An axe for remote touring

[in4]

Does anyone carry an axe when they are touring, probably in more remote places that have trees?
I have no murderous intent rather I was considering the practical advantages of carrying one, perhaps instead of a folding saw. At around 1.2kg for a few models/brands, weight is not a consideration for me. I was thinking that a reasonable sized axe would be a useful tool when cycling in wooded areas and the delights of a camp fire are an option.
Thanks 

[WorldTourer]

I have only met a single other cyclist who packed a hatchet (that I know of), and rather absurdly we met traversing southern Morocco and Western Sahara where there was nary a tree to be found. But apparently he simply packed it by default, because he had found it useful somewhere and then mounted it on his fork.

So, it seems to be a pretty niche item to take on tour. Note that in many (most?) jurisdictions around the world you cannot chop trees in public forests. Even if fires are permitted, you have to make them with fallen wood.

[Danneaux]

Does anyone carry an axe when they are touring, probably in more remote places that have trees?

Well no, not I. Not intending to be preachy 'cos I feel it is a personal choice and dependent on place, conditions and circumstance, but I practice no-trace camping when I bike tour and especially when I wild-camp. This means I do my best to leave my camps as pristine as I find them or moreso...even to fluffing the grass after I pack my tent and going back to brush away footprints and tire tracks in really beautiful places, all with the goal of giving the next camper that "first here" experience if I can. Of course I pack out my own trash and any left by others I happen to find on arrival.

That said, if I were to build a fire while touring I would most likely collect deadfall (fallen limbs) from trees or harvest non-living plant matter like pinecones in a forest or tumbleweeds or sagebrush in the desert -- provided fire conditions allowed it -- and then build my fire on a small pan I carried with me (a stainless steel cookie baking sheet is ideal and required in Nevada's Black Rock Desert to avoid blackening the playa).

In the right places, campfires can be real nice and a comfort that adds to the overall experience. Be careful of flying sparks and embers if the wind comes up, but even the smell can be nice at times. I know it always reminds me of good times I've enjoyed outdoors. When car camping in a forest campground where such things are approved or at home, I like to carry and use a manual pocket saw of the chain type over an axe or hatchet. One is always in the hatchback of my car near the spare tire, safety triangle and road flares and another is in the kit I carry when driving into the more remote backcountry. I find such chainsaws store compactly (the "chain" can usually be coiled into a small space and the handles can be made from nylon webbing, allowing one to use a stick found locally to spread pressure on the hands). I don't like the kind that have a small, spiral blade as their kerf is too small and they tend to clog, they aren't so flexible and they have a tendency to break in my use. I much prefer the kind that use individual links. I like the ones that cut in two directions. One kind I've used over the last 25 or so years has shaped, flattened links and it stays sharp a long time thanks to heat-tempered steel and is amazingly fast when needed. I once used it to cut a section out of an 8in diameter tree that had fallen and blocked the Forest Service road ahead of me so I could drive onward. It has also worked well for pruning trees and larger hedge branches at home. If one also carries a length of paracord, it is easy to tie a weight to one end and toss the cord and chainsaw over an overhead branch or gain more standoff when sawing. I have another made with what appears to be a real chainsaw chain (and can be sharpened like one) that I have not used in the field yet; it went through my test samples of wood really quickly but tended to snag more than the flat-plate version mentioned earlier. One limitation: The branch being cut must be well supported; pocket chainsaws don't work very well on thick twigs or on reducing found wood on the ground unless you can brace the cut with a foot as you alternately pull-pull the chainsaw. If you are clever, it is easy to bend a branch to convert one of these to a bow saw. Links to some here:
https://www.amazon.com/Sportsman-Pocket-Chainsaw-Survival-Emergency/dp/B00GMR0MZS
https://www.amazon.com/Homyall-Upgraded-Blades-Teeth-Included/dp/B07MNR8RJ1/ref=asc_df_B07MNR8RJ1/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=309760559241&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=2141296867448782794&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=1024453&hvtargid=pla-626275588238&psc=1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jPBTJlaJ1n0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2Fs1XrJcpA


There is a difference between an axe and a hatchet, the latter being smaller and better suited to lightweight outdoors pursuits. Kinda depends on what you want to do with one and how much wood you plan to cut. For splitting logs an axe is best; for trail maintenance and campfire kindling the hatchet is a better choice when weight and packable size are considered. You can read more about the distinctions and gain some recommendations at these links:
https://50miler.com/best-backpacking-hatchet-axe/
https://www.outdoorgearlab.com/topics/camping-and-hiking/best-camping-axe

You may wish to consider a titanium hatchet. They are not so rare:
https://gearsignal.com/titanium-hatchets-for-camping-pros-cons/
https://www.amazon.com/Titanium-Survival-Hatchet-Sharpener-SCAXE2L/dp/B07K6QGPK8
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/56182/

My late father was an ace at chopping and splitting wood, but much preferred carrying and using a razor sharp machete instead when camping where it was practical to use such things for making kindling. He carried a sharpening stone and the cuts made by the machete were much sharper and cleaner than he could get with an axe or hatchet and it weighed less and stored in less space (because it was thin) in a heavy canvas scabbard. I still have his and at 18in/46cm long but knife-thin, I could easily see one secured more readily on a touring bicycle than an axe. Of course it would pay to check local laws before carrying one, but here in the land of ammo 'n' camo with open carry of guns (American West), they hardly garner a passing glance.

Best,

Dan.

[Andre Jute]

I don't wish to throw cold water, but I think the legal situation should be the first consideration before you contemplate using an axe, and certainly fitting it visibly on your bike would be ill advised. Where I live, in Ireland, you can go to gaol for a year and be fined heavily for carrying a pocket knife without a reason. In the UK, you can be gaoled and fined for carrying a knife without a good reason, and for carrying any cutting instrument over 3 inches; most pocket knives now sold in the UK are "UK EDC friendly", meaning no blade over 3 inches. A lot of places in the world an axe would be ipso facto evidence of malign intent.

I met a guy on the bus where I was hovering and havering with my pencil over my sketch of a woman and child in the row before me. He leaned over to sketch the line I wanted in the air, so I gave him the sketchbook and the pencil and he drew just the line I wanted. We struck up a conversation over my sketch kit, housed in ostrich skin, with a custom reconstruction of a 1930's clutch holder for really thick leads, and it turned out he is a well-known artist. While I was scraping a pencil with my penknife, he told me a horrid story. He's a bit scruffy looking because he doesn't have a base and travels where the notion takes him there'll be something worth painting. He was stopped in the street in England and searched by the police, and flung into a cell for having a penknife, despite the plethora of painting gear in his luggage and his protests that he needs the penknife to sharpen his pencils. When he asked to be taken to a bathroom so he could brush his teeth, he was told inmates can wash and brush their teeth in the toilet in the cell. He was there the entire weekend. On Monday the magistrate, a less cynical and more sophisticated type than the pudding hats, and less malicious too, asked for a demonstration of how he sharpens a pencil, apologised for the over-zeal of the police, and let him go. I resolved there and then to move my tiny penknife -- less than 2 inches -- from my keychain to my painting bag instead. (Which is a PITA because the wee thing gets lost and it's tiresome finding the right shape and flex of blade that won't break leads under its own weight, and expensive too.)

In these days when the police consider you guilty of a thought-crime even if they have no reason to consider you bear malicious intent -- which is what these knife laws come down to -- it's smarter to give them no reason to make some far-fetched case against you rather than to depend on their good sense and goodwill.

And that comes to you from an Irish scofflaw...

[JohnR]

A mini Swiss knife with blade approx 4cm long is a permanent fixture on my key ring. Probably the most-used tool is the scissors, but bottle opener, nail file and screwdrivers are also useful to have available. So ar I've not had an encounter with the police but I've lost a knife or two at final security checks before flights when I've forgotten to taken the knife off the key ring and put it in a suitcase. On other occasions I've discovered, when flying, that the knife is still on the keyring and either undetected by security or too small to worry about.

I've got a big pocket knife that I must have bought the better part of 50 years ago which now stays at home for household and garden duties more because it would be a big lump in my pocket but it would probably qualify as an offensive weapon. I've also got a bigger Swiss knife which includes almost everything bar the kitchen sink which I might consider dropping in a bag for a cycle trip as there are a few features, such as the hacksaw blade, which aren't in the bike tool kits.

[John Saxby]

Simple things can get complicated, eh?

A hatchet when camping?  Almost never:  if I'm canoeing, I use deadfall for a fire if/if there's a firepit.  If I need to cut anything, I use a folding saw, 35 cms open.

For cycling, two cutting tools come into play:  Photo below shows a standard-issue Wenger SAK, total length 85 mm.  I use this mostly for dicing fresh veg and/or dried chorizo sausage, tho' the tweezers and faux-ivory toothpick are also handy, the latter for chewing if, say, a poker game materializes.

Beside the SAK is a wee gem of device, a Gerber Dime multi-tool. it lives in my everyday seat-bag toolkit. It's shown unfolded, with the pliers extended. They're the most useful tool on it, and my primary reason for carrying it, but there's also a small/short cutting knife, a bottle opener, a pair of scissors, and a couple of screwdrivers.

[Danneaux]

More information on biking-related cutting implements here...
http://thorncyclesforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=3968
Best,

Dan.

[in4]

Thank you all so much for your replies. They almost follow my own trains of thoughts. My primary interest was on the practicalities, the efficacy if you will, the usefulness of an axe, perhaps in comparison to some of the other interesting tools mentioned. I’d never seen a hand held chain saw before! Such a rich thread I’ve opened up! Thank you again for all contributions.

[Andre Jute]

I have no idea whether this would be a useful size of axe, but it would be easy to pack away from censorious eyes:

For some bizarre reason the link won't appear here. Search for aliexpress.com, then search within for
WORKPRO 12 IN 1 Multi Tools Axe Heavy Duty Twin Axe/Hammer Pocket Multifunctional Tool and you'll find it. The pickie produces well:



Not going back on what I said the other day about the desirability of carrying an axe, nor making any recommendation, just mentioning something I stumbled across.

[John Saxby]

A rabbithole looms, methinks, nevertheless:

Along the lines of hefty multi-tools, there's this, a standard item for those who haunt the stores & catalogues of Lee Valley Tools:  https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/hand-tools/multi-tools/70220-multi-tool?item=09A0378

Then there's this, an example of the foldup pocket saw Dan mentioned:
https://www.leevalley.com/en-ca/shop/tools/hand-tools/log-building-tools/72075-pocket-chain-saw?item=09A0380 

Don't be taken in by its compactness and apparent handiness, however:  I'm told that those who use it recoil afterwards.

[Andre Jute]

These items are getting a bit gnarly for even a dedicated tool-fondler like me.

[leftpoole]

These items are getting a bit gnarly for even a dedicated tool-fondler like me.

Seconded!

[rualexander]

Never found axes to be of much use for wood cutting, ok for splitting logs but not for actually cutting them. So best just to cut something that doesn't need splitting.
For our sort of small camp/beach fire use, I either use the saw blade on my Leatherman Wave or I sometimes carry a small retractable saw https://www.knivesandtools.co.uk/en/pt/-fiskars-xtract-branches-saw-sw73.htm only for cutting dead wood of course.
Which is easy to fit in a pannier or saddlebag.
Any fire I might have is contained in my Honey Stove or other camping wood stove.

[in4]

I’m inclined to think that a good quality folding saw, like the Fiskars one will be the better option. For making small campfires, both for comfort and cooking a folding saw will be ideal. 
The Bahco Laplander is another popular folding saw. I’m sure there are others.

https://www.raymears.com/Bushcraft_Product/73-Bahco-Laplander-Folding-Saw/