Thread: Tuatahi axe project - small axe / hatchet for hunting, tramping, fishing etc

Originally Posted by terryf

Have you had a look at the Dragonhawk by Black Dragon Forge?

That is a wicked looking weapon, I'd be afraid of stabbing myself in the face on the backswing....

Originally Posted by Gruffle

That is a wicked looking weapon, I'd be afraid of stabbing myself in the face on the backswing....

at only 600 grams its surprisingly easy to control.

@Gruffle you have any idea of price if you get 10 buyers?


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Originally Posted by kukuwai

@Gruffle you have any idea of price if you get 10 buyers?


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I first need to get them to make a prototype or 2 - if they will do it. If they do, I'll post pics and specs of the proposed item and then we can all have a look and see who's keen...

I think the Norwegian Kvisteøks is what you are looking for.
Bearded Axes look neat but unless you are hewing beams,the beard is pointless.

A Kvisteøks literally (branch-axe) is for limbing a fallen tree ,felling small trees and chopping out face cuts.It has enough weight to be useful and chops well above its weight.I use one for driving felling wedges at work and it's perfect.

The Grunsfors forest axe is a bit light as a general purpose axe. Here is a GB side by side with a Kvisteøks, both are the same lengte but have a different shaped head.

...

Originally Posted by norsk

I think the Norwegian Kvisteøks is what you are looking for.
Bearded Axes look neat but unless you are hewing beams,the beard is pointless.

A Kvisteøks literally (branch-axe) is for limbing a fallen tree ,felling small trees and chopping out face cuts.It has enough weight to be useful and chops well above its weight.I use one for driving felling wedges at work and it's perfect.

The Grunsfors forest axe is a bit light as a general purpose axe. Here is a GB side by side with a Kvisteøks, both are the same lengte but have a different shaped head.

I googled Kvisteøks but it just came back with a translation "twig axe"....But I can see what you mean, it's a very typical style of axe in that part of the world. For a general purpose axe it's great, but I think it's going to be too heavy for something you can chuck in a day pack or for a couple night's camp where you need a small axe / hatchet just to make a fire or build quick emergency shelter. I reckon there is a great opportunity for Tuatahi to make at least 2 or 3 different axes.
1. Small axe, 48-50cm handle, total weight 1.2kg max, light enough to carry but chops well enough to make short work of wrist / arm thickness dead wood for fires or live wood for shelter. Can double up on some large knife duties
2. Using the same head, a hatchet with about 35-40cm handle, for those who really want to reduce weight, less than 1kg.
3. a general purpose "forest axe" like your Kvisteøks. This one would need a larger, heavier head of around 1 kg. Handle 58-63cm. Can be used around the house / property for firewood processing, limbing, or to be taken on camp when there is only a short walk or drive in. Something similar to their existing "camp axe" but maybe a bit lighter head. What weight is your Kvisteøks And handle length? Looks like about 58- 60cm?

Great project and I think your specs are pretty much on the mark.

Follows is a picture of a tomahawk I carried for over 30 years of "armed tramping" . It weights 1120gms complete, and the handle measures 600mm - which is a bit longer than desirable, but allows it to cut like a bigger axe. I reckon this wee chap saved our lives one very difficult afternoon in deep Fiordland when all three of us in a party got hypothermic - somehow we realised (mostly you don't, which is why hypothermia gets so many people) what was happening and were able to warm our way out of it with a big fire provided by the wee tomahawk.

Had their work axe for a while now and just come back from a trip (it showed up just in time!!) Using their smaller camp axe.

The smaller camp axe savaged through dead manuka 4-6 hits to get through 25yr old manuka (yes it was definitely dead being on doc land)

It has a small 'beard' enough to catch the back of your fingers if you holding the handle under the head and let the backs of your finger touch it, it will draw blood (even without you noticinf) and as with the big boy, it came sharp enough to shave and shiny enough to use as a mirror

When I ordered k8ne I mentioned putting a longer handle on it, they didn't seem that keen. Quite glad actually as it fits inside my bag nicely as it is

Originally Posted by 223nut

Had their work axe for a while now and just come back from a trip (it showed up just in time!!) Using their smaller camp axe.

The smaller camp axe savaged through dead manuka 4-6 hits to get through 25yr old manuka (yes it was definitely dead being on doc land)

It has a small 'beard' enough to catch the back of your fingers if you holding the handle under the head and let the backs of your finger touch it, it will draw blood (even without you noticinf) and as with the big boy, it came sharp enough to shave and shiny enough to use as a mirror

When I ordered k8ne I mentioned putting a longer handle on it, they didn't seem that keen. Quite glad actually as it fits inside my bag nicely as it is

Who's Axe @223nut ??

Originally Posted by 223nut

Had their work axe for a while now and just come back from a trip (it showed up just in time!!) Using their smaller camp axe.

The smaller camp axe savaged through dead manuka 4-6 hits to get through 25yr old manuka (yes it was definitely dead being on doc land)

It has a small 'beard' enough to catch the back of your fingers if you holding the handle under the head and let the backs of your finger touch it, it will draw blood (even without you noticinf) and as with the big boy, it came sharp enough to shave and shiny enough to use as a mirror

When I ordered k8ne I mentioned putting a longer handle on it, they didn't seem that keen. Quite glad actually as it fits inside my bag nicely as it is

Haha, yeah they are sharp buggers alright, and by all accounts cut like a laser. Hands as well as wood....Which is why I'd like a bit of a beard or notch so you can hold it right behind the head and not risk losing a digit

Just heard back from Tuatahi, apparently the team is looking into it. I will try and get someone there to sign up on this forum, then they can answer any questions direct. But they are pretty busy making axes, so we'll just see what happens. I am totally happy to relay any feedback from here.
Also just wanted to clarify, the main purpose (IMO) for the bearded shape is to reduce weight but still retain a decent cutting edge length.
From my research, it seems that the original point of the beard was that when they first started making iron (and probably bronze before that) axes 1000s of years ago, was to reduce the amount of metal needed and keep the larger cutting edge.
Because iron and metals then were so incredibly precious, it made sense to use as little as possible. The bearded shape allows much less use of metal.
And it has the happy side effect of reducing weight, and lowering the centre of gravity lower down the haft, for improved cutting efficiency.

If we remember our 5th form physics, a lighter object moving faster has more momentum or force than a heavier object moving slower, or something like that...

For all these reasons, bearded axes appear to have greater cutting efficiency than the standard basic wedge shape axe design that we are used to, which is more like the American felling axe.
As usual, traditional designs honed over 1000s of years that have passed the test of time have survived for a reason.
Nowadays, steel is cheap, so you can just make a big ole heavy axe head. As long as you don't need to walk around for days carrying it, that's fine. But if you need to carry it, I want the best cutting performance with the lowest weight

Never thought I would have learned so much about axes...

This is mine. Not much of an axe. It came with me from Africa and must be over a century old now.

Originally Posted by Gruffle

Just heard back from Tuatahi, apparently the team is looking into it. I will try and get someone there to sign up on this forum, then they can answer any questions direct. But they are pretty busy making axes, so we'll just see what happens. I am totally happy to relay any feedback from here.
Also just wanted to clarify, the main purpose (IMO) for the bearded shape is to reduce weight but still retain a decent cutting edge length.
From my research, it seems that the original point of the beard was that when they first started making iron (and probably bronze before that) axes 1000s of years ago, was to reduce the amount of metal needed and keep the larger cutting edge.
Because iron and metals then were so incredibly precious, it made sense to use as little as possible. The bearded shape allows much less use of metal.
And it has the happy side effect of reducing weight, and lowering the centre of gravity lower down the haft, for improved cutting efficiency.

If we remember our 5th form physics, a lighter object moving faster has more momentum or force than a heavier object moving slower, or something like that...

For all these reasons, bearded axes appear to have greater cutting efficiency than the standard basic wedge shape axe design that we are used to, which is more like the American felling axe.
As usual, traditional designs honed over 1000s of years that have passed the test of time have survived for a reason.
Nowadays, steel is cheap, so you can just make a big ole heavy axe head. As long as you don't need to walk around for days carrying it, that's fine. But if you need to carry it, I want the best cutting performance with the lowest weight

Never thought I would have learned so much about axes...

Your comments about the bearded design reducing weight but maintaining a decent cutting edge length makes a lot of sense. Can’t say I like the look of them though, and they may not be as strong as a conventional axe head? But that tuatahi camp axe looks awesome!

yeah, they do look a bit odd if the beard is really excessive, but I don't want that anyway. I don't think strength would be an issue though, there's still plenty of meat in it the way I want it. The really bearded axes have a very straight edge usually and are used for carpentry, hewing etc. For general purpose firewood processing and emergency shelter building, we're probably not cutting anything thicker than your arm. So a very big, heavy and strong axe head is overkill. Lightness and efficiency of chopping power are what we need IMO. After all, we're talking about an axe with a total weight around 1kg. If you want a real laser cutting chopper with a 1.5kg head just buy Tuatahi's new camp axe. I just think it's too heavy at just over 2kg for anyone that wants to carry it hunting, tramping etc. The best way to reduce weight while still maintaining decent cutting power is some kind of beard design, it's been a tried and tested axe shape for more than 1000 years