Will the benefit of an axe outweigh the drawbacks and win over a large knife?
I've hiked some in my life, and gotten used to carrying a small axe for chopping wood for the fire. But after I bought my self a large fixed-blade bowie knife, I find myself relying less and less on the axe for chopping since the knife very much acts like a small axe.
So my pickle is, now that my axe is left in the dust by a more versatile tool(?), would it make sense to completly remove it from my pack list? Or are there more benefits to a small axe that I can't see?
Perhaps it is better to carry a small axe and a normal-sized fixed-blade knife instead of the pretty large bowie knife?
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I really don't find any specific need to carry something which is so heavy and bulky, and something that can cause injuries due to unsafe packing, unsafe way of carrying, unitended mishandling, when you have a fairly safer substitute for that. I have used one such fixed-blade knife for from cutting woods to making a make-shift raft. You may (may God not put you in such a situation) need something like an axe you are referring to, for making a raft which would endure long enough to take you in wild sea/oceans and sustain tides. Because, you will have to make it out of Huge and mainly Broad wood trunks. Now that is when you will need to have that axe with you, having a knife would be very uneasy to craft/build one such thing.
But, that I doubt if you ever need to do such a thing.
Yeah, if I know that I am gonna camp at a site for long time, say 5-6 days, then instead of arranging timber everyday, using a knife to cut wood, I would take my axe with me, spend some time (2-3 hrs) with wood and axe, And, that will save me from doing that task in pieces everyday at the camp.
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An axe is (when used properly) just as safe as any knife.
On long hikes where I know campfires are gonna be a must I do actually carry a small hatchet.
My axe has a fairly long handle and weights just about 0.5kg.
There are smaller and lighter ones, but a light head and long handle means less to carry when walking and more leverage when using it.
For safety you should always have a proper axe sheath that goes with it (leather or hard plastic).
And you need to be able to stow it away, most countries don't allow you to carry a 'weapon' that's within hands reach and require a two step process before you can use it (eg open rucksack, take of sheath).
Having it stowed away properly inside your rucksack also means that it can't hurt you or anyone around you when falling.
To me a large knife is far more dangerous then an axe because of the ammount of sharp surface. And besides: using tools for anything other then their intended use is only for emergency situations, so don't go around smacking rocks on your knife to fell a tree because it's both bad for your tool and dangerous.
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I have never taken an axe or hatchet camping with me, and I canoe-camp and car camp where space and weight are far less an issue than they are for hikers. In addition to weight and space there is the safety issue using a heavy tool that you swing hard.
I use a folding saw (and carry spare blades) and it does whatever I need. I cannot split large logs with it, but I never need to do that - I section smaller logs and trees (up to the thickness of an arm) and have no problems having fires. Axes and splitters are for home.
This one is about 6-8" long, costs $20 at Canadian Tire, and has met our needs for decades. We carry spare blades for it which I presume we bought at the same time. I think we snapped a blade once and replaced it on the spot.
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