How an ax is made. Wood splitter: making a wooden handle with your own hands

“It’s not a fur coat that warms a man, but an ax,” says folk wisdom. An indispensable assistant in the household, right hand» of any carpenter - it's all about a completely unpretentious tool called an ax.

Whether it is an ax for a summer residence or for professional use, the demand for this tool will never disappear.

A conscientious attitude to operation, the ability to properly prepare the tool for work, will help not only to avoid trouble, but also serve as a guarantee of the successful completion of the planned work.

Experienced craftsmen know how to make an axe. Understanding technology and learning practical advice, making an ax with your own hands is not difficult for a non-professional.

Ax piercing attachment

When choosing a piercing metal part for a future ax, special attention deserves the quality of the material. Parts made according to GOST, that's what you need.

Markings MRTU, OST or TU on the nozzle should be avoided, because these designations allow for changes in technology during the pouring of the part (there may be the addition of third-party substances that affect the quality of the material).

When the blade strikes another, there should be no serifs on both. The curvature of the material, the presence of any kind of dents, the curved axis of the blade are completely excluded.

Significance of the handle

You can choose the optimal length of the ax handle based on the growth parameters of the master and the impact force. The strength, in turn, directly depends on the length, so when working with a large ax, it will be easier to chop logs of firewood.

Before making a choice, it is worth deciding on the desired result:

heavy version of the tool ( total weight 1kg.-1.4kg., handle length from 55 to 65 cm);
lightweight version (weight 0.8 kg-1 kg., with a length of 40 to 60 cm.).

The quality of the wood from which the ax will be made is of great importance. Not every type of wood is suitable for manufacturing. Often, birch is used for this purpose (parts located near the roots or stem growths).

There are also handles made of oak, acacia, maple and other hardwoods. All selected blanks need long-term drying.

After the wooden blank dries well, the contours of the handle are drawn on it, according to a pre-made template. To avoid slipping of the hand during operation and to increase the convenience of the ax, it is necessary to provide a thickening at the end of the handle.

A knife, a chisel, an electric jigsaw will help to cut the contour.

After trying on the ax nozzle and not finding any signs of a loose fit of the parts, you can safely continue to improve the ax handle. Glass will help to scrape the tool, and sandpaper is useful for grinding.

Planting a piercing nozzle on the handle

Properly following the instructions for the nozzle will lead to excellent results:

The eye of the piercing part must be adjusted to the upper part of the ax handle, the excess part of the wood can be easily removed with a knife.

Make a mark on the handle where the stabbing part will end. To do this, you need to place the handle lying down, in order to avoid inaccuracies. Divide the resulting segment in half, make an appropriate mark.

Holding the ax handle, standing, it is necessary to make a cut to the second mark. This is done with a hacksaw and used for a wedge.

Plan out a wooden wedge similar to a pre-purchased metal wedge. The width is equal to the size of the eye, the thickness of the product is from 5 to 10 mm, and the length is equal to the depth of cut.

Putting a board on the table, it is necessary to put on it the piercing part, located upside down. Next, put this part on the handle and slowly start tapping it on the board.

Periodically, you need to change the method of tapping from the stabbing part to tapping with an ax handle.

As soon as the piercing part enters the eye, it is necessary to put the ax vertically and insert a wooden wedge. A hacksaw for metal will help to saw off everything the right materials, which as a result of the nozzle will be on top.

At the end, oil is applied to the handle, and the product is thoroughly dried. The correctness of execution can be compared with the photo of an ax to the country house, posted below.

Blade sharpening

In order to avoid the hassle arising at the time of work, it is necessary to responsibly approach the sharpening of the blade. Regulatory indicators of compliance with GOST:

sharpening angle for construction works equal to 20-30°;
for carpentry 35°.

Compliance with the requirements in the amount of sharpening is very important. The mismatch of the degree leads to the fact that when chopping with an ax, the blade gets stuck in the wood.

During the initial sharpening, minor damage, chips and potholes are eliminated. After the secondary sharpening is carried out. The end of the process is the grinding process, performed with a fine-grained bar.

A tool made by oneself according to the instructions is always the most best ax, which may be in the country.

Photos of the best ax options for giving

IN different countries for an ax handle choose different material. Commonly used wood is considered to be maple, birch, beech, oak, ash. For example, in the southern part of Europe, most often the instrument is made from white acacia. In Russian realities and the CIS countries, the most popular material is birch. Reliable wood is considered to be oak and maple. In different countries, different materials are chosen for the ax handle. Commonly used wood is considered to be maple, birch, beech, oak, ash. For example, in the southern part of Europe, most often the instrument is made from white acacia. In Russian realities and the CIS countries, the most popular material is birch. Reliable wood is considered to be oak and maple.

It is easy to work with birch - elementary processing and polishing. There is no strong recoil and fatigue. Wood can withstand heavy loads and impacts. A serious disadvantage is rotting due to the ability to absorb moisture, which leads to loss of strength. The birch dries out, but the shrinkage becomes too large. There is no way to protect birch from moisture.

With a birch ax, you can go to the forest for a couple of days, after drying it. And everything seems to be fine, but after 1-2 months you will notice that the ax handle is very staggering. A temporary solution to the problem is an additional wedge. You can also soak the ax in water. However, now you have to constantly soak the ax in order to work with it. A birch ax is not a reliable tool unless you are prepared to make or buy a new one every month.
In hikes, most often a tool is needed for cutting across the fibers. In view of what the ax receives a strong load, if it is made of birch, it can become loose.

Maple ax

Maple ax is not characterized by strong loosening. Even if the tool is exposed to variable humidity. The hatchet gets a clean and even surface, there are no problems with its processing. Maple does not rot as quickly as birch. In terms of strength, maple is better than oak and birch, but in terms of impact strength, birch is in first place.

Ash is considered by many to be the ideal option. This is confirmed by the production of ash hockey sticks, baseball bats, oars, skis and so on. Strength, reliability, however, wood is more rigid in comparison with birch, but ash has more advantages.

Ax handle made of oak and beech

Of the advantages - elementary processing, long service life, high strength, elegant structure. But there are serious disadvantages - working with oak is inconvenient, because it dries the hand. If you make the handle long enough, there will be no strong return, but it will grow exercise stress. Beech is easy to work with - it has a pleasant surface. Minus - hygroscopicity. You can soak the material with oil, but the procedure will not give significant results.

Excellent impact strength, proof of this - the production of sports equipment from this type of wood, the manufacture of furniture. Viscosity, hardness, strength. Jatoba is stronger than oak. Externally, the tool from jatoba will look solid (which you need to consider if you are making a gift).

Adviсe
To make an ax handle, you need chipped headers. You can not use boards, because in this case the strength of the ax handle will be minimal. It is important to achieve high bending strength of the ax handle. If you choose birch, then be sure to clean the chocks from the bark and heat them into blocks so that the inner layers dry as quickly as possible - otherwise the birch may rot.

It is impossible to use just cut wood for an ax handle for a number of reasons:
Minimum strength;

Too much big shrinkage after drying;

The wood will crack and warp.

The ax is actually very important tool. Of course, if you are a real carpenter, then you must definitely know how to make an ax that is perfect for certain jobs. Professional master carpenters usually use several axes at once. Nevertheless, this species the tool is also necessary for people living outside the city, or just city residents who occasionally travel to their summer cottages. After all, you need to heat the bath with firewood, and you can chop them only with the help of an ax. And so that no misunderstandings arise in the process, and the tool does not let you down, you should know about all the subtleties of how to make an ax with your own hands, as well as how to prepare it for work. The ax itself can be completely different in shape. But you should properly mount the ax, wedged, and it is also necessary to sharpen at a certain angle.

The choice of the piercing part of the ax

When you are faced with a choice, in the process of acquiring a stabbing part, be sure to pay attention to the metal from which it is made. There must be an inscription GOST, confirming the implementation in accordance with the norms and requirements. You should be alert if you see a sign like: OST, MRTU, TU. In this case, the metal production technology could be changed by the manufacturer. If we talk about choosing a good Soviet ax, then it is better to buy it on the regular market.

You can check the quality of the ax the old fashioned way by striking the blade of one against the blade of the other. If one of the products is made of poor quality, then it is on it that the impact marks will remain. Also, if you hang the ax, you can knock on it and listen to the sound. It will be characteristic.

Pay attention to the fact that if the blade is good, there should be no dents or flaws; the eye must be cone-shaped; also, the eye and the blade must be coaxial; and also there must be at least a small thickness of the butt, and its ends must be perpendicular to the blade.

If you could not find a product that would meet all standards. Do good ax you can on your own. Even if some misunderstandings are found in the purchased product over time, they can be eliminated by sharpening the burrs, boring the eyes, and giving the butt a symmetrical shape.

Select a workpiece. Make an ax handle

Based on your height and strength, you should choose the length of the ax handle. The quality of the wood is also very important. For example, for lightweight products, up to one kg in weight, the length of the handles is 40-60 cm. If we talk about a heavy ax - up to one and a half kilograms in weight, the length of the handle will be 55-65 cm.

Approach the question of how to do wooden ax, should be correct. For example, not every tree is suitable for its handle. Most suitable options- the root part of the birch, as well as its outgrowths; maple or oak, ash and other types of wood. It is very important to dry the preparations well, and always in natural conditions and for a considerable time.

You select the tool template in advance, and your template should be outlined on the workpiece. The end part of the handle should be thickened so that the master can slow down with his hand if the ax slips out. Excess wood (outside the outline) should be removed with a knife, an ax with a perfectly sharpened blade, or other similar tools. After that, you need to make sure that the actions are correct. Put the ax on the ax handle for fitting, using a mallet. Make sure these parts fit very snugly together. After that, you can proceed to further cleaning. To scrape, you should use glass, and to grind - fine-grained sandpaper. Knowing how to make an ax out of wood is half the battle. But that's not all.

"Landing" an ax on the handle

This process can be done, for example, in this way:

The top of the ax handle is adjusted in accordance with the eyelet. Unnecessary wood should be removed with a knife.

The hatchet should be placed horizontally on a flat hard surface, and the ax should be placed on top. On the handle, you need to mark with a pencil the place to which it needs to be planted. Dividing the segment in two, you should put a second mark.

Use a vise to clamp the ax so that the wider end is up. A hacksaw for metal should be cut to the 2nd mark directly under the wedge.

The wedge can be from the store, and also made from wood by hand. Its thickness can be 5-10 mm, the length is the same as the depth of cut, the width is equal to the eye of an ax.

You need to put a board on the table, and put an ax on it, upside down. The ax should be put on the handle, tapping it on the board. Next, turn over and knock with the handle, in the process of planting. So turn over and tap should be several times in a row. As a result, the ax should go into the eye.

After that, the ax handle must be placed vertically, and a wedge should be inserted into the cut and hammered with a mallet.

Oil should be applied to the ax handle, the excess will drain, and the tool will remain to dry. After all, with the help of a rag, it is necessary to wipe the ax and the handle.

In addition, you can watch a video on how to make an ax, with which you will be more clear about the essence of making a tool.

Ax blade sharpening

This issue is very important so that the work of the tool does not cause inconvenience and trouble. In accordance with GOST, the sharpening angle should be from twenty to thirty degrees. If you are a professional carpenter, then sharpening should be done at an angle of thirty-five degrees.

Upon completion of the work done with an ax, it is recommended to put a cover on the blade. Be careful!

He is the real "king" of carpenter's tools. He is the true salvation for those who are lost in the forest. He is a faithful assistant if you need to chop wood for a bath, build a house or butcher game. A well-sharpened ax can be used in dozens of other situations, but the fact remains. The tool will be useful in any suburban economy.

The only difficulty that an economic person may have is the purchase of a solid, high-quality ax. More and more often you are convinced that it is much easier and more reliable to build an ax with your own hands. So let's look at the entire manufacturing process, starting from the preparation of an ax handle and ending with sharpening.

Making an ax handle step by step

The process of creating an ax with your own hands always takes place in a strict sequence. First, a tool handle is made, called an ax handle. When the length and shape of the handle are chosen correctly, the tool literally "burns", demonstrating high performance and ease of use.

Try to take a stick with the usual round cross section and plant an iron base. You will quickly get tired, because holding such a tool for a long time, the hand experiences a strong tension. Another thing is when the ax handle has a curved shape, the tail is expanded and slightly bent down. Thanks to this design, the axes are firmly held in the hands even with strong blows.

The traditional ax tool consists of wedges (2 and 9), a blade (3) and a butt (1), a toe (4), a chamfer (5) and a heel on the blade (6), a beard (7), the ax handle itself (8). The number 10 indicates sharpening.

We prepare the material and cut out the first template

Since we need to make an ax from wood, we will take this material as a basis. Best of all, designs made of birch and oak, ash and maple have proven themselves.

A wooden ax can be made at any time of the year, but it is better to harvest the material for it in the fall, even before the onset of frost. The blanks are stored in the attic for at least a year, some experts advise drying them for five or even more years.

It is clear that if the taiga ax donated by grandfather was broken on an impregnable deck with your own hands, you can also take a fresh tree. This option will still be temporary, because after drying, the volume of wood decreases. The butt of the ax will begin to stagger, hold on less tightly.

To prepare a good template, drawings of the future product are desirable.

When there is a cardboard template, it is much easier to transfer the contours of the designed product to the tree. A ready-made ax handle is taken as the basis, with which you are comfortable working. It is outlined with a simple pencil on cardboard and cut out.

Preparation for the work of the beam

From the bar-blank to the careful extrusion of the ax handle

Before you make an ax, you need to carve a bar from a dried chock. Keep in mind that the length of the piece of wood must exceed the planned size. finished product about 10 cm. As for the width in front (fitted onto the canvas), ideally it exceeds the diameter of the metal eye by 2-3 mm.
Place the finished template on the bar and transfer its contours. Leave an allowance of 1 cm in front, and 9 cm in the tail part of the workpiece. Before you put the ax on the ax handle, you will inflict more than a dozen blows on the handle. An allowance in the "tail" is needed to avoid splitting it. When final assembly is over, you can easily cut it off.
We proceed to the main part of the work with the ax handle. In the upper and lower parts of the bar, transverse cuts are made with a depth not reaching 0.2 cm to the contours. A chisel is used to chip off excess wood along the cuts, the final cut is made with a rasp.
Use a regular file or rasp to round the corners, shape smooth curves and transitions. Sandpaper will help with the final sanding.
It is still too early to install a steel sheet - the wood is impregnated with a solid waterproof composition. Suitable linseed oil, drying oil has excellent properties. Apply a small amount of the substance to the ax handle, let dry. Then the next layer is applied. The procedure is repeated until the instrument made by you personally stops absorbing it.
The biggest mistake is to coat the wooden base with varnish or oil paint. However, nothing prevents you from adding a little dye to drying oil (red, yellow). A bright instrument will never get lost in thick grass.

How did our ancestors choose the canvas for the hatchet?

Several hundred years have passed, but the method of buying a good canvas has not changed. Our ancestors knew how to make an ax out of wood and what kind of metal base to use. They have always paid attention to:

Steel quality. By the way, today this issue is solved simply. Look for the GOST badge on the product - this will be an indicator of excellent quality. No OST and TU!
Blade. The ideal blade has no cracks and dents, very even.
Butt ends. They are strictly perpendicular to the blade.
Eyelet shape. It is better when it is made in the form of a cone.

How to put an ax on an ax handle (video)

When the canvas is selected, a completely logical question arises: how to properly plant an ax on an ax handle and achieve a “dead” fastening? Start by drawing the center lines at the end. There will be two of them, perpendicular and longitudinal. The groove to the depth of the eye must be cut exactly along the contour of the longitudinal line. The cut will be useful for wedging the ax handle.

Having attached the butt to the end, outline the contours of the eye on it - the center lines will be a guide. Use a knife or planer to trim the landing part of the ax handle. It is important that the ax handle does not protrude beyond the edges of the eye by more than 1 cm.

It is convenient to fit the canvas with the help of hammer blows. Do it accurately, with effort, but without too much pressure. You don't want your punches to crack the wood, do you? As soon as the butt went beyond the boundaries, we check the strength of the fit, we look at how the canvas sits. It shouldn't slide off.

Wedge by wedge knock out or wedging method

You can strengthen the fastening of the metal part if you do a wedging. To do this, a small wedge is driven into the butt, made of hardwood - for example, oak. Because of this, the dimensions of the landing part grow, and it is fixed “tightly”.

Some craftsmen use not one, but two or even five wedges. But as practice shows, even one additional fixation is quite enough.

Wedging an ax. Drawing

A proven way to sharpen an ax blade

Sharpening an ax is the initial task after your tool is made and ready to use. Only in this case the product will perform the main function.

To work with freshly cut wood, the sharpening angle in an ideal tool is 20 degrees, dry wood - from 25 to 30 degrees. Equally important is the width of the chamfer.

Sharpening an ax by hand

How to sharpen an ax on a conventional electric grinder

Stock up on a container in which you will cool the metal in advance. Next, do this:

Hold the product in such a way that the blade can be directed towards the rotation of the disc. We hold the butt at an angle of forty-five degrees. This is the optimal sharpening angle, regardless of the type of tool, its features.
To sharpen the ax, it moves smoothly along the circle. The chamfer is ground, the angle of the sharpening being performed is sharpened.
The final sharpening of the ax is always done with a special whetstone. From time to time it needs to be moistened in water to cool the metal.
If it is not possible to sharpen the hatchet with a bar, it is replaced with a piece of plywood, which is pasted over with sandpaper.

Do not forget that working with a sharp tool is always a pleasure, while a blunt ax means more additional and completely unnecessary effort, quick fatigue and not a good result. After the work on the manufacture and sharpening of the ax is completed, a sheath is put on the blade. This will extend the life of the product, and it will not need to be sharpened so often. The cover is made of leather, birch bark, any other suitable material.

Ax case

There is an opinion that the tool can be stored stuck in a log. This is a big misconception. Consisting of strong steel and a hand-made ax handle, the ax becomes an "extension" of the master's hands. Try to chop wood homemade tool- and you will no longer want to return to store-bought products.

How to make an ax with your own hands, which is useful for cutting meat carcasses, chopping firewood and performing various construction work.

Its design consists of three parts:

Blade
ax handle
wedge

BLADE

When buying a blade, first of all we pay attention to:

1. On the quality of the metal from which it is made (best of all, if you find a stamp on it confirming compliance with the requirements of the state standard).
2. Weight (depending on the type of work performed, the heavier the blade, the greater the impact force - best option 700…1600 (d)).
3. The shape of the blade (depends on the type of work performed: straight - joinery and carpentry; rounded - for chopping and chopping wood and universal).
4. The angle of sharpening the blade (depends on the type of work performed: shaving - carpentry and carpentry; oval - for chopping and cutting wood; straight - universal).

How to make an ax for an ax, we considered earlier on the pages of our site.

WEDGE

It is made of durable, well-dried wood (plank thickness 5 ... 10 (mm)).

BUT- cutting depth
S– cutting thickness
IN- cutting width

Reference:
The cut in the handle is made at ⅔ of the depth of the eye of the blade.
Dry the wedge and ax before assembling.

How to make an ax with your own hands and the assembly order:

1. It is necessary to fit the ax handle under the eye of the ax blade.
2. After fitting, grease all contact surfaces of the ax handle, eye and wedge with glue.
3. Insert the ax into the eye.
4. Place the handle on a hard surface in an upright position.
5. If necessary, widen the cut groove with a chisel.
6. Install the wedge in the groove of the ax handle and use a hammer to hammer it.
7. Carefully cut off the part of the ax handle with the wedge protruding beyond the eye (cutting should be carried out parallel to the plane of the eye).
8. Set the ax aside for a few days until the glue dries completely.
9. We carry out the final finishing of the ax handle on the hand.
10. Soak the hatchet with an antiseptic.
11. Let's sharpen the blade.

Additionally:

You can make a cover for the ax blade, which must be put on after each use of the tool.
drill through hole at the end of the ax for hanging it on the wall during storage

We hope that the information received on how to make an ax with your own hands will help you, if necessary, use it.

An ax is one of the tools that you need to have on the farm. Of course, it can be purchased at the store, but if you want to have a reliable and handy thing, it is better to make a tool yourself. The article will discuss how to make an ax at home with your own skillful hands and properly fit the metal sheet.

How to select and prepare wood

The hatchet is the handle of a working tool. The productivity of labor depends entirely on how easy it will be to work with him. Therefore, the usual straight stick in this case will not work. A real ax handle is a curved beam with an oval section and straight sections. The tail part should be expanded and bent down.

Only with this option, the hand of the person doing the work will be able to securely hold the tool, while not feeling tired for a long time.

For the manufacture of an ax handle, the following types of wood are best suited:

maple;
Birch tree;
acacia;
ash.

Wood should be harvested in the fall. Birch is perfect for carpentry tools, and for hiking option maple is more commonly used. Its impact strength is less than that of birch. The ideal option ash is considered very durable and rarely changes shape. It is better to make an ax handle from a section of a tree located near the root, and the workpiece should be 15 cm wider and longer than the future product.

Attention! Before the prepared bars are used to make an ax handle, they must dry for at least a year in a dry, dark place, for example, in the attic.

How to make an ax - 50 photos and tips for creating, depending on the purpose

This is necessary in order to ready-made the handle did not shrink and did not begin to hang out in the eye.

You can use fresh wood only in case of breakage of the ax handle as a temporary option to be replaced soon.

How to make an ax

In order to make an ax handle you will need:

wooden blank;
hacksaw;
chisel;
pencil;
file;
hammer.

The manufacturing process itself takes place in the following order:

Attention! You need to make an ax so that the cross section is oval. In this case, it will be possible to hold it without particularly straining the hand and produce very accurate strikes.

Impregnation of an ax handle and an ax nozzle

The upper part of the finished handle must be impregnated with a water-repellent composition. There will be two options:

drying oil;
linseed oil;
ski resin.

Lubricate the tree with the selected agent and leave to dry. The treatment is repeated several more times until the fat is absorbed. Ski resin is able to penetrate into the deeper layers of the workpiece, but it is difficult to find in stores. Therefore, the first two options are more often used.

Advice. A bright dye can be added to the impregnation agent. So the finished tool will be difficult to lose.

Attaching an ax to a handle is done as follows:

Watching videos and photographs will help you better understand the manufacturing technique. Making an ax handle with your own hands is more difficult than buying it ready-made. However, if you have the desire and some skills, it is quite possible to get a quality tool.

How to make an ax handle: video

How to make an ax from hardboard

First, we need to get a detailed image of the future craft. Need a side view. Try to find the highest quality image possible.

Then, we print the image in full size and transfer it to the hardboard.

We cut out the part (the jigsaw will help you here).

How to make a high-quality ax handle with your own hands: manufacturing rules

I used thick hardboard (2 cm), but you can also glue several layers of thin hardboard to achieve required thickness.

Now let's deal with the protruding parts. We cut our pattern into separate pieces, which will subsequently act.

We transfer it to hardboard, cut it out, glue it on top of the main structure.

On the this moment, after you have glued all the details, you should have something similar to the photo above.

Now it's time for the file and sandpaper. Use them to smooth edges, remove roughness and give relief to future crafting. Process until it begins to seem that the ax is not assembled from a bunch of layers, but has a monolithic smooth structure.

Then it's time for the engraving. To do this, we draw a pattern on the surface of the ax, and then, carefully, using chisels, cut out the pattern.

Now, the ax is almost ready. Putty all unwanted depressions and bumps. When the putty dries, prime the axe. After the primer dries, it is ready for painting.

What, in fact, do at the last stage. As a result, you will get an excellent quality craft.

That's all, good luck in crafting,
your revision.

Discuss VKontakte…

Home > Taiga articles > Taiga ax

taiga ax

What should be a real taiga ax, and what types of axes are not suitable for long trips to the taiga?

HOW TO MAKE A AX SHARP AND COMFORTABLE

We will try to answer these questions in this article. Not to say that I am such an experienced taiga dweller, but I still have some knowledge and experience. Not to say that I directly swung with a different tool, but I had to work. There is no one universal tool, which would be suitable for any work. Of course, with an ordinary Soviet-style carpenter's ax, you can do any miracles by adapting to hold it in your hand, but I think each of you will agree with the thesis that it is quite inconvenient to do certain work with an unsuitable ax. No wonder our fathers and grandfathers came up with different forms to this most important of our assistants.

Any professional carpenter has at his disposal several types of axes for different types works. So the taiga ax can only have one declared form with plus or minus small changes. By the way, for example, it will be quite difficult for you to chop wood with a battle ax, and a cleaver exists only for chopping firewood, so the shape is very important.

First you need to figure out why you need a taiga ax at all and why is it called that? Many of those reading this article (I'm sure) except for the classic Russian carpenter's ax saw nothing else and did not hold it in their hands. However, those people who are interested in this issue, who are often in the field, prefer correct tool and equipment for the taiga.

A taiga ax is necessary for a person in the field conditions of a taiga forest. This is the ax that a hunter-fisherman, huntsman, forester, tourist, geologist, surveyor or any other person who often visits the taiga takes with him in his equipment. It is necessary for all forest work that a person can do in the taiga. As a rule, a person does not need to harvest firewood for the winter and chop large chocks in the field, so a heavy cleaver is clearly not needed in the taiga. Most likely, a person will also not cut carved details of platbands and all kinds of wood products in the field, since they usually go to the taiga after another.

Here is a list of things that the taiga man does in the field:

felling trees for some needs, whether it is sanitary felling or felling trees when harvesting for a log house or firewood (a saw is most often used for firewood, not an ax);
rough work with fallen logs: cleaning branches, bark, cutting a groove for building a winter hut, etc .;
production of bags, samolov;
production of huts, screens, floorings;
rough splitting of a log along its fibers (wedges and a wooden mallet are used for the best effect);
work with firewood.

Simply put, it can be seen from the above that an ax in the taiga is necessary for rough work with wood, preparing firewood for a fire, arranging a bivouac for spending the night in the forest, various household needs, felling upright living trees for making a future log house for a taiga winter hut.

The forest is a place where a person is not the main one - and even animals do not dominate there.

In the forest, the main ones are trees. A forest is a forest because it is filled with various trees, which means that when you come there, you need to have the appropriate tool in order to use these trees for their intended purpose. This beaver can gnaw through a tree with its teeth, but a person is forced to have a suitable ax, saw and knife - the main tools of the taiga.

What qualities should a taiga ax have?

It should be relatively light for one simple reason - you will have to carry it for a very long time and kilometers on your back, it is also much better to swing a lighter ax than a heavy semi-sledgehammer. The main weight should be in the metal part, that is, in its head. Figure 1 shows its parts:

Rice. 1. Parts of the taiga ax

ax the taiga ax should be much longer, the carpenter's ax handle did not live. This is due to the best scope for hitting a tree. A long ax allows you to make the best blow. In my opinion, optimal length ax handles - about 50 cm, or even more. The ax should not be heavy, and all the weight should be concentrated on the head, otherwise you will not achieve from your copy desired result- and just swear there, in the taiga.

If we compare heads two types, an obvious difference immediately catches the eye: the upper part of the blade is missing in the taiga head. Some people saw off a piece of this part from a simple carpenter's ax, turning it into a taiga one. (See fig. 2).

Blade for a carpenter's ax it should be straight, and for a taiga ax it should be rounded (see Fig. 3). This is due to the type of work that the taiga man does in the forest.

Rice. 2. The head of a taiga ax against the background of a carpenter's

Rice. 3. The blade of a taiga ax.

beard allows you to firmly fix the ax with the head.

Butt can be used as a hammer for any purpose.

Often a hunter-fisherman, who has gathered, for example, to repair his winter huts in the summer, does not take an extra heavy hammer into the taiga, but uses a butt as it.

Eye serves for mounting the head on the ax handle. Next, a wooden wedge is hammered into the ax handle so that the head sits tightly on it.

Fungus prevents hands from slipping and fixes them on the handle.

Rice. 4. Wedge

Rice. 5. Driving a wedge into an ax handle

In figure 4 we see three options. Numeric 1 a metal wedge is indicated, which is driven in last. This is the control wedge. Under the number 2 - hatchet. Under 3 number - a wooden wedge, which is hammered into a special hole in the handle so that the handle does not begin to crack. Many drive the wedge right between the fibers, but this is fraught with cracking of the ax handle. Therefore, it is recommended to saw through a small recess, into which then a wooden wedge can be hammered. The wedge is better to sit on glue, for example, epoxy. Numeric 4 the head of the ax put on the handle is indicated.

The metal wedge is hammered in at the very end, note that it is driven in diagonally to the main wooden wedge. You can also hammer it at an angle of 90 degrees. Instead of a metal wedge, you can use a wooden wedge, preferably from a harder wood. Figure 5 shows the same process, but without the control second wedge. 1 - ax handle 2 - notch, cut for a wedge, 3 - head, 4 - wedge.

Taiga ax in its habitat

in business

Grigory Sokolov about his assistant

It is extremely difficult to find a quality ax on the domestic market that will serve you faithfully for many years until you lose it in the forest or it is stolen from you. Russian-made axes of our days, as a rule, are of very poor quality. The ax handles are not fitted to the head and almost always begin to slip off. The blade of the head is overheated almost to the state of cast iron, and at the first frost the blade crumbles or simply breaks off from it big piece, after which the instrument becomes completely unusable. Such axes always need to be modified by yourself in order to turn them into something tolerable. They are cheap but change very often.

The good quality of the axes was given by the Soviet production of the times of Stalin, but those old-fashioned axes cannot be found now, now such samples of the 50s are sold on the Internet from 3 to 5 thousand rubles. Steel for them was used, as a rule, grade U7. In our garages, if we stumble upon an ax, it will most likely be the production of the 80s, that is, the "perestroika ax", and at that time, as you know, production was declining. However, copies of the Brezhnev era (70s), which are not as rare as the Stalin ones, are of fairly good quality. Therefore, purchase good tool can only be from foreign companies, or ordered from a blacksmith. A blacksmith's ax will cost a little more, because it's only for an amateur. A working ax can now be purchased from foreign companies: Gransfors Bruks, Husquarna, Fiskars, Hultafors. Domestic serial manufacturers cannot yet boast of such a quality tool.

Sections of the site

The most interesting

In the social networks

It is said that a good ax can do much more for its owner than a knife. Especially when it comes to survival. And this may well be true.

A Brief History of the Ax

The ax is one of the most ancient tools of mankind. Its story begins, probably, from the time of the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden (about 6,000 years ago). Well, according to the story about monkeys, he is already more than 35 thousand years old. In any case, the first ax is officially considered an ax-handle, which is a stick with a pointed stone tied to the end. With which, according to many historians, cute anthropoid orangutans ran. Later, polished, drilled, copper, bronze and iron axes began to appear.

Ax - very important and beautiful cutting tool humanity

So, an ax is a tool that consists of a blade and a perpendicularly mounted handle. Among people, this tool has the most wide use: it can be a melee weapon, used for rough or skillful woodwork. Throughout the history of mankind, the material of the blade and ax handle, their attachment method and use cases - constantly changed and supplemented. In fact, the ax has always been an important and indispensable tool for humans.

The variety of axes is so great that it makes no sense to describe everything. By changing the shape of the blade and ax handle, and their dimensions, you can create any options, depending on the required functions and customer requirements. At first they were made in very small forges., and with the advent of industrialism and a significant increase in demand, mass production of axes appeared.

The main types of axes

It should be mentioned that axes are divided into three main types:

combat;
universal;
workers.

They also have six basic blade shapes:

wide;
the average;
narrow;
with a protruding posterior beard;
with a hammer (impact back);
double-sided (an ax with two opposite blades).

Splitting ax

There are small cleavers, for holding with one hand, and large ones. These are very heavy axes with a displaced center of gravity and special blade shape.

The wedge-shaped blade easily and quickly enters the wood, and the wide part easily splits the log into pieces. This ax has another type - a sledgehammer ax, which is intended for splitting rough knotty wood. With the help of a hammer-shaped butt, wedges can be easily hammered into the deck.

It is best to chop frozen logs.

Hit in the middle of the block if there are a lot of knots.

Craft cleaver

Special ax for artistic processing wood. Him rounded wide blade with notch at the base and chamfered on the right or left side (used as a support for carving).

There are also axes with a one-sided sharpening of the blade and a handle curved to the side for accurate hewing of logs and planks.

How to make an ax: the whole process from cutting the ax handle to sharpening the blade

When hewing a log, place your hands close to each other. working hand should be placed in front, and the thumb should be located on top of the handle.

carpenter's ax

It has a straight handle and a wide blade with a straight thin cutting edge. The main purpose is the ability to make a smooth chopped surface. It should cut, not split the wood.

Another of its features is a notch (sinus) at the base of the head. The carpenter can easily take the ax at the very base of the blade, for stable and precise cutting of wood. A straight ax handle allows you to hold the ax in any plane and under different angle. This ax handles dry wood well. The most important thing in a carpenter's ax is the sharpness of the blade!

Lumberjack Ax

It has a long handle and a blade with a rounded edge. The blows of such an ax are powerful, and the blade will not get stuck in a tree trunk. They are ideal for cutting even resinous trees.. It handles branches with ease.

hunting ax

A special shape of the blade with rounded edges, a special butt for skinning, an almost flat handle.

With such an ax good at chopping both wood and meat.

We remind you that you can buy a good Fiskars ax in our online store by clicking on the link

tourist ax

small version hunting ax with a small butt. Cuts, stabs and easily fits in a backpack. What else does a scout or tourist need in an exciting journey?

When cutting branches, it is better to perform a longitudinal blow from the root to the top of the tree.

Finally, watch a video about how to chop wood "in Canadian":

How to make an ax at home

Many people have at hand all the tools and materials in order to make the right tools themselves, but not everyone does it. Some just hesitate because they think it's difficult, others don't know where to start. I want to show you that it is not at all difficult and almost everyone can do it.

We'll need: a small block of wood, a hacksaw knife, a pencil, and a hammer. You can take a chock instead of a bar. Split in half and remove the bark. The chock must always be well dried, as poorly dried wood can simply crack. Good material is birch, as it increases the force of impact, it has good viscosity and hands are less tired from work. In addition, birch is well processed, so it is the most popular material for ax handles. One of the disadvantages of birch is that it quickly rots when interacting with water, so if you need a camp hatchet, then it is better to use ash and maple. Here are some bars that are perfect for you.

Let's move on to action. First you need to draw the contours of the future ax handle on the bar, it is necessary that it fits comfortably in your hand and is suitable for the type of work for which you need it. The easiest way is to take another ax and copy its shape, the main thing is that you feel comfortable working with this ax. And a carpenter usually does everything by sight and spends very little time on it, but this requires practice and nothing without it. And so we drew the contours.

Now we need to process the bar according to the drawing. To do this, you need to file a little on both sides, and then cut it all off with a knife or chisel, this should be done very carefully so as not to cut off anything superfluous.

Put the knife in place and slowly tap it with a hammer. You need to cut strictly according to the shape of your future ax handle.

If you did everything right, then you should have an almost finished workpiece. Now this workpiece needs to be planed with a knife.

It is important that the handle of the ax is oval, not round, as you will be holding a round one with tension and, because of this, the accuracy of the blow will decrease.

When you plant an ax, the wood in the area of \u200b\u200bthe ax handle is subjected to slight crushing from impacts. You need to do this carefully, as you can ruin the finished ax handle. To prevent splitting, it is necessary to constantly monitor the condition of the lower end of the ax handle during attachment. Therefore, it is better to leave an allowance for this. The fit can be considered complete if the end of the ax handle is about 8 mm outside the eye. Then the surface of the handle is polished with sandpaper.

Impregnation of the ax handle with a special compound

Then comes the next operation - this is the impregnation of the front half of the ax handle with some kind of waterproof composition. It can be drying oil or ski resin.

DIY ax

Ski resin provides a more reliable and deeper impregnation, but it may not be suitable, due to the fact that the smell will pass from the ax handle to the hands for a long time, this is not exactly suitable for the hunter.

Now we have reached the wedge. To do this, you need a well-dried plank so that the thickness is at least 10 mm, and preferably from the same hardwood or better than a harder wood. It is better to make the width of the wedge 1 ... 2 mm more than the height of the lug, and the length should be such that it exceeds the width by at least 4 times. When the wedge is ready, the ax is finally placed on the impregnated ax handle, and the cut gap, if it is closed at the entrance, is slightly expanded with a chisel.

It is important to lubricate the wedge with any glue before clogging, it is better not to use rubber-based glue, this is not good. So that the lubricated wedge does not crawl back during driving, its lead-in, approximately 10 mm, is not lubricated with glue. When driving a wedge, the ax must be placed vertically on the anvil. This anvil stop is good at preventing the ax head from slipping when hitting the wedge.

Final part

Now take a good look at the ax made by your hands. If you notice any flaws, then fix it better. Remove the rest of the allowance and give the final shape to the shank of the ax handle. Treat the curved parts with a rasp or sandpaper. This is what the finished ax looks like.

And most importantly, you will be pleased to work with him, because you made it yourself. Now you can only continue to improve your skills and practice, and I wish you good luck and always follow the safety precautions, because whatever health comes first.