How to make a beautiful one out of an old axe. Taiga axe. Depending on the application, axes are

“Come on, give me back my stone axe” - there is probably no person in our country who has not heard this song. Yes, the first axes were made of stone. But this time passed many thousands of years ago, and now high-quality wood and steel are used to make this product.

During the development of civilization, many varieties of this tool have appeared (construction, throwing, etc.) which have not yet lost their relevance. Moreover, on the market you can find many varieties of this product, which are designed to solve certain problems, for example, those facing a hunter or tourist.

Classification of axes

In practice, many types of axes are used, which are designed for working with wood. Conventionally, they can be divided into three types:

• cleavers;
• for logging;
• construction or universal.

Accordingly, there are various designs designed to solve specific problems, for example, a firefighter is equipped with a pick, with which you can pull beams and other structures away from the source of fire.

By the way, the size of the ax can be determined based on the height and physique of the person who will work with it.

Making a blank

A block is hewn out from a block that has been dried. Work must be carried out along the fibers. The size of the bar should be 100 mm larger than the size of the finished product. The size of the part where it will be installed, and the blade itself should be 2 - 3 mm larger than the size of the eye.

The template prepared in advance must be laid on the surface of the block. At the same time, leave allowances for processing. From the front its size is 10 mm, in the tail it is 90 mm. This allowance is necessary so that the handle does not crack when pulled onto the ax itself. Upon completion of work, this allowance is removed.

Hewing out an ax

To bring the part to the required dimensions, two cuts must be made in the upper and lower parts of the workpiece, but their depth should not reach the contour of 2 mm. Excess material can be removed using a chisel. After this, using a file with a large notch, the corners, transitions and other surfaces of the handle are leveled. Abrasive sandpaper is used to finish the surface.

Impregnation with waterproof compound

To increase the resistance of the handle to moisture, special compounds are used. But it is permissible to use drying oil or linseed oil. The handle is covered with this liquid until it stops being absorbed into it.

The handle of the tool should not slip in the hand and therefore, it is not recommended to cover it with any paints or use any pads.

By the way, it wouldn’t hurt to add a coloring pigment, for example, orange, to the waterproof coating. Then the tool with a bright handle will not disappear on the site.

When choosing a piercing part, you must definitely find out what steel it is cast from. Our country has adopted GOST 18578-89. It defines the grades of steel from which it is permissible to make the blade parts of an ax. These are steels - 8ХФ, 9ХФ, 9ХС, ХВГ, У7А, У8, У8А, У8ГА, У9, У9А and many others similar in properties to the named grades.

Landing the ax on the handle

Fitting the blade onto the finished handle should be done using markings. To do this, draw a sketch of the eyelet on the upper end. Then you need to mark the length of the piercing part on it. And after that you can begin installing the blade on the handle.

After choosing a tool, the owner is faced with a new task - how to sharpen it. Yes, the manufacturer supplies this tool in a ready-made condition. But sooner or later, the sharpening done in the factory workshops will become dull and the need for independent editing will arise. Practice shows that it is better to spend some time on editing it than to do the work with a blunt instrument. It is advisable to perform turning of a product using a template. It is made independently. To do this you will need a small piece of tin. After choosing the sharpening angle, you need to mark it on the sheet metal and cut out the angle. After this, attach the template to the blade. The angle of deviation from the required one will be immediately visible. Using a marker, mark the cutting edge accordingly.

When sharpening, the master must consider the following factors:

Characteristics of the wood he will have to work with. What kind of work will have to be done, harvesting lumber is one thing, cutting out locks on logs installed in a log house is another. Of course, the material from which the blade is made must also be taken into account.

How to make a battle ax

Not all axes can be purchased in the store; for example, it is impossible to buy a battle axe. And therefore, if you want to get such a product, it’s easier to make an ax with your own hands.

You can take an ordinary construction tool as a basis, see Fig. 2, and use it to make a combat blade.

It has certain disadvantages:

1. It has an irrational form.
2. It has excess mass, which will interfere with manipulations during the battle.

Viking battle ax

It should also be noted that the upper ledge will create difficulties during chopping and striking. That is, it gives the ax an unnecessary torque directed counterclockwise, thus causing increased wear on the ax handle. It won't hurt to grind off the protrusion located below. In addition, straight sharpening is not entirely suitable for a battle axe.

How to make an ax from wood

How to make an ax from wood? To do this, you need to prepare a wedge-shaped blank from which you will need to make a blade. On the surface of the workpiece, you need to draw the outline of the future toy with a marker. Excess material can be removed using an abrasive sharpener.

At the next stage, on the end surface of the workpiece it is necessary to mark the outline of the hole for the ax handle. The technology for obtaining the handle is described above, but it is necessary to correct the dimensions.

Bringing the blade and handle to the required shape can be done using a sharpener or file. In a fairly short time, the children's ax will be ready.

What product does a hunter who spends a lot of time in the wild need? How can it be made? Yes, no one argues, in specialized stores you can buy a product for every taste. But not all of them meet the needs of hunters.

In order to make the cutting part of a product for hunting, you need to use a solid piece of metal. But somehow it’s more common to hold an ax with a wooden handle. For the manufacture of the blade, grade 1040 steel is used, this is a structural alloy steel, the Russian equivalent is 40G.

You can make the cutting part by ordering it from the village smithy. The master is able to forge the necessary blank for the blade. He is also able to make and install a steel handle. If such a handle does not suit you, then you can install a wooden one. When making it, you need to take into account some simple rules:

The handle cannot be varnished - the hand will slip.

When choosing its shape, it is necessary to take into account the width of the palm grip; it is necessary to make stops that will allow you to hold the ax in your hand.

How to make a taiga ax

Before you make a taiga axe, you need to understand how it differs from a traditional one? It has a different blade shape and ax handle parameters. That is, you can take an ordinary ax as a basis. Change the shape of its sharpening, remove excess material in the upper part, by analogy with the combat one.

You can use an angle grinder to remove excess material.

The ax handle can be made from birch. To secure it more securely in the blade, you can wrap a bandage impregnated with epoxy resin around its end. It makes sense to soak the handle itself with linseed oil.

Axe- a chopping tool, consisting of a wooden handle, usually short, and a blade, which is located longitudinally or perpendicular to the shaft. The latter are called tesla. They cut out grooves during the construction of huts and ships, princely mansions and churches, hollowed out troughs, boats, cut sculptures, toys and other wooden products.

The secret of the durability of products chopped with an ax is that the fibers of the wood are crushed under the blow of an ax and do not allow moisture to pass through. This does not happen when sawing, when the pores of the wood are left open for rot to enter.

What types of axes are there and what are they used for?

The etymological dictionary gives several versions of the origin of the word, starting from the Bulgarian “axe”, Slovenian “topor”, Czech, Polish, etc. Experts consider the ax to be an Orthodox word and associate it with “to trample”, otherwise “to beat”, if talking about the heart, from Ukrainian “teporiti” - drag with difficulty, Bulgarian “tapty” - I interfere, I trample.

The wooden handle is called an axe, the metal part with a blunt rounded end on one side is called a butt. Choosing a stick with a round cross-section would not be the best option. It is much more convenient if the cross-section is oval and the ax handle consists of straight and curved sections. Its tail bends down for easy grip.

On the other side there is a blade with a sharpened working blade. Sometimes products have a beard-protrusion on the blade next to the mount, which protects the ax handle from impacts on the metal and strengthens the fastening of the wood with the metal part of the product. It is believed that such axes are descendants of battle axes from Northern Europe. Most often, carpentry tools have beards; they are indispensable when working with wood.

Axes were used as cold combat weapons, cutting and throwing.

Depending on the application, axes are:

Another variety is double-sided. The blades can have different sharpenings and are designed to perform a wide range of work. They can be used as throwing weapons as they are well balanced. Products are made from high carbon steel. The other side of the coin is their risk of injury, high price, uncomfortable handle, and lack of impact function.

Manufacturing

Making blades from high-carbon steels protects axes from mechanical damage and allows them to withstand temperature changes. The blade does not require periodic sharpening; during operation it is not damaged by the appearance of nicks and scratches. A stamp is placed on the head indicating the grade of metal. Forged products are more durable and heavier; preference should be given to this type of metal processing.

According to the width of the cutting part, the tools are:

1. wide;
2. average;
3. narrow.

If the blade of a metal blade is sharpened at an angle of less than forty degrees, the tool penetrates deeper into the wood, but also quickly becomes dull. Combined sharpening allows you to save the blade from damage if the blow falls on the edge of the metal; with this method, the central part is sharpened at a sharper angle than the edges.

The blades are either straight or rounded. The latter, due to the reduction in area and increased pressure on the contact points, acquire better cutting qualities.

Axes with a plastic shaft are as strong as wooden ones, but lighter. Sometimes wooden axes are made with a rubberized handle to absorb shock and protect the wrist.

Choosing the right tool

1. the optimal length of the ax is from the wrist to the shoulder joint;
2. the ax handle must be completely covered by the hand to avoid injury.

If you choose a short handle, you will have to make too large an amplitude of movement in order to increase the force of the blow, and the recoil into the hand will also increase. This will prevent long and productive work with the tool.

If you plan to constantly work with the tool, you should give preference to an expensive, high-quality product. If you only get the job occasionally, buy a cheaper option. A product from one manufacturer may have large price differences depending on its sale on the market or in a large store.

Features of the design of taiga axes

Taiga axes are truly universal. The tools are capable of felling trees, butchering animal carcasses, chopping wood for a fire, processing and splitting logs along the grain, and building huts. They are highly durable and last for many years. They are used by rangers, commercial hunters, geologists, foresters and tourists.

The taiga tool differs from the carpenter's ax in the length of its handle. As a rule, it is longer than 50 centimeters and allows for a wide swing to increase the impact force when chopping. The head blade does not have an upper part. If necessary, you can independently change or adjust the blade of an existing ax. Cutting the top toe reduces the weight of the tool, strengthens the upper part of the head; when working at low temperatures, it is more convenient to work with such an ax. The blade shape is rounded to allow for various forestry tasks. The head has a beard for strength.

A wedge or steel nail is inserted into the eye, or seat, to strengthen the fastener. The fungus - a place on the handle - should not allow the hand to slip. The ax head can easily replace a hammer if necessary.

When choosing a taiga instrument, three rules must be followed. The tool must be selected individually according to the man’s height, taking into account frequent use, the main weight should fall on the metal head, the optimal weight of the tool is selected from the point of view of carrying the product and performing the impact function.

DIY taiga masterpiece

Let's make a taiga ax from an old one with our own hands. For manufacturing, you will need a metal head from another product. It is cleaned of rust. If the damage is deeply ingrained into nicks and cracks, the metal is soaked for a day in a vinegar bath, then cleaned with sandpaper.

The next step is to adjust the tool head to fit the taiga specimen using a grinder.

For the ax handle, choose a tree with hard wood. Beech is best suited for this role. To prevent dampness, the handle on which the head is mounted is soaked in oil in several stages. It is recommended to use drying oil, wax, boiling oil, or linseed oil.

But it should be dried in ultraviolet rays to start the process of hemolytic cleavage, during which some bonds in the substance break down and stronger ones are formed. The process ends when the product becomes dry, rough to the touch and leaves no marks on your hands.

The product receives additional strength and water resistance. The wood fibers should run along the handle; manufacturers sometimes mess around and paint over the product if the grains are located at an angle. The strength of the ax handle in such a product is reduced.

The metal part is placed on the butt of the handle so that the ax extends one and a half centimeters above the head. Having achieved a tight fit, the head is removed and several cuts are made in the butt, not reaching the seating depth by 5 millimeters: one longitudinal cut and two transverse ones.

To prevent the ax handle from cracking, the cuts are drilled out. Now wedges are prepared from the same material - five wedges will be required - and the structure is reassembled.

For strength, they are held together with epoxy resin, reinforced with bandages to enhance the tightness of the fit. Beech wedges are hammered in, securely securing the seat. All excess is cut off and the product is carefully polished. Over time, the epoxy becomes unusable; to remove it, axes are burned in a fire. In this case, you can use wood glue.

The final touch is sharpening the blade.

To avoid accidental injuries, you can sew a protective cover onto the metal part.

Correct sharpening of the tool

The product can be sharpened manually or mechanically. Each has its own secrets that you need to know in order to avoid dulling the blade and breaking the “sharpener”.

At manual When sharpening, a template is prepared from tin, the sharpening angle is selected, the desired shape is cut out and applied to the ax blade. A sharpening line is marked on the blade of the head with a marker. The action is performed by moving away from oneself; the process is labor-intensive and exhausting. It is performed in several steps using sandstone grinding wheels with grains of different sizes.

At mechanical When sharpening an ax, experts do not recommend rushing; they do not advise working with a grinder; you should choose a low processing speed. For the desired sharpening angle, finishing paste is used, the grinding wheel is coated with it and the product is ground.

After sharpening, the tool blade is protected against rust with lithol, grease, machine or waste oil. It is best to keep the instrument in a dry place.

Compliance with safety regulations

1. do not leave the ax on the ground so that the tool does not rust and the ax handle does not become damp;
2. the head of the product should not dangle on the handle;
3. when cutting logs, place wood underneath to avoid damaging the blade on stone or metal;
4. Make sure you have enough space to swing the ax freely.

He is the real “king” of carpenter’s tools. He is a true salvation for those who are lost in the forest. He is a faithful assistant if you need to chop firewood for a bathhouse, build a house or butcher game. A well-sharpened ax can be used in dozens of other situations, but the fact remains. The tool will be useful on any country farm.

The only difficulty that a business person may have is buying a good, high-quality ax. More and more often you are convinced that it is much easier and more reliable to build an ax handle with your own hands. So let's look at the entire manufacturing process, starting from preparing the ax and ending with sharpening.

Making an ax handle step by step

The process of creating an ax with your own hands always takes place in strict sequence. First, the handle of the tool, called the ax handle, is made. When the length and shape of the handle are chosen correctly, the tool literally “burns”, demonstrating high performance and ease of use.

Try taking a stick with a regular round cross-section and attaching an iron base. You will quickly get tired, because holding such a tool for a long time puts a lot of stress on your hand. It’s another matter when the ax handle has a curved shape, the tail part is widened and slightly bent down. Thanks to this design, the axes are firmly held in the hands even with strong blows.

A traditional ax tool consists of wedges (2 and 9), a blade (3) and a butt (1), a toe (4), a chamfer (5) and a heel on the blade (6), a beard (7), and the ax itself (8). The number 10 indicates sharpening.

Prepare the material and cut out the first template

Since you and I need to make an ax handle from wood, we will take this material as a basis. The best proven structures are those made from birch and oak, ash and maple.

A wooden ax can be made at any time of the year, but it is better to prepare the material for it in the fall, even before frost sets in. The blanks are stored in the attic for at least a year; some experts advise drying them for five or even more years.

It is clear that if the taiga ax given by your grandfather was broken with your own hands on an impenetrable log, you can take fresh wood. This option will still be temporary, because after drying the volume of wood decreases. The butt of the ax will begin to wobble and hold less tightly.

To prepare a good template, drawings of the future product are desirable.

When you have a cardboard template, it is much easier to transfer the contours of the designed product onto wood. The basis is a ready-made ax handle that you feel comfortable working with. It is traced with a simple pencil on cardboard and cut out.

Preparing timber for work

From the blank block to the careful hewing of the ax

• Before making an axe, you need to cut a block out of dried wood. Keep in mind that the length of the piece of wood should exceed the planned size of the finished product by about 10 cm. As for the width in front (placed on the canvas), ideally it exceeds the diameter of the metal eye by 2-3 mm.
• Place the finished template on the block and transfer its contours. Leave an allowance of 1 cm in front, and 9 cm in the tail part of the workpiece. Before you place the ax on the ax handle, you will strike more than a dozen blows on the handle. An allowance in the “tail” is needed to avoid splitting. Once the final assembly is complete, you can cut it off without any problem.
• Let's begin the main part of the work with the ax handle. In the upper and lower parts of the block, transverse cuts are made with a depth not reaching 0.2 cm from the contours. A chisel is used to chip away excess wood along the cuts; the final cut is made with a rasp.
• Use a regular file or rasp to round corners and create smooth curves and transitions. Sandpaper will help with the final sanding.
• It is too early to install the steel sheet - the wood is impregnated with a good waterproof compound. Flaxseed oil is suitable; drying oil has excellent properties. Apply a small amount of the substance to the ax handle and let it dry. Then the next layer is applied. The procedure is repeated until the instrument you personally made no longer absorbs it.
• The biggest mistake is to coat a wooden base with varnish or oil paint. However, nothing prevents you from adding a little dye to the drying oil (red, yellow). A bright instrument will never get lost in thick grass.

How did our ancestors choose the canvas for the ax?

Several hundred years have passed, but the method of buying good linen has not changed. Our ancestors knew how to make an ax out of wood and what kind of metal base to use. They always paid attention to:

• Steel quality. By the way, today this issue is resolved simply. Look for the GOST badge on the product - this will be an indicator of excellent quality. No OST and TU!
• Blade. An ideal blade has no cracks or dents, and is very smooth.
• Butt ends. They are strictly perpendicular to the blade.
• Eyelet shape. It is better when it is made in the form of a cone.

How to place an ax on an ax handle (video)

When the blade has been chosen, a completely logical question arises: how to properly place an ax on an ax handle and achieve a “dead” fastening? Start by drawing center lines at the end. There will be two of them, perpendicular and longitudinal. The groove to the depth of the eye must be cut exactly along the contour of the longitudinal line. The cut will be useful for wedging the ax handle.

Having placed the butt to the end, outline the contours of the eye on it - the center lines will be a guide. To trim the landing part of the ax, use a knife or plane. It is important that the ax handle does not protrude beyond the edges of the eye by more than 1 cm.

It is convenient to install the blade using hammer blows. Do this accurately, with effort, but without unnecessary pressure. You don't want your blows to crack the wood, right? As soon as the end goes beyond the boundaries, we check the strength of the fit and see how the canvas sits. It shouldn't slide off.

Knock out a wedge with a wedge or wedging method

You can strengthen the fastening of the metal part if you wedge it. To do this, a small wedge made of hard wood, such as oak, is driven into the end. Because of this, the dimensions of the landing part increase, and it is fixed “tightly”.

Some craftsmen use not one, but two or even five wedges. But as practice shows, even one additional fixation is quite enough.

Wedging an ax. Drawing

A proven way to sharpen an ax blade

Sharpening an ax is the initial task after your tool is made and ready for use. Only in this case will the product perform its main function.

To work with freshly cut wood, the sharpening angle in an ideal tool is 20 degrees, dry wood - from 25 to 30 degrees. The width of the chamfer is equally important.

Sharpening an ax by hand

How to properly sharpen an ax on a regular electric sharpener

Prepare in advance a container in which you will cool the metal. Next do this:

• Hold the product in such a way that the blade can be directed towards the rotation of the disc. We hold the butt at an angle of forty-five degrees. This is the optimal sharpening angle, regardless of the type of tool and its features.
• To sharpen the axe, it moves smoothly along the circle. The chamfer is ground and the sharpening angle is sharpened.
• The final sharpening of the ax is always performed with a special sharpening stone. From time to time it needs to be moistened with water to cool the metal.
• If it is not possible to sharpen the hatchet with a block, it is replaced with a piece of plywood, which is covered with sandpaper.

Don’t forget that working with a sharp tool is always pleasant, while a dull ax means more additional and completely unnecessary effort, quick fatigue and not the best result. After the work on manufacturing and sharpening the ax is completed, a cover is put on the blade. This will extend the life of the product, and it will not need to be sharpened as often. The cover is made of leather, birch bark, or any other suitable material.

Case for ax

There is an opinion that the tool can be stored stuck in a log. This is a big misconception. Consisting of strong steel and an ax made by hand, the ax becomes an “extension” of the master’s hands. Try chopping wood with a homemade tool - and you will never want to go back to store-bought products.

What should a real taiga ax be like, and what types of axes are not suitable for long trips to the taiga? We will try to sort out these questions with you in this article. I can’t say that I’m such an experienced taiga hiker, but I still have some knowledge and experience. I can’t say that I was directly using various tools, but I had to work. There is no one universal tool that is suitable for any job. Of course, with an ordinary Soviet-style carpenter's ax you can perform any miracles if you get used to holding it in your hand, but I think each of you will agree with the thesis that it is quite inconvenient to perform certain work with an unsuitable ax. It’s not for nothing that our fathers and grandfathers came up with different forms for this most important assistant.

Any professional carpenter has at his disposal several types of axes for different types of work. So the taiga ax can only be of one declared shape with plus or minus minor changes. By the way, for example, it will be quite difficult for you to chop wood with a battle axe, and a cleaver exists only for chopping wood, so the shape is very important.

First, you need to figure out what the taiga ax is for and why is it called that? Many of those reading this article (I’m sure) have never seen or held anything else except the classic Russian carpenter’s axe. However, those people who are interested in this issue, who are often in the field, prefer the right tools and equipment for the taiga.

A taiga ax is necessary for a person in the field conditions of the taiga forest. This is the ax that a commercial hunter, huntsman, forester, tourist, geologist, surveyor or any other person who often visits the taiga takes with him as part of his equipment. It is necessary for all forest work that a person can do in the taiga. As a rule, a person will not need to prepare firewood for the winter and split large logs in the field, so a heavy cleaver is clearly not needed in the taiga. Most likely, people will not cut out carved details of platbands and all kinds of wood products in the field, since they usually go to the taiga for someone else.

Here is a list of things that a taiga does in the field:

• cutting down trees for some needs, be it sanitary felling of forests or felling trees for harvesting for logs or firewood (a saw is most often used for firewood, not an ax);
• rough work with fallen logs: removing branches, bark, cutting a groove for building a winter hut, etc.;
• production of bags, self-catchers;
• production of huts, screens, floorings;
• rough splitting of the log along its fibers (for better effect, use wedges and a wooden mallet);
• working with firewood.

Simply put, from the above it is clear that an ax in the taiga is necessary for rough work with wood, preparing firewood for a fire, setting up a bivouac for spending the night in the forest, various household needs, felling upright living trees for making a future log house for the taiga winter hut.

The forest is a place where man is not in charge - and even animals are not in charge there. In the forest, the main trees are the trees. A forest is a forest because it is filled with various trees, which means that when you come there, you need to have the appropriate tool to use these trees for their intended purpose. A beaver can gnaw a tree with its teeth, but a person is forced to have a suitable axe, saw and knife - the main tools of a taiga dweller.

What qualities should a taiga ax have?

It should be relatively light for one simple reason - you will have to carry it a lot of time and kilometers on your back, and it is also much better to swing a lighter ax than a heavy sledgehammer. The main weight should lie in the metal part, that is, in its head. Figure 1 shows its parts:

Rice. 1. Parts of the taiga ax

Toporische a taiga ax should be much longer than a carpenter's ax handle. This is due to the better swing for hitting the tree. The long ax allows you to make the best blow. In my opinion, the optimal length of the ax is about 50 cm, or even more. The ax handle should not be heavy, and all the weight should be concentrated on the head, otherwise you will not achieve the desired result from your specimen - and you will only end up wearing yourself out there in the taiga.

If we compare heads two types, then an obvious difference immediately catches the eye: in the taiga head there is no upper part of the blade. Some people saw off a piece of this part from a simple carpenter's axe, turning it into a taiga axe. (See Figure 2).

Blade for a carpenter's ax it should be straight, and for a taiga ax it should be rounded (see Fig. 3). This is determined by the type of work that the taiga does in the forest.

Rice. 2. The head of a taiga ax against the background of a carpenter’s

Rice. 3. Blade of a taiga ax.

Goatee allows you to firmly fix the ax handle with the head.

Butt can be used as a hammer for any purpose. Often a commercial hunter who, for example, intends to repair his winter quarters in the summer, does not take a heavy extra hammer with him into the taiga, but uses a butt as it.

Eye serves to place the head on the ax handle. Next, a wooden wedge is driven into the ax handle so that the head sits tightly on it.

Fungus protects hands from slipping and fixes them on the ax handle.

Rice. 4. Wedge

Rice. 5. Driving the wedge into the ax handle

In Figure 4 we see three options. In numbers 1 a metal wedge is indicated, which is driven in last. This is the control wedge. Under the number 2 - ax handle. Under 3 number - a wooden wedge that is driven into a special hole in the ax handle so that the ax handle does not begin to crack. Many people hammer the wedge directly between the fibers, but this risks cracking the ax handle. Therefore, it is recommended to cut a small recess into which to then hammer a wooden wedge. It is better to place the wedge on glue, for example, epoxy. In numbers 4 the ax head is shown, mounted on the ax handle.

The metal wedge is driven in at the very end, note that it is driven diagonally to the main wooden wedge. You can also hammer it in at a 90 degree angle. Instead of a metal wedge, you can use a wooden one, preferably one made of a harder type of wood. Figure 5 shows the same process, but without the control second wedge. 1 - ax handle, 2 - recess, cut for a wedge, 3 - head, 4 - wedge

Taiga ax in its habitat

in business

Grigory Sokolov about his assistant

On the domestic market it is extremely difficult to find a high-quality ax that will serve you faithfully for many years until you lose it in the forest or it is stolen from you. Russian-made axes these days are usually of very poor quality. The ax handles do not fit the head and almost always start to slip off. The blade of the head is overheated almost to the point of cast iron, and at the first frost the blade crumbles, or a large piece simply breaks off from it, after which the tool becomes completely unusable. You always need to modify such axes yourself to turn them into something tolerable. They are cheap, but change very often.

The Soviet production of the times of Stalin gave good quality axes, but those grandfather’s axes can’t be found now; now such examples from the 50s are sold on the Internet for 3 to 5 thousand rubles. The steel used for them was, as a rule, grade U7. In our garages, if we come across an axe, it will most likely be a production one from the 80s, that is, a “perestroika axe,” and at that time, as we know, production was in decline. However, examples from the Brezhnev era (70s), which are not as rare as Stalin’s ones, are of fairly good quality. Therefore, you can only purchase a good tool from foreign companies, or order it from a blacksmith. A blacksmith's ax will be quite expensive, so it's only for everyone. A working ax can now be purchased from foreign companies: Gransfors Bruks, Husquarna, Fiskars, Hultafors. Domestic serial manufacturers cannot yet boast of such quality tools.

How to make a good, reliable ax with your own hands at home?

By remaking an ordinary ax, you can give it special properties necessary for work. Such an ax will serve much longer and is of better quality than a regular store-bought one. A hunter in the taiga cannot do without a reliable ax, which should be as universal as possible. There are many axes on sale: from large and medium-sized construction and carpentry axes to small hatchets suitable for various household needs. But a taiga ax must have special properties that can be given to an ordinary ax by remaking it.


An ax with “dry” steel should be preferred to an ax with soft and weakly hardened steel. When the blade chips, this defect can be easily eliminated by sharpening it sharper. The sharpening shape should be parabolic, but not razor-like or straight (Fig. 1). An ax with this sharpening does not jam in the wood, splits wood well, and is less dull. If sharp enough, such a blade is quite suitable for carpentry work. Much in understanding rationality is given by the shapes of old Russian axes, as well as the axes of lumberjacks in the Carpathians and 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 top edge (Fig. 2). The shaded part sharply reduces the efficiency of the axe, since at the moment of impact this part tends to straighten the axe, creating a hole in it. unnecessary vibration, 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 touching 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. A straight edge is designed only for carpentry work, and when such a blade cuts, it simultaneously touches the entire edge and hits the wood at a right angle, and has poor penetrating power. Each point of the convex edge enters the wood at an acute angle (Fig. 3), a cutting effect occurs, as a result of which the penetrating ability of such a blade increases sharply. Despite the fact that the weight of the ax will decrease after processing, its efficiency will increase. The author offers two options for axes (see Fig. 4 and photo). One of them is lightweight, designed for running hunts, short trips, and also for commercial hunting with a saw. The total weight of 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 trips, during which significant work has to be done. Its weight is 1000-1400 g, the length of the ax is 55-65 cm. The choice of the length of the ax is determined by the quality of the wood, the height and strength of the hunter.
Of course, axes made by hand by blacksmiths are better in terms of steel, angle and balance, but there is one very capricious detail - a wooden ax handle. This part must be made using special technology. Making an ax handle, a wedge and the fit of an ax is much longer and more difficult than forging an ax (even, probably, a Damascus one). Checking how well the ax handle and fit are made is much more difficult than checking the quality of the ax itself. In addition, the ax handle requires special daily care and certain maintenance conditions. If all the points are not met, then the result is always the same: Either the ax flies off, or the ax handle breaks. Having properly prepared the ax, you can begin making the ax handle. It should be thin. The smaller its weight relative to the weight of the ax, the stronger the blow. The ax handle should be flexible: a rigid ax handle “dries out” your hand. In cross-section, it has an ovoid but flattened shape with a sharper front and rounded rear edges. It is best to make an ax handle from the butt part of ash, maple, or elm. You can also use thin-grained birch. The most suitable thickness of the butt for preparing ax handles is 35-40 cm. The raw butt must be split, then dried with the ends sealed.



An ax handle with longitudinal layers (Fig. 5) is stronger. Before attaching the ax to the ax handle, find the center of gravity (Fig. 6). Typically this point (C) is located at the base of the eyelet. Then determine the center 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 upon impact.

If you place the blade with point B perpendicular to the middle line AB on the plane, then the end of the ax will have to touch the same plane at point C. The middle line of the ax (ML) is drawn, point P is on this line and is 3.5-4 from the plane CB see. The cutting of the ax 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 is 12-13 cm, and the thinnest place at the end of the ax is 9-10 cm. The final thickness is adjusted according to the hand. The ax handle ends in a “fungus-shaped” thickening that fixes the hand (clearly visible in the photo). This ax handle is indispensable in the cold and rain, when you have gloves or mittens on your hands. The “fungus” allows you to relax your hands while working. 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, for fear of letting go of it. On the workpiece for the “fungus”, thickening is provided in advance; it is processed last to prevent chipping when attaching the ax. When starting the nozzle, you need to place the workpiece. When adjusting the ax handle, you should constantly check the angle of fit by applying the ax to the plane (in Fig. 6 this is line NE). In the ax handle, adjusted to two-thirds of the depth of the eye, a cut is made to the same depth under the wedge (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 generously lubricated with BF-2 glue and the ax is finally mounted. Glue is also applied to a pre-prepared wedge made of hard wood (ash, maple, elm, apple, pear) and the wedge is driven in. To prevent the wedge from breaking when driving, it is made short. For the glue to dry completely, the ax needs to be dried for 24 hours on a radiator or near a stove. Finally, the ax handle is processed by hand, sanded and impregnated with drying oil or linseed oil.

The finished ax remains to be sharpened. An ax will save a lot of effort and time if its blade is always sharpened. For this purpose, it is useful to have with you plywood cut to the size of your chest pocket, pasted on both sides with waterproof sandpaper - coarse and micron. This plywood is enough for a whole season, unless the ax requires serious sharpening.