TOOLCRAFT
Taken from :
ADVENTURES IN CAMPING
Johnnie Barnes (author)
Gospel Publishing House
Springfield, MO 65802
Copyright 1962, 1973
To order this book, call:
1-800-641-4310
1962 Edition, GPH
The pocket knife (1) is your best tool.
Choose the type you can use easily.
The hand ax (2) is a very useful tool for light work. It is not good for cutting logs or trees.
The long-handled ax (3) can be used for practical camp purposes such as chopping logs or cutting trees.
To Open a Knife:
Hold it in one hand and with the thumb and forefinger of the other hand pull out the blade.
To Close a Knife:
Hold the back edge of the open blade and close carefully.
How to Sharpen a knife:
Press blade firmly on stone. Move with a circular motion. Keep pressure to back of blade. Turn blade over and repeat in opposite direction. Test sharpness on a twig from time to time.
How to Hold Knife:
Grasp knife firmly around handle. Always cut away from you. Do not place thumb on blade.
Using Knife: (need picture 19b)
To cut a stick in two parts, slant the cut. To cut stick in two parts, make a V on top and then underneath.
To trim a branch, grasp thick end and cut toward twigs. Remember! A good sharp knife cuts evenly and smoothly.
(need picture 19c)
The sheath knife is good for heavier work such as limbing small branches, skinning and cutting up game and fish.
It should always be carried in a sheath in which there are at least five metal rivets.
To Carry: Fasten on the side of the rear of the body.
How to Pass a Sheath Knife:
Grasp knife with thumb and forefinger just above blade. Keep sharp edge out. A jackknife should be passed closed.
To Carry Hand Ax Without Sheath:
Hold handle close to head with blade tilted away from you.
To Pass Hand Ax:
Grasp the handle close to the head with handle pointed away from you and blade tilted to the side.
To Sharpen Hand Ax:
Hold the head of the ax firmly in one hand. Use the other hand to move the coarse side of the stone against the blade in a circular motion. After a few motions on the side of the blade, change hands and repeat on the opposite side. Repeat same procedure with the fine side of the stone.
Move the stone with an even, circular stroke or motion.
For gapped or very dull hand axes, use the same method with file as used for long-handled axes on page 24 (below).
Using Hand Ax:
Always hold the handle firmly toward the end of the handle. Never hold the ax close to the head.
To Cut Small Branches:
Slant the ax and make a V cut in the wood. If wood is not in two on the first stroke repeat the same cut. Never strike wood with a straight, downward motion.
Splitting Small Logs:
Place a log on a chopping block. Bring ax (1) down firmly on the log. If it doesn't split the first time, raise ax and log (2) and bring both down firmly on the chopping block.
You may place a log against a log which is pegged down. Strike the center.
To Make a Pointed Stick:
Hold Stick in one hand and cut at an angle. Turn the stick and repeat until a point is made.
To Cut Small Tree:
Bend tree with one hand. Bring ax down near the base of the tree.
To Cut Long Branch into Pieces:
Hold the end of the stick in one hand. Lay the end to be cut on the chopping block. Bring ax down slanted across the limb. If it does not split the first time, raise the ax and wood and bring both down firmly against the block.
