Kindling Axe/Hatchet

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A friend told me he was at another friends place and we know. HE has this OLD trade axe. Has hung on his wall shop for 45+ years was visiting last Summer and noticed he had sharpened it. The Axe still has a leather bound handle and we are sure it is the Real McCoy. Sure wish He had not done That, (No he will not sell it).
 
Takes the fun and Pleasant odor out of starting a fire. Like calling a home made pizza delivery. It works but it JEST AIN'T RIGHT
I don't have the time to mess around, and don't like all the smoke, from opening the door if it don't lite. I love it and would never go back.
 
My cousin just put one in his house and he doesn't do kindling anymore either. Every time I ask about his new stove he just repeats things like: "I can't believe....", "It's hard to believe....", etc.

He used to get up in the middle of the night to go pee...and add wood to his stove. Now he just goes pee:).


Yea I am still learning or trying to I guess how to set the thermostat for the longest burn times with the most useable practical heat. I have got a few 30 hour burn times but that works best when temps are quite warm. Now the last 2 days the temp is in the teens in the am and 20's overnight, so I can see 15-20 hour burn times maybe because I need the thermostat opened up more for more heat.
 
I have to keep a 2x8 oak by the stove (Back Porch Wood Furnace) 'Cuz I have a concrete floor.. In early fall or late spring Or I am gone too long a bit of kindling comes in handy.
My Dad used to keep a bit of kerosene (about an inch or so) in a coffee can with a lid on the porch with corn cobs. He put enough cobs in so they would stand on end an wick up the fuel / then take one out , wrap it in a sheet of paper -- and you get the idea.. No messy hands or drips . Only paper smoke if he was a little slow closing the door.
 
Don't mean to sidetrack this thread, but what's the deal with the woodstove in the photo that some of you are raving about?

As far as hatchets go, I've got several. All yard/estate sale or free finds. My favorite is an old Collins. In my non-existent free time I restore hatchets and axes. I also split alot of kindling. Over two dozen milk crates worth each season. Just something I enjoy doing while sitting next to the bonfire. I sell or give some of it away.
 
Don't mean to sidetrack this thread, but what's the deal with the woodstove in the photo that some of you are raving about?

As far as hatchets go, I've got several. All yard/estate sale or free finds. My favorite is an old Collins. In my non-existent free time I restore hatchets and axes. I also split alot of kindling. Over two dozen milk crates worth each season. Just something I enjoy doing while sitting next to the bonfire. I sell or give some of it away.
Just bought a Collins Axe at ACE Hardware. They're now made in Old Mexico. Can U put up a PIC of that old Collins' ?
 
Estwing gets my vote every time. I have one like the OP, another one in the carpenter style with a hammer face on the butt end and a straight cutting edge, and also the 4 pound mini-maul which is by far the best splitter but at 4 pounds it soon gets heavy with one hand. The leather washer handles should never get real wet. I had the handle rot off my carpenter hatchet many years ago and I think my mistake was accidentally leaving it out in one rain, guess it never really dried out in the center, the washers eventually crumbled and broke away. I fashioned a new one with long strand fiberglass body filler. It is 100% with that repair and I use it routinely.

Estwing is the standard claw hammer for real carpenters around here (full length steel handle with blue cushioned grip). I have 3 of them, two 20 ounce straight claws and a long framing hammer. I am not a real carpenter but I enjoy good tools. Almost forgot I also have an Estwing brick hammer.
Estwing all day every day
Happy Thanksgiving my friends.
 
Don't mean to sidetrack this thread, but what's the deal with the woodstove in the photo that some of you are raving about?

As far as hatchets go, I've got several. All yard/estate sale or free finds. My favorite is an old Collins. In my non-existent free time I restore hatchets and axes. I also split alot of kindling. Over two dozen milk crates worth each season. Just something I enjoy doing while sitting next to the bonfire. I sell or give some of it away.

Blaze king stoves are some of the most efficient stoves you can buy, and the cost reflects it. I have heard of their King model running 36 hours on a full load. I own their princess ultra model, same as the pic with a different set of shrouds and a pedestal instead of legs....

IMHO there are only one or two other manufacturers that are on their playing field, Woodstock being the closest competitor....
 
Personally I like a good hatchet head on a wood handle. Steel handles like on an estwing carry a lot more vibration into my arm. Doesn't mean I don't have one. I just don't use it.


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Personally I like a good hatchet head on a wood handle. Steel handles like on an estwing carry a lot more vibration into my arm. Doesn't mean I don't have one. I just don't use it.


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Same here. Not to start any fights, but to me a metal handle is a major negative, due to the vibration issue (as you mentioned), aesthetics (I like to stain my wooden handles red, yellow, white, blue...), and replacement difficulty (I have no desire to attempt a decent leather disc handle/grip). I also like to be able to choke up on my axes and hatchets; not possible with an Estwing. It's the same with Fiskars axes/hatchets for me; I know they're supposedly unbreakable, but if somehow I do break one, there is literally no way to replace the handle.

For the past 8 winters, I've hand split anywhere from 5-10 cords of firewood each year, and this year it will be way over that (as I'm selling some firewood now). I like wooden handles so much that when I find a great deal on a fiberglass-handled axe/hatchet/splitting axe at a yard sale, I actually hope to break it so that I can replace it with a wooden one...

Edit: All that being said; my favorite claw hammer is my 16 ounce, blue-handled Estwing. I know, it makes no sense...
 

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