176 



FELLING AND CONVERSION OF TIMBER. 



advantageous ; it is often made so as to taper away from the 

 end, and thus afford a better hold. 



Fig. 65 shows the shape of the Kenebeck American axe, the 

 edge of which is made of compressed steel and lasts almost 

 indefinitely. It is said to tire the woodcutter less than any 

 other axe, and can be used to cut horizontally. It is made in two 

 sizes, weighing respectively 5J and 7 Ibs., 

 including the handle, and costs from 15 to 

 20 shillings a dozen. The handles are 

 usually 2J feet long, a longer one being 

 inconvenient, though they are sometimes 

 used up to 3J feet in the Spessart and 

 eastern parts of the Black Forest. The use 

 of these axes is spreading widely throughout 

 Germany. 



Two kinds of axes may be distinguished, 

 viz. : the felling-axe, and the axe for cleav- 

 ing or splitting wood. 



(a) Felling -Axes. The felling -axe is 

 used for felling trees, chiefly large ones 

 which offer considerable resistance to 

 felling. 



Only exceptionally do woodcutters use two 

 axes, the felling-axe and the lopping-axe, 

 and the latter is not required in broad- 

 leaved forests. 



The Saxon axe (Fig. 66) is quite straight- 

 bladed from back to edge, and forms a com- 

 plete wedge ; the faces are slightly curved 

 outwards, the handle is straight, and 0*75 

 meter (29 inches) long. The Harz axe 

 (Fig. 67) is shorter, broader, and the faces hardly curved at 

 all. The Bohemian axe (Fig. 68), also used in Moravia and 

 Silesia, resembles the Saxon axe, but is bent downwards. 

 The Carpathian axe (Fig. 69) is broader than those already 

 described and is used also for splitting wood. The axe used 

 in the Bavarian Alps (Fig. 70) is a light axe with a rounded 

 buck ; the Black Forest axe (Fig. 71) resembles it, but is 

 shorter, broader, and heavier, and owing to the largo 



Fig. 65. American 

 axe. 



