Online Axe Resources - By Guest Writer bmatt, an American Bushcrafter in Finland

Today in the News:  Our guest writer, bmatt, returns with online axe resources.  I checked these out and they are very handy.  He's right, there seems to be less and less literature out there on the subject of axemanship.  One of the most recent books I've seen is The Axe Wielder's Handbook by Michael Beaudry.  I haven't picked it up yet, but will soon.  If anyone has read this book, don't be scared to send me a review. If you're worried about writing skills or spelling skills, don't.  We're all friends here and I'll give it the spell check before I post it.  I'm sure you've all noticed that I'm the King of typos.  As always, I'm looking for Guest Writers.  Please email me at house.of.howes@hotmail.com .

Matt's fantastic post will be our Link of the Day.  Check out the five links he has included and bookmark them!  I'd like to thank bmatt for submitting another great post.  It is good to know that there are other people out there that are dedicated to axemanship.

Online Axe Resources, by Guest Writer bmatt, an American Bushcrafter in Finland

Whenever I get involved with a new hobby or specific area of a hobby, I like to talk to experienced folks and also read as much as I can about it, both online and in print. Doing it this way gives you a good base of information which you can build upon with your own personal experiences. When it comes to axes, there aren’t too many NEW sources of information, both because most of the stuff has already been covered and because axes aren’t used as widely as they once were. There are, however, some real gems when it comes to axe history, usage, maintenance etc. from yesteryear. Fortunately, they are available FREE OF CHARGE on the Internet in PDF format. What more can you ask for! So here’s a list of bmatt’s favorite axe books and links so you can download them yourselves (from newest to oldest):

1) "The Axe Book" from Gränsfors Bruks: Go to www.gransfors.com and click "Downloads". It’s the first link.

2) "An Ax to Grind: A Practical Ax Manual" by Bernie Weisgerber: http://scoutmaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/02/an_axe_to_grind.html  (second paragraph)

3) "Axe Manual of Peter McLaren": http://scoutmaster.typepad.com/my_weblog/2006/03/the_axe_manual_.html  (last sentence)

4) "Woodsmanship" by Bernard Mason: www.canteenshop.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/woodsmanship.pdf

5) "Camping and Woodcraft", "Woodcraft" section, Chapter XII "Axemanship", by Horace Kephart: http://www.archive.org/details/campingwoodcraft00kephrich (left-hand side, under "View the book")


Hope you enjoy these as much as I do!
bmatt


That's all for today, folks.  Tune in tomorrow. 

Pax Domini Sit Semper Vobiscum,

Mike, Oscar, Hotel........out.