Ochsenkopf - Iltis Canada 1kg

Got myself a little present; an Ochsenkopf Iltis Canada 1000g.
Great axe, perfect for felling & bucking small trees, coppicing, limbing or just working in difficult areas where swing can be limited.
I have been a bit unfair and I abused her on purpose in the second part of the video just so I can know its limits and its use in my workflow.
The wood is Black Oak during its stress period, that is when all the grain shrinks during the next days after the felling, making it quite hard to work with until it comes back to normal. Usually after a bit of rain or just some time. Oaks are the only tree that I know of doing this reaction.
My guess is that the Iltis should really shines on limbing and processing softer wood such as chestnut, birch, aspen and such.
Thanks for watching !

[@schmiedepeter3881]

Hello my friend. I own the Iltis Canada with 800 grams. The cutting edge was a 'factory cut' and could still be significantly improved. The ax handle is much too thick and inflexible in its original condition. After the handle was 6 mm slimmer and the very pronounced 'neck' was also greatly reduced, it is now the perfect addition to my 362 chainsaw. Nice Video! Stay healthy!

[@568843daw]

Interesting comment. It directs your reader to the fact that the product, like our trucks, cars, boats, shoes, & c, need to be customized to our individual preferences. Some might not know this notion and hold a unrealistic belief that it should magically fit our hands. Thanks for you comment.

[@greekveteran2715]

The sound that you like it makes, is an indication of a perfectly heat treated Carbon steel! the worst the heat treatment, or the softest the steel, the more lower the pitch of the sound, means it starts to sound like it was a hard plastic instead of metal! The higher the sound, the better! Nice chopping great video, keep it up!

[@user-oj1mr8ec9t]

Excellent. Love that sound too. I use this axe for most of my manual felling and bucking. I worked on the profile, thinning it, and I thinned the handle of course. I really like this axe now. Greetings from Aveyron

[@MountainDreamLand]

Nice job on reprofiling the cutting edge and reshaping the handle. Did the same on my Stihl Universal Forestry Axe also made by Ox.

[@kurts64]

Awesome vid man! Was wondering where the dogs were, then 6.04😆. Love the handle thinning sequence, and I don't mind admitting that that oak knot at the 14 minute mark looked like hard work. Was expecting to hear some cool French swear words! Good stuff mate, keep it up👍👍

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

haha thank you :), I never know what to do with knots. I'm sure there is techniques or tricks about them but I don't know any.

[@kurts64]

@@skinnybearthedogs2654 gettin in behind them is the go, but sometimes there's no other option but to just hammer your way thru em!

[@axeandturtle]

Nice video!

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

thanks !

[@MichelleMakesStuff]

Thanks for making your videos. I find them very relaxing. What type of vice do you have on your workbench? Looks pretty handy

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

It's a cheap one I found at a local store, and it turned out pretty convenient indeed. It's a Stanley multi angle vice but I don't know the exact model name. Thank you for the kind words.

[@MichelleMakesStuff]

@@skinnybearthedogs2654 thanks for the info

[@rautamiekka8082]

Hi! I love this video, but i have a few questions: -I have a stihl universal axe which is also made by ox, i tried thinning the main part of it into 3/4 an inch of thickness, in an oval shape, feels pretty good, but when it comes to the area of the knob, i left it into aproximately half an inch thick, it hurts the back of the thumb, what should i do? leave it in a tear eyed shape instead while the rest is oval-shaped? thick or more thin? -I'm planning to buy an iltis soon, would you mind writing or sending a diagram using the measurements and shapes of the parts of the handle, like thickness and width -Which camera you used for this?

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

- Hello, the best way to shape a palm swell is to look at your hand when you swing it and see what's in contact, where it huts etc, and try to reshape it accordingly to your hand. I don't believe there is a rule for this, everyone is different. - Regarding the iltis it's a 27 inch long, 2 inch thick near the head and 1,5 inch at the thinnest part near the middle of the handle, width around 5 inch nea the head going down to 2,5 near before the palm swell. But again there is no rule for this, it's how I lie the feel of it but someone else may not like it. - I'm using an old half broken nikon p900

[@rautamiekka8082]

@@skinnybearthedogs2654 thanks for the answer!

[@dakillah6018]

this sound can accompany a man for years to come . . .

[@kal7594]

Is the iltis better than the gransfors?

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

Both are great axe, none is better than the other as it really depends of when and how they are used. GB remains my working axe, it fell, limbs, buck and split everything but Iltis can do that too and sometimes better in some specific conditions.It's light, which offers a lot of precision for me, cut very well. Perfect for small trees, limbing and coppicing. But sometimes you need more power than precision, then the GB is more adapted for that. And I only say the GB is less precise because of me, I don't have the strengh to swing it as accurately as the Iltis, but some other will. So it really depends of you, the wood you want to process, the use you want to make with the axe and such, and some times personal tastes and feeling too. Some hates the feel of the GB, some other hate the feel of the Iltis, me i'm lucky to like both. :)

[@kal7594]

@@skinnybearthedogs2654 Thanks for your reply! I think I will go with the gb then, I always have to process lots of locust and need more power than precision

[@samzeng159]

At 14:00 It looks like the GB American felling is just a Scandinavian forest axe but stretched larger. Even at almost 5lbs it still have that very flat geometry which makes it a poor splitter and fairly sticky in large woods for bucking which is not what American felling axes were; high convex center line wedge. I noticed a trend in boutique hand forged axes being more or less a copy of this axe and its really a shame since you are paying so much money for what is in my opinion a mediocre design. I wish there were more maine wedges being forged, its easy to make without special dies and is a very good all around axe design. Very nice video and good chopping.

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

Thank you. I don't know I never used a Scandinavian forest axe and I'm really not an expert in profiles, grinds or even axes in general :), but I do love my GB a lot. It's been my sole working axe for the past 2 years, like a jack of all trades; perfect for anything, but good enough for everything, and it's my no-brainer-go-to when it comes to splitting. For the kind of wood I work with, It slices trough like butter, it's easy, with great feedback. Yet I agree with you that you pay the brand more than the steel on this one (like probably a lot of other axes too), and based on my experience, I won't recommend it as a first buy for someone who want to start, but if you have some experience and if you know how to tweak it first, I think it's a really good one for european forests.

[@iCanHazTwentyLetters]

Where can I read more about what you call "high convex center line wedge" ? I would love to see an illustration.

[@erichermann7553]

U taken to big a bite way to big way to dangerous smaller bites Moore fun less danger

[@skinnybearthedogs2654]

Sorry I'm not sure I understand what you are saying.