Maggie’s The Woodchuck and Firewood Hoarders Thread

[pmclaine]

Let me know what you think of the knife.
I'm looking for a bushcraft knife for myself.
Have been eyeing this one:
View attachment 6869707

R

I love Benchmade based on the one folder I own.

My mind is telling me Benchmade will have better blade steel than Tops but the Tops will be good enough.

I like a striking pommel which neither the Benchmade or BOB really have. My hatchet will handle the hammer functions my KaBar used to be tasked with.

So now Im getting two tools to do the jobs I used to do with one.

Albeit Ill be doing those jobs much more efficiently.

The Tops BOB has a firesteel striker on the pommel area. Its the biggest complaint about the knife but the complainers that have watched videos of how to use it after failing state it does work well. I think it looks pretty slick but if I had my way I would add a magnesium shaving notch at the base of the blade and strike the steel with the spine of the blade. The pommel would get a hammer cap.

My Kabar was great but it is a bit of a Claymore. I realized that last camping trip when we used a four wheeler off road vehicle quite a bit and sitting on the bench seat the scabbard/hilt of the knife were always in the wrong place.

The Kydex BOB sheath swivels and I bought the Tops leather sheath similar to the Benchmade with a dangler attachment. The smaller size and flexible sheath should be more manageable.

I was really tempted by a Randall but at that price point I dont see me smacking the spine of fine stag and polished steel with a log. Ive got too much shit right now that I have either spent too much on or made so pretty that I dread using it because it may get banged up. Kind of dumb. I do use my shit but I crave the ability to abuse my shit.

This knife will be that. Kind of the AR of knives. Im building a .223 M40 clone that will be a good serviceable abuse rifle and Ive got a Win M70 headed to a builder that Im intending when its not mounting a Unertl may ride a simple Redfield 3-9X for woods outings. Plain walnut stocks with a linseed finish that gains character with bumps and bruises.

I really need the kids to get their woods bravery settled in so we can advance the tentage. Unfortunately the crazy sounding Barred owls get them a little spooked when they start talking like howler monkeys so getting them into a light one man or two man aint happening right now.

 

[Rthur]

I'm looking for one for spike camping out west.
Getting a little further away from the camper lol.

I've seen adults have an adverse reaction to noisy owls...

R

 

[Major Wader]

Axes are fun. PM me if you want some advice on older ones. The steel was awesome, and lots of cheap garage sale finds can be rehung on a new handle for a whole new outlook on life.

What's the expected budget for some of the bushcraft knives y'all are looking for? The custom makers have some cool stuff, and not everyone is as pricey as a Randall.

 

[pmclaine]

Axes are fun. PM me if you want some advice on older ones. The steel was awesome, and lots of cheap garage sale finds can be rehung on a new handle for a whole new outlook on life.

What's the expected budget for some of the bushcraft knives y'all are looking for? The custom makers have some cool stuff, and not everyone is as pricey as a Randall.

That Hults Bruk is forged. You can see traces of the scaling from hot quenching on mine. Thats part of the attraction. They make a line that looks more machine worked that I wasnt liking.

Any sharpening info would be appreciated. Unsure if I should by a puck or file type sharpener. One thing I do need is a good strop.

Saw this...

https://jre-industriesinc.godaddysites.com/shop?olsPage=products/strop-bat

and it interests me.


The Tops BOB Bushcraft I settled on runs from about $120-$150 on Amazon.

Direct from Tops for $200.

Not break the bank stuff but not cheap.

I think under heavy use, lots of batoning, hacking and digging, if you get a couple years out of one thats good rental for hard use.

Mine should last for ever.

 

[pmclaine]

One thing about these Bush Knives is there are a lot of small shops with nice stuff and the price range is incredible....

Look at these beauties.

https://www.selfrelianceoutfitters.com/products/bush-knife-by-jeff-white?variant=28035963457

The genre kind of reminds me of Philippino made BOLOs.

 

[dallas34]

Is the Hults Bruk the same or similar to Gransfors bruk? I really like their tools. I use the Ochsenkopf for cutting and splitting because Stihl rebrands it and its easy to get. Here is the latest casualty from the wind. A good size yellow poplar. Turns out the side facing the creek is rainbow poplar. Cant wait to see how this turns out. Cattle dog is for scale.

 

[tnichols]

Is the Hults Bruk the same or similar to Gransfors bruk? I really like their tools. I use the Ochsenkopf for cutting and splitting because Stihl rebrands it and its easy to get. Here is the latest casualty from the wind. A good size yellow poplar. Turns out the side facing the creek is rainbow poplar. Cant wait to see how this turns out. Cattle dog is for scale.

I’m curious what your plans are for it.

 

[dallas34]

cutting everything 1x8 for rails and styles and raised panels for cabinets. Plus the wife wants to line a wall with board and batten.

 

[tnichols]

Never thought I’d do it, but started filling a 3rd “bay” today with that small load I brought home Thursday. The area/bay is 12’x12’ and currently have two full. A lot of the Cherry ended up in the short and ugly box, but it will burn just fine in a year or two. I’m probably 5-7 years ahead. I love running saw, but don’t care for processing and stacking.

 

[pmclaine]

Is the Hults Bruk the same or similar to Gransfors bruk?

Similiar. Hults Bruk claims there business goes back to late 1600s.

 

[McNamara0851]

This doesn’t really fall under the saw and splitter category, but I owned a tree service for a while right after college. I built or rebuilt all the equipment we used. Our primary chipper was a Vermeer 1800. I pulled the 4BT out one afternoon after a job, due to it nearly self destructing, stretched the frame and dropped a 6bt in there that I had pulled out of a uniharvester. Turned the fuel screw up till it slipped the clutch, pulled it back a quarter turn and then we ran the shit out of it. Put it back in service the following day to finish a job and never had a lick of trouble out of it again other than needing to add a few cooling fans, and the added weight on the outside of the frame eventually caused a spindle to exit the unit. Replaced the axle with a 12,000# from dexter. Thought you lumbersexuals might get a kick out of it.

 

[Geno C.]

Never thought I’d do it, but started filling a 3rd “bay” today with that small load I brought home Thursday. The area/bay is 12’x12’ and currently have two full. A lot of the Cherry ended up in the short and ugly box, but it will burn just fine in a year or two. I’m probably 5-7 years ahead. I love running saw, but don’t care for processing and stacking.

That's so tiny! I try to keep mine under 70lbs so if my mother in law has to fill the burner she can pick them up.

 

[tnichols]

That's so tiny! I try to keep mine under 70lbs so if my mother in law has to fill the burner she can pick them up.

It is. This stuff is cut to 10” so I can go into the stove the short way. Great for long burns or all nighters. Normal cut length is 13” for day in day out stuff. Still small compared to you guys with the OWB’s. We burn as a supliment heat sorce only because I like running a saw.

 

[Major Wader]

Under $200, there are too many good quality custom builders to list. 3 that immediately come to mind are Dawson Knives, PB&J, and Cross Knives, made by Pete Winkler.

All the old axes were forged, they just got finish ground after forging.

 

[Geno C.]

It is. This stuff is cut to 10” so I can go into the stove the short way. Great for long burns or all nighters. Normal cut length is 13” for day in day out stuff. Still small compared to you guys with the OWB’s. We burn as a supliment heat sorce only because I like running a saw.

Gotcha. That's about what I'll have to cut mine to when I get my little potbelly hooked up. The owb gets 22" just for the reason that we can double row stack in those little metal crates and the splitter only will handle about that. It probably will take a perfectly square 24".

 

[Mike Casselton]

i gotta figure a way to drop the hint
i want one

Screen shot the axe and send it to the wifey every day.
If you don't get one for father's day then you have a right to say women don't get subtle hints either...

 

[pmclaine]

i gotta figure a way to drop the hint
i want one

Have her go to this website.....

http://www.autinetools.com/en/catalog/axes

After she checks out the prices on that Latvian steel than you show her Hults Bruk at 1/4 the price and you will be good to go.

 

[oneshot86]

Have her go to this website.....

http://www.autinetools.com/en/catalog/axes

After she checks out the prices on that Latvian steel

than you show her Hults Bruk at 1/4 the price and you will be good to go.

i like the way you think, and it worked on me.
i went directly to your link without reading your complete post, and thought jesus h, i aint no ca-zillionaire, my ole lady is going to go all last of the mohicans on me if i buy a 400 dollars ax, not really, but i would get the eagle eye...

anywho, when i finished reading your post i was like, ahhhh, i see the method to your madness...

 

[Rthur]

One thing about these Bush Knives is there are a lot of small shops with nice stuff and the price range is incredible....

Look at these beauties.

https://www.selfrelianceoutfitters.com/products/bush-knife-by-jeff-white?variant=28035963457

The genre kind of reminds me of Philippino made BOLOs.

Kinds reminds me of BushMonkey knives.
Unfortunately they aren't that reasonable.
Another reason I'm favoring the Benchmade is the steel choice.
R

 

[Icallem]

I got lucky this afternoon. this water oak had blown over and when I cut it loose from the rest of the tree, the stump along with lots of soil decided to stand back up. When I saw this I thought, "well, there goes my carry-all". My bride said to tell you guys it was perfect placement of the tractor, but no,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it was luck. Kind of a sick feeling when you see something moving and you know that you have no control over it.

I never gave it a thought that it would stand back up, but we have had some warm weather so,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[TheBigCountry]

Anyone a Jonsered fan? Buddy took a liking to my newly acquired 350, so I started looking at new saws. Found a guy selling a NIB Jred 2252 and snagged it up with a 18” .325 bar and chain.

If I keep this up I’ll never have the funds for the new PVA rifle

 

[tnichols]

View attachment 6869909

I got lucky this afternoon. this water oak had blown over and when I cut it loose from the rest of the tree, the stump along with lots of soil decided to stand back up. When I saw this I thought, "well, there goes my carry-all". My bride said to tell you guys it was perfect placement of the tractor, but no,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, it was luck. Kind of a sick feeling when you see something moving and you know that you have no control over it.

I never gave it a thought that it would stand back up, but we have had some warm weather so,,,,,,,,,,,,

Lot of weight in that root ball. Heart rate always goes up a bit once things start moving. I’ve read where kids have been squished playing in the hole left by the root ball while dad was cleaning up storm damage. Folks need to stay clear of such things while a saw is running.

 

[Geno C.]

At least when I feed the wood monster it out of the wind!

 

[bogeybrown]

Anyone a Jonsered fan? Buddy took a liking to my newly acquired 350, so I started looking at new saws. Found a guy selling a NIB Jred 2252 and snagged it up with a 18” .325 bar and chain.

If I keep this up I’ll never have the funds for the new PVA rifle

J-Reds get solid respect on the tree forums. They're made by Husqvarna, I believe Dolmar makes the Makita saws?

 

[TheBigCountry]

J-Reds get solid respect on the tree forums. They're made by Husqvarna, I believe Dolmar makes the Makita saws?

That’s what led me to the 2252; just a Red 545. I actually liked the look of the red and black on the Jred versus the normal Orange 545

And from what I gathered, Dolmar was acquired by Makita back in 91. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ch...now-About-the-Future-of-Dolmar-Chainsaws.html

 

[bogeybrown]

That’s what led me to the 2252; just a Red 545. I actually liked the look of the red and black on the Jred versus the normal Orange 545

And from what I gathered, Dolmar was acquired by Makita back in 91. https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.ch...now-About-the-Future-of-Dolmar-Chainsaws.html

Thanks for the clarification on Dolmar, I was remembering a link of some sort between them and Makita.

 

[TheBigCountry]

Thanks for the clarification on Dolmar, I was remembering a link of some sort between them and Makita.

No problem. You ever figure out what happened to your Husky that puked oil?

 

[bogeybrown]

No problem. You ever figure out what happened to your Husky that puked oil?

Nope, had a "squirrel !!!" moment and got started on some other problem. I did hear back from the repair shop and they found a bad seal in my 455 so Husky is paying to have the top end replaced. That was a load off my mind.

 

[TheGerman]

Wait, there's a thread about firewood? And its 17 pages?

 

[bogeybrown]

Wait, there's a thread about firewood? And its 17 pages?

It's something that those of us with trees do in our spare time. Kind of like playing Call of Duty by ourselves out in the desert, but for adults.

In the second post I have a short video showing Splitzilla with her Bavarian flag.

 

[TheGerman]

It's something that those of us with trees do in our spare time. Kind of like playing Call of Duty by ourselves out in the desert, but for adults.

In the second post I have a short video showing Splitzilla with her Bavarian flag.

Hey now, I still get shot at apparently.

Splitter looks good. How'd you get the decals made?

 

[bogeybrown]

Hey now, I still get shot at apparently.

Splitter looks good. How'd you get the decals made?

And you get to return fire or blow someone up occasionally too, I definitely see the appeal.

Some of the stickers were available online, for the ones that weren't I had a local sign shop custom make them. It was a lot of fun when the little old lady at the counter had to write up "Not for Rectal Use" in reflective lettering on the work order and I spent an hour with the little gay man making the decals and him explaining how @1J04 's flying poop was going to be very pixelated. My woman was just shaking her head as we tried screen-shooting that avatar and then deciding which of the poop summersalts to use.

 

[Barneybdb]

 

[Barneybdb]

How it used to be done...........

 

[bogeybrown]

View attachment 6870216

Oh damn, of all the ways to scare the shit out of yourself and jack up a chain, that's one of the more interesting. Very cool, aftter you change your underwear and chain.

 

[pmclaine]

How it used to be done...........

View attachment 6870217

That's quite the wedge that gent is pounding. I'm guessing the guy on the end is using a jack of sorts to spread the split.

Looks like men in the whaling fleet processing a leviathan.

 

[mtrmn]

Lot of weight in that root ball. Heart rate always goes up a bit once things start moving. I’ve read where kids have been squished playing in the hole left by the root ball while dad was cleaning up storm damage. Folks need to stay clear of such things while a saw is running.

In my very younger days I was cutting up a clay-rooted red oak for firewood. Using my old Husky 65 with a bow blade. I had pretty well de-limbed all the accessible limbs and decided it was time to cut the first log off. I started about 20 feet from the root ball for my first cut. Using the bow, I was standing on the log and allowing the weight of the saw to cut it's way through the log from the top. All of a sudden the saw was ripped from my hand and I felt a great wind as something rushed by my face and I fell off the log which was about 5 feet off the ground due to the limbs underneath. It was the 20' tall "stump" standing back up in the hole. If I had been standing on the wrong side of my cut I would have been catapulted like one of the cows on Monty Python and the Holy Grail over the castle wall. I had never heard of this happening until I told my story and then I heard hundreds of tales about this happening with storm-felled timber.

 

[diverdon]

In my very younger days I was cutting up a clay-rooted red oak for firewood. Using my old Husky 65 with a bow blade. I had pretty well de-limbed all the accessible limbs and decided it was time to cut the first log off. I started about 20 feet from the root ball for my first cut. Using the bow, I was standing on the log and allowing the weight of the saw to cut it's way through the log from the top. All of a sudden the saw was ripped from my hand and I felt a great wind as something rushed by my face and I fell off the log which was about 5 feet off the ground due to the limbs underneath. It was the 20' tall "stump" standing back up in the hole. If I had been standing on the wrong side of my cut I would have been catapulted like one of the cows on Monty Python and the Holy Grail over the castle wall. I had never heard of this happening until I told my story and then I heard hundreds of tales about this happening with storm-felled timber.

One of the first things my Dad showed us on storm felled trees was to keep clear of the roots and make the first cut at the bottom of the tree.

 

[oneshot86]

View attachment 6870216

thats awesome, and believe it or not about six months ago i did same, the metal shreds coming out w the shavings threw me for a loop...
between nails, screws, chain link fence parts, i have f-ed up some saw chain

 

[pmclaine]

View attachment 6870216

Was that in the area of a Civil War battlefield or just a lost round?

Hmm doesn't look like ther are enough rings to have it go back 150 odd years.

 

[pmclaine]

Got my new camp wood processor in today

The leather sheath was extra and I got the books hoping for some good knowledge.

The coyote coating is kind of hokey but I wanted the coyote kydex and the green scales. The green scaled knives are for some reason thinner in handle diameter than the brown scales that come on the other knives. They seem to fit me well enough but someone with bigger hands may desire the brown scales.

Leather sheath is nice. I like the idea of the dangler attachment. The sheath from Tops came with its own ferro/magnesium rods and a whistle.

The ferro rod and magnesium will be losing the whistle in favor of a 550 cord lanyard. The set up is kind of small but it should be able to work a fire in a pinch.

Scale of the knife next to a kitchen steak knife

This is the part that I like....that knife spine should be able to take a beating.

 

[MtnCreek]

Was that in the area of a Civil War battlefield or just a lost round?

Hmm doesn't look like ther are enough rings to have it go back 150 odd years.

It’s jacketed.

Btw, very nice looking knife.

 

[packratt]

Haven't managed to hit anything other than fencing with the chain saw.

On the other hand have split a 1/2" lag bolt down the middle, cut a horse shoe in half, and hit a case hardened nail with a Woodmizer. The nail took out a good number of teeth, that band was not resharpenable.

Back in the 70s my father was getting some logs sawed on one of the OLD style circular mills. About dusk a stream of fire shot out the log that was being cut. Someone had put about a fist sized lump of concrete into a knot.

 

[SND]

My Dad and I cut pallet stock on a circular in the 70s and 80’s. Most if it went for pallet stock. Over time we started buying more logs v. harvesting them ourselves. We took in some hardwood from an area near a large national guard training camp and hit several very hard and large projectiles, presumably armor piercers. One took out a small chunk of blade which was pretty disappointing ...

 

[pmclaine]

When we were kids we camped at the Farm a friends Uncle owned.

The Farmer was an old industrious Swede, also had had some alcohol issues and pretty much through discipline and being a hard SOB left his issues behind but didnt appreciate being around alcohol.

Anyway we were camped out in the middle of the woods well away from the house having a great old underage drinkfest.

A bit before 0700 hrs Sunday morning we heard Yngve outside the tents bellowing "Hellllloooooo! Time to wake up!"

We got up but it wasnt pretty. Fortunately we had been feeding the empties into the fire so he may have viewed a half dozen or so empty Budweiser pull tops.

He had us report to the Farm for wood cutting.

He had made his own big circular saw out of an old WWII bomb carrier. A motor and a big old giant circular blade that looked like what Batman used to get tied down to.

No safety, no shields, no guards of and kind, just fire up the motor engage a clutch and start feeding slabs to make 10 inch stove cut offs.

Crazy, cant imagine anything like it happening today, that was early to mid 80s.

We were glad for that wood come February when we were camping in the house drinking our Budweisers. While Yngve was in the east at his regular job.

The dont make saws like that anymore and they make very few men like Yngve.

 

[SND]

When we were kids we camped at the Farm a friends Uncle owned.

The Farmer was an old industrious Swede, also had had some alcohol issues and pretty much through discipline and being a hard SOB left his issues behind but didnt appreciate being around alcohol.

We got up but it wasnt pretty. Fortunately we had been feeding the empties into the fire so he may have viewed a half dozen or so empty Budweiser pull tops.

He had us report to the Farm for wood cutting.

He had made his own big circular saw out of an old WWII bomb carrier. A motor and a big old giant circular blade that looked like what Batman used to get tied down to.

No safety, no shields, no guards of and kind, just fire up the motor engage a clutch and start feeding slabs to make 10 inch stove cut offs.

Crazy, cant imagine anything like it happening today, that was early to mid 80s.

We were glad for that wood come February when we were camping in the house drinking our Budweisers. While Yngve was in the east at his regular job.

The dont make saws like that anymore and they make very few men like Yngve.

 

[SND]

Over the 20+ years we were in and around the business, we heard as many times from folks that were going to make their own mill. Only actually saw it once, done by a guy that made pallets; coincidentally a WWII vet that serviced bombers and a fricken wizard machinist, millwright. I was in intermediate school or so and had just learned to weld and did a few welds for him. Great guy and a great mill though it was a bit light on guarding. He ended up selling the biz and moved to a nudist colony in FL. Go figure ....

 

[oneshot86]

My Dad and I cut pallet stock on a circular in the 70s and 80’s. Most if it went for pallet stock. Over time we started buying more logs v. harvesting them ourselves. We took in some hardwood from an area near a large national guard training camp and hit several very hard and large projectiles, presumably armor piercers. One took out a small chunk of blade which was pretty disappointing ...

people dont realise what you can find in a tree, between cutting and splitting, i have found a bunch of stuff

 

[SND]

people dont realise what you can find in a tree, between cutting and splitting, i have found a bunch of stuff

For sure. Especially watch stuff from a city; lots of nails, bolts, lags, bird feeder brackets, wire and such. More trouble than its worth.

 

[tnichols]

For sure. Especially watch stuff from a city; lots of nails, bolts, lags, bird feeder brackets, wire and such. More trouble than its worth.

Really nasty find for bar chain are the old dark brown porcelain insulators used in the early to mid 1900’s. Most were set with a 3/8” steel lag for phone and electrical. Screwed into a tree next to or near a building and later abandoned to let the tree grow around it. Instant dull chain, just like hitting rock.