Highly useful project with a detailed video of the process of making a knife from the 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 electrical 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 almost 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 (with the exception of 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 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 am 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 trifle 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 problems down the road.
Step 2:
WITH saw blade clamping onto the work table 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 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 under slight angle I would cut out 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 evaluate which areas are required extra work... 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, he 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 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 there. 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 grinding, 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 do not have a mini forge you can actually send your blades from them to 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 in a fire and heat it until it is magnetic and then extinguish it in a container peanut butter... The last peak shows that the blade looks as if it had been hardened. Although possible, heat treatment in an open flame is not recommended.
Step 11:
Now is the 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 F. 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 familiarize yourself with the blonde-ish or light bronze-ish color that the blade is obtained after hardening. After hardening, I grind the blade to clean it using 220 grit and work up to 400 grit. V last time rice i use wooden block 400 grit sandpaper wrapped around it and sanding from handle to tip of scapula 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 his 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:
For the handles to attach to the blade with a snug fit I made sure to sand one side of each handle as flat as possible flat surface 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 the look. 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 rush is a test fit to make sure they cover all 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 pin 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 holes line up when inserting the pins.
Step 16:
I used 3/16 inch pins from of stainless steel that I cut from a stainless steel rod. Before you stick the mask on the blade and clean everything with acetone or alcohol to remove any dirt, dust or oil.
Step 17
After everything is dry from brushing. I mixed up epoxy and slathered for a generous amount of pens 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 raspatory, the beginnings of the shape and contour of the handle.
Step 19
As has been mentioned many times, life does not stand still.
So, to some extent, it has lost its relevance. The old saws have retired, and the new ones are still waiting to show what they are good for.
And again, on a single day off, having solved his household problems, he went out into the distant forest for a couple of hours, having a new set of experimental instruments in his backpack.
Initially, it was planned to participate in the competition four saws:
1. Bahco Laplander folding hacksaw... Weight 191g., Length 40cm (folded - 23cm). The handle is made of plastic with a slight "rubberized" effect. Very compact and easy to carry on a belt or in a jacket pocket. Convenient for one-handed operation. Folds like a knife, that is, by turning the blade into the slot of the handle. Good and aggressive sawing. There is only one drawback and it follows from its compactness: short.
2. Fiskars SW75 folding hacksaw... Weight 249g., Length 55.5cm (folded - 30.5cm). The handle is hard plastic. Folds down by sliding it into the handle. Saws perfectly if you follow a simple rule: one hand presses the hacksaw from above, the other pulls on itself. During the reverse stroke forward, the hacksaw only moves, you cannot saw. I did not see any shortcomings before this test at all.
3. Hacksaw for wood Matrix BLACK SERIES PROFESSIONAL 23578... Weight 587g, total length 55cm. The length of the working part is 45 cm, but in fact, when cutting a log, only the section from the end of the hacksaw to the handle - 40 cm can be used. The handle is interestingly made: plywood, with a plastic "half-case" on it. Why so is a mystery to me. The hacksaw was bought as a standard one in the car.
4. Bow saw Fiskars 124810... Weight 662g, total length 70cm, length of the working part 53cm. The handle is plastic, and on top there is also a steel clamp that fixes the tension of the saw blade. In the process of work, the distance from the saw blade to the frame was also important - from 12 cm at the end of the saw to 18 cm at the handle.
In addition to four saws, a freshly sharpened ax was taken into the forest, which also regularly travels in the trunk of a car. With a total weight of 1905g and a length of 53cm, Soviet era, honored village veteran with an artisanally welded crack in the eyelet.
As the name suggests, logs are being modeled for a full-fledged node. Accordingly, a tree was chosen: a relatively recently felled (not by me) pine tree, stuck between the trees and not touching the ground. A dry and durable tree with a diameter of 26 cm at the place of the first cut (one and a half spans is just right for a node, which will burn, according to experience, for at least seven hours). Subsequent cuts are made offset to the butt so that the thickness increases slightly.
The air temperature is about zero.
The time spent on sawing a piece of wood to the end is counted.
Here are the competitors on the test beam.
So. To begin with, the first cut was made on the log in order to separate the “non-working” part to the top. I must say that until now I simply did not have any experience of working with a beam saw - somehow I didn’t happen to. Accordingly, having heard about the high capabilities of this tool, he made the first cut with it.
Immediately revealed two features, and not to say positive.
At first, because of the thin blade, the cut leads away from the line perpendicular to the trunk, and quite noticeably.
Secondly, the thickness of the log (and, accordingly, the lack of space between the blade and the saw frame) forces the tree to be cut from both sides. This increases the running time. It is also impossible to cut a thick tree at the same angle that is most convenient for work - in order to maximize the cut, you have to work with the saw from awkward positions.
In addition, the curve cut when working from the other side begins to bite the saw, and very noticeably.
The total time was 10min 52sec... Honestly, I expected the best.
The next number was the Matrix hacksaw. In truth, I did not expect any special results from her (according to the test results, it was planned to just replace the hacksaw with a bow saw).
The hacksaw briskly went into the tree, not at all like Bakhko's fine-toothed hacksaw on the last test.
The length of the hacksaw allowed me to constantly saw at the most convenient angle for me, and the handle was comfortable enough to hold it with both hands. The wide blade did not allow deviating from the optimal cut line.
As a result, the trunk was sawn quickly and smoothly.
Total time - 5min 25sec... Two times less than onion!
Taak. The result was not just unexpected, but completely opposite to what was expected.
I must say that after the first cut, the experimental tree, wedged between the birches, lay significantly lower. Plus, of course, the conditions for the second cut were more convenient, since the top of the trunk was already cut off. Accordingly, it was decided to repeat the cut bow saw and see if the result is better.
No, the beginning of the work was quite cheerful (in general, she saws well).
But, for starters, the cut again took away, and even stronger. With the inevitable work on the other hand, the saw wedged great.
And when the frame again rested against the trunk on both sides, it turned out that it was generally impossible to completely cut a low-lying tree with this saw. You can't crawl from below, and working on the right and left does not make it possible to cut through the tree to the end.
In order not to waste time (and the twilight was already at the threshold), he applied an alternative method: he quickly cut out a wedge from a branch of the same tree and hammered it into the unfinished cut with an ax.
As a result, the tree was defeated, although not completely with the saw. Morality: an ax in the forest must be.
But the healthy piece remained unshaped - I thought less.
The total time with all these worries is 15min 22sec... Intermediate conclusion: nafig.
I must say that the insufficient length of the working part of the hacksaw was also very noticeable here. But there was practically no withdrawal of the cut line due to the sufficient width of the hacksaw blade, so it was possible to bring the matter to the end even with a low location of the trunk. The last centimeters had to be sawed, however, in an uncomfortable position - holding the hacksaw parallel to the ground and very close to it.
But what a neat cut it turned out.)
Total time - 9min 27 sec... Better than onion.
And now - why is the title not “four saws”, but “three and a half”. Initially, as I said, I had the idea to try as a procurer of logs for a node and folding hacksaw Bahko Laplander... But after experimenting with a much longer Fiskars, I realized: don't.)
Accordingly, Laplander did not take part in this test.
conclusions
1. Size matters.
Matrix Black 450- turned out to be, if not ideal, then close to it. Even a little sorry for this convenient thing store exclusively for the vehicle. Perhaps I'll buy a second home.
Fiskars folding- generally confirmed its status as a reliable and useful companion. Although, of course, for such a task - a bit short. And this, I note, is the SW75 model. From my point of view, there is nothing even to say about the much shorter SW73.
Laplander- just small. You can't make a node with it.
2. Looking at the size, do not forget about the construction of the saw. The bow saw frame sticking out from above, at least for me, is frankly uncomfortable.
If you try on the saw to the end of the tree, you can clearly see how the frame limits the cutting depth
A thin blade - honestly, even more inconvenient, since a curved cut creates a pile additional problems.
I understand that you can adapt to this. Perhaps a self-made frame made of forest materials will be more workable (although there are doubts). But in any case, I will definitely not replace the saw in the car with an onion saw, and I will not take this saw with me to the forest until I develop skills and a normal comfortable frame design, despite its low weight and small volume.
An additional number to the test program was a test of an old well-deserved ax, which had received a fresh sharpening. For this, the tip of the same trunk with a diameter of 20 cm was taken.
I must say that the old ax cuts quite briskly, although, from my point of view, the ax is clearly short. There will be time - I will put a new one, it is not for nothing that the trunk of the elm tree in the hallway dries
The total time for chopping a 20cm log is a little more than 9 minutes... In general, how to cut with a bow saw 25cm. And during this time, the Matrix can do two-thirds of the work on preparing the logs for a full-fledged node for the whole night.
By the way, a little question for ax connoisseurs. An interesting mark on it is a circle and an inscription around the circle, it seems, "MADE IN THE USSR". Neither the emblem in the circle nor the steel mark is visible. I watched a similar one on the Internet - I did not find it. And the steel is sonorous, even in spite of the rough weld.
It is getting dark. The melted snow melted noticeably, and that snow fell - cat's tears. And there are only two weeks before the New Year - again winter is late.
It's time to go home.
All sharp drinks and good weather!
Opinions about the tools and their capabilities are mine and not necessarily correct.
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 of a 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 handle has a peculiar bend and upon impact 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 should you pay attention to when choosing an ax?
At first - the weight... A heavy ax cannot be waved for a long time, and it is tiresome to carry it on foot. A hunting ax, in my opinion, should weigh no more than one kilo along with the ax. Secondly - ax shape and sharpening... Of course, you can get by with an average carpenter's ax, but a thin wedge-shaped shape, as I said, is preferable.
The ax is necessary 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 with a special round one. But the most good sharpening, in my opinion, the ax is obtained on a large circle of fine sandstone, which is placed underneath in a wooden trough filled 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, it is possible to blunt the blade and spoil the stone itself. So, in my opinion, it is more correct to hold the ax with the blade in the direction of rotation. Small burrs, which inevitably form during this process, can be removed with a fine touchstone. You can sharpen an ax on an electric grinder, of course, 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, the blade of a hunting ax 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 unnecessary, but also completely unnecessary innovation. Indeed, the palms will not slide over the ax handle, but they will sweat in the summer and freeze in the 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 hatchets. 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. The structure of his wood is so dense and twisted that it is absolutely impossible to split it. True, to find a "scar" suitable sizes pretty hard. The "scar" taken in late autumn must be dried in the open air for at least a year, 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 bringing the workpiece to shape, 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 becomes a few centimeters shorter. But it will remain good preparation... 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 bottom line is to make metal and wood a monolith, filling in all the gaps between the ax and the hatchet. 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 - as to whom. To prevent the ax from loosening on the ax, its 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 pretty 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 the shops of that time and Not bad. I offer the text of this article and the drawings made 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 wood, it splits firewood well, and dulls less. With sufficient sharpness, such a blade is quite suitable for carpentry work.
Much in the understanding of rationality is given by the forms of the old Russian axes, as well as the axes of the 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 protruding 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 disadvantage, 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 blade hardening width 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 is lightweight, designed for walking hunting, small trips, as well as for commercial hunting with a saw. Total weight such an ax is 800-1000 g, the length of the ax is 40-60 cm. The other is heavy, for commercial 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 a hatchet from the butt of ash, maple, elm. Twisted fine-grained birch can also be used. The most suitable butt thickness for the preparation of 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. The center of gravity is found on the ax before the attachment of the ax (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 edge of the blade. This line is the tangent line along which the ax will move on impact. If you put the blade with point B perpendicular to the center line AB on a plane, then the end of the hand should touch the same plane at point C. The middle line of the hand is drawn, point P is on this line and is 3.5-4 from the plane CB see Cutting the hatchet 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 bend 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 thickening that fixes the hand (clearly seen in the photo). Such an ax is indispensable 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. The thickening is foreseen in advance on the workpiece for the "fungus"; it is processed last in order to exclude chips when attaching an ax. Getting started with 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 line CB). In a hatchet, fitted 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 put on. On a pre-prepared hardwood 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. For the glue to dry completely, the ax must be dried for 24 hours on a battery or near the stove. Finally, the handle is processed on the hand, skinned and impregnated with linseed oil or linseed oil.The finished ax remains to be sharpened. An ax will save a lot of time and energy if its blade is always sharply sharpened. It is useful for this to have with you a plywood cut to the size of a 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 re-sharpening. "
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 the manufacture and handling of axes. I decided to post the scanned pages of this article on the site - maybe it will come in handy for 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 the sharpness of a good hunting knife because working with a blunt ax is like shaving with an old blade. Secondly, always remember that a really sharp ax is, figuratively speaking, the same as a loaded rifle with the hammers 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 to do 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 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, for example, a branch that has sprung onto which an ax has caught may 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 block or log;
When resting, 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. It must 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 edge of the saw opposite the serrated edge 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 cook on a fire, fry and boil tea. Each action must have its own tool. Boiling water for tea in a pot after soup is a real crime, and I would recommend having another tool even on short outings in the woods. 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 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 need to 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 pans made 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 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, a pot, even a closed one, is filled with garbage, coals and ash. And pouring tea into mugs is more convenient 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, from that geographical area, Where does he live. If such a frost for a resident middle lane The European part of Russia - this 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 a little in front. How I didn't freeze 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 felt when riding a snowmobile. If it goes 35-40 km per hour (10-12 m / sec), then the speed of the headwind will be correspondingly the same. This is in 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 stay for the night 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 fireplace, make sure that there is not a single spark 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 the bonfires on the 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 taganka are only those that sooner or later will dry up anyway. Yes, and it is advisable to make a fire in an old fireplace. You should not leave a new burned spot in the forest, and even dug in with 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 come in handy for someone.
Hello everybody! This summer, I went on a 5 week trek to the Alps with a few friends. The time spent left a lot of positive impressions. But on this journey I found that I had forgotten one very much important tool- axe. After long day spent in the mountains, it is pleasant to sit by the fire and drink beer. But to start a fire without an ax, we had to spend a lot of time looking for small branches that can be broken by hand.
Therefore, as soon as I arrived home, I had the idea to make a tourist hatchet, in which, like a knife, a saw is hidden and there is a beer opener.
In this master class I will tell you how you can make such an ax yourself.
Ax design
The design of this ax has three parts.
Ax blade
The shape of the blade was borrowed from the tomahawk, an ax used by Native Americans and European colonists. But you can change its shape by adding some spikes or a hammer on the butt. The ax blade will be glued to the handle and riveted.Bottle opener
At first, as an opener, I wanted to make a suitable hole in the blade. As a result of trial drilling, it was found that conventional drill it is unrealistic to make a hole, so I changed the view of the opener. Both options can be seen in the image. The new type will be made in the form of a hook of a special shape.Saw
I wanted an ax with a saw, and thought it would be nice if she would hide like a folding knife. From the handle and can be folded out with a finger recess. The saw will hide between the two pads. The shape of the metal part of the handle will allow the saw to lock in both open and folded positions.After the design was chosen, I tried it on to the circular saw blade to make the dimensions fit.
Materials and tools
This ax is made from a used circular saw and hardwood that I had. I only had to buy a folding saw blade. It was already hardened, so it did not need heat treatment.
Materials:
- Old circular saw blade.
- Hardwood bar (approx. 50 x 40 x 300 mm).
- Epoxy resin.
- Large nails for use as rivets.
- Folding saw blade (I used 200mm).
- Bolt, nut and washer.
Instruments:
- Angle grinder (don't forget your protective equipment!).
- Rasp.
- File.
- Sandpaper.
- Drill.
Making sparks!
I transferred the outlines of the ax and the metal part of the hilt to circular saw and cut them out using an angle grinder with a thin cut-off wheel. Then using grinding wheel, corner grinder and files, I completed the formation of the elements. The final shape of the metal part of the handle can be given later.
Handle making
You can glue the template to a piece of wood and cut two overlays. I used my milling machine with CNC.
Drilling hardened steel
I didn’t have a carbide drill bit, so I wasn’t sure how the process would go with the hardened ax. I came across a video where it was told that you can use a sharpened drill bit for concrete to drill hardened metal. So I did, and it worked out pretty well.
Adding a bottle opener
This is probably the most irreplaceable part of the ax! Whenever I go on a hike, my friends and I usually skip a couple of beers by the fire in the evening. Opening them with stones and tree branches is very inconvenient. So I thought this detail would be very useful. I transferred the outline of an ordinary opener to the ax blade and cut a recess into it. Works great :)
Drilling the handle
Next, I drilled holes in the handle and checked if everything fits. The metal part of the handle should act as a spring that will fix the saw blade. If it is too elastic, it can be made thinner. First, I used the metal part of the handle as a template for making holes. Then he fastened the two pads with clamps and then drilled a through hole. Thus, all the corresponding holes were in one line.
To connect the parts of the ax without gluing, I used bolts. This way you can check if all the parts of the ax fit and if the saw folds correctly.
Sharpening the blade
After the contour of the blade descent was drawn, I used an angle grinder with grinding disc for rough processing. Then for more fine work the file went into use and grinding machine(use water to cool the blade). The final sharpening was done with grinding wheel grinding machine.
I am not an expert in sharpening an ax blade, so you can do it in another way.
The ax will mainly be used to split the tree into smaller pieces, so I did a little testing of its functionality.
Bonding and riveting
