The Spotted Gum pt. 1 (Tuatahi Camp Axe, Lamaca Work Axe)
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- Опубліковано 26 гру 2021
- Taking the Tuatahi Camp Axe out for its maiden voyage in the Aussie bush. After losing most of a Saturday to a washed out creek crossing, a few hours of machete-swinging, bush-bashing, "short cut" 4WDing, high winds, and a thunderstorm, we manage to salvage a few hours on a spring Sunday and add a bit more wood to the pile. Cheers for watching!
Check out these links for more info:
Lamaca Handmade Axes: lamacaaxes.com/
Tuatahi Racing Axes: www.tuatahiaxes.com/
Cordwood Facebook Group: / axecordwoodchallenge
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Samuli Kilpinen: / @samulikilpinen1233
Michelle Makes Stuff: / @michellemakesstuff
The Vintage Axe Hoarder: / @matthewamsbaugh
Owen Jarvis: / elemental4rce
Milo Kolb: / milokolb
Brian2Bears: / brian2bears
940Joey: / @940joey2
WoodlandBushcraftUK: / mrdesmostylus
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AussieAxeDude: / @aussieaxedude154
We will have to call you lightening - never hits the same place twice! 😜😂😉👍🇦🇺
Tuatahi for the win every time.
🤣🤣👍🪓
That Lamaca is such a nice looking axe, seems to work pretty well in the hands of a master too! Another great one Kurt.
Thanks heaps mate! Kind of pick up the Lamaca and can't put it down, was fun to run it against the others in this one
Kurt chopping vid = Perfect coffee break from work, the introduction shots are beautiful.
Gotta hate when the tree fight back or don't want to go down like that, you handle it really well I would have been scared too.
Not sure I could swing this Tua', it seems really really heavy but what a beast.
19:04 I love what the bird is singing. :D
Great job mate, it's a big timber !
(I pretty much wrote this while watching, sorry if nothing makes any sense)
Lol I too like to comment as I watch. Sorry for all the posts.
@@KevinsDisobedience haha, there is a lot going on in 30min videos.
Glad to get you out of the office for a bit! Thanks man, yeah this one was a bit sketchy. This Tui's not that bad, it's about 1.5kg or so, about the weight of your GB. On this handle it does swing well though, the short stocky bit helps in that regard, pretty stable to swing.
Good to see you make your speaking debut as well. You clearly have a lot of experience and a lot to teach. Also, a great speaking voice! We Yanks are suckers for Aussie accents. I dated an Aussie in Uni, and I swear I stayed with her longer because of her accent lol. Cheers
Haha that's cool to hear!
The camp axe is an absolute weapon in the woods. So much power and not a hard stick in sight.
G'day mate, haha yeah it's a little beast! Just a razor sharp super wedge on the end of a stick😆 definitely a good example of geometry
so pretty much the hardest wood in my general area that I can legally chop is deadfall black locust, and from the sound of the hits and how the grain looks on the chips, this tree was at least as tough, if not worse! but you and your axes make it look so easy... thanks for the great vids friend, keep up the good work 👍
Thanks a lot Rebecca! I have heard about black locust, apparently very tough stuff. Cheers for watching and commenting!
lol
Love that stable of axes. I say put that keech on a 30 inch and it will be hard to beat. I'm still impressed how well that lamaca performs on your hardwoods. Overall looked like a great day of chopping. Thanks for all the great content this year. Hope to see more soon.
Cheers Joey! Definitely the more I've been using 30 and under the more a 32 feels odd. 32 was the standby, it's amazing the difference. No worries man, thanks for watching over the year! Hope to get back at it soon👍
Best accuracy on UA-cam! Bucking notches are perfect and the Tui the winner???
Haha thanks man👍 the Tui goes well for sure, but unfortunately I need to do more testing 🤣🤣any excuse to head bush!
Great video Kurt! Very artistically filmed. It's raining here so I made a brew and watched it two more times. Looking forward to part 2.
Haha glad to help with the brew. Thanks man, hope to get pt 2 up soon. Hopefully the rain over there lets up for new years!
Loved that video. Great editing and amazing axe work, and a really cool axe. Very special. You make it look easy.
That's awesome, thanks mate!👍👍
Awesome video, spotted gum is an incredible species, and great axemanship
Thanks mate!
This video was awesome. That was quite a line up you had there. That tuatahi means business! Spotted gum looked like it was very dense, and that axe did a great job.
Glad you enjoyed it mate thanks for watching! Spotted is pretty dense, but thankfully this one was clear grained and not twisted and/or interlocked. Sometimes it does both and can be crazy hard to cut. I'm keeping my eye out for some spotted gum handles for you to try out!
Excellent video man been waiting to see the Tuatahi in action, looks like a great axe. The bush is looking super lush and green from all the rain top stuff. That spotted gum makes an epic sound when the axe hits dude what a nice piece of wood. Sweet pointers on the sketchy fell mate looking forward to pt. 2.
Thanks man, yeah it's a fun axe, has its quirks like any other but one of the better designs out there I think. Stacks of rain down here atm, the ridge I camped on is usually dry and crusty but even it was doing well, a big change from a few years ago. Was kind of nice chopping the clear gum, I should have saved a few lengths for handles. Cheers for watching man!
Some sweet footage, camera and axe work in this one Kurt 😎👍
Thanks for checking it out man! Hope you get some good rides in over the holiday period. I'm hanging to escape down to Tamban!
Another fantastic film! Your taking "axe videos" to a whole new level! Fantastic work!
Thanks for watching mate, Hope all good up your way!👍👍
@@kurts64 doing great!
Brilliant to see another vid Brother, Tui looks a beast, still love the format, great to hear you too, awesome
Cheers Guy, thanks for tuning in mate! Have a good new year!
Very interesting skills you have with a axe , subbed 🤙
Thanks a lot mate!👍👍
Watched again to see those sheaths. I like those designs. Need to get myself some snaps so I can attempt one!
Cheers man! I've found line 20 and for thicker sheath leather line 24 sized snaps are the go. Weaver or Tandy are pretty reliable
Wow thx for the video
Your welcome mate thanks for watching, I appreciate it!
@@kurts64 i wait for this axe , its supposed to arrive in february so im stoke to see a long video of the product .
@@silverback4434 that's cool to hear mate, I'm sure you'll like it it's a pretty unique axe
I finally received my camp axe , this axe separate the wood thats impressive , the heavy weight of the head help and that split very well . Im very stoke about my tuatahi it is a special axe !
@@silverback4434 awesome mate!✊👍
I own one of these. Very expensive but the best axe I have ever owned. The best I’ve ever used. I had them cut out the wings on mine. They make a gorgeous leather cover for it if you want it. These are a New Zealand product so shipping is an issue also.
Yep, this Tui has by far the nicest, most precise finishing I've seen on a production axe yet. A camp axe with the wings ground out would be cool! Thanks for watching mate!👍
Awesome video Kurt !!! Love the axe selection, that tuitahi looks like she bites pretty deep and that other Tazz you used with Oz printed on the back is that a vintage one. Is finding those axes down your way like finding Kelly’s and true tempers here in the states.
Thanks Joey! The axe with the Aussie logo is a Keech Timberman. They've been made here for a long time and well regarded, apparently made in small batches along with a few of thier other models. This one was made in the last year but I have heard that the company was recently bought out, and stopped axe production. Not sure if that's true or not though. 4 and 4.5lb Tassie patterns are the most common found here and what I grew up with, makers like Hytest, Brades, Keech , Elwell and Hults Bruk the most common in my area. Thanks for watching man!
Awesome video mate!!!!! Watched it 3 times already lol
That grass tree is awesome. It’s a Macronema, they a trunkless and super cool.
Man that bush is just so pretty. Looks like somewhere at the back of Kyogle.
Thanks mate. You know your plants! Good guess, back of the Nambucca,just a few rivers south of Kyogle. Are u from up that way?
@@kurts64 awesome!! It’s nice down there. I am up around Ballina. Ah i don’t know that much about plants but I love grass trees. Spend heaps of time in the bush looking for specimens. Thanks again your video are very inspirational 👍👍
@@joeguinand4622 no worries! Some of the biggest australis I've seen are up on the dry ridges of the Guy Fawkes and Nymboida rivers if your ever out that way.👍
@@kurts64 epic! I have only been to platypus flats on the nymboida a few times. Didn’t have enough time to explore. Dry ridges are always the best for finding big ol grass trees
That looks like real hard wood, only gum I ever dropped I used a chainsaw for, and even then it kept trying to grow back, I had to use a bulldozer to pull the stump out to actually kill it!
Gday, yeah they are a persistent thing. These spotted gum are notorious for sending up suckers after they've been cut, sometimes a dozer is the only way! Cheers for watching👍
AXE ARTISTRY I say!! Loved it Mr. Kurt. You captured many elements, I got hungry, hot, excited and sore just watching...." Look at this guy,,,,get off my axe""" LOL. Excellent chopping, you're a machine! It was also neat to see the bark up close, unlike anything I have seen in person, and the ants are everywhere! Summer over there right? Great job sir!
Thanks heaps Brian, sorry to make you hungry😆 it was late spring when I shot this one, temps around the 32°C mark and high humidity. Yeah the ants here are feral, bitey, stingy, sometimes-inch- long marauders. thanks for the kind words mate!
@@kurts64 Thank you Mr. Kurt, many smiles....
Awesome vid mate an a mad lineup of axes keep it up 🇦🇺🤘
Cheers mate!👍👍
All good chief 🤙
So the only issue with the keech is the handle?
@@mattoster0994pretty much. my keech had a few casting voids in the edge back towards the heel. Not a big deal but by the time I ground them out the bit ended up with a more drastic curve than I'd like, so the too long handle makes it a bit hard to present well in underhand chop. It's a wicked splitter though!
So would a shorter handle make a difference?
@@mattoster0994 yeah when I get the chance I'll hang it on a 29 or 30, flatten the bit slightly and it will be a monster. If you get the chance to grab a keech, go for it. There's plenty of meat in the bit, you can grind it however you choose and the steel holds up well. The Aussie logo doesn't hurt at all either...👍👍
You handle a full size ax very well. Your always cutting such clean timber, not riddled with borers, spider nests, ant nests and grubs. You could mill up some nice wood I bet! Nearly bought a Tuatahi a few years ago...kinda kicking myself as they 2x the price now.
Thanks mate! I'm not on the farm anymore unfortunately, there was some beautiful timber there. One thing I regret is never getting round to buying an Alaskan mill. Ripped-and-split out a lot of ironbark fence posts for repairs after the fires went through, but a mill would have come in handy for slabs and rails. Shame about the tui price increase
I'm so impressed with the tautahi it cuts alot better then I expected. I would have thought of it a splitting axe from the bit sharp...
It's is a wedgie little thing. The transition from cutting edge to thick cheeks kind of force the cut open as it goes. I'm curious to see how long the performance lasts as it wears and gets more obtuse due to sharpening, but it does seem to hold its edge for a long time
I'm sure the awsome heat treat is the reason for that.
@@kurts64 how much does the bit weigh?
@@hamedizzy5137 yep the steel and heat treat is top shelf. I think the head is 1.5kg/3.5lb, or a bit less
Génial, belle immersion dans ton monde👍.
Sais tu si ce modèle de tuatahi passe sur du bois dur..car par chez nous,les vendeurs la déconseillent.
Gday mate sorry for late response. This camp axe does quite well on the hardwood here, I believe on tuatahi racing axes they offer a different grind for frozen wood but I can't imagine this one having any problems on other hardwoods. Where about are you located? I have a mate in the US who uses it on oak and elm and has held up ok👍👍🪓
I could tell that one made you a bit nervous. You’re a brave man. I’d have whimped out and put a back cut in with a saw and wedged it over. That was cool you stopped to show us and explain.
Cheers Kevin. Watching the footage back later I had a giggle at myself sneaking around the tree towards the end. Should have put some waltz music over it😄
Kurt I was lucky enough to live in Kalamunda Perth for a while and climbed and dismantled trees for the local contractors. Also got to have a good look around much of the state, certainly not all of it. Probably the most productive crew since ever worked in, solid solid guys.
Mate I’m a kiwi and I have immense respect for Australia, it’s bush, and it’s rural folk and timber history and it’s trees.
Can you please tell me what part of your massive and incredibly diverse country you are in?
G'day mate, cheers for watching, and the cool comment. Sound like you enjoyed your time in Perth, never been over there myself but WA in general is pretty spectacular, would be great to get over to Exmouth one day. I'm over in northern NSW. 👍👍
Hi Kurt, them Spotted gum, sure are tough. The red Iron Bark has slightly higher density on the Janka scale to the Spotted gum, though the teeth on the chainsaw, tell the opposite. Looks like you live in the same region as me, we had them Bush fires come through here also. Sure is Magnificent Country around here mate, hard woods, Gold, sapphires, cod n bass. If you look for a Creek that's has the level 4 invasive camphour Laurel, hook in to them, the DPi don't mind at all, actually encourage it. Keep an eye out and say G'day.
Gday mate, yep north coast NSW. Don't mind knockin the odd camphor laurel at all! Love a bit of bass fishin, still chasing that elusive 50cm. Cheers for watching mate!👍👍
@@kurts64 Yeh that's it! I heard your name given a wrap on a cordwood challenge video. Them Poms and Irish sent all their best blood stock to Australia back in 1700's 😂. Happy and Safe Swinging champ.
@@lumberjaxe8910 😆😆cheers mate
Man iv never had to cut anything that bounces like that spotted gum. Hardest iv chopped here is dry old pine/fir. Fantastic axmanship and a dam great video sir.
Thanks for watching, and the kind words mate. Only chopped some young pine on one occasion, don't get the chance very often down here, but I'd imagine working your way through those whorls of pine/fir limb knots would be a challenge too. Where you from mate?
@@kurts64 Im just on the other side of the lake up in Canada. If your interested in giving another couple axes a whirl Im in line to recieve the Tuatahi work axe and a couple china axes. If your interested id be happy to have them sent to you for review before they make the long journey over here.
@@cameronmcpeak5183 would love to go to Canada one day, beautiful place and so different from here. Thanks for the generous offer, I appreciate it mate, but I'm hoping to place a similar order myself soon! I'm sure when you get yours you'll love em, I was very impressed by the quality of the camp axe. Cheers👍👍
@@kurts64 im super stoked gonna hook some friends up and start choppin.
Great eye catching the cracks forming before the tree completely barber-chaired in your face man. What are your plans for the trunk? I heard spotted gum was used in Australia for axe handles.
Thanks man, was a bit cautious of this tree and the conditions from the get go. I generally leave the trunk tall. Most gums, including this spotty will coppice back and in a few years will be at half height again. Yep it makes a decent handle wood, very dense but stiff. This one was clear and straight grained, I realised a few days later I probably should have saved a bit
Need more of a grind on that axe those axes cut better than any with a 17 or 15 degree
Cheers for watching and commenting mate👍 I left this one stock but tbh I wouldn't mess with it too much. I believe the China heads are at 15° so I plan on grabbing one one day and giving it a run. The China's prob a bit heavy for most cordwood work but would be ideal on timber this size (325mm-ish) and up
Great video, awesome chopping, what is your grinding bevel angle on that axe? 20 degree?
Gday, thanks mate, if you mean the Tuatahi it's a 22° bevel with a stout micro, and 18° cheek angle. Wedgy little axe! 👍
I reckon you know who David Foster is you being Australian ,, David Foster is an absolute freak of nature. Just to look at him you wouldn’t think he would be so fast and powerful ,but the man is an absolute axe monster lol .. He’s up in his years now but he’s still a champ with a axe.. Do you compete ?
David Foster is a legend mate! Cool bloke too. Check out "Mudgee Fieldays 2015" on YT if you haven't already. Nah never competed, used to watch the woodchop events as a kid and try to catch local shows when I can. Would be fun to give it a go.
Another great video Kurt , the Tui looks well balanced with the race handle ( did you keep the stock angle ? ) . The KC23 is a beast but the LAMACA looks very accurate and doesn’t stick at all . When did you employ a script writer ? 🤣😜
Cheers mate, yeah it swings really well. This was it's first use, so wasn't super happy with the first felling notch, but easy to get used to. Yeah the Tui bit is standard, didn't touch it at all. There's something about the lammy, just feels natural to swing. Haha yeah had the script writer workin overtime😆😆
The tuatahi has got to be one of the best axes out there for heavy bucking. I still find it funny that its called a camp axe since its almost 4 lbs. Beautiful editing as always.
G'day Sam thanks for watching mate. Agreed it's well suited to underhand chopping on this handle length, throws chips and doesn't stick
Wow that spotted gum seems extremely hard.
It is some tough wood! Thanks for watching mate!
@@kurts64 Love your videos brother and it seems that Tuatahi is all I need without spending on other axes. Im thinking to get the Camp and Work axe both versions.
@@eltonurumi4979 thanks mate! To be honest, if your a keen chopper, cutting good size timber and have the money, they would be a dream pair. The only other axe I'd add would be something boys axe sized like a Montreal, Dayton, or Iltis for small wood.
Hey Kurt what did you think of the grind on the tui when you first got it
Hey mate, it came razor sharp and I figured if Tui says it works, then it must, so I left it factory. It's such a thick, wedgy axe that a regrind of the cheeks (from the eye down, to thin it out) would be a pretty big job. I'm happy with it, it's a fun axe to use, though I did chip the high toe on a quartz rock at one point. For what it's worth, it did split the lemon-sized rock in half😁
the tassie racer cuts very well too, although looks to be very slightly more sticky than the tuatahi. whats the grind on the tassie racer? lovely chopping as always kurt!
Cheers mate, thanks for watching! I love that Tassie, about 18-20° with a micro. Although I wouldn't class it as a sticky axe in general, it is a bit more so than the Tui. The overall wedge angle of the bit is about 13°, compared to the Tui's crazy 16-18° wedge. One thing I've noticed about the Tui is that when the edge is of less-than-ideal sharpness, that extreme angle can hinder penetration a bit more than you'd find on a thinner axe. Still love it though!👍
Man, that shits sounds hard!
Yeah it's some heavy timber, can't remember exact weights but its over a metric tonne/cubic metre I'm pretty sure
Do you check for drop bears before felling the trees? Lovely video mate, that axe looks like it does well in your woods
Drop bears are a menace😆 thanks man, yeah it's a good chopper, can have some bounce at times due to the thickness but it's a keeper for sure. Cheers for watching mate👍
The Tui seems like the freest in the wood, but your Tassie and Lamaca definitely bite better.
This is the first time I hear about drop bears, I love the concept. This would do a great halloween vid' Kurt :D
@@skinnybearthedogs2654 haha I'll keep that in mind😄
@@KevinsDisobedience agreed. The Tui is great but at times a narrower wedge can pay off
Kurt what handle did you put on? Job well done!
Cheers mate, I went with a 3/4 length (750mm) Engineered for Axeman race handle. Balances out well with the head and ideal length imo. Thanks for watching 👍
Mate.. that bush looks so familiar. South coast nsw?
Close, North Coast! Lot of similar species. Cheers for watching!👍👍🪓🇦🇺
Can you explain a little more what a crack in the tree does and what stresses it causes please? I can’t get my head around it.
G'day Tim, good to see you back, thanks for watching mate. No worries. Basically the wind was coming from the NE. I needed to fell the tree to the NNW(with it's natural lean). So as I'm putting in the face cut, the crown was blowing to the south/southwest, and loading the tree with enough tension to crack the stump. Had I continued deepening the face cut, the now weakend, spring-loaded trunk was swaying back n' forth and risk splitting further, and possibly "barberchair-ing" . I put in the back cut when I did so that if the tree did fall to the south, it at least had a guide on where to go. I will say that I went into this fell knowing that it was risky from the start - as Kevin commented hereabouts it would have much safer to fell the tree with a saw and wedge. Hope that all made sense, thanks again mate!
@@kurts64 Thanks for the reply. I get it now. I enjoy watching your videos. The scenery and sounds of the birds are very nice too.
@@timwatsonphotography cheers!👍
Bark looks like what's called a sycamore in the U.S. not sure about the inside,we don’t have many so I've never cut one.
Thanks for watching mate. I saw a sycamore on another vid a while ago and thought the same thing, very similar looking. Cheers👍
good work of yours, but the ax is far too thick for nothing as a felling axe.
It's a near perfect profile.
Cheers for watching and commenting mate. It's a thick bugger for sure, can be bouncy occasionally if accuracy or swing angle is off
@@Fogyt121 thanks for havin a look mate! Yeah I like the profile especially for bucking. Never sticks and hits hard
Ты бы повыше-то влез! Чего так низко начал?
Срубил-то ты его зачем? Печь зимой аль топишь? Милок, на газ переходи!
Thanks for watching, yes it's for house firewood, also for cooking outside and campfires on the property👍