The fifth toe broke off but it turned into a nice cast.

While scouting for deer I found a well beaten elk path with three good bear prints.

A 4 inch by 4 inch track of a black bear.

I followed the trail all afternoon along a steep river bank. It meandered on and off the well used elk trails. and ripped apart several logs looking for food.

One of several logs torn apart while the bear was looking for insects and larvae.

I also found some other goodies. A skeleton of a cow elk that was most likely a cougar kill.

Cow Elk Skull

I also found an old piece of logging equipment, most likely from the days before the chainsaw. When loggers used a crosscut saw to buck a log from underneath they would need to support it from underneath (the saw being upside down). Typically they would sink a double bit ax into a log or stump and rest the back of the saw on the handle. The notch in the handle created by under-cutting can be seen in older felling axes. See the Nice Find Ax article on my blog.  Loggers invented a grooved tool that would support the ax and so they didn’t need to damage their ax handles.

Undercutter tool used to support the back of a crosscut saw while upside down.

Not bad for an afternoon of tracking. A little history, a little animal sign, and lots of love. (Anybody? That’s a quote from Arrested Development.)

I’ll be tracking the Tillamook a lot this fall so get ready to hear about more adventures.

A Tip on Casting Tracks

Just as a quick tracking tip: I use Fixall for casting tracks. You can get a small box of it at a hardware store. I carry small doses in baggies and just mix the water into the baggie when I’m ready. I make it a little runnier than pancake batter so it will pour nicely into all the nooks and crannies. It sets in just a few minutes and is pretty tough – makes for a long-lasting cast.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POwnNUAvBh4

Elderberry Hand-Drill Spindle

Roots work really well for hearths (fire-boards) because they are much softer than the wood from the same tree. (The hearth pictured below is large Clematis vine. It’s a really soft material.)

I like to use a big Elderberry stalk because it’s easy to find straight pieces and a thicker spindle won’t beat your hands up as much.

(The hearth pictured here is large Clematis vine. It’s a really soft material.)

Then I find short, disposable sections of the hot stuff, Salmonberry, Seep Willow, Yucca, or a smaller Elderberry.

The bottom of the Elderberry shaft usually splits a bit, which is fine. I support it with sinew, Nettle twine, Milkweed twine, Dogbane cord, or on this set – willow bark cord.

Sage Brush Bow-Drill Set

Sagebrush is my favorite for the Bow-Drill. It can be a challenge to find straight spindles but it’s one of the best woods. You can usually find it in the high deserts of Oregon, Idaho, Nevada, Utah.

The hand socket in the picture is the back ankle bone of a cow. All Ungulates – hoofed mammals – have a back ankle bone that has a perfectly shaped indentation an works great as a hand socket.

Drill Baby, Drill – Alex

OldFedCo.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNJ-Dg1R2Bc

Old steam engines and tractors are the biggest draw, but for those who love old tools, the flea market is a tool nirvana. I never expected to find so many axes and I purchased the only froe at the entire flea market. (A froe is a L-shaped tool for splitting wood into shingles and ax handle blanks.)

A 4 lb Plumb ax in NICE condition.

Just last week I was making my rounds of the usual places to find 2nd hand axes in Portland and stumbled across this Collins & Co. felling axe. I walked around the store with it in my hand for about 15 minutes until I could answer the question, “Do I really need another ax?” with a “Yes… yes I do.”

This close up shows the company stamp. Not pictured is the weight stamp, 3 1/2 lbs on the other side. I’ll talk more about this below but you should be able to make out a slight circle around the logo. That’s the edge of a very slight depression from using the sides of the ax to pound in felling wedges.

What I found really fascinating about this ax were what I believe to be undercutter notches in several places along the handle. Many old logging axes have these notches in the handles and it’s a sure sign that the ax in question was used by old time loggers.

Undercutter notch near the shoulder.

To be honest, I’m not completely sure how they did this but undercutter notches come from loggers using the ax to support the back of a cross cut saw from the bottom as they started bucking a log from underneath.

More undercutter notches farther down the handle.

Another thing I found to be interesting about this ax was that it seemed to be hung high on the handle. Usually an ax head is hung much closer the the curve in the shoulder. This ax also never had a kerf cut into the top to allow for a wooden wedge, but is stabilized with two steel wedges.

Note the absence of a kerf and wooden wedge. Two steel wedges were used to help tighten the handle.

Here’s a quick comparison of two different ax patterns: the felling pattern, top, and a swamping pattern, bottom. The Collins felling ax on the top has longer, thinner blades.The thinner blades allow for deeper penetration into the wood but also make for a lighter ax to swing. This lightning of the tool is something we see in many professional tools. Take the miner’s pick ax for example. It’s longer and slimmer than the regular pick ax and it makes sense that when hand tools dominated the professions of logging and mining that swinging a lighter ax all day long was preferable to swinging a heavier one.

Note the slimness of the felling pattern on top and the wide, swept style of the swamping pattern beneath.

Also note the higher hang of the felling ax. I thought that this may have been, typical of older felling axes, but in my research I couldn’t find a single photo of a felling ax hung this high from the shoulder. Also note the damage from overreaching on the felling ax. Whether this damage occurred during the logging days or well after is impossible to say.

Something else to note about this ax is that it has some slight depressions in the middle of the ax head on either side of the eye. This is sure indication that a ax was used in felling trees in the old days. The dents come from the logger using the side of the ax to pound in wooden felling wedges.

depression from pounding felling wedges.

This picture is from another felling ax of mine. (The depressions in the Collins ax are barely visible in a photo.) If you look closely at the photo three pictures up you can make out a slight indentation where the logo is stamped into the ax head.

So what’s next for this ax? Well, as a guy who fixes up old axes for use, rarely for hanging on a wall, I’m at a bit of a crossroad. I’d love to replace the handle and clean up and sharpen the blade, but it would also be a shame to replace the current handle. I rarely trust older handles but I’m trying to think of a way to keep the current handle and turn it into a working felling ax. (I’d love to do a performance comparison between this ax and my single bit Mann Edge Tool Co.-single bit-Maine pattern-felling ax, which I will soon place on a straight handle.)

We’ll see. I’m sure I’ll blog about the answer. Thanks for reading,

Alex

(Old Federal Ax Co.)

For more on the Hopkins Demonstration Forest follow this link:

http://www.demonstrationforest.org/

And for a brief history of the Collins Company click this link:

Connecticut History

Nick’s motivation has just as much to do with artistic freedom as it does sustainability. His desire to make large-scale works of art helped lead him to construct an isolated cabin on an expansive landscape.

How long has this project been going on? What motivated you to look for land in Eastern Wyoming?

I bought the land and started building the cabin five years ago. It was never supposed to be an investment, I just wanted a place far away from suburbia and building codes so I could do and build whatever I wanted.

What has been the most challenging about this project?

The recession has made buying building materials and traveling out there tough. My first idea was to salvage most of the building materials but now everyone is holding on to materials that they used to be giving away (or paying someone to haul away).

Water has been the second biggest challenge. Drilling a well can cost up to $30,000 with no guarantee of hitting water. One of my next projects is to add a roof catchment to the cabin.

What has been the most inspiring?

To see and feel an idea become three dimensional to think about something and have it materialize has been the most gratifying. It’s more than just making a picture and hanging it from your wall but It’s a cabin and you live in, sleep in, and watch wildlife from.

What types of self sufficiency skills do you primarily practice?

Building, construction, welding, and blacksmithing.  I want to incorporate hunting and water catchment soon. I started building the cabin without a lot of technical construction skills but learned along the way.

It has been challenging when I see my own limitations but my lack of experience actually helped me think more unconventionally and come up with my own solutions that were usually cheaper and more effective, such as using OSB (a type of particle board) for the interior instead of the conventional sheet rock or using exterior paint on the interior. These have been simple solutions to problems using simple unconventional thinking.

What skills do you most want to learn?

Hunting and animal processing. Shoot it. Skin it. Eat it. Love it.

What is your long-term vision for your Wyoming Homestead?

Next I will be building a workshop so I can have my welding and blacksmithing there. Living in a city like Portland and having a limited space is hard when your ideas are of a grand scale and you can’t hang them on the wall but you really need space to make them work.

I don’t want it to be a spectacle but one day I would like to have big artistic creations that will be sort of a landmark attract people to the area.

Any closing thoughts?

Having this homestead constantly reminds me and drives me to live out my ideas because now its there and I have no more excuses not to follow through with my ideas. I built it, it’s there, and it’s a good inspirational thing to have in one’s life.

http://moderndomesticpdx.com/md-sewist-spotlight-alex-leavens#more-5975

Canvas and Leather Axe Covers

OldFedCo.com

I truly believe that this is the most comprehensive and detailed ax video available. With more and more people going back to the land, instruction on safe and efficient ax use is more important than ever. The DVD shows…

…the safest ways to swing an ax.

…how to sharpen a blade that lasts.

…efficient ax use for your homestead, cabin, or the backcountry.

…how to make your hand tools last forever.

…the skills and knowledge to properly teach others about the ax.

Chapter Breakdown.

1. Introduction to Axe Types

2. Ax Basics

3. Safe Swing and Splitting Wood

4. Basic Sharpening

5. Advanced Sharpening

6. Backcountry Ax

7. Hanging a ¾ Ax (Hanging an ax simply means to replace the handle.)

8. Hanging a Pulaski

Follow this link to place an order or to find out more.

OldFedCo.com

Origin

The Pulaski was invented in in 1911 by Edward Pulaski, a forest ranger miner, and firefighting hero (Pulaski saved all but 5 of his 45-man crew from burning to death by leading them into a mine shaft he knew from his mining days). Tired of carrying two tools to fight fires with, he added a grub hoe to the back of a single bit ax.

My First Guitar was an Axe

Most musicians have a story about their first guitar they got as a teenager. Technically my first tool was the Hudson Bay Axe, but my second was a Pulaski. In High School I worked on a Trail Crew and gained considerable experience with this tool. After my dad showed up on my 16th Birthday with a brand new, wood handled Pulaski I was hooked on this tool. I used it for yard work, to dig out stumps, dig trenches, to dig my pickup out of the mud, and for all manner of chopping tasks. But it wasn’t until after fighting fires for the Park Service did I really start to fall in love with this amazing, versatile tool.

Close Cousin

Often referred to as a Landscaping Axe, or a Firefighter’s Tool, the Pulaski shouldn’t be confused with a pick-axe. (I’ve heard at least a few people call it that.) It also has close cousin, the Undercutter Axe or Chainsaw Axe, a single bit axe with a narrow, curved pry bar extending out the back of the ax head. This bar was used primarily to free a chainsaw from a pinched cut or lever felling wedges out of a tree being cut.

Digging for a Good Pulaski

A good Pulaski can be hard to find, especially if you’re like me and like your tools to have wooden handles. Most big box retailers and hardware stores will have poly-fiberglass handled Pulaskis (or none at all).

I rarely trust older handles and just replace them as a matter of course. I recently found a used Pulaski at Ted’s Tools in SE Portland. The ax head was in good shape but the handle was a step up from driftwood.

Most new Pulaskis sell from $35 to $45. I picked that one up for $25, a new handle for $12, then just a couple of hours of work (not really work if it’s your hobby) I had myself a pre-owned $37 Pulaski.

I’ve found the best places to look for Pulaskis, if you want to buy them in-person and not online, is to go out of town a bit to stores that sell farm or ranch supplies, or even a hardware store in a more rural area. I’ve found that the general quality of tools at these stores is a bit higher and they may have a wood-handled Pulaski or two.

There is always the possibility of finding a used Pulaski at yard sale, flea market, or used tool shop. With any new ax, the ax head itself should be in decent shape, minimal rust, and no big chips. Huge nicks or chips in the blade are very time consuming to remove and it may not be worth the time and effort. Whether you’re working with a new or used Pulaski I recommend sharpening the blade to a tough, 35 degree swamping bit to avoid nicks and chips.

The Trail Homeward

I’ve come full circle with this tool. I first used one on the trail and fire line and now with quieter adventures in homesteading. Whether it’s the back of your truck, or tool shed there should always be room for such a tough, functional tool like this one.

For questions about the Pulaski, look me up at oldfedco.com or email me at alex@oldfedco.com.

-Alex