Husqvarna Axe Project: Grinding the Axe to Chop Well, and Why Most Axes Don't

I started the husqvarna axe project years ago. I finally got around to putting a grind on it so it can be put to work. I’ll link the new video here and also the whole playlist for the series.

I have learned quite a bit since starting this project. One thing I’ve gravitated toward is what some might refer to as a flat grind, though that is fairly meaningless without some details. I’ve always been able to make my axes cut, but once I stopped worrying about flat spots and not making the bit too thin and took a more thorough approach to trimming the fat from my axe bits, I got to a new level of cutting ability. Almost all stock axes are much too thick in the bit from the factory and have to be filed down. This has long been asserted by almost everyone that has written about axes. Opinions on how to do that are varied and details about how to go about it are usually missing.

If given a file and an axe, few people will take off enough to get the axe chopping efficiently. That is understandable as there is really no reference. In this video, I offer a simple system that is easy to carry out and understand and which will make an axe bite deep. Once a person has that, it can be used as an important reference when experimenting with grinding axes. I also talk about fundamental issues that keep axes from cutting deeply, though I have another video and blog post planned that goes into more detail on that.

Of Sharp Tools and Dummy Rules, A Safety Framework and 1/2 Hour Video Just Talking About an Axe Handle

Here is something I recorded regarding safety when using sharp tools.  I hope it conveys my basic approach and philosophy regarding the subject.  I'm much more about a general approach and philosophy adopted as a framework in which to approach work than I am about sets of rules.  Most rules that are stated as absolutes need all kinds of qualification that they don't always get.  Not only is that ineffective when engaging in real world work, it can be dangerous.  What I like to call dummy or boy scout rules are generally stated in absolutes like never and always.  That discourages intelligent engagement with the work at hand and defers your safety to an authoritative statement or entity.  The idea seems to be that if you just do this one thing, you will be safe.  If you're doing real work in the real world, you'll find that most of those rules will be broken, and some frequently, in order to carry out work at all or to do work more practically or more efficiently.  It would be more constructive to state these as guidelines and be realistic about the risks involved and strategies one can employ to ameliorate risk when doing things that are dangerous, or when using sharp tools in the grey area that exist between the very safest ways to do things and the most effective.  The usual black and white approach can lead, I believe, to unsafe work approaches when trying to bend your self and your work to static and overstated rules which experienced craftsmen and workers may not actually follow.  In the future I'll get more specific on knife and axe safety, but this is actually some of the more important part to me.  

Also, I forgot to post this video on the husqvarna axe handle.  It covers various points regarding the handle and planned modifications and as a matter of course addresses some stuff about axe handles in general.