a good axe for roughing out staves?

[sieddy]

I've got the small fisksrs x5 and I think its great for the purpose. It's got and holds a good edge and its so light it affords really goog control. I'm sure ill upgrade at some point but it does the biz for me! 😊

[Hawkdancer]

RD,
My bad! Or OPPs!  My England geography is a bit lacking - except for brewery's and pubs!! . Where is Berkshire from the White Horse Vale?  I owe you a pint!
I will be looking for the "old steel". Here in the states, it is a bit of a challenge! and a bit pricey!  As in my pre '64 Winchester being 8 -10 times more than the original cost.  Any way, use what works for you and stats sharp!
Hawkdancer

[Morgan]

I use a half hatchet. I believe it is a Vaughn brand. I like the profile of it a lot better than most hatchets as it is more blade like than wedge. I brought the bevel back with a file so it takes a deeper bite, took maybe half an hour to do. I sharpen it with a mill bastard file and it holds its edge for a very long time. I think I gave $20 for it and would get another in a heartbeat if something happened to the one I have.

[Badger]

    I really enjoy working with an axe but I find my forearms pump up like popeye in just a few minutes and will start cramping. A few years ago I made a commitment to stick with it for at least a month and see if the forearms could adjust to it. They got a little better but I still couldn't work as long as I wanted to work. I think I might be using all wrist instead of arm, not sure.

[kbear]

I use the Fiskars X7 to rough profile, and work the belly down to about 1", then a single bevel Silky Nata hatchet for almost finish profile. Shinto from there. I find the X7 is light in the hand, very sharp, and allows some good control. The Nata is great for hueing the line........

[Shawn Rackley]

At one time I had the fiskars hatchet like that, not sure of the model or length, and I never used it to work on a bow (haven't built one yet). But I thought it was a very sturdy tool, and easy to get scary sharp. I actually almost cut my thumb off with it. Lol, alas, someone stole it.  I can't attest to it's use in this particular scenario. But I can say it's tough, I beat mine to death before it got stolen.

[OTDEAN]

Gransfor Bruks everytime.  Last a life time and hardly ever needs to be sharpened if looked after.  Worth the investment.

[TorstenT]

In my (limited) experience, axes or hatchets with symmetrical cross sections tend to either bounce of or go in too deep. I’d recommend an asymmetrically shaped axe head. We call those ‘carpenter’s axe’ in Germany. They look like this:

[stuckinthemud]

They're called 'side-axe' in the UK; I am mixed-handed, so I said to a tool maker (I'm saving hard, he hand forges beautiful axes) that maybe I'd need a left- and a right-handed axe, but he suggested an easily removed wedge in the handle to allow the head to be quickly removed, flpped over and re-attached, so one head can be both left and right-handed.

[Taxus brevifolia]

You can use a cheap p.o.s. hatchet, but get the correct grind. Depending on if left or right handed. When your hatchet strikes wood, the inside edge, the one that's toward the wood, should have a longer sharper bevel, while the edge facing away from the wood should have a shorter steeper bevel.