Axe

garandman said:
Yeah, already bought one.

Now, if I want someone to help, or take something with me on a trail, or do I have to explain further why I want a limbing axe in addition to a chainsaw, bow saw, machete, string trimmer, and trimmer blade. Really? I swear some of you are liberal politicians in disquise.

That's reasonable, they have great reputation. H80, is that a good choice? The Huskie may be stocked locally at a dealer.
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Not to me you don't. I swear some of these guys are totally commenting on shit they have no clue about. An axe has many uses that a CS is not ideal for. I used to do tree work years ago. Got stuck on a line clearing job up near what was peas AFB........the job lasted two months where we had to cut down "thumb sized" sapplings on the edges of the right of way for hundreds of feet in a stretch in between much of the trimming and removal sections with larger trees. Chain saw......just to heavy and cumbersome for small saplings like that.....plus with the CS you had to bend over to cut the saplings low to the ground and it smoked your back out too fast.....and cutting with a CS so low to the ground you were bound to "ditch witch" it and dull it too fast........after the first day I threw two good....sharp....axes on the truck for day 2. 100 times faster with an axe......lighter.....faster......don't have to keep stopping for gas.....and the long handle you could swing without bending over as much as you did with a CS.......just swing stack swing and stack. hone the axes at the end of each day and they were a god send vs. walking through those sections with a chain saw.
 
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i'm def no professional but i have a bunch of cheap felling axes, a fiskars splitting axe, a maul, 3 metal splitting wedges, a brush hook, 2 gas chainsaws, 2 hatchets, a machete, a rope saw, a bow saw, branch loppers, an electric pole saw, a manual pole saw, a grinder (for the cheap felling axes, brush hook, hatchets, machete and wedges), an electric chainsaw chain sharpener, manual chainsaw files, a knife sharpener for the fiskars...for splitting, it depends on what wood you're splitting and how long it's been cut for to determine the best tool for the job i'd say the fiskars is the best for splittling, the wedges and a sledge is the second best and the maul is the third best...for cutting i almost always use my chainsaw (with a block and tackle if needed) and one of the cheap felling axes isn't far away if needed, basically for a last resort if i run out of fuel...if i don't want to listen to the chainsaw i'll use the loppers on the branches cause they are safer and require no fuel to run and better than swinging an axe around if you're tired...i almost never need a felling axe but i do use one of the ones in the worst shape if i have to cut anything in the ground like roots where dirt will hit the blade...if you aren't going to use it a ton i wouldn't break the bank on it...just be aware of the availability of wood axe handles or have some backups...nothing sucks worse than having to buy a special axe handle that you have to wait to get in the mail or something...i would just go with any decent quality wood handle axe
 
When I was putting the chainsaw back in the car at the dealer [North Country Tractor, near Concord NH] they saw my Justrite steel safety can and Itold them I was going by Hampton Airfield to get some Mogas, 91 Octane and no Ethanol. And I asked their Service Manager, "I try to use Mogas in all our two strokes and put it as the last tank of the season in my motorcycles and lawn mower. Am I crazy?" And they all nodded sagely and said "No, we get machines with screwed up carbs from the lousy gas all the time."

I consider it cheap insurance and the small increase in power (about 3%) a bonus.
 
If you are clearing a path or just want to get a bunch of small trees out of the way, something like this is very handy: http://www.pullerbear.com/. I've used a different brand while building mtn bike trails (I think they're orange) but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.

pullsall-no-text.jpg


No matter how close to the ground you cut a tree, you'll eventually trip over the stump (or knock a tire off the rim). This thing will pull a tree up to a few inches in diameter with minimal effort. Unless room is an issue, there's no reason to drop the tree first.
 
ToddDubya said:
If you are clearing a path or just want to get a bunch of small trees out of the way, something like this is very handy: http://www.pullerbear.com/. I've used a different brand while building mtn bike trails (I think they're orange) but I can't for the life of me remember what it was.
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Thanks, that looks like it will solve most of our clearing problem near the house! I just ordered the Pro model, I'll keep you posted!

Edit: scheduled ship date of 10/1.
 
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Woodstock said:
Fiskar tool are great until the fiberglass handle breaks. Not replaceable. (Now all the guys who've had one for 25 years will chime in that the handles never break. Trust me, they do.)
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Fiskars has a lifetime warranty. When ours broke in half, they just asked for a picture of it. Had a new axe within one week. Customer service was great.
 
Haven said:
Fiskars has a lifetime warranty. When ours broke in half, they just asked for a picture of it. Had a new axe within one week. Customer service was great.
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Excellent! I wasn't aware of that. Wonder if their loppers carry the same warranty. My old True Value ones are getting tired.
 
You'll shoot your eye out, kid!

Got it. Some say it's actually forged by Gransfors, not sure about that but thanks to whomever suggested it. Perfect size for what I wanted, handy but big enough to swing with two hands.
axe-L.jpg


Also got a Norton sharpening stone and some oil. One comment on this axe was that, not surprisingly, the edge was not finished as sharp as the more expensive axes. I have some small fine stones, not sure I'll bother. The bit is fairly narrow so it will penetrate deeply into smaller branches at the expense of chopping down large trees.

Still need something to sharpen the chain saw, though.
 

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