Friday, 30 July 2010

Woodlore

Bushcraft Tips And Advice


Welcome to the tips and advice section, where we have gathered information on a variety of topics related to Bushcraft and Outdoor Survival.

Gransfors Outdoor AxeCaring for your Axe
Woodlore Leather BeltCaring for your Leather Products
How to Sharpen a Knife
Using the Gransfors Axe FileHow to Sharpen an Axe
How to use a Ray Mears Fire StickHow to use a Fire Stick
Woodlore Canada Jay Sleeping BagSleeping Bag Comfort Temperatures
British Army Bivi BagWhat is a bivi bag?
Swazi/Ray Mears Hooded Back 40 Shirt - OliveWhat is fleece?
Gore-Tex explainedWhat is Gore-Tex?
Woolpower - Ullfrotte Original 200g Thermal Base LayerWhat is wool?
Fair Trade LogoWoodlore's Organic Cotton Clothing


Caring for your Axe

Gransfors Outdoor Axe (click to zoom)
To view Woodlore's range of exclusive Gransfors Axes and Axe Sharpening Tools, please visit the Gransfors Axes section of our Online Shop.
Below is an extract from the book Ray Mears Essential Bushcraft:
  • Prevent the head rusting by keeping it dry; in bad weather rub it over with the end of a wax candle.
  • Occasionally apply boiled linseed oil to the helve.
  • Never lend your axe to a novice.
  • Do not leave your axe stuck into a log for any prolonged time or it will become blunt.
  • Never hammer one axe against another, and never use your axe with or against anything harder than wood.
  • Try to avoid cutting into the ground as you may strike a stone that will damage the edge.
  • Never chop on to rock or wood with nails driven into it.
  • When using your axe in sub-zero conditions warm it with your hand to body heat first to make the steel less brittle.
  • If you nick the edge of the axe, flatten the edge and resharpen it to the correct angle again.
  • Never grind an axe on a dry or high-speed grinding wheel as you will spoil the temper of the blade. Do not sharpen the edge too thin - this often happens with a file - and unless it is intended to be so, do not hollow-grind the edge: the axe should have a flattish convex edge.

'Looking after your Axe' is one of the DVD extras on Ray Mears Bushcraft Survival Series Two.

Woodlore recommend the use of Camellia Oil to protect the axe head from rust and corrosion.

Frequent Questions

You might also like to take a look at our Frequently Asked Questions where you will find advice on everything from contacting Ray to Ray's earlier TV programmes. We even provide some useful Camping Equipment advice.