Grinding a tuatahi china axe head and discussing a few common questions as well as addressing a pattern of toxic behavior in the community by Larrikinaxe
Totally with you on handle length, I have just hung a 2 3/4lb elwell on a 28" handle and it is all the axe I will ever need although probably not the last axe I ever buy. Great information as always, this is my favourite axe resource on TH-cam. Your commitment to the hobby is inspiring.
You made that look easy. Might try it on a cheap hardware store axe for practice. I'm also a little upset you dispelled the myth of 1000 elves working in a factory. Some mysteries are best left unsolved.
Thanks for the idea. I made one similar after watching your video and tried it for the first time last Saturday. It works great and only needed light polishing on a felt wheel.
Bought one of these Tuatahi Chinas about 2 years ago mate simply because I liked the look and couldn't afford a real Tuatahi work axe at the time. Hung it on a spotted gum handle looks a treat but the edge needs work looking forward to applying some of these methods when I get the chance.
I use the weird cross-arm technique for banging wedge when i'm standing on my weak side, if i hold the axe in my non-dominant hand i don't get as much power and tend to bang the wedges with the handle rather than the poll since i'm not as accurate. Couldn't imagine using that technique for felling or general chopping though
Great video Ben ! Love it. I have the Makita 9032 myself. Used it for machete's, wood, and even knives, worked just fine and quick. The finer work I always do with stones or sandpaper. Easy does it. Bullying is awful and a waste of energy, nothing good comes from that. Nasty words leads to nothing good. Best might be to ignore it alltogether. But that's something one has to be gifted with also. I tend to bite back, and then a back and forwards bullshit talk is started. 🙄😯 It's hard to let asshol-es (don't want to trigger TH-cam algorithms) have their way.
The point is they still use electric grinding wheels or belts to grind them both pre and post tempering. Power tools ruining an axe is a myth as long as you regularly cool them
16:00 : About the point on "reverse hand" -> what's the problem if you switch your body 180 degrees ? Being right handed I chop as a left handed but I always position myself on the right side of the felling notch. Cross handed is of course very unconfortable
Great video Ben, we really appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge with us! BTW, is the steel in the China axes the same spec as the NZ made versions?
@@waynequiggins424 you have to buy them from tuatahi directly or find someone who has a bunch that will sell you some. If anyone knows of other avenues, please tell me!
How crummy must your life be to go into axe videos and attack people...I just laughed out loud putting that in to words. Great video. My love of axe is splitting Doug fir, maple, etc., so the profile and technique is different. The best part is we can experiment and take it outside and test it.
Funny, I just learned I’m right handed (stronghand) but it seems I’m a lefty axeman. Wonder if it’s the same with shoveling, right hand on the back of the shovel.
That’s fantastic Ben 👍 I’ve had my China head for about a month now...put the handle on about 2 or 3 weeks ago so ready for profiling. Is that attachment you have on the grinder fabricated by yourself or did you get it somewhere, I didn’t catch that? Awesome video!
Not sure where I came from but I know that I am very old. For my 17th B-Day I dropped out of 9th Grade, knowing school was not one of my needs. I went into carpentry and won an award from the Florida Keys Historical Society. Recently thought to buy an axe and sharpen it the way shown in this video; one primary bevel that stretches about 4 inches! - maybe a tiny micro-bevel ...as if to shave with.
Any chance that grinding wings recudes strength or anything? Also does heating while grinding wings change strength in the main body of the axe? Good video ben.
Nice looking axe 😉 I've not seen anyone doing that weird cross armed swinging but I went and gave it a try. It feels like you're trying to armbar yourself, it's rubbish 😝
haha i love the lottery idea. I commented on his post with the shattered Keesteel head saying some quite distasteful things to you, i said "i like your handles mate but talking shit on people online isnt really very professional" i then saw he had removed the comment and blocked me lol. I have actually been a customer of Larrikinaxes and he is very abrasive person. He made some mistakes on customs hafts and was very difficult to deal with when trying to rectify them. I don't advise people to deal with him hes not a very nice person at all. He is also a massive coward as he has never shown his face on his profile, but is quick to put other people down about their appearance. I think deep down Larrinkin is a very sad person and he justifies all his hatred by 'giving to the community' in actual fact he puts down the community.
I think Larikin confused "old school" with "pre-school." My six year old is better behaved. Nice work on that axe. How much less does it weigh with wings ground out?
Totally with you on handle length, I have just hung a 2 3/4lb elwell on a 28" handle and it is all the axe I will ever need although probably not the last axe I ever buy.
Great information as always, this is my favourite axe resource on TH-cam.
Your commitment to the hobby is inspiring.
You made that look easy. Might try it on a cheap hardware store axe for practice. I'm also a little upset you dispelled the myth of 1000 elves working in a factory. Some mysteries are best left unsolved.
Super video, thanks for sharing the knowledge! Love your detailed explanations.
Thanks for the idea. I made one similar after watching your video and tried it for the first time last Saturday. It works great and only needed light polishing on a felt wheel.
Great video. Very informative as always.
Bought one of these Tuatahi Chinas about 2 years ago mate simply because I liked the look and couldn't afford a real Tuatahi work axe at the time. Hung it on a spotted gum handle looks a treat but the edge needs work looking forward to applying some of these methods when I get the chance.
Great vid ben, handy info and that lotto idea is cool! Well done
Thanks for another informative video Ben.
Great information Ben Keep it up.
great info Ben. that some serious skill to try that..maybe some day
Great video, i really enjoyed watching this :)
Same here, thanks for sharing 👍
I use the weird cross-arm technique for banging wedge when i'm standing on my weak side, if i hold the axe in my non-dominant hand i don't get as much power and tend to bang the wedges with the handle rather than the poll since i'm not as accurate. Couldn't imagine using that technique for felling or general chopping though
Nice looking grind!
Thanks for sharing
We need more people like you in the world
Great video Ben ! Love it.
I have the Makita 9032 myself.
Used it for machete's, wood, and even knives, worked just fine and quick.
The finer work I always do with stones or sandpaper. Easy does it.
Bullying is awful and a waste of energy, nothing good comes from that.
Nasty words leads to nothing good. Best might be to ignore it alltogether.
But that's something one has to be gifted with also. I tend to bite back, and then a back and forwards bullshit talk is started.
🙄😯
It's hard to let asshol-es (don't want to trigger TH-cam algorithms) have their way.
Pretty sure that in factories the blades are contoured/shaped prior to heat treating.
After heat treating it is a simple job to put an edge on it.
The point is they still use electric grinding wheels or belts to grind them both pre and post tempering. Power tools ruining an axe is a myth as long as you regularly cool them
@@benscottwoodchopper Agreed
16:00 : About the point on "reverse hand" -> what's the problem if you switch your body 180 degrees ? Being right handed I chop as a left handed but I always position myself on the right side of the felling notch. Cross handed is of course very unconfortable
Yikes, that Larrikinaxe guy is off his rocker. Followed Bastion though, he’s got cool stuff.
Also, nice grind. Want to pick up the China axe soon.
Hey mate how do you do your hollow grinds?
Great video Ben, we really appreciate your willingness to share your knowledge with us!
BTW, is the steel in the China axes the same spec as the NZ made versions?
the china axes are softer than the NZ axes, still very nice quality though. Tbh they put anything EU or US made to shame
Do you have a link to the China models?
@@waynequiggins424 you have to buy them from tuatahi directly or find someone who has a bunch that will sell you some.
If anyone knows of other avenues, please tell me!
How crummy must your life be to go into axe videos and attack people...I just laughed out loud putting that in to words. Great video. My love of axe is splitting Doug fir, maple, etc., so the profile and technique is different. The best part is we can experiment and take it outside and test it.
Thanks for the demonstration. Do those CHINA heads have a good heat treatment?
Yes
Are you still doing axes? And have you perfected your process?
Funny, I just learned I’m right handed (stronghand) but it seems I’m a lefty axeman. Wonder if it’s the same with shoveling, right hand on the back of the shovel.
Yeah im right handed axeman, when shovelling left hand grips the back of the handle
Nice video Ben. Do you mind me asking where can I see the cross over technique in action?
here is a good example of someone who uses it th-cam.com/video/wDtPsl7EwYM/w-d-xo.html
@@benscottwoodchopper with a lot of these bushcraft types it seems the more arseways they do things the better they like it
Thanks Ben
That’s fantastic Ben 👍 I’ve had my China head for about a month now...put the handle on about 2 or 3 weeks ago so ready for profiling. Is that attachment you have on the grinder fabricated by yourself or did you get it somewhere, I didn’t catch that? Awesome video!
Self made, you could make one easy
Cool 👍
Not sure where I came from but I know that I am very old. For my 17th B-Day I dropped out of 9th Grade, knowing school was not one of my needs. I went into carpentry and won an award from the Florida Keys Historical Society. Recently thought to buy an axe and sharpen it the way shown in this video; one primary bevel that stretches about 4 inches! - maybe a tiny micro-bevel ...as if to shave with.
Any chance that grinding wings recudes strength or anything? Also does heating while grinding wings change strength in the main body of the axe? Good video ben.
grinding wings wont affect strength unless you go super extreme with it. If its not so hot that you can still touch it, it will be fine
@@benscottwoodchopper great thanks mate
I have a china but i had to take Wight out of it so i could lift it
Very nice! What wood do you plan on swinging it at? It seems a bit thin for hard stuff to me, but I may be on the cautious side.
its for a guy i work with, 20 degrees should handle most woods well
@@benscottwoodchopper Is that 20 degrees total, 20 degrees measured from the cheek or 20 degrees from the center line of the bit thickness?
@@Fogyt121 the flat chisel I ground onto the axe with the belt sander is 20 degrees
@@benscottwoodchopper I understand that, I just wanted to know where you measure it from
@@benscottwoodchopper after watching the video again, it seems to me the included angle of the chisel is 20 degrees, thanks
Nice looking axe 😉
I've not seen anyone doing that weird cross armed swinging but I went and gave it a try. It feels like you're trying to armbar yourself, it's rubbish 😝
Once you notice it you start seeing it everywhere, quite a few top bushcraft youtubers do it
@@benscottwoodchopper oh well, if it works for them whatever 🤷♂️
not for me tho
@@rogerharvey9863 yeah I can guarantee if they switched they would be 3 times more effective
@@benscottwoodchopper is that 3 times more on top of having a sharp axe that's over 500mm long? 😇
@@rogerharvey9863 oh boi don't get me started...
What are your thoughts on using an angle grinder vs belt sander as seen in this video?
You can use an angle grinder for working axes but belt sander is far superior for racing axes, you want the bevel flat
Are these heads worth the money for an every day user/splitter/chopper?
If you want a 6lb axe yes
God what a total bastard. Sorry you had to deal with that guy Ben. Thanks for the great content brother
What angles would you use on the China axe for normal use?
20 degrees
@@benscottwoodchopper Cheers. It's great to speak to someone with the knowledge.
Video on how you mount your racing axe heads?
Its really the same as other axes just has a rollpin
@@benscottwoodchopper cheers. Doing my first one this weekend so just been looking at videos
Dominant hand chokes and slides in the swinging.
Yes correct, dont know why some do it opposite, feels so bad
Wow
haha i love the lottery idea. I commented on his post with the shattered Keesteel head saying some quite distasteful things to you, i said "i like your handles mate but talking shit on people online isnt really very professional" i then saw he had removed the comment and blocked me lol. I have actually been a customer of Larrikinaxes and he is very abrasive person. He made some mistakes on customs hafts and was very difficult to deal with when trying to rectify them. I don't advise people to deal with him hes not a very nice person at all. He is also a massive coward as he has never shown his face on his profile, but is quick to put other people down about their appearance. I think deep down Larrinkin is a very sad person and he justifies all his hatred by 'giving to the community' in actual fact he puts down the community.
the guy is so incredibly deluded that I guessed he would also be a real arse to deal with as far as business too
I think Larikin confused "old school" with "pre-school." My six year old is better behaved.
Nice work on that axe. How much less does it weigh with wings ground out?
5 and a half pounds
Can I buy Tuatahi China ready for training from you ?
Unfortunately i sold my last china some time ago
So if I start slandering you, and then send you screen shots, does that mean you have to pay yourself? Jk obviously. Great idea.
currently in the lead with jerk of the month, bastionhead only jerk of the week ;)
Hahaha...I hadn’t even noticed that. You got a whole month to yourself. Makes me want to download Instagram just to poke the bear a little, tempting.