Seven-axe tree felling and processing: An axe for every task and a task for every axe

An overview of the tasks involved in felling and processing a tree and the types of axes that are suited to each as applied to a large American Elm that succumbed to Dutch Elm Disease. Also I discuss the difference between a felling axe and a faller's axe, why I like the Canadian pattern, and ask for help determining the meaning of the "USM" stamp on axes.
00:00 Intro
03:19 Clearing brush and small trees with a light axe
05:07 How to mark out stove-lengths on a log
06:43 Chopping the face cut with a felling axe.
11:56 Wedging the tree over with a faller's axe
14:55 Limbing axe (Snedding axe)
19:43 Axe bucking: what makes a good bucking axe?
26:00 Bucking with 2 person crosscut and bowsaw
27:35 Splitting axes and maul
39:28 Pickaroon and stacking
Axes:
Garant Canadian pattern head (2.25 lbs, 1000g) 25 in (63.5 cm) hickory handle
Felling axe 5 lb (2300 g) head, 34 in (86 cm) Rock Elm handle
Faller's axe: 4 lb (1800 g) Mastercraft rafting head on a 27.5 in (70 cm) Ostrya handle
Prandi Professional 3.5 (1600 g) head on a 29 in Green Ash handle
Kelly/True Temper (? 4 eye ridges) 3.5 lb (1500 g) Jersey pattern on a 28.5 in (73 cm) Rock Elm handle
Ochsenkopf Spalt-fix 5.5 lb (2500 g) splitting axe on a 31.5 in (77 cm) Green Ash handle
"Winged Spaltaxt" USM stamped splitting axe on a 36 inch (91 cm) Ostrya handle
USM 8lb (3600 g) splitting maul on a 33 inch (84 cm) hickory handle.
Green Ash is Fraxinus pennsylvanica
Ostrya is Eastern Hop-hornbeam, usually called Ironwood here, Ostrya virginiana Here is one that I salvaged for riven lumber • Salvaging a dead Ironw...

[@MattKeevil]

I am coining a new axe pattern name: Winged Spaltaxt for that German style of splitting axe (Spaltaxt) with the angry elbows. If it already has a name, let me know! Some of you will already be familiar with most of the other topics in this video but hopefully some of it will be new and if not it's still fun to think about axes and axe use. If you're in North America and you've got some old user axes around, there's a decent chance one or more are stamped "USM". Let me know if you know what it stands for! U.S. Mann (Edged Tools) or United Shoe Machinery [Corporation]?

[@ethicalaxe]

Hmm I don't think I've seen USM. Excited to watch the video.

[@MattKeevil]

@@ethicalaxe Maybe that stamp isn't as common in the States as I thought. I think it's 60s to 80s vintage so not something you'd see in the real classic axes that you get up to!

[@brettbrown9814]

Very enjoyable video Matt along with excellent explanation and demonstration of the different designs. Massive tree. I kept expecting to see a whitetail deer bust out of the bush.

[@MattKeevil]

No deer but I did pick up a few deer ticks, if that counts! There were some other wildlife around. I was sitting by the stump taking a break and an ermine ran right up to me, almost jumped on me but pulled up short when it realized. Also the tree had a crevice that had at least 4 treefrogs holed up in it.

[@kurts64]

Great vid mate. Good info especially the axe use descriptions. Definitely makes a difference havin the right tools for the job. Tuning your bucking axes in particular makes a big difference in efficiency. Big fan of a closed hang. Tough tree! 👍👍

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks Kurt!

[@ItalskeSekery]

Amazing video, informative and enjoyable, and great Axes! I really like the 'Winged Spaltaxt' model, even though I haven't tried it yet; it seems very interesting!

[@MattKeevil]

Cool, thanks! Yes that spaltaxt is a good design.

[@Joey-L]

Thanks for the video Matt. Your last video really got me thinking about using just one axe in the spirit of the challenge, but I really struggled to decide which axe of mine I would choose. This video demonstrates how much more efficient it is to use different axes to perform different tasks, even at the expense of having to carry them into the woods.

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks Joey! This is close to my house otherwise bringing all those axes out would have been more of a pain!

[@chriswasta7765]

Matt, as usual a informative and entertaining video. I like to split white elm when the temperature is below 0 fahrenheit, I blows apart much easier. Red elm or slippery elm is a joy to split compared to white elm, oak and hickory are my favorites to split. I'm in the process of hafting a winged spaltaxt made in India. Good content and filming. Best regards, Chris from Iowa

[@MattKeevil]

Awesome and thanks! Yes my uncle was just telling me that if I were smart I would wait for a week of -10C and then split it and he's probably right.

[@Brian2bears]

Another excellent axe video. The manual saw footage is very admirable, I have a few that need attention and practice. Excellent documentation Mr. Matt...

[@MattKeevil]

Maintaining those saws is becoming a lost art. I have a smaller one that can be used by one person. I gave it a little touch up and it cuts alright for a bit but then jams in the kerf every time. It might be a little warped so getting it cutting wasn't as simple as I hoped.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Really nice presentation

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks!

[@bushleague3472]

For a long time I just used a Boys axe for everything, but I recently started bringing a Fiskars "chopping axe" with a 24" handle as well. I do my best ground splitting by striking between my feet. The shorter handle lets me stand right over the point of impact, keeping my feet safer, as well as lets me make a more powerful swing without the risk of nutting myself. Too, I think sticking the head bad while splitting is a big contributor to loose heads, and the Fiskars will take it .

[@MattKeevil]

That sounds like a good system. Gotta watch those short handled axes (check out what happened to the Bluegrass Outdoors guy with the 24" Fiskars) but I can imagine it works great the way you're using it.

[@bushleague3472]

@@MattKeevil Yeah, it was given to me as a gift and it took almost a decade for me to find anything it was actually good for. I also use it like a pickaroon to cary blocks around, realy dont like using it for felling or splitting on a chopping block at all.

[@so7hco]

Thank you, very informative!

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks

[@nsjrushchov]

Muy bonitas hachas. Gracias por compartir tu experiencia. Saludos.

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks!

[@Running-with-skizers]

Great video matt

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks!

[@KevinsDisobedience]

Cool to see your line up out there.

[@MattKeevil]

Thanks!

[@JelMain]

You should also include adzes and their ax brethren

[@MattKeevil]

The video is so long already ha ha! I didn’t have time (or a sufficient collection) to get into the carpentry side (or the bushcraft side, etc) . I have made a video about my one adze though, in case you are interested!

[@CrimeVid]

I believe that the heaviest felling axes (long type) went up to 14lb . This came from a mate of mine’s dad, a proper tree man, who would sharpen his one and two handed crosscuts at night after dinner, ready for tomorrows work. Size of an Axe-man ? in his case, about 5’8” and the same diameter ! could climb like a monkey, and work all of daylight and then some, country guy.

[@OnceUponAnotherTime]

Matt, might just be my vision or the camera perspective, and I have such great respect for your knowledge and axmanship I hate to dare mention this -- but am I correct that, at least in the footage you kept in the edit, you were pretty consistently trying to split that elm *across* its knots? If not, just write this comment off. I actually will split across knots myself sometimes. Well, oftentimes. On purpose. For the exact reason I don't want splitting it to go easy. Why? I don't have much wood to chop and really don't get to split much. So I make it more difficult intentiionally because 1) I want the extra exercise and don't want the splitting to be "over"; 2) I'm stubborn and need to prove I'm tougher than the knot, can't let it win the day over my beloved ax and the edge I myself, personally and skillfully gave it; and 3) I like the sense of accomplishment when it's finally defeated and "I win." Plus, when I go in line with the knot, blade parallel to it, it's kind of a joy to watch the splitting progress flow along with the main grain of the round around the knot, swerving beautifully alongside it. Stringy clingy rounds are difficult to split to begin with but are much easier going in line with knots than perpendicular to them. .... You agree with that, right? Or was I seeing sometime no one else did?

[@MattKeevil]

I think I see what you mean. I am working based on the fact that knots always end at the pith (or at least they never go through the pith) because knots are just the history of a branch and they all originate as a fork in the primordial twig (except for branches arising at epicormic shoots) and so they extend inwards from the base of the branch and shrink towards the pith but not past it. So if I split down a line that goes through the pith then I only have to worry about knots on or very near that line but not the ones on either side of the log. At 33:05 where I finally get the first log apart you can see that there is no sign of the big knot at the side visible on the split surfaces.

[@gumboot65]

Have you tried angling your blows up when chopping in the bottom of the face cut ? It helps with getting a deeper face without having to take too much out of the butt log. I know it is a bit extra works. I do it if i make a tall stump (16-18" anove the ground.

[@MattKeevil]

I have tried it a few times but not recently. Unfortunately there's many situations or objectives (like larger diameter trees) where it is awkward at best. I did come closer in my video felling aspen (an earlier upload but more recent chopping) but it was pretty close to being flat given that I was already swing low on the stump. Of course if you overdo it and really swing at an upward angle then it can be dangerous

[@haraldkrahl612]

Hallo Herr Keevil, Sie haben einen schönen Kanal und machen interessante Videos. Ich wünsche Ihnen viel Erfolg mit KZbin. Eine Frage habe ich, wäre die Prandi Axt nicht auch gut zum Fällen geeignet? Die Schneidengeometrie sieht doch danach aus oder? Viele Grüße auch Deutschland Harald

[@MattKeevil]

The Prandi would be good for felling small trees. For large trees, felling is a process of removing chips and a thicker, at least somewhat narrower blade will remove chips much better. Ben Scott found an old video of European choppers that would carry two axes, one narrow, thick axe on a long handle for felling and one wide, thin bladed axe on a short handle for removing limbs and similar tasks. kzbin.info/www/bejne/sHu2aod_lLCegtU

[@haraldkrahl612]

Thank you very much@@MattKeevil

[@Jesusiskingamen7]

I would love to buy that cheep Chinese Canadian axe from you. If you would like to see hit me up love the profile

[@MattKeevil]

I'm afraid I can't part with it, it was a gift from my fiancée before I really got into axes but you can buy a similar model www.garant.com/en/collections/haches/products/hache-canadienne-de-2-25-lb-avec-prise-securitaire or www.garant.com/en/collections/haches/products/hache-a-ebrancher-de-1-75-lb-avec-prise-securitaire. The actual one I have is not an official model because it's a 2.25 lb head that is mis-stamped and sold as the 1.75 lb "Chainsaw Axe" so it has a slightly shorter handle. I have seen more of these head-weight mixup axes in my local Canadian Tire store recently so they are still around. The only thing is that no matter which model you get I recommend rasping or shaving away half the wood (no exaggeration!) until the handle is reasonably thin.

[@Jesusiskingamen7]

@@MattKeevilok man

[@Jesusiskingamen7]

@@MattKeevilwhat handle is on it I love the shape

[@MattKeevil]

@@Jesusiskingamen7 Thanks, it's the original handle but I reshaped it. Because they come with thick handles, you can actually change the shape a lot by strategically thinning it down.

[@beaumoon8581]

That Garant axe is still sold in Canada. Garant never made their own axe heads. They make garden tool handles mainly and assemble shovels, rakes, axes etc.. The best one is the same pattern made by Hults Bruks about 30-40 years ago.