The Woodshop Shed

Shepherd's Axe

Furnished content.
(from Lumberjocks.com)


Shepherd's AxeOriginally thought to be from the Carpathian Mtns and variously called ciupaga in Poland, valaska in Slovakia, baltag in Romania, among other names. Sometimes called fokos in Hungary, but that was probably a cavalry axe, not a peasant's tool. This axe served three purposes that shepherd's and I have in common:1) a walking stick.
2) a light duty axe for cutting small diameter wood. The shepherds used it for making windbreaks and brush corrals.
3) a weapon to poke aggressive animals.Made from a piece of ash, cane tip from Lee Valley, and hatchet head from McGowan(fire stone?).I learned more of my current limits with the drawknife, as the handle is a little lopsided due to tear out. Also made a boneheaded mistake, but have learned how to repair and hide repairs.I laid back the bevel because it was blunt and trimmed the beard to better fit my hand overtop, but now the sheath falls off. So I'll need to make a new sheath. Finish is 1:3 minwax dark walnut and red mahogany stain with three layers of poly topcoat. I expect to get rained on when hiking, so I wanted a little more protection than my usual finishes.

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