Highly useful project with a detailed video of the process of making a knife from the canvas of old circular discs. All stages of manufacturing are present here, including hardening and sharpening. I especially liked the horn from an ordinary hair dryer. The persistence of the author is surprising - the entire manufacturing process was carried out without the use of electrical tools. Well, he had this fantasy. On the other hand, a good experience. With a certain amount of perseverance, such a knife can be made practically “on the knee”.
My friend and fellow YouTuber wanted to make a joint video. We bounced around some ideas and eventually decided to shoot ourselves in knife making. The catch was that I would do it by hand (except for the drill and oven) and he would do it with power tools. We both started out with the same blade, the same steel, but the rest of the design aesthetic was left up to us. I also wanted to do this because I read many times all you have to do with a knife a few files and a drill or something like that. I was wondering how long it would take 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 is a great opportunity to try it. It was fun to build, took much longer than I expected, and gave me a whole new appreciation for people who make knives entirely by hand. Overall I'm very happy with how the knife turned out and I hope it helps someone out there that wants to give it a try.
Step 1:
I tried to increase the size of the knife with the designs that are used for the saw as much as possible. I made a paper template using card stock, which is just a heavier weight paper so I could easily trace the paper template onto the saw blade. I used a thin tip marker, although this is a small thing in my opinion, it is very important. Fine marker tip leaves fine lines to cut or file too unlike conventional marker tip. The cut line can become ambiguous if its too wide, which can affect general form and lead to violations in the form and more problems, down the road.
Step 2:
With saw blade clamping onto the desktop I started by cutting out the rough shape of the blade 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 cut so make sure to set the blade correctly.
Step 3:
In order to cut out the curved parts of the handle, I made several perpendicular cuts in the relief along the entire length of the curved part of the handle. Then with a hacksaw small angle I would cut out each small plot. Reset reduction 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 piece of crowbar to my workbench and clamped the blade into a 2x4. This allowed me to work forms from my file, and the blade was nice and safe. I also used the file to evaluate what areas are required extra work. The spine design was slightly tilted and I could use the flat part of the file to check progress on the curve. If the spine has a flat spot it will be visible.
Step 5:
I used multiple files to get the shape or as close to the line as possible. At this point, it starts to look more like a knife and the flaws are harder to spot by eye. If I notice that a zone needs work, I would use the marker to re-draw the shape and then file with that new line. It served as a guide, so I'm not in favor of correct and mess up the design. The last picture of the blade after it has been filed and sanded down. I don't have any photos of me sanding the blade, this is the last step to shaping that removes any file marks. I would start with 150 grit and work my way up to 220.
Step 6:
I originally planned to dip with a nice high bevel, but my modest skills weren't up to the challenge. Saw pretty thin material and I don't think I can extend the blade to reach the line of the plunge and the slope I was after. More on this topic later. At this point I also measured the placement of the pin center and punched and then drilled the holes with my drill.
Step 7:
Using a marker, I marked the entire length of the blade. Then, using a drill with the same thickness as the blade I scored 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 will come in handy when filing a blade tilt, it will keep me from crooked and lopsided edges.
Step 8:
I used the bastard file to define the bevel just then I realized that I didn't have the skills to make a nice dip line by hand. So I chose a smoother angle and filed the working blade my way from edge to spine. I'm new to this and inexperienced, so I took the more conservative route in terms of pickup. Once I was happy with the bevel, I sanded the entire blade to 220 grit.
Step 9:
Here is the blade after all shaping, filing and sanding ready for heat treatment.
Step 10:
Before I leave I would like to say that while you can heat treat a blade with an open wood burning fireplace I personally don't recommend it. This is one of those cases where I really don't feel safe doing 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/) to heat instead of healing the blade. If you don't have a mini forge you can actually send your blades from their 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 tube attached to it to act like bellows, I turn on the hair dryer and eat the coals red hot. It does not take much time. I put the blade in the fire and warm it up until it was magnetic and then put it out in a container peanut butter. The last peak shows what the blade looks like after hardening. While open flame heat treatment is possible, it is not recommended.
Step 11:
Now it's time to harden the blade, but first I sanded all the scales from quenching. Then in my oven I set the temperature to 375 degrees Fahrenheit (in my oven, setting it to 375 degrees Fahrenheit will reach 400 degrees Fahrenheit). 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 spin inside the closed oven door until it was cool enough to process. You can see the blonde-ish or light bronze-ish color that the blade is obtained after hardening. After tempering I sand the blade to clean it using 220 grit and work up to 400 grit. AT last time rice i use wooden block With 400 grit sandpaper wrapped around it and sand from the handle to the tip of the spatula in one direction only. This leaves a uniform sanding line on the blade.
Step 12:
Using the blade as a template, I trace the shape's handles onto the wood. This piece of walnut was given to me by one of my neighbors, a piece was cut off which he ground down. Here again using my 2x4 piece of crowbar and clamps I sawed two 1/4 thick pieces. In my excitement, I threw myself into wood cutting, if I took some time to think about my operation I could do it easily and with the best possible results. My first mistake was to cut off the waste material. I could use this material to pinch a piece down and then cut out two handles. Here again is my inexperience, in this case with hand tools, raises its ugly head. I managed to make two useful pen pieces, but I'm sure I worked a lot harder than smarter to make them.
Step 13:
In order 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 that there are no gaps after gluing. At this point I decided what the handle shape would be and drew a reference line on the blade to make sure I liked the look. I then traced the blade handle back into the woods. Using a jigsaw I rough shape on one handle and then take the handle and track it on the other handle. This will ensure that they are roughly the same shape that will come in handy when gluing on the handles. The last peak is a test fit to make sure they cover all the tang.
Step 14:
Time for more polishing and refining the shape. It is important at this point to finalize the shape to support the section, or rather the top of the handle, because once it is glued to the knife, it will not be easily accessible. And any further work on this area after gluing can lead to scratches on the blade. So I sanded down to 800 with sandpaper and made sure the special section was finished in terms of sanding and finishing.
Step 15:
When drilling dowel holes through wood, I made sure after the first hole was drilled that I used a bit the same diameter as the hole to index that hole. In other words, this keeps the blade from moving or getting mixed up when drilling another hole. I used the same indexing process for the opposite side to make sure all the holes would 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 sealing the mask blade and clean everything with acetone or alcohol to remove any dirt, dust or oil.
Step 17:
After everything is dry from cleaning. I mixed up the epoxy and slathered a generous amount on the pens and pins. Then I clamped everything together and let it cure for 24 hours.
Step 18:
Once the resin has cured I cut off the pins with a hacksaw. Then, with the help of a rasp, I began the shape and contour of the handle.
Step 19:
As has been repeatedly mentioned, life does not stand still.
This is where it lost its relevance to some extent. The old saws are retired, and the new ones are just waiting to show what they are good for.
And again, on the only day off, having solved domestic problems, he went out into the distant forest for a couple of hours, having a new set of experimental tools in his backpack.
Initially, it was planned to participate in the competition four saws:
1. Folding hacksaw Bahco Laplander. Weight 191g., Length 40cm (folded - 23cm). The handle is plastic with a slight "rubberized" effect. Very compact and easy to carry on your belt or in your jacket pocket. Convenient for one-hand operation. It folds like a knife, that is, by turning the blade into the slot in the handle. Good and aggressive sawing. There is only one drawback and it follows from its compactness: it is short.
2. Folding hacksaw Fiskars SW75. Weight 249g., Length 55.5cm (folded - 30.5cm). The handle is hard plastic. Folds by pushing into the handle. It cuts excellently, subject to a simple rule: one hand presses the hacksaw from above, the second pulls towards itself. With the reverse stroke forward, the hacksaw only moves, it is impossible to cut. I did not see any shortcomings before this test at all.
3. Wood saw Matrix BLACK SERIES PROFESSIONAL 23578. Weight 587g, total length 55cm. The length of the working part is 45 cm, but in fact, when sawing a log, only the section from the end of the hacksaw to the handle can be used - 40 cm. The handle is interestingly made: plywood, and on it is a plastic "half-cover". Why this is so is a mystery to me. Hacksaw bought as a full-time in the car.
4. Bow saw Fiskars 124810. Weight 662g, total length 70cm, working part length 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 rides in the trunk of a car. With a total weight in 1905 and a length of 53 cm, of the Soviet era, a well-deserved village veteran with a handicraft welded crack in the eye.
As the name implies, it simulates the preparation of logs for a full-fledged node. Accordingly, a tree was chosen: a relatively recently felled (not by me) pine, stuck between 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 - just right for a node that will burn, according to experience, for at least seven hours). The following cuts are made offset to the butt, so that the thickness increases slightly.
The air temperature is around zero.
The time spent on sawing the piece of wood to the end is considered.
Here are the participants of the competition on the experimental log.
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 experience working with a bow saw - somehow I didn’t have a chance. 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 that they are positive.
First of all, due to the thin canvas, 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 two sides. This increases the running time. It is also impossible to saw a thick tree at the same most convenient angle for working - in order to maximize the cut, you have to work with a saw from uncomfortable positions.
In addition, the curved cut when working on the other side begins to bite the saw, and it is very noticeable.
The total time was 10min 52sec. Honestly, I expected better.
The next number was the Matrix hacksaw. In truth, I didn’t expect any special results from her (according to the test results, it was planned to just replace the portable hacksaw with a bow saw).
The hacksaw briskly went into the wood, not at all like Bahko's fine-toothed hacksaw on the previous test.
The length of the hacksaw made it possible to constantly cut at the most convenient angle for me, and the handle made it comfortable enough to hold it with both hands. The wide canvas did not allow deviating from the optimal cutting line.
As a result, the trunk was cut quickly and evenly.
Total time - 5min 25sec. Two times less than that of the Luchkova!
Okay. 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 birches, lay down significantly lower. Plus, of course, the conditions for the second cut were more convenient, since the top of the trunk was already separated. 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 vigorous (in general, she saws well).
But, for starters, I drank it again, and even more. With the inevitable work on the other hand, the saw jammed great.
And when the frame again rested against the trunk on both sides, it turned out that it was generally impossible to 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 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 an unfinished cut with an ax.
As a result, the tree was defeated, although not completely by the saw. Morality: an ax in the forest must be.
But a healthy piece remained uncut - I thought less.
Total time with all these worries - 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 finish the job even with a low location of the trunk. The last centimeters had to be cut, however, in an uncomfortable position - holding the hacksaw parallel to the ground and very close to it.
But what a neat cut turned out.)
Total time - 9min 27sec. Better than Luchkova.
And now - why in the title is not “four saws”, but “three and a half”. Initially, as I already said, I had the idea to try as a harvester of logs for nodia and folding hacksaw by Bahko Laplander. But after experimenting with a much longer Fiskars, I realized: no need.)
Accordingly, Laplander did not take part in this test.
findings
1. Size matters.
Matrix Black 450- turned out to be, if not perfect, then close to it. Even a little sorry handy thing store exclusively for the vehicle. Maybe I'll buy a second one.
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. About the much shorter SW73 - there is nothing to even talk about, from my point of view.
Laplander- just small. You can't do anything with her.
2. Looking at the size, do not forget about the design of the saw. The frame of the bow saw sticking out from above, at least for me, is frankly inconvenient.
If you try on the saw to the end of the tree, you can clearly see how the frame limits the depth of cut
A thin canvas - honestly, even more inconvenient, because the curved cut creates a bunch additional problems.
I understand that you can get used to it. Perhaps a homemade frame made from forest materials will be more suitable for work (although there are doubts). But in any case, I definitely won’t replace the saw in the car with a bow saw, and I won’t take this saw with me to the forest until I develop my skills and have a normal convenient frame design, despite the low weight and small volume.
An additional number to the test program was the test of an old well-deserved ax that received a fresh sharpening. For this, the apical part of the same trunk with a diameter of 20 cm was taken.
I must say that the old ax cuts quite cheerfully, although, from my point of view, the ax handle is clearly a bit short. There will be time - I'll put a new one, it's not for nothing that the elm trunk dries in the hallway
The total time for chopping a 20cm log is a little over 9 minutes. In general, how to cut 25 cm with a bow saw. And during this time, Matrix can do two-thirds of the work of preparing logs for a full-fledged node for the whole night.
By the way, a small question for connoisseurs of axes. An interesting brand on it is a circle and an inscription around it, it seems, "MADE IN THE USSR". Neither the emblem in the circle, nor the brand became visible. Looked similar in the Internet - did not find. And the steel is sonorous, even despite the rough weld.
It's getting dark. The muddy snow noticeably melted, 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 saws and good weather!
Opinions about the tools and their capabilities are mine and not necessarily correct.
The two main tools of the taiga - saw and ax, and the ax, perhaps, is more important. The dimensions, weight and shape of the ax (“pieces of iron” and ax handle) should be such that the handling of these most important hunting tools 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 but note that the so-called canadian lumberjack ax as well as possible is suitable for work in a taiga. Its wedge-shaped shape makes it possible with the same success to dump a good piece of land, and chop firewood, and carve out some kind of plank. The ax handle has a peculiar bend and, when struck, it does not give into the hand. Until recently, there were no such axes in our stores, but now they are almost everywhere and most different sizes. There was an opportunity to choose both by hand and by your complexion. What should I pay attention to when choosing an ax?
First of all - the weight. You can’t swing a heavy ax for a long time, and it’s tiring to carry it on foot. A hunting ax, in my opinion, should weigh no more than one kilo together with an ax handle. Secondly - ax shape and sharpening. Of course, you can get by with a medium carpenter's ax, but a thin wedge-shaped shape, as I said, is preferable.
Ax needed sharpen correctly, it is better to use a wide bar of medium grain, and make the final aiming fine. It is very convenient to sharpen an 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 located on the bottom side in a wooden trough with water, and rotated by hand. Such sharpening devices can still be found here and there in the villages. When sharpening, it is advised to keep the ax blade against the direction of rotation of the stone. However, due to inexperience, it is possible to dull the blade and spoil the stone itself. So it is more correct, in my opinion, to hold the ax with the blade in the direction of rotation. Small burrs, which inevitably form in this case, can be removed with a fine whetstone. On an electric grinder, of course, you can sharpen an ax in five minutes. However, an inept person will immediately spoil it. As a rule, the toe and heel are instantly annealed. After that, either you need to remove the ax from the ax handle and harden it again, which, of course, no one ever does, or grind off the annealed area. As a result, the blade acquires a rounded shape. In fact, the blade of a hunting ax should be slightly rounded, but, of course, not approach a semicircle.
Finally, you need to pay attention to the form ax handle and the material from which it is made. Some of those Canadian axes that are sold in our stores have an ax correct form, but are often finished in either rubber or some sort of plastic. I think that this is not only superfluous, but also a completely unnecessary innovation. Indeed, the palms will not slide over the ax handle, but they will begin to sweat in the summer and freeze in the winter. Yes, and it is much easier to fill corns on rubber than on smooth wood.
It is believed that elm, mountain ash, birch (butt part of the trunk) are best suited for making an ax handle. That's for sure. However, the most durable will be an ax handle made from the so-called "scar", a long influx on the edge of an old, usually frost crack on a birch trunk. Its wood structure is so dense and wavy that it is absolutely impossible to split it. True, find a "scar" suitable sizes pretty hard. The “scar” taken in late autumn must be dried for at least a year in free air, like any other wooden blank. The length of the future ax handle is determined by taking it by one end. In this case, the other, on which the ax will be planted, should touch the ankle. When hewing, chipping and bringing the workpiece to shape, leave a place behind the ax a little thicker and twice as long as the ax garden. If the ax suddenly breaks, it will not need to be thrown away. Trim this place and plant the ax again. Nothing if the ax becomes a few centimeters shorter. But it will remain good workpiece. Of course, if the handle is made from a scar, this is unlikely to happen.
In one of the hunting publications I read advice on strengthening the ax on the handle. The bottom line is to make metal and wood a monolith, filling all the cracks between the ax and the ax epoxy glue. Of course, it will be a monolith, and the ax will never come off the ax and will not even loosen. However, everything wears out at some point. If an ax handle breaks on such an epoxy-treated ax, the tool can be thrown into the trash or the remains of the ax handle can be drilled out of the garden for a long time. Well, it's like anyone. So that the ax on the handle does not loosen, its end must be wedged. Before hammering the wedge, they make a cut, but not vertical, but obliquely. This is visible 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 ax handle. Here the wedge can be put on glue. Metal wedges are not recommended. They pop out pretty quickly and, besides, rusting, spoil the wood. Shat can be temporarily removed by soaking the ax in water.
Igor Shipulin, a wonderful artist, hunter and jack-of-all-trades, published a short article about axes in the magazine “Hunting and Hunting Economy” (No. Not bad. I offer the text of this article and 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 construction and carpentry to small axes suitable for various household needs. But taiga ax must have special properties that can be given to an ordinary ax by redoing it.An ax with steel that is soft and slightly hardened should be preferred to an ax with a “dryish” steel. When chipping the blade, this drawback can be easily eliminated by steeper sharpening. The shape of the sharpening should be parabolic, but not razor and not straight (Fig. 1). An ax with such a sharpening does not jam in wood, it splits firewood well, it becomes less dull. With sufficient sharpness, such a blade is quite suitable for carpentry.
Much in the understanding of rationality is given by the forms of old Russian axes, as well as the axes of lumberjacks of the Carpathians, North America, in which the upper edge of the blade never forms an angle of more than 90 ° with the axis of the ax handle. All commercially available axes have a wide blade and a protruding upper edge (Fig. 2). The shaded part sharply reduces the efficiency of the ax, since at the moment of impact this part tends to unbend the ax handle, creating unnecessary vibration in it, and thereby dampens the impact force. To eliminate this shortcoming, the shaded part is removed. The easiest way to do this is to drill a series of adjoining holes along the cut line, and remove the hardened part with an abrasive.
The straight blade of the ax must be changed to a convex one (Fig. 3), if the width of the hardening of the blade allows. The straight edge is designed only for carpentry, and when such a blade cuts, while simultaneously touching the entire edge and hitting the tree at a right angle, it 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 dramatically. Despite the fact that the weight of the ax will decrease after processing, its efficiency will increase. The author proposes two variants of axes (see Fig. 4 and photo). One of them is lightweight, designed for running hunts, small trips, as well as for commercial hunting with a saw. Total weight such an ax - 800-1000 g, the length of the ax handle - 40-60 cm. The other is heavy, for commercial hunting and long-distance trips, during which significant work has to be done. Its weight is 1000-1400 g, the length of the ax handle is 55-65 cm. The choice of the length of the ax 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 handle. It must be thin. The smaller its weight relative to the weight of the ax, the stronger the blow. The ax handle must be flexible: a hard ax handle “dries” the hand. In cross section, it has an ovoid, but flattened shape with a sharper anterior and rounded posterior edges.It is best to make an ax from the butt of ash, maple, elm. You can also use curly fine-layered birch. The most suitable butt thickness for harvesting ax handles is 35-40 cm. The raw butt should be split, then dried with sealed ends. An ax with a longitudinal arrangement of layers (Fig. 5) is stronger. In front of the ax attachment, the center of gravity is found on the ax handle (Fig. 6). Usually this point (C) is located at the base of the lug. Then determine the middle line of the ax AB, passing through the middle of the butt and the top of the edge of the blade. This line is the tangent along which the ax will move when struck. If you put the blade with point B perpendicular to the midline AB on the plane, then the end of the ax handle will have to touch the same plane at point C. The middle line of the ax handle (PR) is drawn, the point P is on this line and is 3.5-4 away from the plane CB see. The cutting of the ax handle is clear from fig. 5, where the shaded parts of the workpiece must be cut off. The distance from the lower edge of the eye (point K) to the point of maximum bending of the ax 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 handle is 12-13 cm, and the thinnest place at the end of the ax handle is 9-10 cm. Finally, the thickness is adjusted according to the hand.
The ax ends with a thickening in the form of a “fungus” that fixes the hand (it is clearly visible in the photo). Such an ax handle 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 that you have to hold tightly, being afraid to let go of it. On the blank for the "fungus", a thickening is provided in advance; it is processed last in order to exclude chips when the ax is mounted. Getting to the nozzle, it is necessary to mark the workpiece. When adjusting the ax handle, you should constantly check the landing angle by applying the ax to the plane (in Fig. 6 this is the NE line). In the ax handle, adjusted to two-thirds of the eye depth, a wedge cut is made to the same depth (Fig. 6), after which the seat is finally adjusted. Before driving the wedge, it is useful to dry the ax handle with the mounted ax for two to three days.Immediately after fitting (or after drying), the ax is removed from the ax handle, the fitted parts are liberally smeared with BF-2 glue (epoxy is probably better, although, I repeat, I am not a supporter of this - D.Zh.) and the ax is finally planted. On a pre-prepared wedge made of hardwood (ash, maple, elm,
apple, pear) also apply glue and hammer the wedge. To prevent the wedge from breaking when driving, it is made short. To completely dry the glue, the ax must be dried for a day on a battery or by the stove. Finally, the handle is processed by hand, skinned and impregnated with drying oil or linseed oil.The finished ax remains sharpened. An ax will save a lot of effort and time if its blade is always sharply sharpened. It is useful for this to have plywood cut to the size of the breast pocket, glued on both sides with waterproof sandpaper - coarse and micron. Such plywood is quite enough for the whole season, if the ax does not require serious regrinding.
A large article by A.M. Radula "What should be a camping axe". There is quite a lot of theory in the article, which is unlikely to need practice. However, this article has a lot useful tips on the manufacture of axes and handling them. I decided to post the scanned pages of this article on the site - maybe someone will come in handy. 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. Firstly, the ax must be sharpened to the sharpness of a good hunting knife because working with a dull ax is like shaving with an old blade. Secondly, always remember that a truly sharp ax is, figuratively speaking, the same as a loaded gun with the hammers cocked and the safety off. In no case do not give an ax to children, although, paradoxically as it sounds, it is best to teach them to such things from childhood. It just needs to be done skillfully. After work, put on a case on the ax blade. Your imagination and skill will help you make it - thick leather, birch bark, and a simple piece of wood will go into business.
Observe own safety rules:
First of all, check whether the ax is firmly planted on the handle;
When working near a fallen tree, stand next to it so that the trunk is by no means between your legs;
When cutting branches, go from the butt to the top and cut branches in the same direction;
Before swinging, make sure that nothing interferes with the swing, otherwise a springing, for example, branch that the ax caught on can throw it completely in the wrong place;
Chop even thin branches not across, but a little obliquely - so there is less chance of getting a flying piece in the eye;
When chopping firewood, spread your legs wider, strengthening the chock more securely;
In order not to spoil the blades and often not sharpen the ax, chop branches and chop wood not directly on the ground, but on some kind of chock or log;
On a halt, never stick an ax into the barrel standing tree and even more so do not turn the ax into a hanger. Injure the tree and, God forbid, yourself or a friend if the ax falls out. Stick it into a tree stump or deadwood, if it is really necessary.
Saw necessary, of course, only for long-distance and multi-day trips to the taiga. The best way- a small and narrow long cross-cut saw. She must have a small "belly" in the direction of the teeth - it is easier to cut this than a straight one. The handles are made of wood and are quite high. By tying a stick to them, you can cut 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 tiger scientists P.G. Oshmarin and D.G. Pikunov in their book “Traces in Nature” (M., “Nauka”, 1990) recommend a cleaver saw for taiga trips, which can be made from an ordinary cross 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 pointed edge of the saw, serves as a saw when working with this tool, and the other, attached along the length of the saw, serves as a cleaver when you need to clear a parking lot, a path, etc. The saw does not replace the ax, but only complements it when hiking together.
A little about the fire utensils. On the fire we cook, fry and boil tea. For each action there should be a tool. Boiling water for tea in a kettle after soup is a real crime. I would recommend having another tool even on short trips into the forest. This is a string saw. It weighs practically nothing, folded into a ring fits in a breast pocket, and saws into skillful hands log 10-12 cm thick. It is better to use such a saw alone. It requires constant tightness, otherwise, if it overlaps, it may break. It is not difficult to cut a branch on a standing tree with this saw, but something lying on the ground is more difficult, because sometimes the string is clamped. In this case, you need to act like this. Put one end of the log that you are going to saw through on an elevation so that a gap forms under it, pass a string saw into it and, pressing down on the log with your foot, saw as if from the bottom up. So the saw will never clamp in the cut.
Convinced that cooking soup, fish soup is best in bowler hat, the bottom of which is not flat, but rounded, like a cauldron - and it boils faster and is easier to wash. For frying fish, we made special rectangular ones in Pechora frying pans from two millimeter steel. They bent the sides in a vise, welded the corners, drilled holes in the corners for wire handles, and it turned out to be a wonderful camping pan. The length and width are arbitrary, but such that a good grayling lies down entirely. You can fry both on the suspension and directly on the coals, without fear of burning your hands. By the way, to prevent this from happening, make an auxiliary device - drive an additional flyer into the ground next to the fire. By moving the crossbar aside and placing it on this flyer, you can safely remove the pot or stir the brew in it. The best way to boil tea is, of course, in a teapot. For some reason, all sorts of garbage, coals and ashes are stuffed into the pot, even closed. Yes, and it is more convenient to pour tea into mugs from a teapot.
Returning to overnight taiga affairs, I want to say one more thing: frost is different for frost. For example, the same temperature of minus thirty is perceived by a person differently depending on the place, on geographical area, Where does he live. If such a frost for a resident middle lane European part of Russia is already very hard frost, then in Irkutsk no one will pay attention to him. The whole point here is not even a habit. Air humidity is a factor that changes our attitude to frost. The higher the humidity, the more difficult it is to tolerate frost. And one more thing - the wind. This is a really dangerous thing in the cold. I once had to get into the strongest Altai steppe snowstorm. The frost was not very strong, I think it was 12-15 degrees. However, in the five hours of the journey (that's how long it took me to walk 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 did not freeze then, only God knows. Even if the wind blows with little force, in reality the frost is much more than what the thermometer shows. This is especially true when riding a snowmobile. If it goes 35-40 km per hour (10-12 m / s), then the speed of the headwind will be correspondingly the same. This is in complete silence. Here's the conclusion. And I downloaded the table from the web. I'm not sure how correct it is, but I think that about all the numbers in it are true.
When spending the night in the forest, even a small frosty breeze will not let you sleep. Therefore, the choice of a place to sleep and the arrangement of shelter must be given the most serious attention. When spending the night by the fire, it is best to take off your jacket, covering yourself with it like a blanket, and the sleeves of the jacket must be turned inside out so that a frosty breeze does not blow through them. You can even take off your shoes and sleep in woolen socks. A shod leg feels colder worse. Wherever you burn a fire, if this does not happen in winter, leaving this place, carefully fill the fire, make sure that not a single spark remains there. Keep a close eye on the fire as long as it burns. From a gust of wind, a flame can quite unexpectedly spread to dry grass or deadwood, and here it’s not far from a forest fire. Special mention should be made of bonfires on peat bogs. It is generally forbidden to make fires in such places. It's too dangerous. Even in winter, when, it would seem, there can be no fire, the peat that has dried up from the fire ignites completely imperceptibly. And the last. Every time you make a fire in the forest, collect firewood, cut down sticks for the tent and taganka, try to cause minimal damage to the forest. For firewood - only shrunken trees. Stakes for the taganka - only from those that sooner or later will dry out anyway. Yes, and it is desirable to make a fire on an old fire. You should not leave a new burnt spot in the forest, and even dug in a fire trench, when you can use the old one.
A large article by A.M. Radula "What should be a camping axe". There is quite a lot of theory in the article, which is unlikely to need 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 someone will come in handy.
Hi all! This summer I went on a 5 week trek in the Alps with a few friends. The time spent left a lot of positive impressions. But during this journey I found that I forgot one very important tool- axe. After long day spent in the mountains, it's nice to sit by the fire and drink beer. But in order to make 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 in 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 consists of 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 mallet on the butt. The ax blade will be glued to the handle and fastened with rivets.opener
At first, as an opener, I wanted to make a suitable hole in the blade. As a result of test drilling, it was found that conventional drill it's impossible to make a hole, so I changed the look of the opener. You can see both options in the image. The new type will be made in the form of a specially shaped hook.Saw
I wanted the ax to come with a saw, and I thought it would be nice if it hid like a jackknife. From the handle and it can be expanded using the finger recess. The saw will hide between the two pads. The shape of the metal part of the handle will allow the saw to be fixed in both the open and folded positions.Once the design was chosen, I tried it on a circular saw blade to get the dimensions right.
Materials and tools
This ax is made from a used saw blade and hardwood that I had. I had to purchase only a folding saw blade. It was already hardened, so it did not need heat treatment.
Materials:
- Old circular saw blade.
- Hardwood timber (approximately 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.
Let's make sparks!
I transferred the outlines of the ax and the metal part of the handle to circular saw and cut them out using an angle grinder with a fine cut-off wheel. Then with the help grinding wheel, angular 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 wooden blank and cut out two overlays. I used my milling machine with CNC.
Drilling in hardened steel
I didn't have a carbide drill, so I wasn't sure how the hardened ax would work. I came across a video where it was told that a sharpened drill bit for concrete can be used to drill hardened metal. So I did, and it worked out pretty well.
Adding an opener
This is probably the most indispensable part of the ax! Whenever I go camping, my friends and I usually have a couple of beers around the campfire in the evening. Opening them with stones and tree branches is very inconvenient. So I thought this detail would come in handy. I transferred the outline of an ordinary opener to the blade of an ax and cut a recess into it. Works great :)
Handle drilling
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 I fastened the two linings 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 whether all the parts of the ax fit and whether the saw folds correctly.
Blade sharpening
After the contour of the descent of the blade was drawn, I used an angle grinder with grinding disc for rough handling. Then for more fine workmanship a file went into action 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 this in another way.
The ax will mainly be used to split the tree into smaller pieces, so I did a little test of its functionality.
Bonding and riveting
