Wish-Lust: Kickstarter- SPARtool

I caught the scent of a new hardcore multi-tool being crowd-sourced on Kickstarter. Contacting the designer, Stewart Yeoh , I got some pictures to share with you, and the text behind the ideas.

I've covered a couple of tools like this in the past; the famous Crovel, the ubiquitous e-tool , and the Bosse Tools shovel. Then there are the Dead-On Superhammer and the Stanley FUBAR.

Stewart put a very thorough description of the SPARtool up on the Kickstarter, so this is going to mostly be a repeat of his words. So, here they are:

 The SPARtool needed to be able to:

• Dig in both soft and hard ground.
• Chop through branches and split logs.
• Saw through wood, plastic, bone, or sheet metal.
• Hammer tent stakes, nails, or rocks.
• Open a cold bottle of something refreshing after all that work!

A common gripe with multi-tools is that many of their mechanisms are awkward and difficult to use, and inferior to a dedicated tool for the job.  We strive to create a design that shifts smoothly and safely between functions, and is comfortable for all its uses.

Shovel 

The SPARtool features a 6"x 8" shovel head with integrated chopping edge, saw blade, and bottle opener.  The 1075 carbon steel and Zytel handle is topped with a flat pry bar, hammer, and 4" pick that functions as a handle for digging and sawing.  the total tool length is 22", and the weight is 2 lbs 15 oz. 

Shovels derive much of their strength through smoothly transitioning concave and convex geometry, which distributes stresses evenly and allows them to be thin and light. 

The SPARtool shovel reflects these principles in its shovel head design.  Sturdy tempered carbon steel provides the cutting edge, which is both hard enough to hold an edge, and tough enough to absorb impact. The face is gently curved to increase the angle of repose of loose soil, and gather more in each scoop.  Our shovel provides the foundation for other tools while remaining an efficient digging machine.

Axe

One side of the hardened and tempered steel shovel head is ground scary sharp, giving a generous 9-inch cutting surface.  When used against small branches the thin edge acts like a machete, passing through with minimal resistance. When employed to split logs, the curvature of the shovel head acts more like an ax, forcing the wood apart cleanly. The edge of the shovel is carefully aligned parallel along the center of the handle, creating the most direct transmission of force, and reducing the chance for dangerous glancing blows.  

Saw 

Sometimes a chopper is not the right tool for a job. When you need to make a clean cut, separate bones in game, or neatly trim pipe or tubing a saw is the answer. Saws are often one of the weakest links in multi-tools due to disregard for their mechanical and design principles. Our saw teeth are an aggressive 4/inch, 60° tooth layout, cut at a 15° rake.  Our saw is laid out as a crosscut saw, with a 15° fleam and a wide alternating offset tooth pattern to clear a wide kerf. Once again the saw edge is parallel to the handle to allow pure single axis motion.  

Hammer and Pick

Our 1.5" hammer head provides a large and forgiving striking surface; while its thick plate steel construction makes damaging it a near impossibility. 

The 4 inch pick spike can break hard earth and rocks, forcefully open padlocks, and might save your life if the zombies ever do decide to rise.  The curved pick also serves as a convenient and comfortable handle when digging or sawing. The top end of the SPARtool is inspired by the Halligan bar, a tool used by firefighters and first responders for forcible entry and rescue. We have maintained the layout so that Halligan techniques can be used with the SPARtool.

The SPARtool handle ends in a flat pry bar with a rounded, shepherds-crook curve. Useful not just for prying open doors or crates but also pulling nails, splitting wood, chiseling, and other demolition tasks. The improved bottle opener now fits a variety of sizes, and the 0.25" plate steel construction will never wear out.

On every pocket and key chain multi-tool I have ever owned the second most used item is always the bottle opener. Maybe I just like beer, but this tool was a necessity to me.

Handle

SPARtool's handle is designed for strength and comfort. The backbone of the tool is a .20" thick carbon steel bar, forged half round (think of a tape measure vs. a floppy metal ribbon of the same thickness) to fit in your hand. Inside the half round's curvature is an impact grade Zytel© polymer insert; which provides stiffness in the secondary direction, and is textured to give a secure grip.

The SPARtool sheath is built from 1050 denier ballistic nylon with MOLLE-compatible strapping and belt loop. The cutting surfaces on the shovel head are protected by a nylon and Kydex sheath which is fully detachable from the backbone of the sheath. The cutting surfaces of the prybar and pick are similarly protected with a Kydex guard, and are freely detachable with secure snaps. When in use, the cover guard for the opposite end is left in place and protects the user from accidental injury.  

So, it's a great looking tool, and certainly covers a whole bunch of options; a shovel, an axe, a saw, a pry-bar, a pick-axe and a hammer. It looks like a really serious and well put together tool. I can see a whole bunch of applications for both survival, breaching and entry, and even disaster survival. You'd do well to look at it and perhaps add one to your collection too.

Wish Lust: Kickstarter - Leveraxe

New Leveraxe - The Smart Axe Reimagined. Reinvented. Reborn.

Here's a last-minute plug for a very cool idea. I am a big, big fan of axes,part of my Viking heritage no doubt, and my favorite logsplitter is the Fiskars but I'd be willing to give it away if I managed to lay-hands on one of these weird looking axes, now being re-released on Kickstarter

About 20 years ago a 74-year-old Finnish inventor, Heikki Kärnä, began clearing trees to build a house, an arduous task that led to an obsession with improving on the tools he found at the local hardware store. He spent 15 years building numerous prototypes of his axe at a local steel workshop. Now the product is finally ready to be brought in front of wider public and ramp up the production capacity to take on its competitors. It's unique off-center head enables it to chop and split hardwood logs far easier, and faster than conventional symmetrical mauls and splitters. Check out this video...




Leveraxe took first steps to approach their market niche in the USA. Thus far the feedback from test users has been amazing and interest towards this invention had rapidly spread worldwide. Most importantly there have been no reported accidents with Leveraxe since they started selling their previous models. The popularity of these axes exploded once other bloggers began posting YouTube videos of Leveraxe in action, splitting hardwood. I'm late to the party, but it looks phenomenal.


The main purpose of their Kickstarter campaign is to introduce their product to the US market and find resources to invest in their own production tools.

The original version's handle is made of wood, whilst the new handle will be made of a polyamide, much like the Fiskars axes, which is characterized by high mechanical strength, stiffness and thermal resistance. Most futuristic about this part is that it is hollow inside, making the Leveraxe even more lighter which in turn helps to build up more speed when in action. Furthermore, this polyamide offers high toughness at low temperatures, fr those of you with sub-freezing winters as well as easy processing.

The new axe head will be made of a cast steel alloy, which enables us to produce more complicated products in one step but also offer excellent wear resistance in later use. With the upgrade, they will keep all the proven features of the original design (like the side hook, which clamps onto the log after the swing of the axe), and are even offering the axe in KickStarter Green.



Thus far Leveraxe has managed to make small production batches and distributed their invention in small quantities and have relied solely on receiving customer feedback for advertising purposes. However, to move on produce on a larger scale they require expensive production tooling which is why they have now taken the step to ask people to help them out through crowdfunding.

It's not a small investment, but it looks like it is built to last, and the sheer style of the thing makes it desirous beyond measure.  I want physics to do the work when I am splitting logs, and make all that time in high-school pay off. The payoff in reduced fatigue, jamming, bouncing or over-cutting risks alone would make it worthwhile for a serious wood-fire burner. If it weren't for the exorbitant shipping costs that big items are hit with to Australia, I'd be all over this. Only a few days left, get in quick!

Home Front: log, it's log!

A couple of weeks ago I came home to this rather large pile of timber in my front yard. Apparently the local arborists know that I have a wood fire and after propositioning them to take the least tree they cut down, they've taken it on themselves to not have to mulch any logs they fell, and after asking my eldest who was getting home from school, they tossed a tree into my front yard.
At least this time I didn't have a veggie patch for them to crush.

Welcome Mt Birchmore, altitude 1.2m.
I'm pretty sure it was birch, although there was no foliage for me to confirm with.
One thing I know, there was a whole tree's worth.

Obviously this would need to be seasoned before burning it, but as we've just come into spring here, and summer brings "total fire bans" for weeks at a time, I will be able to comfortably sit through the six months of drying time that is recommended for green wood. Given Melbourne's zany weather, probably just for the best, anyway.

I was lucky that the arborist crew chainsawed most of the logs into pretty uniform lengths, and even the larger blocks of wood into manageable chunks.
I spent a number of hours hauling all this around to the back of our house and stacking it up.

Before stacking my new haul, however, I needed to clear out my vine, leaf litter and as it turns out, bush rat nest filled old log pile.
This pile of mixed logs, including redgum and a variety of other woods that I have salvaged from around my neighbourhood and on my drives to and from Triceratops Girl on the weekends. It's become part of out urban-scavenging mindset to always be on the lookout for logs piled up out the front of houses. When we can, we stop and load up the back of the RAV4 and restock our supply.

After cleaning out my log store spot, a paved area beside the trampoline and fenced off chicken run in what used to be a bare patch of grass, I stacked up my timber booty in three layers, on one side, and a single stack behind the wall my smoker sits on, with a good mix of large logs and thinner ones so that I have a selection when it comes time to burn it. I covered the main body of the stack to attempt to keep the spring rains from setting it to rot. Triceratops Girl was even keen to get involved with the hauling and stacking she has a slow-combustion stove at her mothers place, so knows all about having nice wood fires.

Wood fires may not be the most ecologically friendly, often producing a lot of particulate waste, especially in open fires, or when using green wood, but when it comes to survival and self-reliance, having a supply of firewood, and the means to both cook and heat with it can make the difference between comfort and squalor. In snow-bound areas, it can mean the difference to life itself.

Review: Boker+ Tomahook

I have had the good fortune to lay my hands on a couple of Boker blades in the past, most notably, the American Kami - Boker MidTech Colubris the an example of the transition to production model from the artisan models such as the of the American Kami Super Colubris.  I like their work.

I was very fortunate to have been gifted this very pretty piece for my most recent birthday by one of my partners from Survival Supplies Australia. This is the Boker+ Tomahook and it sings to me.


Bearded axes are a piece of my heritage, and I'm always keen to a good solid one to add to my collection. The M48 Walking axe and it's little brother the M48 Ranger Hawk are two good examples, but as dedicated readers will note, I've had troubles with the design.

The Tomahook features a full length G10 handle bolted through with five hex screw, recessed bolts. The handle is inset from the edge, and rounded to leave a working steel edge running around the entire tool. For all your hammering needs.

With its broad wide blade I have spent some time chopping firewood and trimming our out of control acacia tree it is an highly effective as a hatchet. When prying apart packing pallets, I found that it can also be used as a lever, with its top edge being  sharpened like a chisel, for wedging in, and doing stripping cuts.

The back end of the axe
is a rather pointy tip works as a glassbreaker or pounding tool for times where you want to pound a hole, crack a rock or melon, but perhaps not leave a 14.3cm (5 5/8") axe-wound.
The 816g (28.8oz) axe is sprightly in the hand, both choked up behind the beard, or holding on to the tail end, single-handed, and is magic and menacing two-handed.

The SK5 steel is 4.5mm thick, and hardened to 57-60 HRC at the head, so I shudder to think of the problem this axe won't help to overcome.

It comes with a specially designed Kydex sheath with four eyelets for running lacing and attachment devices. It also features a friction catch, which holds the axe in very snugly, but also allows for a swift yanks and draw action.

I really liked receiving this, and liked waving it about and chopping my way through a variety of items. I can see this featuring heavily in my camping, wilderness adventuring and molon labe moments.

This is an exceptional piece, and well worth looking at if you're in the market for a solid tomahawk.

Wish Lust: KickStarters - RECON 6 Watch & KLAX

From time to time I either get forwarded, or read about some great ideas going on via Kickstarter, or other crowd-sourcing sites, and I want to boost their signal to help them out, as well as getting some gear ideas out to you folks ....

check these two out...


From the creator of the Crovel Extreme comes this jam-packed survival watch.

In his words:
*******************

RUGGED AS IT IS USEFUL:Recon 6 Watch is the Baddest watch around: Compass, Signal, Can Opener, Fire Starter, Whistle, Cutting Tool!

The most multifaceted utility watch you'll ever own.  Life in the great outdoors is no fashion show, but there is a tough and rugged accessory I am getting ready to launch that not only lets outdoorsmen make like Grylls, but could also save your life.  I created the Recon 6 Watch to tackle the unexpected and perform multiple tasks. Inspired by the desire to always be prepared, a cross between the Swiss Army Knife and MacGyver will take this multi-featured watch to a whole new level.  After months of hard work, my idea is almost ready to become a reality.

As well as a bezel equipped, phosphorescent handed and anti-chip and glare faced watch, it also features the following survival components
- Multi-Tool
- Blade with sheep hook design for dressing out small game
- Bottle opener
- Can opener
- Fire striker
- Signaling mirror
- Fire starter good up to 5000 fire starts
- Aluminum rescue wistle
- 25 ft. of braided fishing line with 2 small fish hooks
- Magnifying glass
- EMP proof, liquid fill compass
- LED flashlight
*******************
Hefty, and with a price tag to match, but packed with content....

Then there is the father-son team behind the quite innovative multi-tool, survival axe, which I have my eyes on.

In their words:
 *******************
The KLAX is a multi-tool built into the head of an ax.  It allows you to attach the ax head to a handle quickly in the field.  It uses the nested clamping system shown here.   The clamps rotate out from the handle for use.


The KLAX is designed to be a short term solution to many of the problems that you could face either planned or unexpected. It will help you to get through situations where carrying a full set of dedicated tools is just not possible or realistic. Here are a few examples...
- stuck on the roadside in the backwoods and need to build a lean-to for shelter
- injured hiker needs an impromptu travois (stretcher) to be carried to safety
- hiking and need enough wood for a small cooking fire
- hunting and want to make small game traps
- forgot the hammer and need to pound in the tent pegs
- starting the split on a small log without many knots
- need to dig a hole (let's see your multi-tool do that)
Bottom Line: If you think it is trying to replace your full-sized dedicated tools for everyday use, you won't be happy with the KLAX.

KLAX-Lumberjack  Our high-end stainless steel model with the most features.  The first three models are all made from heat treated SUS420J2  stainless steel which is perfectly balanced for keeping an edge and maintaining strength.

KLAX - Woodsman   Our mid-level stainless steel model with just the more useful features.

KLAX - Feller  This is our more rustic model with just the basic features you need in the outdoors.

Ti-KLAX is a Titanium version of the KLAX – Lumberjack and comes with all the same features, but because it is made from more expensive Titanium, it weighs only half as much as the Feller and is stronger than steel.  The Ti-4452813 titanium is also anodized to provide some eye catching highlights.

 *******************


So, some pretty cool concepts there ....


I wish I could back them all, but we'll see, and perhaps I'll get to show them off in good time.

Video Reviews: AK -Super Colubris, UC M48 Walking Axe, Skinning Axe, ZT - Deuce

Here are a few clips I've been saving for a rainy day, and there have been quite a few of these recently.

1. Kitchen knives and a pig head


2. American Kami Super Colubris vs pig head

My full review here:

3. United Cutlery M48 Walking Axe vs pig head

My full review here:
Follow up review here:

4. skinning axe-knife thing, vs pig head


5. Zombie Tools Deuce vs pig head

My full review here:

I hope you enjoyed these as much as I did making them, if there is anything else you'd like to see my cutting with, or cutting into, please drop me a line, and I'll see what I can do for you.

All bio-waste either goes to the pot, or to the critters. No wastage, no freeloaders...

Review: United Cutlery M48 Spear

Here's a fun item that I've had sitting by my front door in the umbrella stand for a while, and thought I should give it screen time. I've had a soft spot for spears for a long time, perhaps not as long as with swords, but still, a good long while. My first spear was a Kenyan Maasai spear, and I've previously shown off my Cold Steel Boar Spear which is as impressive a spear as you're likely to ever wave around and at 208cm (82 1/8"), it's not something you carry around lightly.

This is the M48 Kommando Survival Spear, by United Cutlery. This is another of the M48 family, which I have covered before with the Walking Axe and the very handy Ranger Hawk.
Sharing the same 30% fiberglass haft as the Walking Axe, which measures 92cm (36 1/8”) this is actually quite short for a spear, and reminds me of the Zulu Assegai and Ikiwa spears.

As with the Walking Axe, the haft is about 10-15cm too short for me to use as an effective cane, unless I wanted to grasp the head, never a good idea, really.

With the molded finger grips at the head end, and flared throat to prevent over penetration, the spear itself balances nicely when held here, one handed. Two other grip points, in the form of a series of inset groves about midway and at the butt-end allow for a number of different holds.

 Certainly in the places I'd want to be grasping a spear for close fighting, or in a shield wall, if that were my thing.

With a 20cm (8") head, featuring a rather impressive flat grind bevel on both sides. It manages this by being extremely thick, at almost half an inch at the middle, which features some fluting and holes through the spine, which drops the wight a little.

All up this piece weighs 1kg (2.2lbs), mostly at the head. Given the solid design of the head, I expect that it would take a lot more abuse than the head of the Walking Axe, which as you may have read, experienced some structural failure (but not catastrophically) on my last camping trip, chopping firewood.

I expect the M48 spear to pack a lot more wallop, but a spear is not an axe. I'll have to give some thought to how to demonstrate this effectively. Once again, the length of the spear gave me pause. Longer than a knife, longer than a sword, but not really long enough to keep a foe at more than "arms length". The other option was hunting medium sized game.

I haven't had a chance to go out far enough away from prying eyes to fling it around, but at 1 kg, it makes for a pretty dense package for a thrown weapon. It would make a very substantial club though.

Still, it's size allows it to go a lot of places a full length spear like the Cold Steel Boar Spear just can't. Like across your back whilst scrambling up a ravine, or climbing through a building.

It will fit in a car boot, or even lashed to a bike. That big broad head isn't suited to spear-fishing, but I can imagine that in survival situations it would work nicely for both sea-side wildlife and deterring land predators.

Perhaps the most telling aspect of this spear is its cross section.

I used a pizza box to demonstrate the cross section, and you can see just how solid the M48 blade is. This thing pokes big holes.Perhaps not as wide or deep as the Cold Steel, but certainly broadly.

I've not really had much opportunity to put it thought its paces, the fox that took my last bunch of pet rabbits hasn't been back since I threw the Walking Axe at it (close is NOT a hit, in this case) but I think that local livestock protection and vermin control might well be the best option for this piece, until it comes time to go house-to-house and ventilate a horde.

Update: United Cutlery M48 Walking Axe

I have some bad news, rugged and prepared readers. I took my UC M48 Walking Axe camping with me last weekend, along with my M48 Ranger Hawk tomahawk  and my Fiskars log splitter.

We were cooking and heating by firewood for six adults and four under 10's. This meant a bunch of chopping and we were lucky enough that recent storms had necessitated the Rangers chainsaw a couple of trunks. The Fiskars splitter broke the logs up and we used the three axes to break them up into workable pieces and kindling.

The Walking Axe performed really well, light and fast, and soon out performed the Fiskars when it came to the lighter pieces.


When I got the Walking Axe home to do some maintenance I was dismayed to find that the main spar of the head had developed a serious crack. On one side the steel had even spalled.

It seems the chopping and splitting was too harsh for this design. It's possible that this particular piece had a flaw in its metal, but given the placement, it looked like design flaw to me.

I was really disappointed by this, mostly because of how well the axe had performed in both firewood chopping, but also branch-clearing.

There is still a fair amount of metal holding the head in place, so it is still functional, but how long till a spectacular failure occurs, I just don't know. I will not be staking my life on it, that's for sure.

Still, it did good work, and I was glad to have given it a thorough workout. It will still sit by the door in the umbrella stand / home defense artillery shell, ready to fend off fallen branches.

Review: ThinkGeek - Pocket Chainsaw

For my last birthday, I did my family a favor and purchased a bunch of my own presents. I'm notorious for having already picked items off my own wish-lust-lists.

Think Geek has been a good source for gadgets and gizmos to feed my need, and this year was no exception. The difficulty being getting items that can be shipped to Australia, as they have started restricting items based on, well, "pointiness" as far as I can tell. The UC M48 Ranger Hawk,KA-BAR Zombie Killer knives and even the Dead-On Annihilator Superhammer available through Think Geek are not for export to Australia. Sad-making!

However, one of the pieces of kit that IS still available, is this, thePocket Chainsaw.

I have covered my Wire Saw's previously, which are a gorgeous bit of kit to have stowed away in a Bug-Out-Bag or camping set, but there are times when you really need a bit more bite.

I've never been very comfortable with powered saws, (even when Picatinny-rail mounted...) because of the risk of kickback as seen in Dawn of the Dead and described to me by a variety of experienced wood-cutters (not all of whom had all their fingers). I can and have used chainsaws, I just prefer non-powered tools to do the job. Slower, I know, but unless I needed to do a lot, and often enough to become familiar and proficient again, I'll stick to hand-tools.

This pocket chainsaw fir my need perfectly! Made of high strength, heat-treated steel which has been coated for rust resistance and smoothness of cutting action, it comes with bent rings to hook through the lead ends of the chain, and corded plastic handles to ease the cutting action, and increase the draw and reach of the saw.

The 70cm (28") saw features 124 bidirectional teeth, capable of cutting in both the forwards and backwards draw, and the beauty of this piece is that when you are done wit hit, it rolls up into a coil that fits int its own carry-can, along with the welded loop-hooks, and the whole package weighs only 140g (5 oz)

It comes with two molded plastic handles with cord loops,  which I fixed to the loop-hooks with a larks-head hitch. The loops and handles added about another 50cm or so of reach, as well as keeping my knuckles clear of both saw and log.

We had some pretty damaging spring wind-storms here, and my partner Anastasia had a largish gum-tree branch fall on her shed, which seemed a perfect chance for me to finally get to use some of my newer acquisitions.

I chopped the smaller limbs with my
Ranger Hawk, as will as its big brother, the M48 Walking Axe which packed considerable wallop for such a small cutting head. Both bit faster and deeper than my usual go-to Fiskars Log Splitter. However, when it came to cutting through logs, after I had trimmed the branches off, it was time for the saw to do its thing.

click the picture to go to ThinkGeek store!

I didn't stop to measure the diameter of these limbs, but they were at least 20cm. Bigger than my skinny little thighs, for sure.


The saw bit in fast and made quick work of the first third of the log, but I found that a comfortable, narrow shoulder grip tended to cause the chain to bind up, leading to me needing to take a very wide stance to effect my cuts.

Once I cleared the hard core of the branch, I was a matter of raising the ends, so that gravity would force the log open, to reduce that binding. This was because I was cutting "up" standing over the log. Pulling "down" and cutting a suspended branch would have been much easier, but dangerous.

When I was done, the loop-hooks simply disengaged, I unhitched the handles and stowed the coiled saw and loop-hooks in the pocket tin. The handles had to be stowed separately. This was an excellent, easy to use and practical addition to my car-kit, ready to pull out and cut up road blocking obstacles without the need for fuel, and storage space.

 

Here's just a quick picture of the M48 Walking axe, hanging off the largest of the limbs I cut with it, in-situ. The para-cord wrap on my M48 Ranger Hawk completely unraveled whilst chopping, which was very unsatisfactory. I will eventually re-tie it myself.

The folding pocket chainsaw worked tremendously well, silently, and quickly. 

Review: United Cutlery - M48 Walking Axe

Here's something I've been sitting on for a little while, and wanted to bring into the light, now that we are on the cusp of spring.

Much like Gimli The Dwarf I do enjoy the heft of a good axe in the hand. I've been chopping wood since I was 8 or 9 I think, off and on (our current house doesn't even have a fireplace), but I do have a brazier and the Pot Belly Stove project. I've previously reported on my other axes, including my outstanding FISKARS log splitter and my little United Cutlery M48 Ranger Hawk. In addition, I have at least one other traditional wood-hafted chopping axe, and two hatchets. Lots of axe-action. So when I saw that Global Gear was stocking the big sister of the Ranger Hawk, the "Tactical Axe" I thought I just had to get my hands on it.

The toxic green "zombie apocalypse" version of the axe is called a walking axe, referring to it being walking stick height. You can see here that this is pretty much the case, and for people shorter than me this would probably even be a comfortable option. It's just not quite long enough for me in this role. More on that later. (Check out my new 5.11 Tactical Kilt, too)


Here I've lain the two M48 axes side by side so you can get an idea of the differences between the heads.

They both share the "bearded axe" design that I am very find of, and you can see that the Walking Axe has a more pronounced curve to the head, as well as being longer edged.at around 12cm (5") of blade, and being 20cm (8") long. Wielding it brings out my Viking heritage more than I care to say ...

The other features of the head differ between the tomahawk and the walking axe, which was interesting. It wasn't simply a matter of putting the same head on a different shaft. Instead of three circular holes running backwards from the head, three triangular holed run down the length of it. These sit well past the secondary grind, and add to the liveliness of the blade considerably.

This is probably a good thing, because instead of the sharpened pick at the back of the axe, the Walking Axe features a curved hammer/handle end. With these considerable differences this really is a stand-alone piece. You can also see the differences in the shaft, which I'll cover in a moment.

The 91cm ( 36") super strong, black handle is made of a 30% fiberglass composite and is both light and quite rigid, whilst still having some flex to absorb the shock of impact.

There are two sets of ringed groves set into the haft, one down at the butt, the other about midway, which is a slightly larger set having two sets of 8 groves, the lower set just a single set of eight. As well as these there is the "knuckle" bump at about three quarters of the way up the haft, a features shared by the Ranger Hawk, as well as a set of finger grip lumps behind the beard that the Ranger Hawk does not have.

The cast 7Cr17 stainless steel blade is quite sharp and has considerable bite, good for chopping as well as whittling, if you can manage the long haft. As with the Ranger Hawk, the axe head is attached to the haft with three separate metal hex bolts.

The fittings are exactly the same between the two, and I suspect I could swap them out without any trouble at all.

You can see here the hammer/handle end is actually quite curved, and lacks a flattened striking face, more like a ball-peen hammer.

The fact that the hammer/handle end has a downwards curve lends itself to the idea of using it as a "break and rake" tool for clearing window frames, in the event you need emergency entrance (or exit). It, like the head of the blade, is quite thick, surprisingly so given the over all weight of the axe, which is only 1.4kg (3lbs) or so.

It also gives a nice, ergonomic place to rest your palm whilst hiking with the axe, in its walking-stick aspect.

The slight skeletonisation of the head drops the weight again, and adds a double line of gripping points to add to your ability to retain the tool when holding it.


The axe comes with a synthetic rubber "guard" which in theory pegs itself closed through the top of the cut-aways in the head. In my one, this didn't quite work, and I had to run a twist tie through the loop in order to snag it shut. With drain holes a-plenty, and covering the bitey tops and bottoms the of the beard, this does a good job in protecting the user, the environment and random passer-s by from feeling the bite of the axe.

This is a fun piece, and very lively in the hands. The play from gripping it, swinging it, and the slide of hands along its haft makes it a very quick and light tool, a far cry in feel from my FISKARS log splitter, and felt much more like a sword than a hammer, so to speak.

The lightness of the head will play a part in its usefulness when it comes to chopping and splitting, but for brush clearing, and the lopping of limbs, I suspect it will do just fine.

The fiberglass reinforced handle, as I say, is a tad too short for me to use as a walking stick, personally, but I have a big household, and I'm sure someone will find it useful in our upcoming camping and adventuring summer!

Til Valhall!

Review: Condor Combat - Nomex gloves

I've been trolling eBay to find new exciting things to add to my collection, and one such bargain arose in the form of these Condor Combat Nomex & Leather gloves. I tend to destroy or lose gloves, so having another set on hand (huyk huyk) is a very good idea, as Winter is Coming here in Melbourne.

I've covered some rugged gloves in the past, but those are pretty much dedicated work gloves. I have long thin hands, and when it come to outdoors gloves, getting a good fit is difficult sometimes. The span of my hand tends to tear out the thumb/forefinger seam, so having a well put together glove that fits is also something I'm always looking for.

Constructed from the fire-resistant NOMEX fabric with premium goat leather highlights and reinforcement sections, one of the really interesting features is the dual-layer construction. The long sleeve of the inner layer rides up to about the mid forearm, meaning that it will tuck under a jacket, or over a shirt, giving a full "no-exposed-skin" cover. Is is great n the cold and wet, but essential when exposed to fire: be it flash, sustained or whatever. The outer hand-sized layer is stitched tot he inner, and features fully leather lined palms, and a elastic hook-and-loop closing wrist cuff. The knuckles, finger tips and trigger-finger digit knuckle are also leather reinforced.

I used them whilst chopping and hauling a load of firewood, and then later on when tending the bonfire and spitroast I did over the weekend. Not only did the long sleeve give me abrasion protection, and keep both my hands and wrists burn-free, the leather highlights also include a large padded section on the heel of the palm. This perfectly matches with padding needed when using a repetitive percussive tool.....

For me, that is mostly wood chopping with an axe, hammering or sword-work doing scrub clearing. For others, perhaps slinging hot lead.

These are a really nice set of gloves. They seem warm, without being hot, they have good coverage, solid construction and fit really well. I look forwards to waring these for all my outdoors cooking, chopping and strolling.

Review: Paleo Barefoots PRONATIV

 I was pleased to hear from Jörg Peitzker of GoST Paleo Barefoots following my Wish-Lust review, and after being in touch for quite some time, and doing some editing, discussion and interplay on their forums (go check it out...).
 I was fortunate enough to have a pair sent to me all the way from Germany to Australia. (This was a Herculean undertaking in it's own right).

Now, it is important to get this right out there first up. Measure, measure, measure!

There is no give to steel! If you don;t measure it right, they will not fit, and will and can not "wear in and stretch to fit" Luckily, I did just this.

The second key element to these amazing shoes is, they take some time to get used to. Both the feel and the wearing of the Paleo's takes a little getting used to, mostly due to the texture of the maile on the ground, but also the absolute absence of padding.

Fortunately, I have experience in bare feet, moccasins and camp-slippers, so adjusting was a quick process.

The shoes themselves are very comfortable, mine fit well, not too open, not too tight. The elastic cord closure that weaves through the top of the shoe had a tendency to pinch a little, but once adjusted (and acclimatised) it gave me no further issues. I may have lost a few hairs, but I was never aiming to be a Hobbit ...

So, I tried out my Paleos on a variety of settings, from seaweed and shell encrusted rocks, to hot sand, overgrown garden beds and in the Australian bush.


One thing I found was that they really did protect my feet from incidental stabbings. They also became pretty much forgotten once on, as long as I kept an awareness of the terrain changes in urban environments, (which is to say the polished floors of shopping malls, tiled floors and big stonework flooring in train stations) the world was my oyster.

I walked over broken glass, hot asphalt, mounds of shells and piles of branches. Not a single scratch. The fine links of the maile kept almost everything out, but obviously not everything. I found that the occasional spike of hay, or prickle made it through to give me a poke, but that was the extent of it. Sand and grit can make it's way into the shoes and if it's large enough, it stays. A tad annoying, but a good fit should eliminate most of this.

As well as being very comfortable completely bare, much like a continual massage, there are three sets of accessories that also come to assist in your comfort when the conditions require it.



I took the Paleo's out running a few times in different conditions: along the beach, in parks, and in the bush, and occasionally I have felt the need to give myself some extra protection, and that's where these come in. Originally they shipped with the black neoprene socklette shown here, which act both to pad the top of the foot, and add a little warmth in cold conditions.

I'm wearing the Ankle-socks here which are a large, but felt really tight, but gave me the most protection. The wraparound ankle-sleeves were more difficult to get fitted, but in fact were a lot more comfortable, mostly because they adjusted to my foot and added padding where I needed it.

One thing I can say is that they leave your feet filthy, especially in an urban setting, where road-crud works its way everywhere, into my skin, my toe nails, everywhere. This however, pales into obscurity when you look at this. Those two round contusions are ring-maile wounds!

 I was chopping firewood in my Paleos at ConFest and was hit with wood-shrapnel in my right big toe knuckle, and left toe side. This would have ruined my weekend if i'd been barefoot, and unpleasant if booted too. the rings may have caused this little wound, but saved me from serious bruising or mangling. All in a package that balls up and sits in a pocket when not needed.

I was so very impressed! I wear mine a lot, any time I get the chance. I get a lot of attention out on the street, at festivals, around the house and out shopping. I think they have significant wilderness applications, and survival options. These appear to be indestructible. Indestructible is a real asset in the event of a disaster, as is reliability. The Paleo shoes are comfortable, rugged, and fit any natural surface (barring polished artificial surfaces).

I am glad to have these in my kit.

Swimming 1

Swimming 2

Urban environments

Slippery polished stone floors

City surfaces

Beach run

Beachside surfaces!