Why You Should Always Bring Your Axe to The Woods

There are certain things that one requires when going out into the wild, supplies and equipment that are essential to survival. Supplies such as fresh food and water are simply required, you can’t survive more than 3 days without any liquid intake. Preservatives, and having a source of fresh water nearby, namely you should always keep close to a stream or river when going on woodland adventures be they camping hiking or hunting. As for equipment and tools there are a few essentials you should keep on you at all times when going to the wilds. Torches, knives, axes, water and food containers, backpacks and a few other items that are specific to your own needs.

And some of you might be questioning why bring an axe and a knife, when one can sort of take the place of the other. Well this is because you can use both for specific tasks that the other cannot perform. You can use the axe for more difficult tasks that could render the knife blunt, and you can use the knife for finer tasks that require a sharper edge. By bringing both along you’re giving yourself many more options as to how you prepare a campsite, or clear the way when hiking.

But one thing you should remember is that the quality of the axes you bring along matters greatly, it’s what determines their weight, balance and how sharp they can be. There are different strengths of steel used for survival axes the best of which are carbon steels that are usually designated with a four digit number starting at 1xxx the first indicates the main alloying element, the second indicates top grade elements and the last two digits indicate the amount of carbon in the steel. However, this isn’t the only way to gauge quality, you can also simply pick up the axe, if the balance feels right and it isn’t too heavy on one or the other side it’s definitely worth getting since getting the right balance is the most difficult part when making any large tool.

Handles also play a large part in how comfortable the axe is to carry and swing, if you get an axe with a wooden handle then there is a chance that could break which is why you see most modern axes with strong polymer or steel as their handles. Integrated handles are also fairly durable, being attached directly to the axe they can take a harder beating than your standard wooden axe, they’re also usually lighter, so they’re your best bet when you have to carry it for a few kilometers.