Right after posting this last night and a quick follow up to John's post, I hit the sack.
Just checking in for now before starting work for the day.
Today and tomorrow are super busy for me - tomorrow (Tuesday) is a huge pivot day (a board is voting whether to support a major funding proposal for my work; if yes, it's going to make my life easier for the first time in over five, long, hard years).
But I promise to return with thoughts, ideas, experiences and more pictures. (Thanks for your complements!
)
Oh, just for now, re the small hatchet. It's not a 'mini' - that's a different beast entirely that I probably won't own (too small for my taste). That short one I have is called their 'hand hatchet' or - the name I prefer - Kubben, which is Swedish for carving axe (or something similar).
It's the same head as the Wildlife Hatchet mounted on a 10" adze handle. (WH is 13.5").
The shape of the kubben handle is radically different from the WH. It's made for one thing: carving, and it does that deliciously. Confession: I'm a total novice newby lower than low when it comes to axe carving. I've only messed around with it so far, just exploring what various grips (choke up, rotate, etc) will do, angles of chopping, etc, mostly on scrap wood or 2 - 4" sapling sized dead wood.
It's hard to explain in words just how much difference that Kubben handle makes for handling the same head. One would think one could just choke up more on the Wildlife Hatchet (henceforth, WH) and do the same. Well, you can, but trust me - it's different. That adze handle adds a couple of dimensions that the WH is missing, including weight redistribution, and that missing extra 3.5" makes a difference in terms of maneuverability. If your project is a one-time, 20-minute camp job, forget it. If you're going to consider serious carving and many projects, for me, it's worth it. That little swelling on the neck - the humpback - makes a world of difference in the grip when you're choking up.
I can do camp chores (kindling, tent stakes, shelters, etc) with kubben (I call it 'kub') in a pinch, but it's the same weight as the WH, so I just carry the latter hiking, and leave kub in the studio for carving time. For the record, I cut wood with a Sven saw, then split with a hatchet.
I'm also adding scandi carving knives to my kit: Spyderco Bushcraft on the long end, Helle Nying and - most recently (came Saturday) a Mora 2/0 (3") that is the sweetest little detail carver I've ever handled. My point is, I've always liked carving, but now that I'm getting older, I want to explore it more deeply, both in terms of small figurines and larger stuff like a life sized statue and bowls and spoons and stuff.
Here's a couple of pics of my first try over the weekend.
First is roughed out (90 min), second is 90 minutes more.
Not sure where it's going.
I'm already seeing a bigger version of something like this on a log with my kubben as the main cutter.