SHTF axes, is there one in your kit?

[Flinter]

One unmentioned benefit to a spike axe is that they are good for digging.

Not so great at wood chopping, but good for digging.

[greasetrap]

Know what else is good for digging? Shovels but FYI they are pretty ineffective for cutting wood too.

[Captain Bomblast]

Originally Posted by Apocalypse Now

I have these, the Estwing hatchet is the only quality one of the bunch,I've had it for 25+years. The Fiskars , Gerber and yellow buck are pure garbage. I would like to get a Gransfor Bruks forest axe,,but they are just too damn expensive.
Attachment 31303

Must interject and say that I've been using that Fiskars axe solidly for four years at and around my home. I freakin' love it! Last year, I bought the much smaller hatchet (similar to the Gerber one) and love it, too. No, I don't work for Fiskars (but would consider an offer)... the axe was given to me as a gift. It goes through wood like a light saber. It is lightweight and is barely noticed in a backpack... the hatchet is lighter than many knives of similar functionality. Both are -so far- indestructible.

[Gallo Pazzesco]

Originally Posted by greasetrap

Know what else is good for digging? Shovels but FYI they are pretty ineffective for cutting wood too.

You've obviously never seen one of those chinese e-tools?

YouTube- Chinese Military Shovel WJQ-308 (HQ +...

[greasetrap]

Makes sense since Gerber is a sub-division of Fiskars....

[Flinter]

Originally Posted by greasetrap

Know what else is good for digging? Shovels but FYI they are pretty ineffective for cutting wood too.

A D9 dozer will fell trees and out dig any shovel made.

Kinda useless in a flowerbed though...

It's all about what you need. If I spend the day digging sassafrass a spike hawk isn't a bad choice to take.

If it's SHTF I don't want an axe anyway. Too much noise.

[CPL_BS_88]

Originally Posted by greasetrap

Know what else is good for digging? Shovels but FYI they are pretty ineffective for cutting wood too.

check out the cold steel special forces shovel, thats what i have. Its pretty damn effective!

[CPL_BS_88]

Originally Posted by Gallo Pazzesco

You've obviously never seen one of those chinese e-tools?


YouTube- Chinese Military Shovel WJQ-308 (HQ + Full length)

where can i get one? Price?

[Gallo Pazzesco]

Originally Posted by Flinter

It's all about what you need. If I spend the day digging sassafrass a spike hawk isn't a bad choice to take.

What are you digging sassafras for? That stuff will kill you ya know? We used to drink the heck out of it, plus we made root-beer from it and everything else growing up. Just interested in what you use it for in that kind of quantity? It is growing everywhere down here.

Originally Posted by CPL_BS_88

where can i get one? Price?

We're all trying to answer that question. I've looked everywhere, asked everyone I know to ask and no one has a clue. Evidently they are not on the market yet.

[Flinter]

Originally Posted by Gallo Pazzesco

What are you digging sassafras for? That stuff will kill you ya know? We used to drink the heck out of it, plus we made root-beer from it and everything else growing up. Just interested in what you use it for in that kind of quantity? It is growing everywhere down here.

LOL I've drank a tanker truck full of it and I'm still here. I love the stuff.

Plus, parts of it make a good clothing dye.

[CPL_BS_88]

Originally Posted by Flinter

LOL I've drank a tanker truck full of it and I'm still here. I love the stuff.

Plus, parts of it make a good clothing dye.

O do tell more! I want details.

[enlightened-one]

Cool video, thanks for putting it up. Do you know if anyone reputable is selling them in the states?

[drillsgt71]

Originally Posted by CPL_BS_88

check out the cold steel special forces shovel, thats what i have. Its pretty damn effective!

I have an original from behind the Iron Curtain that the Cold Steel was copied from and I agree, it's very effective.

[FarmerJohn]

I have several axes for different things I am getting to the point where i am wanting nicer gear for myself trying to get ahold of some bladesmiths to make me a damascus one like this



if i cant then ill proll settle for a gransfor brux two lugged bearded axe



one day the damascus axe will be mine

[Gallo Pazzesco]

Originally Posted by bluemountaingun

I would purchase an axe with a poll on the back of the head for the myriad of pounding chores that will arise in a survival/bushcraft situation rather than a spike. You will have a lot more opportunity/need for a flat hammer-like surface than a spike for puncturing. If it comes down to using your axe as a defensive weapon, a poll or blade to the head will cause the same effect as the spike.

Personally, I do not purchase any axe unless it is a truly forged product made with high-carbon steel. A good source for these is the countless antique mall and shops through the US. A good antique, US-made axe or axehead can easily be found in the $20 range. You'll have quite a selection of sizes, weight, and manufacturers too. For an even better bargain w/out sacrificing quality, look for just the head and handle it yourself! God Bless, Jerry

Yeah, see Jerry, look it, I feel the same way about that big time. Combat axes and hatchets are a total waste of time imho.

Matter of fact, I just walked down the hill to the shop and took a picture of a bunch of re-handling I need to get busy doing for some of my axes, note the two Pulaskies which, imho, are some of the more versatile axes one should have in the barn.



Plus I recently did a couple of the other smaller ones and cleaned up some old heads and re-handled them in the process. See the one to the left of the Estwing long-handled camp axe? That used to be an out of balance on hatchet I bought for a dollar at a garage sale:











All of that ended-up being this:



I had already done some chopping with it by the time I took this picture, but it turned into a really nice, well balanced small camp axe made of some excellent steel:

[justin_baker]

Originally Posted by Captain Bomblast

Must interject and say that I've been using that Fiskars axe solidly for four years at and around my home. I freakin' love it! Last year, I bought the much smaller hatchet (similar to the Gerber one) and love it, too. No, I don't work for Fiskars (but would consider an offer)... the axe was given to me as a gift. It goes through wood like a light saber. It is lightweight and is barely noticed in a backpack... the hatchet is lighter than many knives of similar functionality. Both are -so far- indestructible.

Yeah the fiskars aren't bad. They are made and look the same as the gerber axes, so they are often assumed to be crap. But they have much better steel than the gerber axes. The edge on a gerber axe will turn serrated just from felling and bucking one round. Really bad. I have heard of fiskars having edge rolling issues from its full flat design (as opposed to a convex design) but overall they are good axes at a good price.

[justin_baker]

Originally Posted by Gallo Pazzesco

Combat axes and hatchets are a total waste of time imho.

Hatchets a waste of time? Not everybody needs to carry a 3/4's or full size axe around with them in the woods. Hatchets are good for chopping off branches and splitting small pieces of wood. There is no point in carrying a 3lb axe when you are just going to be splitting wood for a cooking fire, which is something that a 1lb hatchet can accomplish with very little effort.
Chopping firewood for the winter is a whole different story, but you should never pack more than you will truly need.

[FarmerJohn]

Originally Posted by justin_baker

Hatchets a waste of time? Not everybody needs to carry a 3/4's or full size axe around with them in the woods. Hatchets are good for chopping off branches and splitting small pieces of wood. There is no point in carrying a 3lb axe when you are just going to be splitting wood for a cooking fire, which is something that a 1lb hatchet can accomplish with very little effort.
Chopping firewood for the winter is a whole different story, but you should never pack more than you will truly need.

if i had to bug out id want a broad axe and a felling axe so that way when i get to where im going i can make myself a propper and comfortable cabin

but for just camping and every day round the farm type stuff a hatchet is great my chickens lose heads to a $5 hatchet

[Woodswalker]

I have an Estwing hatchet . Sits next to my bugout/get home bag . It will go on my belt if I need it . It wasn't very sharp when I bought it but I fixed that .
I have Estwing hammers that I've been using for 25+ years . Estwings will take a lot of abuse and last a lifetime+ .

[Gallo Pazzesco]

Originally Posted by justin_baker

Hatchets a waste of time? ......

No, not at all. As you can clearly see above, I have several different hatchets. My bad if I did not make myself clear enough ... "combat" axes and hatchets, "combat" tomahawks, they are a waste of time imho.

By all means, a good utility hatchet is worth its weight in gold but all of these niche hatchets and axes out there these days are faddish and fun to collect, I understand that, but not really practical. I know someone is going to show me a video of how great they are for punching holes in tires and throwing and all that ... but really, come on.

Originally Posted by FarmerJohn

if i had to bug out id want a broad axe and a felling axe so that way when i get to where im going i can make myself a propper and comfortable cabin

but for just camping and every day round the farm type stuff a hatchet is great my chickens lose heads to a $5 hatchet

Just as long as none of them are Gamecocks John. No, seriously, you're right. A hatchet is a must have.

Originally Posted by Woodswalker

I have an Estwing hatchet . Sits next to my bugout/get home bag . It will go on my belt if I need it . It wasn't very sharp when I bought it but I fixed that .
I have Estwing hammers that I've been using for 25+ years . Estwings will take a lot of abuse and last a lifetime+ .

Some of the most durable tools ever made. The first hammer I ever owned was a 12 oz Estwing that my Grandpappy gave me in the mid sixties and I still own that hammer today along with a couple of other Estwings. I remember when my Dad got our first family hatchet, it was an Estwing he got with Greenbax stamps my Mother had saved up at the grocery store. One of those axes above, the one I have wrapped a little paracord around the shaft, is an Estwing. That thing, over the course of the past six or seven years, has probably cut more firewood for us at the campsites than anything else.

Estwing makes a damn durable product and you can tell they take a lot of pride in what they produce right here in the good old US of A., if we still consider Obango's home of Illinois and Chicago, the "good old" U.S. of A.

The one problem with Estwing in what we do is weight.