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Thread: What is a Felling Axe Good For?

  1. #1
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    What is a Felling Axe Good For?

    I decided to get a maul because I was destroying a stump with potassium nitrate, and it was too close to the house to burn. I needed something to break it up.

    From there, I decided to pick up a couple of felling axes, because it just seemed weird to live on a farm and not have a real axe.

    I bought an old Plumb single-bitted axe on Ebay, and I hung it on a handle from the hardware store. Yesterday I cut a small oak with it to see if the head was secure.

    I had forgotten how unpleasant chopping wood (and all other forms of exercise) is. I'm actually considering using the axe in my live oak eradication program simply because of the workout it gives me.

    Now I have a question: is a felling axe really good for anything? What can I do with it that a chainsaw won't do better? I know there has to be something.

    My work with trees is limited to cutting and burning. I'm not turning my own trees into projects, unless ashes constitute a project.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

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  2. #2
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    Well, when you've dulled your last chain on a hidden bit of fence post, run out of bar oil, or the gas can is dry, the felling axe will still work. That's about it. If you have a dedicated purpose for the work, you don't enjoy axe work,and how it gets done isn't a concern, I can't see why anyone would pick up an axe and not a chainsaw.
    Your endgrain is like your bellybutton. Yes, I know you have it. No, I don't want to see it.

  3. #3
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    One of my axes is put to work right along side the chainsaw when cutting firewood.

    Its first job is often marking the log. There is a line drawn on the handle so my desired size for firewood can be quickly marked on a log with the axe.

    Once the wood is cut, instead of having to bend down to pick it up, the axe is swung into the end. This allows me to use the axe to pick up the cut piece and set it in the back of my truck without the wear and tear on my old back.

    Splitting wood with an axe instead of a maul can be relaxing or invigorating. Don't ask me why, but some of the members of the fairer sex are mesmerized by the sight of a man chopping wood.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
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  4. #4
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    I keep my felling ax around because it was once used by Abraham Lincoln. It is very old but in pretty good shape. The handle has been replaced three times, but the head has only been changed once.
    Life's too short to use old sandpaper.

  5. #5
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    I've never seen a chainsaw throwing contest although I bet it would make for great TV. So there is that.

  6. #6
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    To get your chainsaw loose after you have committed some foolishness.
    jim

  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by James Pallas View Post
    To get your chainsaw loose after you have committed some foolishness.
    jim
    Nah, you keep an extra bar and chain with you for that purpose. Now if you get the SECOND one stuck.....

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bob Glenn View Post
    I keep my felling ax around because it was once used by Abraham Lincoln. It is very old but in pretty good shape. The handle has been replaced three times, but the head has only been changed once.
    Wouldn't that make it a new axe, never used by good old Abe?
    Lee Schierer
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  9. Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    Wouldn't that make it a new axe, never used by good old Abe?
    Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. If the head is replaced, doesn't that make it a new axe?

  10. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Lee Schierer View Post
    Wouldn't that make it a new axe, never used by good old Abe?
    Methinks that was the joke...

    I have no axes/hatchets anymore except for the splitting types. If I can't cut it with a chainsaw or a Silky saw it doesn't need to be cut.
    Of all the laws Brandolini's may be the most universally true.

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  11. #11
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    Felling axes are good for plumb bob sighting a standing tree, and hitting your felling wedges with.

    Last edited by Tom M King; 09-21-2018 at 3:36 PM.

  12. I'm sensing a bit of anti-axe sarcasm in this thread I like axes, and I like using them, so there's my bias

    Felling axes excel mostly at felling, limbing, and bucking. Not so much for splitting, although with a bit of skill you can do that, too. As far as woodworking goes, you'll probably find more uses for a small hatchet in the shop. A felling axe can be good for certain jobs in timber-framing.

    As far as axes vs. chainsaws -- They are both dangerous, and using either tool safely requires some level of skill and experience. However, acquiring the skill and fitness to use an axe efficiently takes longer (efficiency with an axe is key, every wasted swing is you getting more tired, and less work getting done). A chainsaw will get more work done in less time, most of the time. That said, I get more satisfaction out of using an axe - it's kind of an athletic challenge for me, and like other physical activities, seeing/feeling my improvement over time feels good. My main bit of advice for either is temper your enthusiasm, do your research, get some instruction, and maintain a healthy respect for the damage these tools can do to your body - it only takes a nano-second of inattention, or one bad decision.

  13. #13
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    I use a single bit Plumb axe for cutting roots when digging up a stump. It's no place for a chain saw.

  14. #14
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    We all know that we must have at least one of each tool, so you need at least three axes.

  15. #15
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    I expected a cascade of uses I hadn't thought of, but it hasn't materialized. It looks like felling axes really are not as useful as they once were.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

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