When it comes to pieces of essential kit for the discriminating Bushcrafter the axe makes the list in the number two spot, just after a good knife. Over the last several years there are some brands that have become very popular. There are two problems with the “popular” brands though, high price and often limited availability. I’ve used and owned several of them over the years. While they are nice I tend to keep going back to an axe that I don’t seem to worry about because of it’s cost.

Normally I carry a boy scout hatchet when out in the woods. I love these hatchets. They are cheap, tough and good quality but are getting hard to find. They are also heavy. So three years ago I found myself looking for a mini axe that I could carry and would reduce my base weight. After looking at all the “popular” brands and choking at their cost I came across the axe you see in the pictures above.

Its the Vaughan Supersportsman’s Sub-Zero Axe and is often sold as a sounding axe for forest service or tree surgery work. This tiny little guy weighs in at a mere 1 pound. That’s 8oz for the head and 8oz for everything else. It comes with a flame treated 10″ hickory handle and a has a 2-1/4″  cutting edge that is covered by a leather sheath. The factory edge is decent but can be made much better with less than 5 minutes on the belt sander. The handles that have come on the 3 Vaughan’s I own have been good with a nice tight, properly oriented straight grain. I’ve yet to break one but I have refinished them all. When they were received they had a clear varnish finish that got a bit slick when my hands got wet from sweat. A bit of sanding, some boiled linseed oil and a bit of beeswax took care of that problem though. I now keep one in my bushcraft kit, paddling gear and garage toolbox. I’ll probably add one to a BoB in the future.

All in all, the Vaughan is a great little axe and well worth the ~$20 investment. It cuts extremely well for it’s weight and can even be used for carving or game processing activities. I’ve found that it holds a good edge than can be honed sharp enough to shave with easily and will stay that way a through extensive use. The overall quality of the metal and temper is also good considering it is a mass production item. You would not go wrong with this purchase if for no other reason than learning just how useful a small axe can be in your kit.

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About Ratings

The beginning of the warm weather has pushed my activities to getting the garden and animals settled for the season. This has drawn most of my time away from my normal focus on bushcraft. I’ve got the Mora project sitting on the workbench under a bunch of other stuff and a list of other reviews and videos that I will be getting done over the summer. Please stand by.

Last year Mora of Sweden decided to discontinue the Mora #510 and #545 model knives from their line. Since then they have still been fairly easy to find but have finally started disappearing from all the stores. This is bad news for the Bushcraft community since these were the two knives of choice for most outdoor schools and a favorite of individuals. It was compact, comfortable, durable and perfectly suited for all types of bushcraft activities.

What’s Next?

Mora of Sweden has seen fit to put a replacement product out there but I’m not sure they hit the mark. The new knives are the #511 in Carbon and #546 (#546-G) in Stainless. This new series of 5xx knives have a prominent guard molded into the grip. This guard poses several disadvantacges when compaired to the old #510 from my perspective. While the addition of this guard makes the new #5xx series safer to handle it also makes it feel odd in my hand. When carving or slicing with it the guard can get in the way. The other disadvantage I see with the guard on the #5xx series is not actually with the knife but with the sheath. Because of the added guard the sheath is now directional. This means that it is no longer ambidextrous and left handed users will find it draws backwards when worn on their left side. There is not the option to order a left handed sheath for these knives so you will have to make your own or find one somewhere else.

This does not mean that we, as bushcrafters, must now start using our high end Fallniven F1 to split wood or other mundane but potentually knife destroying tasks. It simply means that we need to address the problems with the new #5xx series and make it better suited for our use. So, I will be putting together a video series that will take you through the process of customizing the Mora #511 and making it a bit more friendly.  Stay Tuned.

Through the years I have heard people refer to Fatwood by a lot of different names including maya wood. Some of you will recognize the name Maya as part of a product name from Light My Fire. I know a few folks that swear MayaDust is the best tinder ever sold. On the flip side of that I also know folks with the opposite opinion of it.

I tend to side with the later group for two reasons: 1) Cost: At an average price of $5 for 1oz its too expensive to justify its the purchase and 2) Ease of lighting: As Jason over at Gear Talk demonstrated, it is extremely difficult to start with the typical scout sized firesteel. If you have lighter its not a problem but then again it is also not needed.

If you are an advocate MayaDust then you may be relieved to know that you can make it yourself for next to nothing.  This video shows you how.

If you are looking for a wood rasp to do this you should take a look at the Curved Multi-Rasp from Harbor Freight Tools. At the diminutive price of $2.99 it costs less than a single package of MayaDust and will pay for itself after you use less than an once of DIY MayaDust. The rasp I use is called the Surform Pocket Plane from Stanley but I only use it because I already had it on hand.

I’ve put a few things up for sale in a new shop tab on the blog. Take a look around.

There have been a several folks that have asked how I split my fatwood matchsticks. I put together this little video that takes you through the process. If you’re not up to making your own matchsticks or are having a hard time finding you can hope over to my new Shop and order some up.

I’m excited because I filmed this video from my newly built overhead camera rig and there was no tripod in my way.

There are tons and tons of fire starters out there that you can use but none quite as good as fatwood. It’s long burn time, natural waterproofing and easy availability (at least in the southeastern US) make it the ideal fire starter. Put together a simple tinder box and you are set.

By the way, this is my first video if you hadn’t noticed.

Fatwood, also known as “lightwood,” “lighter wood” or “maya wood,” is derived from the heartwood of pine trees. This resin-impregnated heartwood is hard and rot-resistant; the stumps or heartwood centers of fallen pines that last for decades after the rest of the tree has rotted away. Although most resinous pines can produce fatwood, in the southeastern United States the wood is commonly associated with Longleaf pine, which historically was highly valued for its high pitch production.

Because of the flammability of the pine resin, fatwood is prized for use as kindling in starting fires. It lights quickly, even when wet, and burns hot enough to light larger pieces of wood. The pitch-soaked wood produces an oily, sooty smoke, and it is recommended that one should not cook on a fire until all the fatwood has completely burned out.

Taken from Wikipedia – slightly modified.

I have collected fatwood many, many times over the years to be used as kindling for fire starting: mostly in fireplaces. My grandfather preferred it over all other materials for starting domestic fires. A bit of nostalgia struck me recently, so off to the plot of woods behind the house I went with a few select tools. I scouted about until I found a pine stump that seemed the perfect candidate to yield some wealth. This was not a difficult task since the woods had been selectively logged a number of years back.

I decided that I wanted to do minimal visual damage so as not to detract from the beauty of the area. I set to work while carefully preserving the sides and surroundings of the stump. The series of photos below shows the progression of the harvesting process.

The pillar that is sticking up in the center is the Fatwood. I will harvest a portion of this section.

Using a Kukri as both a shovel, chopping, and prying tool I exposed the fatwood pillar and started to split off sections.

I removed portions from both sides. Here you can see how resin-laden the wood is.

Once I had collected all the fatwood I wanted, I restored the stump to as close to its original condition as I could.

This is the wealth I collected. It’s not much, but you will be surprised at just how long it will last and the amount of uses it has.

There are quite a few things that fatwood can be used for beyond my Grandfather’s preference. This post is just the beginning of a series of posts on using it to its greatest potential. Stay tuned…

Meet “Cooper” my new companion. He was adopted from a vet’s office just around the corner on Friday.

Cooper is a 7-month-old, short-haired collie mix. My wife’s dog has decided that he is alright, though the cat’s have gone into hiding.  I’m hoping that he will become my bushcraft and outdoor partner. I seem to suffer from the same problem that Pablo used to suffer from: my lovely wife is just not into being in the woods.

Today while I was out running a few errands my wife (Tara) took the kids out in the woods behind the house. They had to use the partially completed foot bridge that my 3-1/2 year old son and I have been building to get there. Here a few pics from the excursion.