l\)l 



FKLI.ING ANI> CUNVEKSION. 



Fio. :,0. 



weight of an axe, its size and relative dimensions depend 

 on whether it is to be used for hard and heavy, or soft, light 

 wood ; in the former case, a tiuer but less highly tempered edge 

 is required, and the axe should be lighter and thinner than one 

 used for softwoods, which in all parts, and especially in the 

 back, is thicker and broader than the former, acting more like a 

 wedge. 



In no case, however, should the axe be too large or heavy, 

 as it fatigues the woodcutter, and does not work so economi- 

 cally as a lighter implement. 



The axe-handle is sometimes straight and sometimes curved, 

 sometimes parallel to the edge and sometimes 

 bending from or towards it. It is difficult 

 tj decide which shape is most advantageous, 

 and it is often made so as to taper away 

 from the end, and thus afford a better hold. 

 Fig. 50 shows the shape of the Kenebeck 

 V I American axe, the edge of which is made 



|j| of compressed steel and lasts almost in- 



n '' definitely. It is said to tire the woodcutter 



j - less than any other axe, and can be readily 



used to cut horizontally. It is made in two 

 ( sizes, weighing respectively oh and 7 lbs., 



including the handle, and costs from 15 to 

 20 shillings a dozen. The handles are 

 usually '2i feet long, a longer one being in- 

 convenient, though they are sometimes used 

 up to 3j feet in the Spessart and eastern 

 l)art of the l^lack Forest. The use of these 

 axes is spreading widely throughout Ger- 

 many. 



Three kinds of axes may be distinguished, 

 viz. : the felling-axe, the lojjping-axe, and 

 the axe for cleaving or splitting wood. 



(a) Felling- and Lopping- Axes. — The felling 

 axe is used tor telling trees, ehielly large ones which offer con- 

 siderable resistance to felling, whilst the lopping-axe is mainly 

 used for lopping branches from felled coniferous trees. The 

 former may be of much slighter maki' than the latter, which 



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