| 6th Bramshill Scouts |
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Axe
Workshop Oct 2005
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Scouts still use a hand-axe in their badge work and at camp. The correct and safe use of a hand-axe forms part of the Outdoor Plus Award and the Survival Skills Activity Badge. This is a traditional Scout axe bought more than fifty years ago from the Scout shop in Buckingham Palace Road!
The head is as good as the day it was made but it has had a new handle. The handles are made of American Hickory or English Ash. We were lucky to obtain the help of Scotty, a local Countryside Ranger, to take our knowledge of the hand-axe a little further. With him we learned how to re-shaft a hand-axe.
The first stage is to remove the old handle. This is an imprecise technique requiring plenty of brute force!
The next stage is to select a handle which is the correct length, matches the profile of the insert hole and is roughly the right size. Then it's a case of rasping and planing the wood to shape.
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Alternatively you can use the 'horse' and a spoke shave. When your have your handle hammered into the head you need to prepare a wooden wedge to hold it secure. We made ours out of seasoned oak.
When that is hammered into place you need to place a steel wedge across it to finish the job.
Next Scotty showed us how to prepare a handle if you need one while you are in the 'bush'. He paired down an Ash trunk until it was the correct size to work with.
We had a great day, learnt some new skills and came home with a 'brand-new' axe. |
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