In the real world things get wet. Things get rusty. Things get dirty. And that can have an impact on how those things, and the people using them, perform. Yet, I see pictures all over the internet of bright, fresh, clean gear and tools, and corresponding words of how awesome those tools are and how much better prepared their owner is for having them. Bright. Shiny. Clean. Who knows anything about a piece of gear if it is always bright, shiny and clean? Who knows anything about themselves and what they can do if they never get wet, tired, dirty? The real world isn’t hard to get into – You don’t have to be a search-and-rescue bad-ass or trapped behind enemy lines or a bushcrafting wildman living in a cave or any such nonsense -You just have to go outside and do something from time to time. Every opportunity for learning, working skills, and getting gear dirty should be leapt upon with vigor. I went camping with my girlfriend recently, and used the opportunity to break out some skills and get my gear dirtier. Of course, this was not “survival” or anything close: This was camping. We could have quit and gone to warm, dry, solid housing at any point we so desired. We simply chose not to desire. Being out in the woods in any capacity provides opportunities for testing, learning and growth on many fronts. The opportunity to actually use gear, improve skill, and maybe do it under some (but nowhere near ultimate) pressure is priceless. This gives a confidence and ownership to skill that contributes to using time and energy much more efficiently when those skills are actually needed. Accordingly, I like my camping a little uncomfortable; It should be work: That’s part of the fun. We got lucky, as the four days we spent out were filled with near constant rain, mist, and cold. The girlfriend has limited experience with the woods and skills there-for, so this was a fun introduction to some of those ideas. I did my best to illustrate things, let her try what she wanted to, and keep it fun; Leaving the heavy lifting to me, and not making her responsible for our success or failure at keeping fires going, getting food cooked, etc. The next trips, I’ll start pulling her more into the work and as her confidence and skill rises, we’ll be able to work as a team (I say team meaning, ideally, her skill will match mine, and we will be able to perform as equals, where one can carry the other if necessary). As we go on, we’ll start making more adventurous trips, seeking more challenge rather than expectable comforts, to really push those skills.

The big thing of the trip was fire (of course): To keep warm, to cook food, and simply for the fundamental boost of having a warm fire blazing in camp. It was validating that on the night of the hardest continuous rain I was able to both start and keep going a good campfire which lasted the night and left hot coals in the morning from which I rebuilt it with minimal effort.

With the rain and constant moisture, the biggest challenge was keeping in dry wood. This necessitated a lot of splitting to expose drier wood, and chopping of wood into sections that could be dried near the fire. The amount of wood-cutting I was able to do, for the small amount of energy I actually expended, is owed very much to the quality of the Gransfors Bruks Forest Axe I use. The balance and edge geometry (very much the edge geometry) allow this small axe to do work more akin to what is expected of a larger axe, without fatiguing the user. The excellent edge geometry also allowed for feathering wood, and other small tasks often placed upon a knife. Being able to do these little chores with the axe made for a smoother work-flow, and produced faster results as I could immediately respond to the needs of the fire without switching tools.

The Truly Superior Geometry of the Gransfors Forest Axe

There are a lot of truly inferior axes and hatchets out there. Almost anything from the average hardware store is a worthless piece of shit, but there are some hatchets/axes from big name cutlers that are atrocious as well. The poor quality of these inferior tools is in the materials (cast steel, or low carbon steel [both stainless and non]), edge geometry (bevels that are too thick, secondary edge bevels [which should never be found on an axe], hollow grinds [also should never be seen on an axe]) and ergonomics (poor handle designs, with isolated contact areas that will cause hot spots and blisters with very little work). Gransfors Bruks axes are not the only choice, but they epitomize the features to look for in a good hatchet or axe: Forged high-carbon steel, narrow bit (the actual body of the head from eye to edge) with convex bevels (which taper directly to cutting keenness, without a secondary edge bevel), and smooth, contoured hafts which hold the hand, allow for multiple grips, and are free of hot-spots. I’ve known all this for a long time, and this trip simply provided more proof that a good axe makes all the difference. If you’re in the woods to have fun, it’ll keep the work from overwhelming the fun. If you’re in the woods because something went wrong, it’ll leave you energy for other essential tasks (This is true of all quality tools, not just axes).

The Chipped Bit

Although the Gransfors performed admirably, it did suffer some, mostly from encountering a rock in my carelessness (the first time in the four years I’ve had it that I chipped the edge). Cutting the burr with the file on my Leatherman returned the axe to high functionality, even without benefit of a proper sharpening. Further, the rain brought on some minor rust, and it raised the grain in the handle some, but this was minimal due to my habit of waxing the axe head and haft. These issues were quickly remedied once I was home again. Steel wool cut the raised grain of the handle and took the rust off the head, without removing the protective black fire-scale from its forging. A good waxing of both the haft and the head restored the protective coating. A good sharpening with a sharp file, and an axe stone, cut the burr off the chips and restored the rest of the edge to hair-popping keenness. I do not sharpen out chips in my axes, rather I leave them in place and sharpen over them. Sharpening them out takes away too much of the axe, too fast, and can alter the geometry significantly unless great care is taken. It is better to simply sharpen over them until they are naturally sharpened out: This extends the life of the axe, maintains its geometry better, and does not significantly hurt its cutting ability. Even though the axe could handle some finer chores, there was still plenty of work for a good knife. I relied primarily on my SurvivalCraft V1-mod Mora, but also took the opportunity to work with one of my own knives as well. Both performed admirably, and only suffered some staining and surface rust which easily cleaned off. My preference for high carbon knives is to keep them fairly highly polished (800 grit or above. I stone the flats, as well as the bevels, of the Mora to a high shine) which resists rust better than a rougher surface. I did nothing other than minor cleaning to either knife over the four days we were in camp, and neither of them suffered for it. The Mora saw use in food prep, which kept some grease and oil on the blade as well; Washing it prior to preparing each meal kept that grease from going rancid as food grease is want to do.

Stained, but Physically Undamaged

The SurvivalCraft is scandi-ground, which some people seem to fear is too thin or weak for heavy work, but the edge did not suffer any damage at all, even though it was used for batoning and a variety of other heavy tasks. It held up, and performed, with aplomb.

Rusty to Brand New in One-Easy Step

The small BFE Labs drop point similarly held up well, and was used for all the same tasks without fail. It’s thicker, conventional grind (with secondary edge bevel) cut well, and held up to even more robust use including light prying without incurring any damage. Neither knife was sharpened over the four days, and both held their edges very well, remaining capable of fine slicing. My preference for a woods knife remains with a scandi-grind knife, rather than one with a secondary edge bevel, but there is a place for the more robust edge qualities of a secondary bevel, particularly one still capable of very fine slicing.

Shiny, Honed and Ready for Adventure or Emergency

As for actually getting things to burn, not just cutting them up to be burned or cooked atop the burning, I mostly cheated. I quickly tired of starting fires with my survival fire-starters and, once I’d shown the girlfriend how to do it, quickly began to cheat like a sleaze using dry paper and butane lighters (which I typically carry in my fire kit anyhow, because if you aren’t cheating, you aren’t trying). Once I had fires, I tried to never be without a bed of hot coals from which to start subsequent fires. It’s hard to hurt ferro rods and strikers, and no harm came to those I’d brought along from any of the inclimate weather. Similarly, the tinders I’d brought along all performed well, the little I used any of them. BFE Labs has been working for over a year now on a rather comprehensive look at spark-making tools and tinder products that are on the market, and I got some additional material recorded for that project on this trip as well. Other than recording some more data, and showing the girl how to do it, I primarily relied on natural sources of tinder. I found a large section of fatwood, and used my knife to shave off small piles of it for fire starting, and to put between hot coals and kindling to encourage ignition. The rain and moisture made for a fun (mostly) series of tests of my fire skills, and I was glad for the opportunity. These weren’t truly harsh circumstances, and everything remained pretty much fun despite the wet and cold, but the experience with the gear and skills is always worthwhile. I’m posting this to share some of my ideas on honing and passing along woods skills, and on the use and maintenance of tools, and simply to point out that every opportunity is valuable if you let it be. Every opportunity to work these skills and prove out gear should be embraced fully.

Continuing the conversation from our previous article, there are some further notes on axes and hatchets that merit sharing. While entire books on working with and maintaining axes can be (and have been) written, that’s not something (at present) I seek to do. That said, there are a few seemingly random points I feel are important to bring up. Mostly these are all things I repeatedly see done, taught, written or illustrated wrong or with insufficient detail.

Specialization:

To begin with, as an immediate reference to the previous articles detail on sharpening, there is some allowance for specialization on geometry and sharpening if you’re running a double bit axe or hatchet in the Nessmuk tradition. In this case you can make one bevel slightly thicker for dealing with hard knots and rougher use (cutting on the ground), and keep the other thinner and keener for high performance cutting. I have never personally used a hatchet like this but I use a double bit axe for wood gathering all the time and make a practice of maintaining its edges this way.

I am of very mixed feelings about Nessmuk type and other double-bit hatchets/small axes. Double bits are a tool for the experienced woodsman, and they will punish you without remorse if you are careless with one. Putting yourself that much closer to the back edge of one with either a cruiser-axe or a hatchet size double bit is not something even I am particularly comfortable with. If you use an axe like this, I can see no reason not to sharpen each edge for different materials, but thats not necessarily an endorsement of the style either. I really recommend single bits for the inexperienced/occasional user, and think they are a must for a starter axe/hatchet. For a strictly survival practice, vs. being a woodscrafter, I’d stick to single bits.

Movement:

It is never wise to move any distance with an uncovered axe in the hand. From time to time, however, it is necessary to step from one place to another with the axe in hand when wood-gathering. There is one safe way to carry an axe in the hand, and that is hold the axe by the handle, directly below the head (hand on the shoulder) with the bit facing down (assuming a single bit). This way if you stumble, you know exactly where the head edge of the axe is and have some ability to control where it goes, as it will go where your hand does – Thus to not fall on it all you have to accomplish is to not fall on your hand. If you are carrying the axe by the mid-handle, or end of the handle, and stumble you have far less idea of where that head is, and little to no chance of keeping it out of the way of your intersection with the terra.

The Only Way to Grip an Axe for Hand Carry

Other movement with the axe should always employ a blade cover, and when hand carried it should be done in the same manner. There is no legitimate reason to casually let an axe hang, swing loose at arms end, or to rest it across ones shoulders.

Materials:

As mentioned in the previous piece, a great many of the axes and hatchets commonly available in hardware stores today are abominations for a variety of reasons. Already addressed is the poor geometry and edge characteristics of these wretched beasts, but another primary horror of these tools is the steel used.

A good axe or hatchet is made from forged steel or machined from a solid billet. A good axe is never cast. Many hardware store, ‘homeowner grade”, axes and hatchets are however just that: Cast. Cast steel does not have the strength of grain structure of forged steel, and it deals with shock and stress considerably worse, to include cracking and chipping with considerable ease. I have also never found a piece of cast steel, particularly in an axe, that would hold an edge like forged steel, although this could be attributed to the fact that the cast tools are generally made from a lower quality of steel to begin with. Either way, avoid cast tools at all costs – Forged all the way (or, as I said, machined from solid billets, which is rare in all but some tactical hatchets).

Handles:

Another great sin of many of todays hardware store axes and hatchets is the prevalence of fiberglass handles. Not only are these atrocities offered on many a new axe today, but they are commonly the only new handle you can find in many stores. Out of sheer desperation, and being unable to find any wooden handles anywhere one week, I put a fiberglass handle on one of my large single bit axes. It is awful.

The handle (as is common) is a fiberglass core with a plastic shell, and is set into the eye of the axe with epoxy rather than wedged in place. As such it is without a doubt tough and will probably last forever, which is truly unfortunate as I have no hope of wearing it out and replacing it with a wooden handle.

One common trait of fiberglass handles is that the grip area at the end is textured. This texturing, for “grip”, is just enough to speed up the blister-making process (even through gloves) about ten times that of normal. It also interferes with getting a proper swing, as a proper axe swing involves the off hand starting at the top of the handle and sliding down to meet the strong-hand through the swing.

Another problem with the fiberglass handles is they transfer a great deal of energy, more than any wooden handle I ever worked with. If you over-swing striking the material to be cut with the handle instead of the axe, you’ll get a certain shock with any handle. With a fiber fiberglass handle this is a bone-rattling, finger jolting, bastard. The general energy transfer up the shaft from cutting with an fiberglass handled axe is far more fatiguing over the long term, than with a wooden handled axe. There may be some justification for putting composite, fiberglass or synthetic handles on hatchets and tomahawks for the tactical environment, in which they serve utility roles such as breaching and extrication, but for a wilderness tool, I prefer wood handles all the way.

On the topic of handles, and mentioning texturing, Several sources advocate roughening up the gripping area of axe/hatchet handles, but I think this is a mistake. A properly shaped handle should retain the hand perfectly well, and any texturing only provides points to focus energy and wear, causing additional blisters (even when wearing gloves).

Another mistake in handle selection or shaping for the working tool is distinct angles/corners on the handle. I’ve seen this in some custom hatchets particularly, which have octagonal or hexagonal handles with hard angled transitions from plane to plane. This is a mistake just as much as texturing, in that any focused area (high points, hard corners) is going to wear blisters. A well shaped handle that is smooth, without being slick, will hold the hand without any need for additional traction.

Eventually you will need to rehandle your axes/hatchets. Do not burn the handle out of the head! As noted before, in regards to sharpening with power tools, heat ruins tempered tools. If you burn the handle out of an axe head, as is recommended in many books and by many individuals, you are also burning the temper out of the axe.

The proper way to remove a handle is to cut it off close to the head (if it has not broken off), secure the head to a work bench so it cannot move, and to then drill out what of the handle remains inside the eye. Focusing your drilling on freeing up the wedge, and removing material from the center of the haft, you will soon reach a point where you can use a drift to knock out what remains with ease. Always use care not to let the drill bit chew up the insides of the axes eye, not only is this ugly, but it can permanently alter the way a handle fits the eye for the worse, as well as weaken the eye of your tool.

A well made axe or hatchet can be a multi-generation tool with the proper care, use and respect. I have axes and hatchets that belonged to my father and grandfathers, which were used far harder (and far more regularly) than any modern axe I own, and all of them remain fine tools.

Axes come up more than a little here on BFE Labs, and rightfully so: There are few tools that can do what an axe does, much less do it well. While there are myriad opinions about proper cutting tools for the backcountry, and everyone seems to have their own take on a solution, BFE Labs take is that (generally) the best cutting tools are a knife and a hatchet or pack-axe. My preference is for a small-medium knife, and a long-handled hatchet (short axe?) around 15 – 20” overall length. For me this axe is idealized by the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe, but there are many good options out there, and folks of different size and need will benefit from axes of different sizes. What is inescapable with axes and hatchets of any size is blade geometry and sharpening. Without good geometry, and a good edge, no axe of any size is worth a good-goddamn. Unfortunately, many, many, axes on the market at present have truly horrible geometry. Most axe and hatchet like objects for sale are garbage for a variety of reasons, the leading being their geometry. Growing up ranching, my family depending on wood for about 80% of winter heating. We cut a lot of wood, and did a lot of it with axes. Common practice, a few times each fall and through winter, was to make an all day foray to find or fall timber, limb it out and cut it to length for hauling to the homeplace to saw and store. I continue to spend a good amount of time every fall and winter on the ranch helping with this process. Consequently, I’ve had an axe in my hands for many-dozens of hours every year, since I was eight years old. At this point, I am somewhat opinionated on axes. Although my opinions are driven by my experience, in one small part of the world cutting a limited type of timber, I’ve tried to expand my knowledge by seeking out diverse materials and trying my ideas on them. Drawn from all that, what follows is my belief in shaping and maintaining axes/hatchets for general backcountry use.

To begin we need understand the pertinent anatomy of the axe & hatchet. These are, for the most part, common terms/definitions of the parts of an axe/hatchet, but some variation may be encountered between here and elsewhere. That is no great matter, as this merely serves to create a commonality of terms between this article and the reader. This is a basic primer on the bits and pieces of the axe/hatchet, and the listed elements (by any name) will be fairly universal to all such tools. The basic axe/hatchet is comprised of a steel head, mounted to a handle inserted into the “eye” (a hollow hole in the center of the thickest part of the axe head). In a single bit axe/hatchet (also called a poll, or pole, axe) the eye is in the rear of the head, whereas in a double bit axe it is in the center. The only other real anatomical difference is that a double bit, obviously, lacks a poll. The poll of the axe is the generally heavy backside, behind the eye, which adds weight and can be (although it really shouldn’t be) used for hammering. The shoulder of the handle is a slight widening of the handle prior to the tang that is wedged into the eye of the axe. The bit of the axe is the portion of the blade forward of the eye. The cheek is the side of the axe, forward of the eye, and behind the bevel. The heel is the very bottom corner of the bit. The toe is the top corner of the bit. Now, there exists a wide variety of axes, and they can be made to do a variety of things. There are dedicated cutting axes for various timber, in addition to specific splitting axes, and even more axes that aren’t really either but suffer from such poor geometry that they make better splitters than cutters. Obviously a specialized axe such as a carpenters axe, carving axe or broad axe should be reserved for its intended tasks, or the user will be fighting somewhat of an uphill battle trying to make it work for more generalized tasks. In choosing the geometry for a field axe, I tend to go for a general shape with a lighter, thinner (through the cheek) head with keen bit geometry, for best results. You can split with a hatchet or axe that also cuts well, but you cannot cut/chop well with an axe that is so thick it only excels at splitting. Secondly, an axe that is too thick, preventing the bit from biting well into the wood, is dangerous, as they are more prone to glancing off the material being cut, possibly hitting you.

To the Left a Top-Down View of Poor Geometry - To the Right, Good Geometry

In my view, a good axe will have a smooth, slightly convex, “bevel”. I put bevel in quotation marks as this is not the distinct, hard angled shift of a knife bevel as we have come to know it – On an axe there will be an obvious transition from the cheek to the “bevel” but it is not a distinctive or crisp bevel, nor should it have a secondary (edge) bevel, as we are used to on knives. (Depending on the wood in your area, and what you find yourself processing the most of, you may want to go for a slightly thicker (more convexity), or slightly thinner (less convexity), variation on what is illustrated here. My preference remains for the middle-ground described here.) This Gransfors Small Forest Axe is a fine example of this desired profile (both in bevel and overall geometry), but if you look at any good axe such as Snow & Nealy, Wetterling and the like, you’ll see the type of profile I’m talking about.

Left to Right: Estwing Hatchet (good geometry), Handforged Tomahawk (fair), Antique Hatchet (horrible), and the very-fine Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe.

I am not a fan of the only slightly tapered (or not tapered at all) head with a bevel ground onto it like a knife. In my experience they do not work well at all and I avoid them. A hatchet/axe should have (looking down from the top, as if at the eye) a taper, preferably slightly concave, toward the edge forged into it, and then a smoothly transitioning “bevel” to the edge. This shape without any hard angles is less likely to wedge into the wood on a deep stroke, and less likely to glance off the wood and cause injury than a thicker profiled tool. The exception to this is a traditional tomahawk, or anything similar that narrows considerably just ahead of the eye – With this you also shouldn’t have the concerns about thickness hampering the cut, so long as the transition from the cheek to the bevel is smooth, free of hard angles that like to drag or catch. It is should be noted here that many modern “tomahawks” feature distinct secondary (edge) bevels, and many of them are also hollow-ground. For a fighting weapon this is probably fine, but it will not do for a woods tool. Hollow-grinds bind even worse than flat grinds, and secondary edges promote further binding. The edge of an axe/hatchet should be “zero beveled”, with a slightly convex bevel that smoothly (continuously) tapers from cheek to edge. The same rules apply to the geometry of the edge as to that of the overall head, if it is flat or hollow ground it will stick (and break easier), but if it is too bluntly convexed it will not bite as deeply and can glance off wood dangerously. The shape of the forward area of the above (in top-down profile) illustrated axes of good, fine or fair conformation is a good example of the proper bevel/edge. The cutting edge of the axe should have a bit of curvature to it from toe to heel. This presents the center of the bit further forward to focus energy in the beginning of the cut. Usually, on a well made axe, this isn’t an extreme curve, as too much curve results in a lot of functional edge being kept out of every cut. However, any amount of curve is usually enough to encourage most people to go nuts on it when they sharpen it. They’ll sharpen following that curve, working it from heel to toe and back again. In the long run what this does is make the curve more extreme by rounding the top and bottom corners back. The more rounded they get, the more curve there is, and the more curve there gets to be, the more radical the sharpening. This is further compounded by the fact that the ends of the edge dull at a different rate than the center which provides most of the cutting, and thus the corners of the bit are thinner, and more easily worn away by over-sharpening. The rounder the bit, the less effective cutting edge there is. Also, the geometry of the edge becomes less functional, as it will be much thicker on the top and bottom than in the center of the edge, further hampering effective cutting. When sharpening your axes/hatchets you must be careful not to over-sharpen the top and bottom of the edge. When I sharpen I work almost straight across the bit, where most of the sharpening actually takes place on the most used parts of the edge, across the center of it.

At Left, Poor Geometry from Sharpening as Indicated - At Right, Correct Zone for Focusing Sharpening Effort

Many writers offer the advice of sharpening a “fan” or “half moon” bevel, as illustrated – This is fine.

As you repeatedly sharpen an axe, focusing on the center of the bit and not overworking the toe and heel, you’ll end up with a bevel that looks more like this anyway. With axes that need a lot of reworking this is the profile I usually go for, for simplicities sake if nothing else. So long as your geometry remains good, you’re fine. I am of the elbow-grease school of axe sharpening to a great extent. I believe (because I have seen) that more damage can be done to an axe or hatchet by a careless hand with a power tool, than pretty much any other activity. For most touch ups my regular tools for sharpening are an axe file, and a “puck’ style axe hone. I will on occasion use a belt sander with a fine belt, to make such touch ups, or with a progression (coarse to fine) to make major alterations in the geometry. As with all tempered tools, care must be taken with a power-tool, not to get the piece too hot, as too much heat will take the temper out (or put in softer/harder spots). If it is gaining color (blue, straw yellow, etc) while you are working it, you’ve ruined the temper. If it’s getting so hot you need to dip it in a water can, you’ve ruined the temper. Power tools can also over-do your job for you, taking away too much material too fast. Learn to use hand-tools. They take longer, but they give you more control and precision over what you are doing, and will prolong the life of your axes and hatchets. Also, if you are in good habits regarding the maintenance of your tools, you will rarely have to invest major effort into resharpening your axe/hatchet, as you will never allow it to become so extremely dull.

My favored tools for sharpening axes/hatchets are an axe file and a round, dual-sided, axe hone. An axe file is merely a mill bastard file with a handguard to protect you from the edge. Some companies make axe files with a guard in place from the factory, Gransfors makes a nice looking one, but any mill bastard will work. I simply use a heavy piece of leather or kydex slipped onto the tang between the file and handle.

A Pair of Mill Bastard Files, With and Without Kydex Handguard

Round axe hones are a dual layer carborundum stone, one side coarse, the other fine. You can use just about any hone to work on your axe, I simply favor the round hones as they are easy to pocket and thus easy to carry in the field. Gransfors and several companies make such hones, and any of them should work. The sharpening process with these two tools begins with the file. First you must secure your axe against a work bench or other surface so that it will not slip, and you have both hands free to run the file. Securely clamp the handle to your work bench, or lean the axe head against a felled log with a stake driven behind the poll to hold it firm, leaving the majority of the bit exposed so that it may be worked. Gloves should be worn when sharpening the axe, as you will be working your hand towards the edge, not away from it. The file cuts in one direction, and that is on the push stroke not the pull. Pulling the file back across the bevel of the axe will fill the file teeth with metal faster, and dull the teeth faster as well. The appropriate stroke is to push across the bevel, then lift the file to return. With an axe that already has a good profile, you should use that profile as a guide so as to maintain it. With a severely damaged axe, or one of poor geometry when new, that you are trying to return to shape you are going to have to work it to the necessary profile and you can begin with less care (as you have a long way to go). If repairing a slightly nicked or chipped edge, sharpen it exactly as you would a perfect edge. Once the burr of the nick or chip is cut off, leave the damage in place rather than trying to sharpen it out as you would in a knife. Over time, you will sharpen out the nick, and it will not hamper cutting performance to leave it in place if the geometry behind and edge around it are otherwise in good form. Trying to sharpen out nicks and chips will reduce the life of the axe significantly, taking away more material than necessary to do (for minimal advantage in performance), as to move the edge back significantly means reprofiling the entire bevel to match. Just sharpen over the damage and press on. Work the entire surface of the bevel, focusing your work towards the middle (working towards the heel or the toe begins to add too much curve to the profile as discussed earlier). Whichever side of the axe you begin on, work until you turn a wire edge, then turn it over and repeat the process. Once you have turned the edge on the second side, its time to move on to the hone. Begin with the coarse side of the hone, and work evenly in circular motions across the entire surface of the bevel. Repeat on each side of the axe, changing when the (hopefully reduced) burr has turned, then switch to the finer side of the hone. Using the fine side of the hone you should be able to remove the burr completely, leaving a keen edge, which should bite into a fingernail and not slide across.

There is a lot more to know about axes, and how to work with them, but unless you can select one of good geometry, maintain that geometry and keep a keen edge on it, you won’t get too far. Poor construction and poor edges encourage poor technique and put the user at greater risk.

bestmadeco:

Coast to Coast, Part II
By Jeremy Blakeslee

Mile 1871
Longleaf, LA — Lumber Mill

The Southern Lumber Heritage Museum let me photograph off limits areas in exchange for the photographs. The saw mill, powerhouse, planar mill and machine shop are all still intact complete with belt driven everything; a rare collection and glimpse into the history of the lumber industry.

Mile 3300
Magdalena, NM — Kelly Mine (silver)

All that remains of this historic mine site is the head frame above the mine shaft. It can be hard to imagine that this was once a town of 3000 people, or that there is a labyrinth of shafts and corridors below the surface.

Jeremy Blakeslee has been exploring and documenting America’s industrial past for fifteen years, beginning with his first love, the former Bethlehem Steel Plant in Southeastern Pennsylvania. He’s traveled over several continents photographing architecture, machinery, and the ruins of indigenous cultures, but has an affinity for America.

Love the picture of the Headframe at Kelly! We’ve spent a lot of time there (mostly underground - The tunnels are extremely interesting), and love to see others enjoying the area.
That headframe, interestingly enough, was designed by Eiffel. Yes, that Eiffel.

Like a lot of good notebooks, this might not make sense to the person just casually opening it up.
Want more of what we do and are about? Full articles, complete products catalog (and regular updates there of) and routine blogging occur at http://BFELabs.com

Here, you will find the occasional sketch, interesting photo with nowhere else to go, or odd rumination. Thanks for thumbing through!

Another look at the knife of the man with a price on his head (before age 25, too).

BFE Labs Knives are Adventure Machines - Get yours today!

http://BFELabs.com

BFE Labs/Morgan Atwood Custom Knife
hand forged high carbon steel, 5.5” blade, 5.5” handle, black canvas micarta scales, brass tube pins, with hammer textured guard.
This knife has gone to war, and belongs to a man with an honest to god price on his head.

The BFE Labs Escape Saw
18TPI saw, for Metal, Plastic, Wood, and Vegetative Matter
Available in any length up to 12” Overall

http://BFELabs.com

BFE Labs UltraLight Kit Knives
Existing in the niche between minimalist (scalpel blade) and full-sized cutting tools for personal, pocket and tin-based, survival kits. These 1/32” thick knives are each handmade from high carbon saw steel, fully tempered and coated with a black epoxy coating for rust resistance.
The ultimate minimalist tool for survival, escape, and seeing the human will wrought upon any eventuality.
Available in Clip Point and Straight Point for $15 each
http://BFElabs.com

BFE Labs is a design firm, bringing cross-disciplinary experience together in pursuit of life saving solutions for wilderness, urban and tactical survival. With backgrounds in emergency services, engineering, electronics, fabrication and design, and weapons testing we do not hesitate to take diverse paths in design and testing of tools and solutions.
Active students, stagnation is our enemy. BFE Labs grew out of an organized training and exploration group, which remains on-going. Our ethos is antithetical to complacency – The solution to weakness is exposing it, and overcoming it, through hard training and hard work.
We believe in using an open model, providing the core of our knowledge freely, and letting what we do speak for itself – You decide, with your readership, support, and dollar if what we provide is worthwhile to you.

The Environment:
BFE, being the acronym for “Bum Fuck Egypt”, refers commonly to anywhere remote. Our definition expands BFE to mean any place or state in which isolation, austerity and possible hostility are working against you. BFE is a state of mind – A state of situation, not just terrain.
We’re here to find solutions, both software and hardware, for those environments, that austerity and hostility. BFE Labs is not just a name, it is representative of our environment: Surrounded by diverse terrain of mountains and high desert, our New Mexico location is an ideal environment for us. Within a 45-mile radius are plus-10,000 foot peaks, riparian wetlands, volcanic cliffs, and barren deserts. 

The Experience:
BFE Labs brings to the table an array of skillsets, interests and backgrounds.
BFE Labs principal and lead designer, Morgan Atwood, has been a custom knife and tool maker for 10 years. He has been a Wildland Firefighter and an EMT, and has experience providing medical support in austere environments in the remote Southwestern US. With life long experience living and working in the back-country, Morgan’s familiarity with remote environments and their unique requirements is one of the driving forces behind BFE Labs training, design work, writing and evaluations. Morgan is a long time student of martial arts and combatives, including edged weapons, WWII Combatives, and MMA, as well as a lifelong shooter and firearms skills student. Morgan has also been a student of engineering and general sciences while in pursuit of a degree, and brings this knowledge to the fore in his work.

Other contributing members of the BFE group bring to the table experience in advanced engineering fields, specialized materials and weapons testing, specialized manufacturing for the defense industry, and materials science and engineering.
In addition to technical and professional experience, everyone involved with BFE Labs has extensive experience in martial arts and sciences, shooting sports and wilderness pursuits, particularly technical sport. The BFE Labs crew conduct regular gym and range sessions in search of answers to problems of physical and armed confrontation. Beyond the training ground, sessions of the BFE Labs crew include such pleasures and pains as hiking and backpacking, rock climbing and mountaineering, abandoned mine exploration and spelunking.

Making use of some of the most remote and rugged terrain in the Southwest, we believe first in testing our bodies and minds – Developing ourselves in challenging and arduous situations – And from there, testing everything else.
We are focused by our experience driven philosophy – We develop material and designs that support our lifestyles and our professions. In adventures and professions where lives are at stake, there is no room for error. Our work is held to the greater standard of need we have established through hard play and harder work.

BFE Labs – Solutions for Austerity and Hostility.