Make a battle ax with your own hands. How it's done, how it works, how it works

An ax is just as necessary a tool in the household, during a camping trip or hunting, as a knife. It is not always possible to take it if you plan to hike light, but in this case there are various varieties of this tool. You can learn more about how to make an ax out of wood, metal, tourist, hunting.

The battle ax is characterized by the presence of a narrow butt, a narrow, low blade. This is a relatively light homemade ax weighing up to 0.8 kg on a long handle (from 0.5 m or more). There are one-handed and two-handed, double-sided, with a spike on the back.

In order to make a battle ax, you need to use an ordinary carpenter's blade. The top part needs to be cut so that it forms a straight line. The lower edge of the cutting head is cut with a hook, and the blade itself is rounded down. After that, the surface of the tool is polished to a shine and hardened in the fire. The attachment of the battle ax should be such that the lower edge of the blade and the end of the ax handle are connected by a parallel line, this will avoid additional loads on the handle. An ideal material for making an ax would be the butt of an old birch. On the ax handle, where the head loop will end, you need to drill a hole obliquely, and then cut a slot under the wedge parallel to the hole made. After that, the head is mounted on the ax handle, and a wedge coated with glue is driven into the slot.

How to make an ax out of wood

A wooden ax can't compare to the efficiency of an iron one, but sometimes it's necessary. Due to its light weight, it can be taken on a hike to cut thin branches, and it can also be used as a training weapon, or in the household. How to make a wooden ax The ax and the head can be made both individually and as a single piece. The material must be strong, dry, not fibrous. It is better to use oak or maple. To make a blade and an ax handle as separate elements, you will need two chocks, sawn in half, on which a template is applied. Then they are well glued and joined together. The blade of the tool must be sharpened and fired, or wrapped in a steel plate cut to match its curve.

Homemade ax for hunting

A hunting ax must have a good handle balance for accurate strikes. It is best to use an all-metal tool, since it is less likely that the ax handle will fall off when cutting a carcass or when cutting animal bones. If it is not possible to forge such an ax, you can make it yourself from a blade and a wooden ax handle. Before you make an ax with your own hands, designed for hunting or fishing trips, you need to make a thin wedge-shaped blade. The point is processed with a fine abrasive disk, trying to give it a rounded shape (but not close to a semicircle) and not overdo it with sharpness. After that, you need to harden the iron. Butt birch, mountain ash or elm is used to make an ax handle. To determine the correct length of the ax handle, you need to take it by one end, while the part with the ax nozzle should touch the ankle. When attaching the blade to the ax handle, its end must be wedged for reliable fixation. In this case, a cut is made obliquely, after which a wedge is driven in. It is better if the wedge is made of the same wood as the ax handle. It can be put on glue, and when loosened inside the butt, the problem is easily solved by soaking the tool in water. It is not recommended to use a metal wedge as it will rust and damage the wood. For hunting birds and small game, an ax handle is made light, weighing up to 1000 grams, up to 60 cm long. For hunting a large game, its length should be at least 65 cm, and its weight should be 1000-1400 grams. In this case, you need to focus on the height and weight of the hunter himself.

taiga ax

The taiga ax is characterized by a rounded blade and light weight, so that it is convenient to carry it with you. The total weight of the handle and head is approximately 1400 grams. It is intended for cutting trees, rough processing of logs, construction of huts, working with firewood. Therefore, it differs from an ordinary ax in the presence of a long beard, which protects the ax handle from breaking during strong blows; special sharpening of the blade, in which the rear edge is twice as narrow as the front, as well as a smaller angle of inclination of the head in relation to the ax handle compared to a carpentry tool.

• You need to take an ordinary carpentry tool, from which you only need a metal head, from which the front part is cut off so that it is even with the end of the butt.
• The back part is sawn to a rounded shape with a grinder or a medium grit sanding disc.
• On the inside of the chopping head, a semicircle is sawn out for a comfortable grasp of the ax and for precise work.
• To give the tool a lighter weight, you can cut off the upper corners of the butt.
• Sharpen the blade with an emery machine or a medium grit grinding wheel on both sides until a moderately sharp edge is obtained.

Next, an ax handle is made. It should be comfortable, made of durable wood. For this, birch, maple or ash are best suited. For comfortable use, the handle should be 50-70 cm long. Before you make a taiga ax, you need to choose a suitable chock without knots, rotten areas, with a diameter of at least 12 cm. The selected chock needs to be split in two, dried for a couple of months at a temperature of +22 degrees. After that, the desired shape of the ax handle is given according to the template. Excess wood is removed with a small hatchet, knife, then processed with a chisel. It remains to plant the butt and fix it using epoxy. Finishing of the ax handle includes grinding and varnishing.

Those who live in their own home often need such a tool as a taiga ax in the country and on hikes. A good quality working tool is expensive and hard to find.

An ax from the market is not always of good quality. Therefore, we will make our own ax using improvised means.

Varieties of axes

Consider the variations of axes:

• A cleaver is a heavy conical axe. Due to its high weight, it is well suited for cutting large, hard woods.
• Carpentry - small weight and size, has a pointed blade. Used for careful, precise, accurate work with wood.
• Taiga - suitable for felling trees, harvesting trees, building a hut, removing bark, branches.
• Tsalda - designed to clean the area from shrubs.
• Kitchen (cooking) - designed only for chopping bones. It is a small hatchet, with a short handle and a large "blade".
• Lesorubsky - used only for cutting trees. It consists of a long ax handle and a wide, sharp blade.

Of all the above species, the taiga ax is more necessary and more useful than all.

Distinctive features of the taiga ax:

• Light weight.
• A small area of ​​​​the piercing surface (makes it possible to drive it as deep as possible into the wood).
• Specific sharpening of the blade (the rear edge is much smaller, thinner than the front.

This feature is made in order to use this type of ax as a cleaver (if the blow is struck correctly. A regular ax has a blade of the same shape for precise work with wood).

Making a taiga ax

Handle material

The function of the ax is primarily affected by its shape and length. The handle should be curved, and the section should be oval.

For the handle, species of trees such as maple, oak, ash, birch are best suited. Since these types of wood tolerate vibration well upon impact.

Wood harvesting starts in autumn

Dry in a dark place. Before use, wood must be stored for about one year, and preferably five.

Only felled wood is not advisable to use as it will dry out over time and will not hold in the eye.

Create a cardboard template

On a large cardboard sheet, we outline the shape of the handle and apply it to a wooden blank. The template will help us make a more accurate handle.

Handle material preparation

A one-year-old wood block is hewn parallel to the fibers. The blank for the handle should be longer than the template. We make the place that is inserted into the eyelet wider than the main part.

On both sides we circle the attached drawing, while not forgetting to leave allowances. After inserting the upper part into the eyelet in this way, we remove the excess wood.

Steps to cut an ax handle

Before cutting the handle, you need to make transverse cuts, but so that they do not reach the line of the future handle by about 4-5 mm. With the help of a chisel, we remove the remains of wood and excess allowances.

Ore transitions and corners are performed by turning with a rasp. After the workpiece is done, we bring the sandpaper to smoothness.

Buying a stabbing part for a taiga hatchet

It is unrealistic to make a blade in a domestic setting. In this case, here is a list of what you need to focus on when buying it on the market or in a hardware store:

• The presence of GOST marking (indicates the quality of steel);
• The hole for the handle (eye) must be cone-shaped;
• The blade is smooth, without defects;

Collecting an ax

• We cut the upper part of the handle along and across.
• Cut into five pieces of hard wood.
• We wrap the top of the handle with gauze soaked in resin for better entry into the hole in the blade.
• Using a hammer, drive in the handle.
• Hammer the prepared pieces into the cuts at the top of the ax handle.
• After the structure dries, cut off the protruding parts of the wooden pieces.

Note!

Sharpening the stabbing part of the taiga ax

A properly sharpened blade gives excellent performance of the hatchet. In accordance with the activity that you will perform with an ax, the sharpening angle depends.

The sharpening of the taiga ax is performed at an angle of 30-35 ̊. If they will perform work with fresh wood, then we sharpen at an angle of 25 ̊.

If you use a grinding wheel for sharpening, then the ax handle must be held at an angle of 40-45 ̊. We reproduce the sharpening slowly, carefully.

If you have all the necessary tools in stock, a photo of the step-by-step production of an ax, then its creation will not take a lot of time, effort and money, and in return you will receive a high-quality ax made with your own hands.

But do not forget that with a piercing part made of high-quality metal, the ax will last much longer and if the handle is treated with linseed oil, then it will not rot and deteriorate.

DIY ax photo

Note!

Note!

“Come on, give me my stone axe” - probably there is no person in our country who would not hear this song. Yes, the first axes were made of stone. But this time passed many thousands of years ago, and now high-quality wood and steel are used to make this product.

During the development of civilization, many varieties of this tool (construction, throwing, etc.) have appeared, which still have not lost their relevance. Moreover, on the market you can find many varieties of this product, which is designed to solve certain problems, for example, that face a hunter or a tourist.

Ax classification

In practice, many varieties of axes are used, which are designed to work with wood. Conventionally, they can be divided into three types:

• cleavers;
• for logging;
• construction or universal.

Accordingly, there are various designs designed to solve certain problems, for example, a firefighter is equipped with a pick, with which you can drag beams and other structures from the fire.

By the way, the size of the ax handle can be determined based on the height and physique of the person who will work with it.

Making a workpiece

From a bar that has been dried, a bar is hewn out. Work must be carried out along the fibers. The size of the bar should be 100 mm larger than the size of the finished product. The size of the part where it will be installed, and the blade itself should be 2 - 3 mm larger than the size of the eye.

The template prepared in advance must be laid on the surface of the bar. At the same time leave allowances for processing. From the front, its size is 10 mm, in the tail 90 mm. This allowance is necessary so that the handle does not crack when pulled on the ax itself. At the end of the work, this allowance is removed.

Carving an ax handle

To bring the part to the required size, two cuts must be made in the upper and lower parts of the workpiece, but their depth should not reach the contour of 2 mm. Excess material can be removed with a chisel. After that, using a file with a large notch, align the corners, transitions and other surfaces of the handle. An abrasive sandpaper is used to finish the surface.

Waterproof impregnation

To increase the resistance of the handle to moisture, special compounds are used. But it is permissible to use drying oil or linseed oil. The handle is covered with this liquid until it stops soaking into it.

The handle for the tool should not slip in the hand and therefore, it is not recommended to cover it with any paintwork materials or use any lining.

By the way, it does not hurt to add a coloring pigment, for example, orange, to the waterproof coating. Then the tool with a bright handle will not disappear on the site.

When choosing a piercing part, it is imperative to find out what steel it is cast from. In our country, GOST 18578-89 has been adopted. It defines the steel grades from which it is permissible to manufacture the blade parts of an ax. These steels are 8HF, 9HF, 9HS, KhVG, U7A, U8, U8A, U8GA, U9, U9A and many others similar in properties to the named grades.

Landing an ax on the handle

Landing the blade on the finished handle should be done using markings. To do this, a sketch of the eye is drawn on the upper end. Then it is necessary to outline the length of the piercing part on it. And after that, you can begin to install the blade on the handle.

After choosing a tool, the owner faces a new task - how to sharpen it. Yes, the manufacturer supplies this tool in a ready state. But sooner or later, the sharpening performed in the factory workshops will become dull and there will be a need for self-editing. Practice shows that it is better to spend some time on editing it than to do the work with a blunt tool. It is advisable to turn the product using a template. It is made independently. To do this, you need a small piece of tin. After choosing the sharpening angle, it must be marked on the tin and cut out the corner. After that, attach the template to the blade. The angle of deviation from the required one will be immediately visible. Using a marker, apply appropriate marks to the cutting edge.

When sharpening, the master must consider the following factors:

Characteristics of the wood with which he will have to work. What kind of work will have to be done, it is one thing to harvest lumber, another to cut locks on logs installed in a log house. Of course, it is necessary to take into account the material from which the blade is made.

How to make a battle ax

Not all axes can be purchased in the store, for example, it is not possible to buy a battle axe. And therefore, if there is a desire to get such a product, it is easier to make an ax with your own hands.

As a basis, you can take an ordinary construction tool, see Fig. 2., and make a combat blade out of it.

It has certain disadvantages:

1. It has an irrational form.
2. It has an excessive mass, which will interfere with manipulations during the battle.

Battle ax "Viking"

It should also be noted that the upper ledge will create difficulties during cutting and striking. That is, it gives the ax an unnecessary moment, directed counterclockwise, thus, there is an increased wear of the ax handle. It does not hurt to grind off the protrusion located below. In addition, straight sharpening is not entirely suitable for a battle ax.

How to make an ax out of wood

How to make an ax out of wood? To do this, it is necessary to prepare a wedge-shaped blank, from which it will be necessary to make a blade. On the surface of the workpiece, it is necessary to apply the contour of the future toy with a marker. Excess material can be removed with an abrasive sharpener.

At the next stage, on the end surface of the workpiece, it is necessary to mark the contour of the hole for the ax handle. The technology for obtaining the handle is described above, but it is necessary to correct the dimensions.

Bringing the blade and handle to the desired shape can be done using a sharpener or file. After a fairly short time, the children's ax will be ready.

What product does a hunter need, who spends a lot of time in the wild, how can it be made. Yes, no one argues, in specialized stores you can buy a product for every taste. But, not all of them meet the needs of hunters.

In order to make the cutting part of the product for hunting, you need to use a single piece of metal. But somehow it’s more customary to hold an ax with a wooden handle. For the manufacture of the blade, steel grade 1040 is used, this is structural alloy steel, the Russian counterpart is 40G.

You can make the cutting part by ordering it from the village forge. The master is able to forge the necessary blank for the blade. He is also able to make and install a steel handle. If such a handle does not suit you, then you can install a wooden one. When making it, you need to consider some simple rules:

The handle cannot be varnished - the hand will slide off.

When choosing its shape, it is necessary to take into account the width of the grip of the palm, it is necessary to make stops that will allow you to hold the ax in your hand.

How to make a taiga ax

Before you make a taiga ax, you need to understand how it differs from the traditional one? It has a different blade shape and ax handle parameters. That is, you can take an ordinary ax as a basis. Change the shape of its sharpening, remove excess material in the upper part, by analogy with the combat.

An angle grinder can be used to remove excess material.

The hatchet can be made from birch. For a more reliable fixation in the blade, a bandage impregnated with epoxy resin can be wound on its end. It makes sense to impregnate the handle itself with linseed oil.

How to make a good, reliable ax with your own hands at home?

By remaking an ordinary ax, you can give it special properties necessary for work. Such an ax will last much longer and better than a regular store. A hunter in the taiga cannot do without a reliable ax, which should be as versatile as possible. There are many axes on sale: from large and medium construction and carpentry to small axes suitable for various household needs. But the taiga ax must have special properties that can be given to an ordinary ax by redoing it.


An ax with soft and slightly hardened steel should be preferred to an ax with a “dryish” steel. When chipping the blade, this drawback can be easily eliminated by steeper sharpening. The shape of the sharpening should be parabolic, but not razor and not straight (Fig. 1). An ax with such a sharpening does not jam in wood, it splits firewood well, it becomes less dull. With sufficient sharpness, such a blade is quite suitable for carpentry. Much in the understanding of rationality is given by the forms of old Russian axes, as well as the axes of lumberjacks of the Carpathians, North America, in which the upper edge of the blade never forms an angle of more than 90 ° with the axis of the ax handle. All commercially available axes have a wide blade and a protruding upper edge (Fig. 2). The shaded part sharply reduces the efficiency of the ax, since at the moment of impact this part tends to unbend the ax handle, creating in it. unnecessary vibration, and thereby dampens the impact force. To eliminate this shortcoming, the shaded part is removed. The easiest way to do this is to drill a series of adjoining holes along the cut line, and remove the hardened part with an abrasive.
The straight blade of the ax must be changed to a convex one (Fig. 3), if the width of the hardening of the blade allows. The straight edge is designed only for carpentry, and when such a blade cuts, while simultaneously touching the entire edge and hitting the tree at a right angle, it has a weak penetrating ability. Each point of the convex edge enters the wood at an acute angle (Fig. 3), a cutting effect occurs, as a result of which the penetrating power of such a blade increases sharply. Despite the fact that the weight of the ax will decrease after processing, its efficiency will increase. The author proposes two variants of axes (see Fig. 4 and photo). One of them is lightweight, designed for running hunts, small trips, and also for commercial hunting with a saw. The total weight of such an ax is 800-1000 g, the length of the ax handle is 40-60 cm. The other is heavy, for commercial hunting and long-distance trips, during which significant work has to be done. Its weight is 1000-1400 g, the length of the ax handle is 55-65 cm. The choice of the length of the ax handle is determined by the quality of the wood, the height and strength of the hunter.
Of course, axes hand-crafted by blacksmiths are better both in terms of steel and in terms of angle and balance, but there is one very capricious detail - a wooden ax handle. This part must be made using special technology. Making an ax handle, a wedge and landing an ax is much longer and more difficult than forging an ax (even, probably, Damascus). Checking how well the ax handle and landing is made is much more difficult than checking the quality of the ax itself. In addition, the ax handle requires special daily care and certain conditions of detention. If all the points are not met, then the result is always the same: Either the ax flies off, or the ax handle breaks. Having properly prepared the ax, you can begin to manufacture the ax handle. It must be thin. The smaller its weight relative to the weight of the ax, the stronger the blow. The ax handle must be flexible: a hard ax handle “dries” the hand. In cross section, it has an ovoid, but flattened shape with a sharper anterior and rounded posterior edges. It is best to make an ax from the butt of ash, maple, elm. You can also use curly fine-layered birch. The most suitable butt thickness for harvesting ax handles is 35-40 cm. The raw butt should be split, then dried with sealed ends.



An ax handle with a longitudinal arrangement of layers (Fig. 5) is stronger. In front of the ax attachment, the center of gravity is found on the ax handle (Fig. 6). Usually this point (C) is located at the base of the lug. Then determine the middle line of the ax AB, passing through the middle of the butt and the top of the edge of the blade. This line is the tangent along which the ax will move when struck.

If you put the blade with point B perpendicular to the midline AB on the plane, then the end of the ax handle will have to touch the same plane at point C. The middle line of the ax handle (PR) is drawn, the point P is on this line and is 3.5-4 away from the plane CB see. The cutting of the ax handle is clear from fig. 5, where the shaded parts of the workpiece must be cut off. The distance from the lower edge of the eye (point K) to the point of maximum bending of the ax handle (point O) is 10-11 cm. At point O, the hand holds the ax during carpentry work. In this place, the circumference of the ax handle is 12-13 cm, and the thinnest place at the end of the ax handle is 9-10 cm. Finally, the thickness is adjusted according to the hand. The ax ends with a thickening in the form of a “fungus” that fixes the hand (it is clearly visible in the photo). Such an ax handle is indispensable in cold and rain, when gloves or mittens are on the hands. "Fungus" allows you to relax your hands at the time of work. The strength and accuracy of the blows of a "relaxed" ax cannot be compared with the blows of an ax that you have to hold tightly, being afraid to let go of it. On the blank for the "fungus", a thickening is provided in advance; it is processed last in order to exclude chips when the ax is mounted. Getting to the nozzle, you need to place the workpiece. When adjusting the ax handle, you should constantly check the landing angle by applying the ax to the plane (in Fig. 6 this is the NE line). In the ax handle, adjusted to two-thirds of the eye depth, a wedge cut is made to the same depth (Fig. 6), after which the seat is finally adjusted. Before driving the wedge, it is useful to dry the ax handle with the mounted ax for two to three days.
Immediately after fitting (or after drying), the ax is removed from the handle, the fitted parts are liberally smeared with BF-2 glue, and the ax is finally mounted. Glue is also applied to a pre-prepared wedge made of hardwood (ash, maple, elm, apple, pear) and the wedge is hammered. To prevent the wedge from breaking when driving, it is made short. To completely dry the glue, the ax must be dried for a day on a battery or by the stove. Finally, the handle is processed by hand, skinned and impregnated with drying oil or linseed oil.

The finished ax remains sharpened. An ax will save a lot of effort and time if its blade is always sharply sharpened. It is useful for this to have plywood cut to the size of the breast pocket, glued on both sides with waterproof sandpaper - coarse and micron. Such plywood is enough for the whole season, if the ax does not require serious regrinding.

“It’s not a fur coat that warms a man, but an ax,” says folk wisdom. An indispensable assistant in the household, the "right hand" of any carpenter - it's all about a completely unpretentious tool called an ax.

Whether it is an ax for a summer residence or for professional use, the demand for this tool will never disappear.

A conscientious attitude to operation, the ability to properly prepare the tool for work, will help not only to avoid trouble, but also serve as a guarantee of the successful completion of the planned work.

Experienced craftsmen know how to make an axe. Having understood the technology and studied practical recommendations, making an ax with your own hands will not be difficult even for a non-professional.

Ax piercing attachment

When choosing a piercing metal part for a future ax, the quality of the material deserves special attention. Parts made according to GOST, that's what you need.

Markings MRTU, OST or TU on the nozzle should be avoided, because these designations allow for changes in technology during the pouring of the part (there may be the addition of third-party substances that affect the quality of the material).

When the blade strikes another, there should be no serifs on both. The curvature of the material, the presence of any kind of dents, the curved axis of the blade are completely excluded.

Significance of the handle

You can choose the optimal length of the ax handle based on the growth parameters of the master and the impact force. The strength, in turn, directly depends on the length, so when working with a large ax, it will be easier to chop logs of firewood.

Before making a choice, it is worth deciding on the desired result:

• heavy version of the tool (total weight 1kg.-1.4kg., handle length from 55 to 65 cm);
• lightweight version (weight 0.8 kg-1 kg., with a length of 40 to 60 cm.).

The quality of the wood from which the ax will be made is of great importance. Not every type of wood is suitable for manufacturing. Often, birch is used for this purpose (parts located near the roots or stem growths).

There are also handles made of oak, acacia, maple and other hardwoods. All selected blanks need long-term drying.

After the wooden blank dries well, the contours of the handle are drawn on it, according to a pre-made template. To avoid slipping of the hand during operation and to increase the convenience of the ax, it is necessary to provide a thickening at the end of the handle.

A knife, a chisel, an electric jigsaw will help to cut the contour.

After trying on the ax nozzle and not finding any signs of a loose fit of the parts, you can safely continue to improve the ax handle. Glass will help to scrape the tool, and sandpaper is useful for grinding.

Planting a piercing nozzle on the handle

Properly following the instructions for the nozzle will lead to excellent results:

The eye of the piercing part must be adjusted to the upper part of the ax handle, the excess part of the wood can be easily removed with a knife.

Make a mark on the handle where the stabbing part will end. To do this, you need to place the handle lying down, in order to avoid inaccuracies. Divide the resulting segment in half, make an appropriate mark.

Holding the ax handle, standing, it is necessary to make a cut to the second mark. This is done with a hacksaw and used for a wedge.

Plan out a wooden wedge similar to a pre-purchased metal wedge. The width is equal to the size of the eye, the thickness of the product is from 5 to 10 mm, and the length is equal to the depth of cut.

Putting a board on the table, it is necessary to put on it the piercing part, located upside down. Next, put this part on the handle and slowly start tapping it on the board.

Periodically, you need to change the method of tapping from the stabbing part to tapping with an ax handle.

As soon as the piercing part enters the eye, it is necessary to put the ax vertically and insert a wooden wedge. A hacksaw for metal will help to cut off all unnecessary materials, which as a result of the nozzle will be on top.

At the end, oil is applied to the handle, and the product is thoroughly dried. The correctness of execution can be compared with the photo of an ax to the country house, posted below.

Blade sharpening

In order to avoid the hassle arising at the time of work, it is necessary to responsibly approach the sharpening of the blade. Regulatory indicators of compliance with GOST:

• sharpening angle for construction work is 20-30 °;
• for carpentry 35°.

Compliance with the requirements in the amount of sharpening is very important. The mismatch of the degree leads to the fact that when chopping with an ax, the blade gets stuck in the wood.

During the initial sharpening, minor damage, chips and potholes are eliminated. After the secondary sharpening is carried out. The end of the process is the grinding process, performed with a fine-grained bar.

A hand-made tool according to the instructions is always the best ax that can be in the country.

Photos of the best ax options for giving