An Axe - Seriously?

[nwoods]

I have an axe on my Jeep and I've been very surprised at how often I've used it, even here in the desert. Our mountains often experience a lot of wind, so there are often felled trees to be cleared or trimmed, and I help out with AAT stuff, and bucking trees and so forth is fairly common. I have a MAX Axe and it's been pretty solid. I get it sharpened about twice a year, otherwise its attached to my rear tire rack.

 

[skifsh]

the need of an axe and shovel...FYI

The US Forest Service requires that an axe,shovel and a bucket be carried on or in your vehicle when traversing on USFS property and roads. Most states follow the lead of the USFS,also. How innovative you get in mounting them is not the point. Having them on board is.

 

[herm]

i carry a long handled fiskars hatchet all the time. i find it very useful for spliting fire wood, hamering in guy lines for our tarp awning and it could be very usful in an emergence if we come across another vehical that is crashed. I can see carrying an axe if i was to go to a forest, but we are usually not on forest property unless its a road.

 

[Corey]

That is right, I also forgot about that.
Most of my camping is on forest service land where you just go down a trail/road and find a place to camp, and you are required to have an ax/shvel, and water.

Here was my old homemade setup before I got my roof top tent.

Then I changed over to Luke's (www.fourtreks.com) setup on the rear of the rack which uses Quick Fists and his custom aluminum mounts.

Now with the tent on top, I have the Hi-Lift Handleall which is several tools in one.

4WD Toyota Owner did a review on the Handleall a year or so back, and gave it a good review too.

 

[htek]

The US Forest Service requires that an axe,shovel and a bucket be carried on or in your vehicle when traversing on USFS property and roads. Most states follow the lead of the USFS,also. How innovative you get in mounting them is not the point. Having them on board is.

Requires, or recommends? I just did some real quick poking around on the FS website and didn't find any language requiring these items... only recommending. If you can find it, I'd love to see it... I just went to look for my campfire permit from last year to see if it was on there, but I threw it away already.

As for a shovel and water - I think that's a no-brainer during fire season. But what the hell are you going to do with an axe? Your certainly not going to cut a fire break...

 

[PirateMcGee]

I'm pretty sure it is required, I have seen signs to that effect when out and about during fire season

 

[Borrego60]

Commies everywhere.

 

[coastsider]

On our recent Death Valley trip we encountered two downed trees across the trail, the axe we carried took care of the first, the second would have required a chainsaw. I take your point about a bowsaw over an axe, although a bowsaw can't split firewood. Oh, and you can't kill a zombie easily with a saw.

 

[craig333]

An axe requires more skill to use. Ever watch someone just chopping straight down? Also takes up much less space than a chainsaw.

 

[jcbrandon]

...is everyone using there axe for? I carry a bowsaw ...

I agree that a bow saw (or a chainsaw, if that's your choice) is a better tool for cutting firewood. But I think an ax is more versatile, thus more useful.

With a saw, you can only cut a limb or log that is significantly smaller in diameter than the saw is long. An ax doesn't have that limitation. An ax can split wood, a saw can't. An ax is much easier to sharpen in the field than a bow saw. An ax can be used as a big ol' hammer or pry bar. An ax is a more useful tool in an emergency or natural disaster than a saw. And although the odds are very small, should you ever need to defend yourself, an ax can be a devastating weapon.

That said, I carry a Pulaski. I've used the adze end a lot more than I have the ax blade. A Pulaski gives me two very useful tools for the cost and space of one.

 

[hillbillyjake]

x3 on gransfor axes. i have on in the truck. very sharp. i honestly think that it would be quicker to use a harp ax than a bow saw. i have used both. although it was a cheap bow saw versus an expensive ax, the ax won.

it is also alot easier to pound tent stakes with an ax. my $.02

 

[rezdiver]

depends on what else you carry, i carry an axe which replaces a hammer and pry tool. comfort and personal taste i guess, some one else will laugh at a bow saw and say why when you can carry a chain saw.

 

[Tennmogger]

Considering that on our last camping trip 2 weeks ago we were taking inventory of tools to cut wood for our fire. I realized I had 4 axe-type tools on board (and a small bow saw, and a machete). None of them make any obnoxious sounds and the smells that emanate from them (or their use) is purely natural. There's the small Wetterlings under the front seat, a full size single-bit in the topside box, ditto a smaller single-bit, and a Cherokee throwing tomahawk in the camper. Guess you can tell where my opinion lies.

Not much bothers me more than a generator in camp, or a power saw, but I enjoy the sound of wood being chopped. If you wear solid leather boots under your jeans you probably enjoy an axe more, and if camping in Birkenstocks and shorts is your choice, get the bow or folding saw (ok, that's tongue-in-cheek!)

But, and this is important, heed the earlier warning that using an axe is a dangerous sport (as if a chain saw isn't!!). Skill and experience makes the difference between an axe being an efficient tool or a self destruction device.

A bow saw has it's place too. A good 36" bow saw will clear a foot diameter tree from the trail much faster than an axe, and probably safer for most users. A gas chain saw in the same emergency situation makes either manual method seem dumb to even consider.

Fun discussion!

Bob

 

[shovelbill]

Cory.......did you actually drill holes in those perfectly good implements?

 

[teotwaki]

That numnutz Aron Ralston should have carried an axe instead of a rusty and dull pocket knife,,,, :ylsmoke: Much quicker for chopping off human limbs.