PFODJ Ep 5 Axe Tomahawk Segment

Description

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Dave Canterbury, David Canterbury, The Pathfinder School,Bush Craft ,Survival skills, Historical Lore, Primitive Skills, Archery, Hunting, Trapping, Fishing, Navigation, Knives, Axes, Fire, Water, Shelter, Search and Rescue

Tags: Bushcraft,Survival,David Canterbury,Dave Canterbury,Pathfinder,The Pathfinder School,Archery,Hunting,Fishing,Camping,Primitive Skills,Fire,Water,Shelter,Navigation,First Aid,Search and Rescue,Signaling,Prepper,Preparedness,Self Reliance,Survivability,The 10 C's,Knives,Axes,Saws,Bow Drill,Ferrocerium Rod,Ferro Rod,Tarp,Hammock,Canteen,Cooking,Longhunter,Trapping

Video Transcription

one thing that we see when we look at historical writings and documentation is that almost all woodsmen prefer to carry some type of axe some smaller some larger if they had the means of conveyance like a pack train of horses canoes wagons and things of that nature they would carry a larger felling axe if they were on an expeditionary journey like a trapping expedition they would carry a slightly larger trappers axe if they were walking the foot it may be a smaller hatchet type axe and sometimes in the 1700s early 1800s they would carry what was called the tomahawk and the tomahawk is different than an axe so let's look at those right now so what I have here are two cutting implements approximately the same size this head is a little larger on this trappers axe and the handle is a little heavier this is what was considered a tomahawk the tomahawk would give the woodsman great advantage over an axe or hatchet of the same size because the handle was easily removable it gave him a multifunctional tool that he could use for skinning or scraping as well as a wedge because the handle was easily put into place and taken out it could be easily replaced if broken or damaged the tomahawk was also used as a defensive weapon along the frontier

the axe on the other hand has a handle that comes up through the bottom of the head and doesn't go down through the top of the eye goes through the bottom it's tapered and then wedged in place like this one is with two metal wedges now the advantage of the axe is it was a more robust tool generally heavier duty even if it was the same size the head was generally a little bit heavier and the handle was made of stronger material or heavier material but again it was also made of wood so that it could be readily replaced if something were to happen to it in the woods this is two examples of larger axes considered to be a forest or cruising time axe and axe like this would have been easily carried if you had conveyance and could be very useful over the longer term for building shelter and processing larger amounts of wood the best thing that you can do to fit an axe to yourself if you're buying a larger style axe that you're going to carry is to check the length of the handle of that axe against your body and if you tuck that handle into your armpit and you can't cup the front of that acts like I am now that axe pretty much should be fitted to your body size there's not a lot of historical evidence pre 1800 into the mid-1800s of lone travellers carrying saws saws would have been used at areas where stationed camps and things like that were built where packed trains were involved but those were more cross-cutting type saws you don't see the bow saws and things that I nature folding saws that we use today in use at that time now we know today that saws a are much safer to use than an axe they take less energy to use than an axe and they are lighter and more portable than an axe but the axe affords several main advantages over the saw it's easier to maintain and sharpen than a saw and it has much more versatility I saw in that it can be used for anything from fine carving and skinning to processing the smallest of tenders to the largest of campfire woods it can also be used with the hammer pole for nails steaks or even pulverizing nuts and meat to make foods like pemmican a large acts like this one has a lifetime tool if you can find one that is forged in the US or Sweden that will be the best actually can buy for your money and that can be a dangerous tool as well and there's certain things that you need to remember safety wise when you're processing wood one thing that we always have to think about more processing with our axe is where that axe is going to fall if it were to miss so if we stand up and we mess is it going to drive into our leg on either side so the best thing that we can do is get on our knees and get the length of the axe so that if it misses or glances it goes into the ground on either side and chop our wood that way a small trappers axe like this one and I say small because this one is about 17 inches in handle length a typical hunter or trappers axe would be more of than 19 to 20 inch range but an axe like this one would fit very well into your bedroll would also slide down into a pack basket the tool like this would become the multi-tool of the trap that could be used not only to set up traps or construct traps but also to build cubbies and hides to dig trap beds if necessary then to make and drive the stakes to secure that trap in place and ultimately used to assist in a skinning process of his quarry