A Man's Gear Part One: The Axe

Hults Bruk Double Bit Axe

Axes are one of the manliest tools around. Put an axe in a man's hands, and he will immediately feel more masculine and confident. This is indisputable as men have been using axes since around 6000 BC. At first they were crudely made of stone, vines, and branches. As technology evolved, so too did the axe. Copper, bronze, iron, and steel soon followed as humanity's knowledge evolved. Not only did the materials of the axe differ over the years, but the designs did as well. Different designs were innovated so that the axe could be used for specialized purposes. An axe was a tool that nearly every man had because nearly every man had a need for it.

In today's modern world, an axe is still a necessary and vital tool if you own a home that has a decent-sized yard; there are still some things that an axe excels at where other tools fail. Every man should have a well-made axe and every man should use an axe on a regular basis. Unfortunately, this is not the case. Most men do have axes, but they are stored in a shed or garage, their steel rusting away and their wood drying out.

Taking care of an axe is not a full-time job, nor is it a baby, but it does need to be cared for a little. The wooden handle should be oiled in between uses so that the wood does not dry out. The axe head should be sharpened and oiled to keep its edge keen and to keep the metal from rusting. This is especially necessary if you plan on hanging the axe in your home as a decoration. Whilst an axe makes a brilliant wall decoration, it should also show wear, so take it down off the wall for a few hours a week and use it, then hang it back up. You'd be hard-pressed to find a more manly wall decoration than an axe, in my own humble opinion.

Choosing an axe is a decision based off of personal preferences depending on axe head designs, handle lengths, axe head weight, and materials used. That being said, any traditional axe head with a hickory handle will serve its user through years of abuse before succumbing to overuse. Be careful to purchase an axe that is functional instead of simply just aesthetically pleasing. Hickory may not have the same beauty as black walnut, but it is a far superior wood for the abuse and shock it would be put through when attached to an axe head.

When choosing a well-made axe, try to purchase from countries that have a history associated to it. America, Canada, and Northern European countries (Sweden, Finland, and Norway) immediately come to mind when thinking about axes. That isn't to say axes made in countries other than these are inferior; but it is a very safe assumption that axes made in these countries are very well made. When purchasing an axe, buying brand new is not necessary. As stated previously, well-made axes will take a fair share of punishment before they break down. Garage sales are a fantastic place to pick up an axe for a low price. However, prepare before purchasing to make sure that you are buying a well-made axe. A yard sale axe will most likely need sprucing up, but that task should be a meditative one. However, if you are deciding to purchase a new axe, I would recommend Gransfors Bruks or John Neeman. You can see videos on YouTube of craftsmen making John Neeman tools and it very much makes one recall the days when all things were made by hand.

The question is, why? Why swing an axe every week? Why did I choose axes as the topic to begin this series and blog? For the very simple reason that axes are inherently manly. Of course, women can swing axes too, and just as well as men. Then again, men can also knit, and do it just as well as women. Yet, swinging an axe is a manly endeavor and knitting is a feminine one; there is no insult in saying so to either sex. The way mankind has evolved has simply made axes masculine and knitting feminine. And, of course, this blog is predominantly aimed at men, though women can also benefit by reading.

Using an axe is not about the destructive power of men; it is about being in nature and experiencing nature firsthand. It is about using your body in a productive way to accomplish a task for a reason. It could be exercise, firewood, or making wooden furniture. There is no pleasure to be gained in making nature bend to your will, or other such nonsense. Yet there is a very real need for thinning forests or eliminating dead trees, all which has to do with ecological reasons. Doing these things simply makes the forest more vibrant and healthy, whilst also protecting it from future harm.

Made in Sweden

Imagine you're holding an axe in a forest. You can feel the warmth of the sun's rays as they dance across your skin. The wind picks up and tree branches begin to sway, causing the rays of the sun to shift. You feel the grain of the hickory wood in the palms of your hands and against your fingertips where it has been worn down smooth due to many hours of use. You feel the solidness and heft of the axe, consorting with gravity to pull your arms down. But you resist and heft it to your shoulder, the wood handle now resting against the muscles of your upper back. You take a deep breath and smell the forest; pine, dirt, and animal musk fill your nostrils. You hear the wind moving through the branches and the trees and hear songbirds perched high above you. And then you begin to walk.

You're unsure which direction you're going or where it'll lead you, but you create your own road through that forest. You begin to perspire as the sun begins its descent in the sky. The wind sweeps through the forest again, shaking the leaves and creating a cooling sensation on your skin as it crashes into the drops of sweat. You wipe your palms on your shirt to dry them off. In time you come upon an oak tree. You know that it once stood majestically, but like all living things must, it died. You lift your axe and plant your feet. You rotate your body away from the tree and then explosively rotate towards the tree, your arms trailing your torso and applying force as well. You hear a dull thump as the metal blade bites into the dead wood. A shock reverberates throughout your body. Dust and particles that had settled on the tree are dislodged and illuminated by the rays of sunlight. This goes on for quite sometime until your persevere, and something that took centuries to grow, comes crashing down in an hour or so.

You lose track of time and notice that the sun is low on the horizon and is cloaking the forest in a sepia hue. Your shirt is wet with sweat and your whole body is dirty; you are covered in particles of dirt and pieces of wood. You take a deep breath and smell the forest again. It smells the same; nothing has changed. But you have; you smell like the forest. And with that, you heft the axe up to your shoulder once again, turn around, and walk back down the path you made.