Why No Love For AXES

[Cosmoline]

It's true the US was built as a nation of riflemen. But it was also a nation of axemen. Axes were with the first colonists on the east coast and literally built the first settlements. They continued to be fundamental tools as people moved west. A good axe can build a cabin, butcher game, and knock heads. But while I see a lot of folks spending tons of cash on fancy knives and even swords, the axes get ignored. I mean come on. There is nothing LESS American than a sword. Sure some officers used to carry them, but swords and the elitism they represent represent the cultures of Japan and Europe--not America. We are a nation of THE AXE. A simple, amazingly tough and useful tool. With a good axe and a good rifle, there's nothing you can't do.

 

[orangeninja]

An axe, just like a corrections officer, is a necassary and vital thing to have. Yet it's so unglamorous that it continually gets ignored.

 

[Pawcatch]

I blame products of our culture for the downfall of the axe.Things like laziness,canned pasta sauce,T.V. dinners,fast food joints,ect. are responsible.
IMO,these things are pure evil that are more harmful to knife/axe use than any legislation.
OTOH,in less developed societies,you'll find an axe in just about every home because they don't have access to the evils of pre-made food.

 

[thorn726]

yeah kinda funny cuz first thing comes to mind-
Axe murderer! heheh.

also the 18th century woodcutting axe- not very exciting to look at, i would imagine.

 

[rbmcmjr]

Some of us like axes for aesthetic reasons:



Paul Goertz made 1/4" thick ATS-34 with full convex edges. It is supposedly heat-treated by Bos, although I don't see his trademark. The cutting edge is about 5 inches long. It is surprising how unoffensive this is to someone who panics at the sight of a 5" camp knife.

Rick

 

[thorn726]

It is surprising how unoffensive this is to someone who panics at the sight of a 5" camp knife.

heheh - maybe it's your presentation (the blood red background), but
man - that thing Screams hockey mask!
not that it isn't one of the coolest blades i ve ever seen, that thing does look great

 

[Valkman]

It is supposedly heat-treated by Bos, although I don't see his trademark.

It may very well be heat treated by Mr. Bos. As I understand it, you have to send him knives for a while and convince him you are a good knifemaker before you get his stamp. So many of his knives are not stamped if made by new or unknown makers.

 

[Warren]

Get a shovel.

I LOVE MY SHOVEL!

 

[priv8ter]

You know...

I bought The Shovel off e-bay, and it said it was Cold Steel, but there are no markings, and the blade is nowhere as sharp as I thought it would be.

Still, I Love my Shovel, and I guess I start trying to put a better edge on it, and practice my throwing.

greg

 

[armoredman]

An axe, just like a corrections officer, is a necassary and vital thing to have. Yet it's so unglamorous that it continually gets ignored.

Now that's a nice thing to say. Thank you.
The axe was one of the most usefull and ubiquitous tools of the middle ages. It could do double duty as weapon and tool, (tried to chop down a tree with a sword?), cheaper to purchase or make, and some were shaped with a flat top to also serve as a walking cane, if need be. The peasant rarely if ever had access to a sword or pike, but almost always had his axe.

 

[Third_Rail]

We have at least 8 axes in this house, along with 6 or 7 hatchets, and a dozen or so machetes.


We like tools here, but sadly my parents don't like firearms. Go figure!

 

[carebear]

Interesting point on axe murderers.

From what I remember from a crim. essay years ago, they were the first noted "serial killers", before that term came into vogue. They chose the axe not just for it's killing power and comparative quietness but because they didn't need to carry them. Every home, urban or rural, pretty much had an axe on the porch next to the unlocked door. Pick it up, walk in and set to work.

 

[Cosmoline]

I would say axes are far more effective weapons than swords in many respects. Of one thing they're still lethal even when dull. And the physics of the axe magnifies the impact force greatly.

 

[carebear]

Sword's got a point and is theoretically faster and lighter. More convenient to carry at the waist as well.

 

[Kingcreek]

an Axe is an important tool. I wouldn't hunt without mine.

 

[middy]

Well Cosmoline, an axe can certainly hit harder, but they are hardly balanced for fencing. So yeah, they are superior in the sense of "against an unarmed and slower or completely unaware opponent"... but against a competent swordsman you'd be hard pressed to use that axe fast enough to save your own life.

Now, if you had a shield on your left arm to go with that axe, that's another story.

 

[Vic303]

Two words: Granfors Bruks!

 

[Cosmoline]

You said it! Those are awesome axes.

As far as the speed of a sword, consider that the axe does not need to be swung tree-felling fashion against a person. A simple jab at the chest with the top of a full size axe is enough to knock a man down. Moreover, battle axes have edges curving towards the front so they can be used as very effective jabbing weapons.

 

[Third_Rail]

Axes - a hammer with a sharp edge.

 

[Soap]

Axes rock. I have a handmade hawk that I tote around the woods but I'll probably get a Gransfors for heavier duties.

 

[Sunray]

"...Get a shovel..." Must be an engineer.
"...against a competent swordsman you'd be hard pressed to use that axe fast enough to save your own life..." Tell that to Robert the Bruce. He split Henry De Bohun's armoured head in half to the torso with an axe. Henry De Bohun had a couched lance and was on a bigger horse. No medieval weapon was as effective as an axe. From the Lochaber to the war axe nothing was as effective.
"...LESS American than a sword..." Ever see a picture of any American General without a sword? Be it a sabre or otherwise. Until the cartridge revolver was perfected, the cavalryman's main weapon was the sabre. That's why the pistol holster was worn butt forward on the right. And why there's such a thing as a Sam Browne belt. The former to make drawing the sabre easier. The latter, because Sam had lost an arm and came up with the belt so he could draw his sword. Granted he was a Brit, but the Sam Browne belt was worn by U.S. officers too.
Mind you, you're right about the axe being far more important to frontiersmen than any sword. Not just Stateside either. However, other than the tomahawk(still an axe) and farrier's axes, axes were not used much as weapons in colonial North America. Axes, here, are tools, not weapons. There's no history of the axe as a weapon here and that's why there seems to be little interest.
What amazes me is the widespread use of the hatchet by campers. They're really no good for splitting firewood and don't work as well as a machete for cutting brush and kindling.

 

[Kingcreek]

The tool box on my truck carries a full size axe as part of my standard equip. Depending on where and what I hunt, I often carry a small Gransfors hunter's axe or hatchet in my backpack.
Last fall I was bowhunting whitetails in some rough timber around an old abandoned gravel pit. As luck would have it, I drilled a nice mature doe with my longbow and she ran into the nastiest tangled mess of trees and partway down into a deep ravine. I used the 19" axe to clear some tangles and cut some saplings to make bracing like ladder rungs wedged against small trees just so I could field dress her and climb out with her in 2 pieces.

 

[ClarkEMyers]

Most importantly Jeff Cooper wrote nice things about the ax.

Most importantly Jeff Cooper wrote nice things about the ax. His was a double bitted winged design - have to hammer with the flat and close the eye but it could thrust and also hook a leg on the return.

 

[fjolnirsson]

Well Cosmoline, an axe can certainly hit harder, but they are hardly balanced for fencing. So yeah, they are superior in the sense of "against an unarmed and slower or completely unaware opponent"... but against a competent swordsman you'd be hard pressed to use that axe fast enough to save your own life.

Hmm, ever tried it? This, as with so many other things, depends on the skill of the person using it.



I LIIIKKKE my axe!

 

[hso]

"There's no history of the axe as a weapon here and that's why there seems to be little interest."

Whoa there! What's this crazy resurgence of tomahawks if there's no interest in the axe? What was one of the essential weapons of both native and frontier Americans? While our history is short compared to Europe and the gun reduced the sword to primarily ceremonial status the small axe had and still does have value as a weapon.