Thursday, August 23, 2012

How Sharp Should Your Axe Be?

There seems to be a lot myth and confusion on internet forums about how sharp an axe should be. Some say they should be dull. Some say "kind of sharp, like a dull knife". Others say as "sharp as your sharpest knife." So who is right?

Answer- Your axe should be shaving sharp!

Why? I think it's best explained by Mors Kochanski, father of modern bushcrafting, who said in his 1987 book "Bushcraft",

"The inexperienced and occasional users who are more prone to accidents in the first place, often fail to appreciate the importance of a keen edge. All woodworking tools, including axes, should be sharp enough to shave with for effortless, efficient and enjoyable work. Most new axes require from an hour to a half a day of hand sharpening to put them into proper shape. A dull axe is less efficient and more tiring to use. It is also a greater hazard as it glances more readily. An axe should be sharpened on a regular basis, perhaps with every half-hour of use or each time a tree is cut down. A minute spent on sharpening may shorten your chopping time by 5 minutes."

Also, Bernie Weisgerber, author of the US Forest Service Axe Manual "An Axe to Grind" says,


(from an "Axe to Grind")

In the coming weeks I will be posting some of my techniques for sharpening axes, so keep checking back!

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  1. Yeah axes should be as sharp as you can get them. Getting them shaving sharp isn't hard once you learn the right technique. That's why my Wetterlings LHA can do work bigger than it should. It bites almost to the haft when I'm chopping and stays that way for a good while and I can touch it up fairly easy.

    Nice quotes of advice from "real" experts.

    1. Thanks Outdoor. I have the same Wetterlings, and it's as sharp as my Moras :) I've been in talks with a couple of veteran Elk hunters up here, and I'm going to lend mine to them to dress their game to see how well an axe can do in place of a knife and saw. Will get photos and post it on the blog come Fall. Would be nice to show readers just how versatile an axe is in a survival situation.



    2. Yeah that's funny how it's called a "Hunters Axe" but I don't think anyone's done a post on the web yet showing it dressing or quartering out an animal. That's a good idea to try it on an elk.

      Maybe I'll try mine out on a whitetail this fall...

  2. dave canterburry did it on his video series on youtube

  3. Thanks for letting us know Elyk. We'll go check it out.