AXES. 



79 



The handle is usually straight — in India always so — but a handle 

 of the shape represented in Fig, 21 gives the axe-man a better 

 grip -with his left hand and is easier for his right hand. 



The length of the handle varies from 2^ to 3^ feet. For very 

 hard woods it should not exceed 3 feet. 



In round handles the fibres at the thick end are apt to get 

 crushed in the eye, eventually allowing the head to slip off. This 

 is effectually prevented by protecting the last inch or so of the 

 handle with a strip or two of thin sheet iron or copper, which gets 

 jammed between the wood and the iron head and renders any 

 movement of the latter impossible. 



Information regarding the best woods for axe handles is want- 

 ing. In Central India and in the plains of North- Western India 

 Anogeissus latifolia, species of Grewia, Zizyplms Jujuha, and Den- 

 drocalamus strictus are chiefly used. In the North- West Himalayas 

 Cotoneaster bacillaris furnishes handles that last up to two and even 

 three years. 



2. llie trimming axe. 



The trimming axe serves to remove the branches of fallen trees 

 and to dress and rough-hew logs. The same axe with which a 

 tree was felled will do equally well for trimming off'branches, but 

 for all large branches and for dressing logs a heavier axe with a 

 broader blade is much more serviceable. Indeed, in dressing fallen 

 timber the axe is best swung vertically in order to secure the full 

 amount of momentum, and its weight may hence be as much as 

 the axe-man can control. In the conifer forests of the Western 

 Himalayas the weight often runs up to 8 lbs., and even more. To 

 gain additional momentum long handles are used, the length rang- 

 ing from 3^ to 4^ feet. In Fig. 22 are reproduced two patterns 



Fig. 22. 



Indian, trimming adses {-ijjth original size'), 



A. — Amritsar pattern (up to 6 lbs.). 



B. — JVorth-Wesi Himalayas (from G to Q lbs,). 



