Wetterlings axe?

[PrimitiveSkills]

I'm gonna get a weatherlings axe for splitting wood to get nice stave's and chopping down tree's. I'm gonna go with either the wetterlings small hunting axe, the large hunting axe or the small splitting axe. Opinions?

[DarkSoul]

A splitting axe is designed for splitting small log sections for firewood. It's not what you are looking for, since you will be banging a wedge to open up a log. Chopping a tree down with a splitting axe is also not to great, since the bevel is too steep for that, and the weight is too high. You'll benefit a lot more from a hunting axe for felling trees. Still, those axes are not suitable for splitting of logs. No axe is...you need a true splitting wedge for that, OR an old axe head you are willing to sacrifice for splitting. Since this wedge/axe head will be beaten up.
I would advice a small or large (depending on your budget) hunting axe for felling of trees. And a seperate wedge or old, el cheapo axe head for splitting.

[PrimitiveSkills]

Thanks allot, but I decided to go with the splitting axe since i own a cold steel magnum kukri machete with a 17" blade which is powerfull and sharp enough to chop down tree's and is quite light but it's spine is only 2.5mm which means it would suck for batoning or splitting in general so i though that was the best choice to make.
Plus i don't use the wedge method to split it, i prefer batoning.

-PrimitiveSkills

[DarkSoul]

So, what do you want to use the splitting axe for? Splitting firewood? Or something bow related?

[PrimitiveSkills]

Splitting the bow stave with
the batoning technique.

-PrimitiveSkills

[johnston]

I am a big fan of Cold Steel but a machete is not a tool to use for chopping down
trees no matter who it is made by. Splitting maul is just what the name implies
and is only useful as a wedge for bow staves.
You may have whiffed on this one. Shoulda listened to DarkSoul imho

Lane

[SA]

iv'e never used a wetterlings axe but i do have a fiskars axe from lowes , i use it to cut and split wood (works great and tough ) as far as machete's go we use them in surveying to cut line , sometime's you have to cut tree's i use a kaishandao machete and it will work good on trees up to about 5'' or 6'' but it has some heft to it,but you don't want to use a flimsy machete to cut big trees it could break on ya.

[PrimitiveSkills]

People it's not an ordinary machete it's a KUKRI machete those things fell trees like it's nothing and coldsteel just took the best of two world with forward weighting a huge belly and high 1055 carbon blade it slices through a tree like it's nothing with a bit of sharpening.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMheKnzT6z4

-PrimitiveSkills

[gianluca100]

this video made me angry: why cut this tree down just for fun and in such an unprofessional and stupid way?
to demonsrate the cutting power of his kukri he could have taken any other piece of wood (already felled).
the only hope is, that this tree had to be cut down anyway, for whatever reason. but looking at the guy the hope is shallow.

gian-luca

[DarkSoul]

Splitting the bow stave with
the batoning technique.

-PrimitiveSkills

You will be detroying an expensive, perfectly good splitting axe then. You are much better off using a 5 dollar cheap hatchet or a true splitting wedge. A (splitting) axe is not designed for impacts on the head such as batoning. The eye will open up, the handle will get loose and/or get in the way of you, and the steel is so hard than metal splinters may fly towards you at high velocity.
Take my advice or leave it: do not use a splitting axe for batoning long logs.

[crooketarrow]

  I''m with DARKSOUL I've cut dozens of trees and I've split 100's and 100's of staves.
 If you'd doing this to use on bow wood. Buy a saw and hunters ax,wedges and a slede hammer. I also worked for and as a surveyer for 6 years. And have what seams cut a 100's of miles on line. A KUKRI might work fine for this or cutting sapleings but as for cutting tree's for saves. You sure have'nt cut much bow wood.
 I don't store any staves anymore. Except for the dozzens and dozzens I alreally have AND THESE ARE ALL 8 to 21 years old. With age I've mellowed and can't see cuting a tree just too have it. But do go back and cut it if I need it. I'm out and about 4 or 5 days out of the week. I have a small folding saw fits into my pack just right. But mosty just ribbion them and store them away in the back of my mind for when I need it. But if I need it and it's close and I can carry a chain saw to it I do.
   I guess with getting older I look for the easy way out.
 

[PrimitiveSkills]

Well my kukri seems to go easily through English oak which is a pretty dense and hard wood...

[Dane]

Consider that there is a wealth of experience and wisdom here, and it is offered freely at the asking, you should probably give a bit more weight to what these guys are saying. But if not, the best lessons are sometimes the ones that are learned the hard way. Best of luck with that machete.

[PrimitiveSkills]

Kukri.

-PrimitiveSkills

[JW_Halverson]

I wonder why those burly guys in the old timey logger competitions haven't thrown away all their axes and bought kukri's.  It's the Chuck Norris of machetes.   

Oh yeah, something about the right tool for the job.