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Axe & Hatchet Use

THE AXE - ESSENTIAL TO SURVIVAL:
The most important piece of survival equipment, second to the signal mirror & survival kit. This an irreplaceable tool even more necessary than a gun. A man lost in the forest can with an axe snare nearly all game, construct shelter, cut wood and survive where there are no chances of doing so just with a rifle. Even on a well known path, the axe becomes indispensable to mark trees as you go on, and if you want to come back without using a compass. Also it can be used as a pick or hook on very hard ground, use it as hammer etc. Keep it sharp & safe so as not to get hurt.

CAUTION:
This most important piece of survival equipment is also the most abused. In the battle of man against nature the odds greatly favor the person who is able to utilize available equipment to the full and knows how to care for it. It has been found that some persons have failed to survive even under reasonably good conditions not from lack of equipment but from failure to care for it and use it to the best advantage.

BEFORE USING AN AXE ALWAYS MAKE THE FOLLOWING CHECKS:
1) ALWAYS CHECK HEAD FOR TIGHTNESS OF HANDLE.
If it is loose either drive the wedge further home or make a new wedge using hard wood. Soaking the head is another method but it is not recommended for winter time as ice may form on the handle and inside the head allowing the head to slide off and cause possible injury. To drive the head further into the head. Stir the end of the handle, not the head of the axe.

2) ALWAYS CHECK FOR SHARPNESS:
A dull axe can be DANGEROUS for 2 reasons. First it will not bite properly and will tend to glance off the wood being cut. Secondly when blunt it IS NECESSARY to use more force which usually means a sacrifice of control.

3) Check that the handle is not cracked or split. A serious cut of sliver might be received

4) When carrying an axe BE SURE that the sharp edge is held AWAY from the body so that in the event of a fall there will then be less chance of injury.

HOW TO SHARPEN AXE etc.:
To do the job well you MUST use a file & a wet stone, if no file then the stone will do the job but not as good. Use the file every 2 or 3 days and the wet stone is used after you have use your axe. Start by wetting the blade & sharpen it with the file by doing rotary movements towards the exterior of the cutting edge. To soften the slicing edge one MUST make rotary movements starting at the center of the blade going toward the edge. So to keep your axe sharp, hone it regularly with a sharpening stone and touch up the edge when needed with an 8 inch flat mil file. For honing hold the head of the axe in one hand in such a way that the handle points up away from you & rub the dry stone over the edge with a circular motion from one end of the edge to the other. Then turn the axe over with the handle now pointing down and hone the other side in the same way until the edge is so keen that it no longer shows up as a bright line when you look at it. For filing, lean the axe head against a log or against a peg driven in the ground. Kneel on one knee and place your other foot on the handle to keep the axe steady. Place the file on the edge & push down hard. File the whole edge with long even straight strokes working along the blade from one end of the edge to the other, soon you will get the hang of it. Holding the iron in full hands be very weary about the handle, the thumb under it and the fingers* doing pressure on the grin stone as near as the biting edge as possible. The filing is done in 3 movements, rotation of a wet stone, pressure of the fingers lateral moving altering on the biting of the ground stone. We recommend to make the grind stone in the sense of the arrow [as fig 1] however with a certain habit with an in reverse flashing against the iron the grind stone will absorb most of the #morfil#. The biting edge MUST NOT be too sharp, obtuse nor #fuyant# 

SHARPENING: USUALLY DONE IN 3 STEPS:
1) You MUST or should use a grind stone to reduce or thin the center of the biting edge but not on all its width. You MUST let about 1/2 inch on each side of the edge at its natural thickness. This will make it more solid and wood chips will come off easier. The grind stone MUST BE watered down A LOT so as not to permit the steel to heat up. This is why one MUST NEVER sharpen an axe nor a knife on an electrical grindstone since it turns too fast and heats up the steel and will ruin the blade strength. 

2) Second step is the file, a flat one about 8 inches long with a handle is desirable. Placing the axe in a vice and facing it, hold the file handle in your right hand and the end of the file in your left hand preferably protected by a strong glove. Then you file from up and down starting behind the biting edge going forward in a 10 degree angle. #The file MUST bite only in the movement up going down and not to touch the steel in its down upward movement#. Once a side is done then turn the blade in the vice and start all over again starting this time from the front part of the cutting edge going toward its back & in the same angle as before.

3) The third step is using a soft stone. Letting the axe in the vice start to polish the edge using the rougher side of the stone then finish it with the softer side which you then add a little oil. You sharpen in the same direction as when using the file but this time do it in a circular fashion & with full contact, not letting the stone off the blade. Such a blade is less DANGEROUS & much more efficient than a badly sharpened one.

One last precaution, MAKE SURE that the sheath is very strong & thick so as to protect it from stones or other steel. You MUST also have a spare handle because you might need it.

HOW TO SHARPEN SNOW KNIFE:
To sharpen a snow knife all you need is a file, but for all others use a wet stone, place the blade slightly inclined on the stone and push toward the exterior then change side. You will get a better result by gradually diminishing the pressure. 

If you have no wet stone any piece of sandstone will do. A grey stone will give better result than pure quartz. Use any crystal stone except marble which is too soft. Rub the 2 granite piece together till they become soft then use them as
whetstone.

USE OF AXE:
You would learn more from a good axe man in one day than many weeks by yourself. Don't try to cut a tree with a single blow.

IT IS MORE IMPORTANT TO AIM WELL AND TO KEEP A GOOD RHYTHM THAN TO USE TOO MUCH STRENGTH.

If you use it correctly the axe own weight will give you all the power needed to do the job. MAKE SURE BEFORE using the axe that NOTHING on top or sides hinder your movements. ALWAYS check for branches or liana that could defect the blow and may hurt or kill you. 

USING AN AXE: TIP 2:
Most people have a natural prime hand and swing. Use an axe in a way that's comfortable to you, swinging it an ark that feels natural with a firm grip and ALWAYS away from your body, legs and hand. MAKE SURE that, if you miss the tree or other point of aim and follow through, the axe will not strike anyone else. Don't throw an axe on the ground. Sheath it or bury the blade in a log 

WHEN FALLING A TREE PROCEDURE TO DO: 
Before beginning clear the tree of lower limbs and remove the underbrush from around the bottom of the tree. This is to ensure that the axe is not deflected during the swing. Check your distance form the tree to AVOID under reaching or overreaching. Overreaching can result in breaking the axe handle and under reaching in a cut foot. Take up a comfortable stance MAKING SURE that both feet are firmly set. The first cut should be made on the side of the tree facing the direction of the desired fall often decided by the lean of the tree. This cut should be not more than half-way through the tree. The back cut should be started slightly above and opposite the first cut. It is SAFER to cut the tree off not over a foot above the ground. (Below 1 feet) ALWAYS keep the axe handle low and parallel to the ground where the blades strikes the cut. When using short handled axes or hand axes bend carefully at the hips or kneel on one knee. When splitting wood do not lay the piece to be split on the ground but support it so as to AVOID chopping into ground, thus blunting the axe or prevent injury to leg or feet.

AXE HEAD OFF: BROKEN HANDLE! 
Using an axe takes practice and while gaining experience axe handle often get broken-usually because the head misses the target and the handle takes all the blow (*A). To remove a broken handle, the easiest way is to put in a fire, burying as much as possible of the metal in the earth to prevent it loosing temper- single-headed (*B) doubled headed (C*). Since it is very difficult to remove a broken handle from the axe head; THE BEST METHOD is to place the axe head in the ground and to burn the handle. You bury the biting edge down to the height of the handle. Make a small fire on the head of the axe. The biting edge protected by the ground will not be affected and the handle heated white by the fire will come off with no trouble at all. THE OPERATION MUST BE DONE VERY QUICKLY TO SUCCEED WELL; but MAKE SURE that the earth is WET surrounding the axe iron. The wet earth prevents the slicing edge to loose its hardness. MAKE SURE that you put the whole axe after in cold water. Or have spare handle then insert it in the axe MAKING SURE that the head is well perpendicular to the handle. To insert the handle, hold it using the left hand and hit the butt with another axe or hammer or stone if need be, the handle will come up by itself very well. This operation MUST BE done quickly and then as soon as possible put the whole axe iron in cold water. Don't hit the head down on the handle but the other way around, you will then note that the end of the handle comes off the axe by a few inches this is to allow the insertion of a "corner" which will prevent the head from coming off. If you don't have a "corner" then you have to make one up, ITS ESSENTIAL. Use the excess part that you cut off for this purpose. Use hard wood only as material. #Now using a hacksaw you cut off the excess but it is good practice to let the handle overshoot by a few lines should you need to adjust the "corner" once more later on. This is where you get your "corner" from the excess handle part that you cut off you use part of it as your "corner" to insert in the slit and hammer it down in the axe head.

NOTE ON BROKEN TOOL HANDLE OFF: 
Nothing is easier to remove a broken tool handle which has blocked the head. Cut the handle as near the head of the tool as possible, bore a hole deep enough in the broken part of the handle and in this hole pour some kerosene which you then light up. The wood being impregnated of kerosene will burn easily and all you then have to do is to remove the ashes and fix a new handle. However I would prudent to use such a method for an axe since the fire would probably affect the tempering quality of the steel.

AXE NATURAL HANDLE:
*If you MUST replace a handle use a straight handle rather than a curb one, you will save time and effort. Give a rough shape to the handle and make a slit at the end which will receive the blade. Once the handle well in place strengthen the whole thing by inserting a thin slice of wood in the slit that you have made, try the axe and knock in again the slice of wood to make it stronger holding.

AXE ADDED NOTE:
*The usual 1 1/4 pound axe on a hickory handle will be light enough to carry & to do the work intended to whereas the 3/4 axe is a two handle tool and is designed for cutting larger logs for pioneering projects. Keep the edge or "bit" sharp not just sharp enough to chew but to bite and keep the handle tight, if it gets loose drive in the wedge harder.

NEVER LET YOUR AXE TOUCH THE GROUND. Driving into the ground will nick it & leaning it against the ground will rust it. 

ALWAYS have a chopping block under the wood you are chopping or splitting and when you are through using it for short period stick in the chopping block or put it back in its sheath. On a hike carry the axe in its sheaf or lashed to your pack and carry it around camp by holding the handle near the heads with the edge down and out.

HOW TO USE AN AXE: 
The old backwoodsmen were as expert with their axe as they were with their rifles and they were just as careful in the selection of these told as they were in the selection of their arms. They NEVER even lent their axe to anyone. Many a times I have seen them pick up a store axe sight along the handle and then cast it aside contemptuously aside. They demanded of their axes that the cutting edge should be exactly in line with the point in the center of the butt end of the handle. They also kept their axe so sharp that they could whittle with them like one can with a good jack knife furthermore they allowed no one but themselves to use their own particular axe. It is not expected that the modern vacation pioneer becomes an expert consequently the few simple rules and suggestions will be here given to guide the amateur. And he MUST depends upon his own judgment and common sense to work out the minor problems which will beset him in the use of this tool. 

All edges tools are DANGEROUS when in the hands of "chumps" DANGEROUS to themselves and to any one else who is near them. For instance only a chump? will use an axe when its head is loose and is in DANGER of flying off the handle. (NO joke or pun here! It happened to me once, I did not check it OOPS). Only a chum? will use his best axe to cut roots or sticks lying flat on the ground where he is liable to hit stones and other objects and take off the edge of the blade. Only a chum? Will leave an axe lying in the ground for people to stumble over. If there is a handy stump at your camp and you are through using it, stick the blade into the top of the stomp and leave the axe sticking there, where it will be safe from injury.

REMEMBER before chopping down a tree or before using an axe at all to see that there is enough space above and below and around to enable you to swing the axe clear without the DANGER or striking bushes or overhanging branches which may deflect the blade & cause accidents more or less serious. 

TREE FELLING: 
Check overhead for dead branches, which may fall and injure you, and for hornet's nest. Clear the branches or creepers which could deflect your blows. If roots or the bole spread out at the bottom build a platform to reach thinner-diameter trunk and reduce the effort of chopping. Ensure such a platform is stable and that you can jump off it quickly if the tree falls the wrong way! Work at a comfortable height and try to cut downward at 45 degrees, although every now and then a horizontal blow is needed to clear the cut. Cut from both sides of the tree, first chopping out a notch an angle of about 45 degrees and another on the opposite side at a lower level, on the side to which you want the tree to fall (*a). Do not cut through more than half the tree BEFORE starting the other notch. If two people are at work on opposite sides this is particularly important. A leaning trunk or a tree with most of its branches one side will fall in the direction of its weight and the placing of the cuts will not affect it. A steady rhythm of blows will cut more effectively than trying to make a fewer big blows. If you put too much effort behind the axe your aim will suffer and you will soon tire. Let the weight of the axe do the work. Alternating the angle of stroke will prevent the axe from jamming. Too steep an angle will cause the axe to glance off the trunk (*A) Dead on will make it jam, or be inefficient(*B) Aim for 45 degrees (*C). 

DON'T STAND BEHIND A TREE AS IT FALLS:
For the boughs may strike those standing tree causing the butt to shoot back or kick an many a woodsman has lost his life from the kick of falling tree. Before chopping a tree down, select the place where it is to fall, a place where it will not be liable to lodge in another tree on its way down. DON'T try to fall a tree against the wind. Cut a notch on the side of the tree facing the direction you wish it to fall and cut it half way to the trunk. Make the notch or kerf large enough to AVOID pinching your axe in it. If you discover that the notch is going to be too small cut a new notch X some inches above your first one. Then split off the piece X Y between the two notches and against make the notch X Z and split off the piece Z W Y until you make room for the axe to continue your chopping. When the first kerf* is finished begin another one on the opposite side of the tree a little higher that the first one. When the wood between the two notches becomes too small to support the weight of the tree, the top of the tree will begin to tremble and waiver and give you ample time to step to one side before it falls. (It is good to yell Timber specially if there are people around so as to warn them of the falling tree.) If the tree is inclined in the opposite direction from which you wish it to fall. It is sometimes possible to block the #kerf# on the inclined side and by driving the wedge over the block force the tree to fall in the direction desired but it is DANGEROUS, and if the tree inclines too far this can not be done. 

TO REMOVE BRANCHES:
Cut off branches from the outside of the fork (*A) not the inside (*B). Very high branches can be removed by attaching strings to the saw toggle to give extra reach. This is DANGEROUS. Keep your eye on the branch and be prepared to jump out of the way.

SPLITTING LOGS:
Stand behind a large log with feet well apart. Swing down to cut the side away from you.

DO NOT CHOP DOWNWARD:
To split a smaller log, angle against another log.

DO NOT PUT YOUR FOOT ON IT:
Alternatively, hold smaller log against cutting edge of axe and bring both down together on to a larger log. (Not to be tried holding too short a log for safety!) If in doubt split larger logs with a wedge and rock.

DO NOT EVER HOLD WOOD UPRIGHT IN YOUR HAND AND ATTEMPT TO SPLIT WITH AXE.

USING A FLEXIBLE SAW:
ALWAYS use a flexible saw so that the cut opens up rather than closes tight on the saw, causing it to jam. At all times keep the wire taut pulling it in a straight line, at an angles. With two people the rhythm MUST BE CAREFULLY
maintained. If a kink is produced in the saw it may break. It is usually easier for a single person to cut a log by pulling upwards. Support the log to keep it off the ground and give it an angle to keep the cut open. Alternatively, to remove a branch pull down from above the head. THIS COULD BE DANGEROUS.

HOW TO SPLIT LOGS, MAKE SHAKES, SPLITS, OR CLAPBOARDS, CHOP A LOG IN HALF, FLATTEN A LOG:

Logs are usually split by the use of wedges. But it is possible to split them by the use of 2 axes. To split with the axe strike it smartly into the wood at the small end and so as to start a crack, then sink the axe in the crack A. Next take the second axe and strike it in line with the first one at B. If this is done properly it should open the crack wide enough to release the first axe without trouble which may then be struck in the log. In this manner it is possible to split a straight grained piece of timber without the use of wedges. The first axe should be struck at the smaller or top end of the log.

To split a log with wedges take your axe in your left hand and club in your right hand and by hammering the head of your axe with the club drive the blade into the small end of the log far enough to make a crack deep enough to hold the thin edge of your wedges. Make this crack all the way across the end of the log. Put two wedges in the end of the log as in the diagram and drive them until the wood begins to split and crack along the sides of the log, then follow up this crack with other wedges, until the log is split in half.

While ordinarily wood splits easily enough with the grain it is very difficult to drive an axe through the wood at right angle to the grain as shown in diagram to the left. Hence, if the amateur be chopping wood if he will strike a slanting blow, like the one to the right. He will discover that the blade of his axe will enter the wood, whereas in the first position where he strikes the grain at right angles it will only make a dent in the wood and bounce the axe back.

But striking a diagonal blow he MUST take care not to slant his axe too far or the blade of the axe my only scoop out a shallow chip and swing around dangerously & seriously injuring the axe man or some one else.

If it is desired to cut off the limb off the limb of a tree don't disfigure the tree by tearing the bark down, trees are becoming scarce. If you cut part way through the limb on the underside see right hand diagram fig 12l and then cur partly through from the top side, the limb will fall off without tearing the bark down the trunk, but if you cut only from the top. Sooner or later the weight of the limb will tear it off and make an ugly wound down the front of the tree which in time decays makes a hollow and ultimately destroys the tree. A neatly cut branch on the other hand when the stub has been sheered off close to the bark will heal up leaving only an eye-mark on the bark to tell where the limb once grew.

If it is desired to chop a log into shorter pieces, REMEMBER to stand on the log to do your chopping. This will do away with the necessity of rolling the log over when you want to chop on the other side. Don't forget to make the notch C D the same as A B; in other words the distance across the notch should equal the diameter of the log. If you start with too narrow a kerf or notch before you finish you will be compelled to widen it.

To flatten a log you MUST score and hew it. Scoring consist in making a number of notches C D E F G H J etc. to the depth of the line A B. Hewing it is the act of chopping off or splitting off the pieces A C & C D & D E etc leaving the surface flat which was known among the pioneers as puncheon and with which they floored their cabins before the advent of the saw mill & milled lumber. Perhaps it would be advisable to the amateur to take a chalk line and snap it from A to B so that he may be certain to have the flat surface level. The expert axe man will do this by what he calls "sensation".

It might be well to say here that if you select for puncheons wood with a straight grain and wood that will split easily you will simplify your task but even mean stubborn wood may be flattened by scoring and hewing. If the ridges and furrows of the bark run straight up and down the wood will have a corresponding straight grain but if they are spiral the wood will split waney* or not at all. So when you try to quarter a log with which to chink your cabin don't select a *waney log. To quarter a log split it along the dotted line.

In the Main the woodsmen are adept in making shakes, splits clapboards or shingles by the use of only an axe and splitting them out of the billets of wood from 4 to 6 feet long. The core of the log is first cut out and then the pieces are split out having wedge-shaped edges as shown by the lines marked. In making either the boards or the shakes, if it is found that the wood splinters down into the body of the log too far or into the board or shake too far. You MUST start at the other end of the billet or log and split it up to meet the first split or take hold of the split or board with your hands and deftly tear it from the log ,an art which only experience can teach.

We caution the reader against chopping firewood by resting one end of the stick to be cut on a log and the other end on the ground and then striking this stick a sharp blow with the axe in the middle. The effect of this often is to send the broken piece gyrating into the air as shown by the dotted line and many a wood chopper lost an eye from a blow inflicted by one of these flying pieces. Many men have been blinded this way so BEWARE.

ADDED NOTES ON AXE CHOICE:
IF ONE WAS LEFT TO CHOOSE WHICH OBJECT WOULD HELP HIM MOST IN SURVIVAL, DON'T HESITATE TO CHOOSE THE AXE.

ONE MUST AVOID TO BUY AXE WHICH HEAD IS LESS THAN 2 LBS. These are toys which have NO VALUE IN SURVIVAL or for sporting needs. The ideal weight is 2 1/2 lbs not counting the handle. A 3 lbs is better in frozen wood but heavier to handle for the average user. One MUST also consider the biting edge and MAKE SURE that the edge is no smaller than 4 inches wide and neither be too thin nor too thick. In the first case it would break easy and in the second the sharpening would be difficult to maintain. The IDEAL axe one may find is what is called the Hudson Bay type.

HANDLE CHOICE:
Now as for the handle, in principle one should not buy a painted one which could or would hide defects such as knots which would weaken the handle. The best one are from Ash or Oak. Second is too choose the handle the right length, even if the short handle may be easier to carry around the long one is much preferable to have the most efficiency. The length vary according to your height so a simple method to discover the proper length is: Let your hand drop on your side and measure from the center of your hand down to the ground, this is the length that the handle should have for you. If it is longer you will have tendency to overreach which is very hard on the handle and can break it, if too short then under reach which is DANGEROUS for your feet or legs. The handle MUST BE straight and not curve to right or left. To discover this default, let your axe rest flat on its head, with the biting edge facing upward and align it with the handle. If the handle shows a curve to right or left then choose another handle. The handle MUST also not be either too big or too small. It MUST fit well into the hand, this is not a pick. Too big a handle would not have the flexibility and too small would be too fragile.

Once your axe all set then you can paint the head all the way to edge using a bright phosphorescent color which makes it easier to locate at night or simply prevent rust as well. Also the handle should be painted from the head down a few inches which would prevent the water or snow to penetrate in the handle near the head and to make it rot. Beside if the handle has a tendency to come off the head one quick look would show the non painted area.

MAINTENANCE OF THE HANDLE: 
Even with a good handle fit it comes after a time that the iron starts to come off a bit as we use it. You MUST then shake the iron by hitting the butt against a wood log. The handle has a certain sharpness at the butt thus you MUST BE CAREFUL when hitting the wood log which could split the handle. Thus it is preferable to saw a small amount of this butt so that the hit will have a straight impact. One keeps all the flexibility of the handle by oiling it with Linseed oil, the iron is greased when rain to AVOID rust.

HOW TO BEST USE YOUR AXE:
WINTER USE:
THE IRON SPLITS IN COLD WEATHER: YOU MUST WARM UP THE IRON ON A SMALL FIRE FOR A LITTLE WHILE BEFORE USING IT. THIS IS A SERIOUS WARNING if it is real cold the axe will split like glass, so warm it up over a fire, or in hot water or even between your legs before using it.
1) Don't attack a piece of wood in a perpendicular fashion but use an angle of about 60 degrees.
2) Hit alternatively left and right of the cut.
3) Lean the wood to cut on a log fig 20 the hit MUST bear on D point & opposed to point C. The inconvenient to carry the blow outside the leaning point, since the wood moves and the iron does not bite as easily.
4) Without a leaning log one can strike in the air.
5) If you split lengthwise, work against a hard wood block. 
A) NEVER work on soft earth directly. It would also risk to have the iron hit the ground & loose its sharpness.
B) NEVER use a rock or piece of steel as leaning post for cutting. 
6) NEVER hold the wood with the hand or the foot on the side where the axe can slip giving very serious injury.
7) One old woodsman method to cut or split a log is to hit the log on its head then twisting around the axe and the piece of wood you then hit the striking leaning post with the axe head, this will split the log in no time.

FALLING TREE ADDED NOTE: 
Make a cut in a form of a coin as low as possible and on the side that you want your tree to fall. This cut MUST attain and overpass the hearth of the wood fig 27. The depth of the cut will serve as a rotation point for the fall of the tree. Thus its orientation has a VERY GREAT IMPORTANCE specially for big trees. Now do a second cut on the opposite face of the trunk and a little over the first one. When this cut will be sufficient the tree should fall by itself. Timber. This second cut can be advantageously done or replace by a saw cut.

NEVER STAND BEFORE OR BEHIND A FALLING TREE.
NEVER lend your axe, it is too personal like your tooth brush.

BRANCHES OFF:
The use of your axe to cut branches off MUST ALWAYS be done from the top of the tree going toward the bottom. Cut the branch from above and ALWAYS using the tool being parallel to the trunk. 

SHARPENING AND SQUARING LOGS: 
ALWAYS do these operations on a piece of log or tree stump NEVER directly on the ground. Have your legs widely set apart yet being at ease in front of the log, using your left hand you hold the log in a slant and from your right hand you hit it vertically tracing from the start the height of the cut or squaring to do. It is by doing this kind of work that you will quickly see if your axe is well sharpened, If the sharpening is too #bomber, the axe will ricocher# on the side, if the axe does not cut the #copeaux seront laineux# Right at the start of you first axe cuts you will make the 4 faces of your point and then make one more in octagonal way. Don't hit by turning the log every time you strike the axe. Use the same technic when doing squaring the logs. 

#MEPLAT#:
Done by axe or plane and consist in giving a flat surface to a stick or log that has to be put over another one thus increasing its holding. BE CAREFUL when doing a #meplat# over a log on the ground that you control well your axe which will have a tendency to do rebounds thus endangering your legs quite a bit.

WOOD WORKING IN TEAM OF 2:
It is the best method, it multiply the precision and the strength of the blows, and the accident risk is nearly nil.

TO CUT A SMALL LOG WITH PRECISE #MEASUREMENT#:
Lay the piece on the main log with the left hand, place the axe blade exactly on the mark and at a signal the helper hits ALWAYS in cross ways against the tool.

NOTCHING EXACTLY A LOG:
Place the axe #obliquely# on the wanted spot while holding it with your 2 hands. A helper will give strong blows. Start over again at the right and left side of the notch to make it bigger. ALWAYS hit the hammer #en croix with the axe.

WEDGES AND SLEDGE HAMMER: 
After the axe the most USEFUL tool to the pioneer is the wedge. The iron ones are the best but heavy and cumbersome to carry. It would be best to make them as you go along the 2 or 3 corners that you will need along. ALWAYS use hard wood as much as possible. The wedge is made at the end of a big stick and sawed off the length needed at the last moment. Note: The #biseau# angle B which gives more solidity at the tip. Note: Also the #chanfrain# around the head of the wedge, thus the blow are NEVER made on the borders of the wedge which would risk to split them. At the same time as you need wedge you need a sledge hammer.

AXES:
A fire axe is part of the equipment of any boat or plane, but an axe-head, to be fitted to an improvised handle, is a USEFUL additional piece of equipment for anyone to carry. One of about 500-750gr (1-1 1/2 lb) is ideal. Use your knife to fashion a handle when it is needed. 

AXE HANDLE:
Any straight, knot-free hardwood is suitable-ash and hickory are ideal. In the Tropics the flukes of Buttress tree are excellent: slightly curved, straight-grained and easy to work. Cut two notches into the fluke of a buttress, spaced to the desired length. Hit along the side of fluke close to the cuts. It will split away at their depth.

FITTING THE HEAD: 
Whittle the handle into shape with one end cut to fit the hole in the axe-head, cutting a notch in that end. Make a wedge to fit the notch. With the head in place drive in the notch then soak the axe the axe in the water overnight to tighten the head on the shaft. ALWAYS CHECK AXE-HEADS FOR TIGHTNESS BEFORE USING THEM! I know I forgot it once OOPSSS! It still is aflying in the sea! 

FITTING A STONE AXE-HEAD:
(Not fighting a stone head!) (Ask your local purple punk head to explain U that one!) Select a hardwood handle. Tie a band of cord around it about 23cm (9in) from one end. Split the end down as far as this band (use your knife and a wedge or the piece of flint you have made for the axe-head). Insert the flint and tie the end to secure. This mounting will split wood but will not be very effective for chopping it. 

SHARPENING AN AXE: 
An axe with a blunt edge becomes NO MORE THAN an inefficient hammer so keep it sharp, it will save energy. A file is best for getting rid of burrs, and a whetstone for imparting the sharp edge. A file is a one way tool-it works when pushed not pulled. Prop axe-head between a log and a peg. ALWAYS try to sharpen inwards from cutting edge to AVOID producing burrs. Use a file or rougher stone first to remove rocks and burrs. Then finish with a smoother stone, using a circular motion. Don't drag the stone off the cutting edge. Push ON the blade. Turn the axe over. Repeat the process circling in the opposite direction.

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