Take, for instance, the Work Sharp Multi sharpener Ken Onion Edition and the Work Sharp Knife & Tool Sharpener. That's a reasonable assumption, I think, considering that a sharpening tool is way more abrasive than wood. The Ken Onion Edition comes with sharpening belts with grain sizes 120, 220, 1000, 3000 and 6000. For knives, you move the blade over the sharpening equipment (whetstones). Sharpen your maul. To learn how to sharpen a hatchet, clamp the ax head in a vise and file the original bevel as shown. Sharper is always preferable. Simply put, a convex edge is going to be stronger than your standard “v” edge. Sharper is always preferable. The best way to do that is to grip the axe head between your knees edge side up then press a piece of paper against the edge. When you sharpen an axe you should also consider the possibility that you may drop it at some point. I only use the ax for the smallest of rounds. Inspect the Sharpened Axe . Kind of like bowling 10 pin for a while then switching to candlepin. That's when the axe gets sharpened.I didn't expect this result - in fact I was at a total loss on how the results would be like. The Excel simulation astounded me. With a falling or cutting axe, the edge should taper from the eye to the cutting edge with just a small 20 degree bevel, maybe 1/16th inch wide. Find out more about how we use your information in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy. After working the axe head on the fine sharpening stone, it should now be razor sharp. The areas bounded by the coloured lines and the axes represents the total work done (not effort expended). Mr. Woodard has it correct here. Yet another variant of the Woodcutter/Axe story: Face and Image recognition for the masses. It's mathematically proven to be the most desired form of behaviour by my employer. Everybody I know identifies with this story to some degree, and I see a good number people I know, including myself, in the shoes of the woodcutter at times. A splitting tool should still be sharp, as it is the edge that opens the initial split and the edge may cut any cross-split wood fibers that get in the way when splitting stringy wood. You can't discount anything. This graph illustrates the time taken to achieve a set quantity of work (in this case, 5000 work units). Real life is way more complex than this thought exercise - one of the applications of this finding to real life is a deriviative where the `maximum sharpness' is the baseline relative competency when you started work, and `degradation of sharpness' happens when technology changes and new tools come online for other people and you didn't keep up. Next, flip the ax around in the vise and file the other side. An axe should be sharpened on a regular basis, perhaps with every half-hour of use or each time a tree is cut down. Several sharpening belt machines are perfect for sharpening axes. There should be no nicks or gouges on the cutting surface. I suggest testing it out on a piece of notebook paper. Instead, one with 'fat cheeks' seems preferable. It helps a lot. How sharp should i get my axe to be for maximum effectiveness? I don't want it to chip off when I cut the wood but right now it is so blunt that I can … If so, apply the grinder to the axe until the nicks and gouges have been smoothed out. Razor sharp is the way to go, BUT you have to have the correct angle on the edge. Test the sharpness on your arm hair or run your fingernail against the blade. Well, I did an Excel simulation using the solver tool, and the optimal sharpening/chopping schedule is in the chart below.Assume that it takes 3 times faster to sharpen an axe than it takes to blunt it in normal chopping. Sharpen the ax. At least this makes me feel better about my compulsion to try out all the new stuff which comes along which have a chance to shave a few seconds off my work. The maul's head is so wide that it rarely gets stuck in most species. You see those wavy lines? A minute spent on sharpening may shorten your chopping time by 5 minutes." After 1000 iterations Excel's solver plugin threw at the problem, it recommended to sharpen the axe to its maximum sharpness, as soon as it becomes blunt enough to warrant sharpening. What is perfectly clear is this: the axe would eventually have to be sharpened or it will be blunted to such an extent that even minimal progress will be impossible. Also, Bernie Weisgerber, author of the US Forest Service Axe Manual "An Axe to Grind" says, "A correctly honed edge is sharp with no wire edge. We and our partners will store and/or access information on your device through the use of cookies and similar technologies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights and product development. The edge of the sharpened axe should feel at least as sharp as the folded side of a piece of paper that has been folded over once. How to do what you have to do, better, faster and cheaper. If so, apply the grinder to the axe until the nicks and gouges have been smoothed out. I like to use any file that is between 8” and 12” (or 200 and 300 mm) long. Since the maul is my default tool, it is fun to use the ax once in a while. With an axe, you move the sharpening equipment of the sharp edge of the axe head. Here is the 5-step process that you should follow to sharpen your axe the right way. With a splitting axe or mall, the angle is steeper to help it lever the wood apart causing it to split. Use long, broad strokes from your shoulders outward. Razor sharp is the way to go, BUT you have to have the correct angle on the edge. There should be no nicks or gouges on the cutting surface. So if you leave an axe to blunt to 70% of its maximum sharpness, and then spend time sharpening it to 100% again, you'd spend more than 67 hours cutting the trees. Examine the edge and follow the original bevel. How to Sharpen your Axe by Hand – with a File and a Whetstone Sharpening an Axe with a File. Would a partial sharpening do, or do we need to sharpen it to full keeness?The principle is clear to me - just sharpen the axe sufficiently, as an when would serve to accomplish your work in the minimum time, with minimal effort expended since effort per unit time is assumed a constant. The edge of the sharpened axe should feel at least as sharp as the folded side of a piece of paper that has been folded over once. With a falling or cutting axe, the edge should taper from the eye to the cutting edge with just a small 20 degree bevel, maybe 1/16th inch wide. Also assume that the chopping power of an axe is directly proportional to the sharpness of the axe, and that the axe gets blunted linearly with respect to time. Draw a crucial distinction between work and effort - work is what you're tasked to do, effort is that which you expend to perform the work.Abraham Lincoln suggested that 60% of the time budget for chopping down a tree should be spent sharpening it. Photo 8: How to sharpen a hatchet, ax heads have beveled edges. There are, of course, multiple other ways to sharpen your axe. Yahoo is part of Verizon Media. How many times do we sharpen? Both areas are equal. The blue line - it takes a woodcutter 100 hours to cut down his quota of trees if he doesn't sharpen his axe. However the technique is different – and you have to get it right to do the job properly. When should the axe be sharpened, and how sharp should it be? An axe should be kept sharp, given the provision that it has the proper edge geometry. Because of this, always make sure that you wear closed-toed shoes. If the edge cuts your hair or leaves a notch in your fingernail, it’s sharp and ready for service. Now you have an axe sharp enough to mangle paper. The edge need not be thin , since a splitting tool is for wedging work, but performance is definitely increased when that edge, however thick, is kept keen. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Your Privacy Controls.