another day hike: axe chop-off.
another day hike: axe chop-off.
i took a quick day hike two weeks ago to take in the last of the fall colors...been here plenty of times but it was the first time i've seen this wasps' nest (i thought it was a bees' nest...thanks nematocyst for the id!)...never seen it on a tree either.
...and another different style wasps' nest inches away from it? good tinder for next time if it's still there.
this tree looks like it's on fire with those colors.
my main water source for overnighters has been stagnant for several weeks now 3 yrs ago, it was flowing so fast/deep that i couldn't cross it without getting all the way up to my knees wet.
...so i stashed a couple of liters under this brush pile for future overnighters while i still can.
checked in on one of my spots...haven't overnighted here in over a year and my firewood pile is still there untouched.
looks like a hornets' nest (thanks again to nematocyst for the id!) nearby.
...and another different style wasps' nest inches away from it? good tinder for next time if it's still there.
this tree looks like it's on fire with those colors.
my main water source for overnighters has been stagnant for several weeks now 3 yrs ago, it was flowing so fast/deep that i couldn't cross it without getting all the way up to my knees wet.
...so i stashed a couple of liters under this brush pile for future overnighters while i still can.
checked in on one of my spots...haven't overnighted here in over a year and my firewood pile is still there untouched.
looks like a hornets' nest (thanks again to nematocyst for the id!) nearby.
this hike was mostly so i can do an axe chop off between the gransfors bruks small forest axe and hunter's axe to determine which i like better...and sell off the other. see this thread for more details on the hunter's axe: http://jungletraining.com/forums/showth ... nter-s-axe.
used this roughly 6" diameter dead fall (i think it's oak)...these two axes made me miss my scandinavian forest axe but my ocd wants a size between it and the wlidlife hatchet though...hence this chop off.
prior to this trip, the hunter's axe was ahead but chopping this log evened things out...the sfa's longer handle, heavier head, and mostly that hook-shaped pommel area felt better/more secure for me when i really wailed on it and put all my power into the chop.
i checked, both my legs are still intact and no blood anywhere (kidding...i followed proper axe technique and was kneeling down the whole time)...round two!
...i still preferred the sfa over the hunter when it came down to pure chopping.
time to try the smaller stuff...held this piece vertical with one-hand (to prevent the axe from hitting the ground) and chopped one-handed...this is when the hunter's handle design shines - single-hand use like the wildlife hatchet but more power.
...splitting was about even.
when it came time to use the axe one-handed while holding the wood with the other hand to split kindling-size (see ray mears' axe video on the technique) then the hunter started to inch ahead again.
...and the hunter's more knife-like handle ergonomics pulls away when it came time to doing feathersticks...despite their similar handle length/head weight specs, they're very different axes in my experience...what i found is that for pure chopping and a belt knife to do the finesse stuff, i'll take the sfa...paired up with a folding saw and/or no knife at all, i'll take the hunter's axe.
i'll take a folding saw and a machete over any axe anyday though!
used this roughly 6" diameter dead fall (i think it's oak)...these two axes made me miss my scandinavian forest axe but my ocd wants a size between it and the wlidlife hatchet though...hence this chop off.
prior to this trip, the hunter's axe was ahead but chopping this log evened things out...the sfa's longer handle, heavier head, and mostly that hook-shaped pommel area felt better/more secure for me when i really wailed on it and put all my power into the chop.
i checked, both my legs are still intact and no blood anywhere (kidding...i followed proper axe technique and was kneeling down the whole time)...round two!
...i still preferred the sfa over the hunter when it came down to pure chopping.
time to try the smaller stuff...held this piece vertical with one-hand (to prevent the axe from hitting the ground) and chopped one-handed...this is when the hunter's handle design shines - single-hand use like the wildlife hatchet but more power.
...splitting was about even.
when it came time to use the axe one-handed while holding the wood with the other hand to split kindling-size (see ray mears' axe video on the technique) then the hunter started to inch ahead again.
...and the hunter's more knife-like handle ergonomics pulls away when it came time to doing feathersticks...despite their similar handle length/head weight specs, they're very different axes in my experience...what i found is that for pure chopping and a belt knife to do the finesse stuff, i'll take the sfa...paired up with a folding saw and/or no knife at all, i'll take the hunter's axe.
i'll take a folding saw and a machete over any axe anyday though!
these birds were everywhere...strange, i've never seen them here before in the 3 yrs i've been hiking the area.
wandering around i saw this tree i've never seen before...poplar? i think i remember mistwalker posted a pic of this flower/bulb/leaf/whatever it is before and saying it's poplar.
also, i think i remember squirrel posting a pic of a leaf similar to this before and saying it's poplar too...if it is poplar, i just got closer to achieving bow-drill success with only on-site found materials! the only wood i've had success with (from the 4gotn sending me some and store bought) are poplar, cottonwood, and cedar.
deer antler rub? i'm always on the lookout for sheds for firesteel handles but so far haven't found any.
anyway, last of the fall colors for me...the overnighter next weekend will mostly be all brown.
wandering around i saw this tree i've never seen before...poplar? i think i remember mistwalker posted a pic of this flower/bulb/leaf/whatever it is before and saying it's poplar.
also, i think i remember squirrel posting a pic of a leaf similar to this before and saying it's poplar too...if it is poplar, i just got closer to achieving bow-drill success with only on-site found materials! the only wood i've had success with (from the 4gotn sending me some and store bought) are poplar, cottonwood, and cedar.
deer antler rub? i'm always on the lookout for sheds for firesteel handles but so far haven't found any.
anyway, last of the fall colors for me...the overnighter next weekend will mostly be all brown.
thanks!swigert wrote:Great Pics!
thanks, sal! the hunter's axe is 2.09 lbs (33.5 oz) and the small forest axe is 2.25 lbs (36 oz).sal wrote:Hey JV3,
Great pics. the engineering on the nests is also special. Do you know what the two hatchets weigh?
sal
thanks, ken! that's the first poplar i've seen in my area...makes sense it's called a tulip tree since someone else told me it's because the flowers look like tulips :)kbuzbee wrote:Excellent posts!
And yeah, that tree is a yellow poplar (aka - tulip tree around here) We had a 240' tall one in our front yard and 20 or so 200' ones in the back yard still dropping leaves
Ken
do it :) it took me a long time to find one last year but there's a lot more available now i think.dgebler wrote:That might have just sold me on the murdered out PM2.
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- defenestrate
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I'm leaning toward American Robin for #2 bird.
Which is a true thrush.
According to Wikipedia.
Probably all standard American Robins.
(didn't realize Robin was part of the thrush family - I know some birds but I'm far from a bird fancier or ornithologist - just seen some robins here in NC and VA.)
Which is a true thrush.
According to Wikipedia.
Probably all standard American Robins.
(didn't realize Robin was part of the thrush family - I know some birds but I'm far from a bird fancier or ornithologist - just seen some robins here in NC and VA.)
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That is true. I should have clarified....1st bird is a Wood Thrush to be exact.defenestrate wrote:I'm leaning toward American Robin for #2 bird.
Which is a true thrush.
According to Wikipedia.
Probably all standard American Robins.
(didn't realize Robin was part of the thrush family - I know some birds but I'm far from a bird fancier or ornithologist - just seen some robins here in NC and VA.)
I completely agree. I grew up with it as "tulip" Never heard yellow poplar until a dendrology class in college. OTOH, my wife, who lived only 10 miles from here always called their Magnolia tree a tulip, so tulip may be a locales term that varies? Dunno...JV3 wrote:thanks, ken! that's the first poplar i've seen in my area...makes sense it's called a tulip tree since someone else told me it's because the flowers look like tulips :)
Those yellow polars are very prolific. The seeds "helicopter" like maple seeds but they are kind of barbed and really dig into the soil. I have to clear out about 100 of each from our back wood lot every year... Ugh!
Ken
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Would you perhaps be talking about this?Laethageal wrote:Hey sorry to jump in the thread like this, but the knife in the first few pictures seems to be a copy isn't it? I've seen a few with the spyderco logo messed up like that selling on ebay and passing on them in fear of being copies.
http://www.spydiewiki.com/images/5/5f/009.JPG
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That's the 2 picture I'm talking about.JV3 wrote:i took a quick day hike two weeks ago to take in the last of the fall colors...been here plenty of times but it was the first time i've seen this wasps' nest (i thought it was a bees' nest...thanks nematocyst for the id!)...never seen it on a tree either.
...and another different style wasps' nest inches away from it? good tinder for next time if it's still there.
If it's not polished, call it a saw, not an edge!
404Janfrederik wrote:Would you perhaps be talking about this?
http://www.spydiewiki.com/images/5/5f/009.JPG