to do this is to drill a row of touching holes along the cut line, and remove the hardened part with an abrasive.

The straight ax blade must be changed to a convex one (Fig. 3), if the width of the blade hardening allows. The straight edge is designed only for carpentry work, and when such a blade cuts, then, simultaneously touching the entire edge and striking the tree at a right angle, has a weak penetrating ability. Each point of the convex edge enters the wood under acute angle (Fig. 3), a cutting effect occurs, as a result of which the penetrating power of such a blade increases sharply. Despite the fact that the weight of the ax after processing will decrease, its efficiency will increase. The author offers two options for axes (see Fig. 4 and photo). One of them - lightweight, designed for walking hunting, small trips, as well as for commercial hunting with a saw. The total weight of such an ax is 800-1000 g, the length of the ax is 40-60 cm. The other is heavy, for hunting and long journeys, during which considerable work has to be done. Its weight is 1000-1400 g, the length of the handle is 55-65 cm. The choice of the length of the handle is determined by the quality of the wood, the height and strength of the hunter.

Having prepared the ax, you can start making the ax. It should be subtle. The less its weight relative to the weight of the ax, the stronger the blow. The ax must be flexible: a rigid ax "dries" the hand. In section, it has an ovoid but flattened shape with a sharper front and rounded trailing edges.It is best to make an ax from the butt of ash, maple, elm. Twisted fine-grained birch can also be used. The most suitable butt thickness for making hatchets is 35-40 cm. The raw butt must be split, then dried with glued ends. An ax with a longitudinal arrangement of layers (Fig. 5) is stronger. Before attaching the ax, the center of gravity is found on the handle (Fig. 6). Usually this point (C) is located at the base of the lug. Then, the center line of the ax AB is determined, passing through the middle of the back and the top of the blade edge. This line is the tangent line along which the ax will move on impact. If we put the blade with point B perpendicular to the center line AB on a plane, then the end of the haft should touch the same plane at point C. It is carried out middle line ax-handles (PR), point P is located on this line and is 3.5-4 cm from the plane CB. Cutting of the ax-hand is clear from fig. 5, where the shaded parts of the workpiece must be cut off. The distance from the lower edge of the eyelet (point K) to the point of maximum bending of the handle (point O) is 10-11 cm. At point O the hand holds the ax during carpentry work. In this place, the circumference of the ax is 12-13 cm, and the thinnest place at the end of the ax is 9-10 cm. Finally, the thickness is adjusted according to the hand.

The hatchet ends with a mushroom-shaped bulge fixing the hand (clearly seen in the photo). Such an ax is irreplaceable in cold and rain, when gloves or mittens are on the hands. "Fungus" allows you to relax your hands at the time of work. The strength and accuracy of the blows of a "relaxed" ax cannot be compared with the blows of an ax, which you have to hold firmly, being afraid to let go of it. Thickening is foreseen in advance on the workpiece for the "fungus"; it is processed last in order to exclude chips when attaching an ax. When starting the nozzle, you need to mark the workpiece. When adjusting the handle, you should constantly check the landing angle by applying the ax to the plane (in Fig. 6 this is the line CB). In a hatchet, adjusted to two-thirds of the eye's depth, a cut is made to the same depth under the wedge (Fig. 6), after which the seat is finally adjusted. Before driving in the wedge, it is useful to dry the hatchet with an ax on for two to three days.Immediately after fitting (or after drying), the ax is removed from the ax, the fitted parts are liberally lubricated with BF-2 glue (probably epoxy will do better, although, I repeat, I am not a supporter of this - D.Zh.) and the ax is finally inserted. On a pre-prepared hard wood wedge (ash, maple, elm,

apple tree, pear) also apply glue and hammer the wedge. To prevent the wedge from breaking when hammering, it is made short. To completely dry the glue, the ax must be dried for a day on a battery or near a stove. Finally, the handle is processed on the hand, skinned and impregnated with linseed oil or linseed oil.The finished ax remains sharpened. An ax will save a lot of time and effort if its blade is always sharply sharpened. It is useful for this to have with you a plywood cut to the size of the breast pocket, pasted over on both sides with waterproof sandpaper - rough and micron. Such plywood is enough for a whole season, if the ax does not require serious resharpening. "

In the almanac "Hunting Spaces" (No. 1 for 1995), a large article by A.M. Radula "What should be a marching ax". The article contains quite a lot of theory, which is unlikely to be needed for practice. However, this article has a lot useful tips on the manufacture and handling of axes. I decided to post the scanned pages of this article on the site - maybe it will be useful to someone. You can go to the end of this page.

Starting to work with an ax, you should learn from the very beginning two, at first glance, contradictory rules. First, the ax must be sharpened to a good sharpness. hunting knifebecause working with a blunt ax is like shaving with an old blade. Secondly, always remember that a truly sharp ax is, figuratively speaking, the same as a loaded rifle with cocked and removed from the safety lock. In no case do not give an ax to children, although, paradoxical as it may sound, it is best to teach them such things from childhood. Only this must be done skillfully. After work, put on a sheath on the ax blade. Your imagination and skill will help you to make it - thick skin, birch bark, and a simple piece of wood will be used.

Observe personal safety rules:

First of all, check if the ax is firmly attached to the ax;

When working near a fallen tree, stand next to it so that the trunk is not in any case between your legs;

Chopping off branches, go from the butt to the top and chop off branches in the same direction;

Before swinging, make sure that nothing interferes with the swing, otherwise a branch that has sprung, for example, on which an ax has caught, can throw it in the wrong place;

Cut even thin branches not across, but a little obliquely - so there is less chance of getting a flying piece in the eye;

When chopping wood, spread your legs wider, strengthening the chock more reliably;

In order not to spoil the blades and often do not sharpen the ax, chop branches and chop wood not directly on the ground, but on some chock or log;

At rest, never stick an ax into the trunk standing tree Moreover, do not turn the ax into a hanger. Injure both the tree and, God forbid, yourself or a friend, if the ax falls out. Stick it in a tree stump or dead wood if you really need to.

Saw is necessary, of course, only for long and multi-day trips to the taiga. The best way - small and narrow long cross-cut saw. She must necessarily have a small "belly" towards the teeth - this is easier to cut than straight. The handles are always made of wood and high enough. Having tied a stick to them, you can saw with such a saw alone, without a partner. It is advised to shorten the saw to 80 cm and narrow it to 8. You just need to keep the "belly".

Far Eastern scientists-tigers P.G.Oshmarin and D.G. Pikunov in their book "Footprints in Nature" (M., "Science", 1990) recommend a saw-cleaver for taiga hikes, which can be made from an ordinary cross-cut saw. “The saw should be lightened by removing the top, non-serrated edge ... The opposite edge of the serrated saw is sharpened like a saber. Two handles are attached to the saw, one of which, forming a right angle with the sharpened edge of the saw, serves as a saw when using this tool, and the other, attached along the length of the saw, serves when used as a cleaver when you need to clear a parking space, a path, etc. The saw does not replace the ax, but only supplements it when walking together. "

A little about the fire ware. We boil over a fire, fry and boil tea. Each action must have its own tool. It is a crime to boil water for tea in a pot after soup, and I would recommend having another tool even on short exits to the forest. This is a saw-string. It weighs practically nothing, rolled into a ring fits in a breast pocket, and saws in skillful hands a log 10-12 cm thick. It is better to use such a saw alone. It requires constant tension, otherwise, overlapping, it may break. It is not difficult to cut off a branch on a standing tree with this saw, but anything lying on the ground is more difficult, because the string is sometimes clamped. In this case, you must act like this. Put one end of the log that you are going to saw on an elevation so that a gap is formed under it, pass the saw-string into it and, pressing the log with your foot, saw as if from the bottom up. This way the saw will never get caught in the cut.

I made sure that cooking soup, soup is best in bowler hat, the bottom of which is not flat, but rounded, like a cauldron - and it boils faster and easier to wash. For frying fish, we made special rectangular pansmade of 2mm steel. They bent the sides in a vice, welded the corners, drilled holes in the corners for wire handles, and it turned out to be a wonderful traveling frying pan. The length and width are arbitrary, but such that a good grayling lays down entirely. You can fry both on a suspension and directly on the coals, without fear of burning your hands. By the way, to prevent this from happening, make an auxiliary device - drive an additional flyer into the ground next to the fire. By moving the crossbar aside and placing it on this flyer, you can safely remove the pot or stir the brew in it. It is best to boil tea, of course, in a kettle. For some reason, even a closed pot is filled with garbage, coals and ash. And it is more convenient to pour tea into mugs from a teapot.

Returning to the taiga night lodging business, I want to say one more thing: frost and frost are different. For example, the same temperature at minus thirty is perceived by a person differently, depending on the place, on the geographical area where he lives. If such a frost for a resident middle band The European part of Russia is already very severe frost, then in Irkutsk no one will pay attention to him. It's not even a matter of habit. Air humidity is a factor that changes our attitude towards frost. The higher the humidity, the more difficult frost is tolerated. And one more thing is the wind. This is a really dangerous thing in the cold. Once I had to get into the strongest Altai steppe blizzard. The frost was not very strong, degrees, I think, 12-15 °. However, in five hours of travel (it took me so much time to cover the eight-kilometer distance between two villages), I froze the entire right half of my body, because the wind was blowing from this side and slightly in front. How I was not frozen then, only God knows. Even if the wind blows with little force, then in reality the frost is much more than what the thermometer shows. This is especially true when riding a snowmobile. If it goes 35-40 km per hour (10-12 m / sec), then the headwind speed will be the same accordingly. This is with complete calm. So draw a conclusion. And I downloaded the plate from the web. I'm not sure how correct it is, but I think that about all the numbers in it correspond to reality.

When spending the night in the forest, even a small frosty breeze will keep you awake. Therefore, the choice of a place to sleep and the arrangement of a shelter must be given the most serious attention. When spending the night by the fire, it is best to take off your jacket, covering it like a blanket, and the sleeves of the jacket must be turned inward so that the frosty breeze does not blow through them. You can even take off your shoes and sleep in woolen socks. The shod foot feels less cold. Wherever you burn a fire, if it does not happen in winter, when leaving this place, carefully fill the fire pit, make sure that not a single spark is left there. Keep a close eye on the fire all the time it burns. From a gust of wind, the flame can completely unexpectedly spread to dry grass or dead wood, and here it is not far from a forest fire. Special mention should be made of bonfires on peat bogs. It is generally forbidden to make fires in such places. It's too dangerous. Even in winter, when, it would seem, there can be no fire, peat dried up from the fire ignites completely imperceptibly. And the last thing. Every time, making a fire in the forest, collecting firewood, cutting down sticks for a tent and taganka, try to cause minimal damage to the forest. For firewood - only dried trees. Stakes for a taganka are only those that sooner or later will dry up anyway. Yes, and it is advisable to make a fire on an old fireplace. You should not leave a new burned spot in the forest, and even dug in a fire groove, when you can use the old one.

In the almanac "Hunting Spaces" (No. 1 for 1995), a large article by A.M. Radula "What should be a marching ax". The article contains quite a lot of theory, which is unlikely to be needed for practice. However, this article has a lot of useful tips for making and handling axes. I decided to post the scanned pages of this article on the site - maybe it will be useful to someone.