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I attended a extremely implausible Ax coaching and certification class for path maintainers this previous Friday provided by the Appalachian Mountain Membership in New Hampshire. It’s the one such course provided in the US and teaches you methods to sharpen an ax, cling an ax on a brand new deal with, chop up downed timber blocking trails, and the protection procedures to forestall planting a razor-sharp axe in your leg or chest. It was properly value attending for the $25 class price!
This Ax coaching certification class can also be required for all path maintainers, volunteers, or skilled path crew members within the White Mountain Nationwide Forest, which can also be the one nationwide forest or nationwide park that requires it. The Whites have over 40 path upkeep golf equipment and organizations that keep the 1400+ mile path system, so there’s a great want for standardized coaching. Over 400 college students from 13 states attended the course this yr, whereas regionally, the variety of ax-related accidents that happen within the White Mountains has dropped sharply.
This Ax coaching class is a hands-on 1-day course that begins with studying methods to sharpen an ax utilizing a mill bastard file and a sharpening stone. Whereas I’ve used splitting mauls fairly extensively (the place you break up rounds of wooden alongside the grain), I’d had little earlier expertise with a chopping axe (the place you chop right into a tree perpendicular to the grain) as you’d discover on horizontal blow-downs blocking trails. Having a really sharp axe is crucial for one of these work so it is sensible that the course begins with sharpening.
I arrived at class with a 3.5 lb Snow and Neely Ax which I realized was a superb weight for path upkeep work and about the perfect metal you’ll be able to anticipate from a contemporary store-bought ax. I then spent near 2 hours sharpening it, beneath the watchful eyes of our instructors who offered in depth individualized instruction since all of us confirmed up with totally different axes requiring totally different levels of remediation. We additionally realized fairly a bit about methods to inform good ax heads that keep an edge from mediocre ones and what to search for in a higher-quality classic ax head in the event you’re fortunate sufficient to search out one in an vintage retailer or backyard sale.
After lunch, we headed off into the woods to be taught correct security procedures and to follow chopping up timber. A razor-sharp ax may be fairly harmful to make use of and it pays to be taught the standardized security methods for assessing and planning cuts when eradicating downed timber and ax dealing with. For instance, when a tree falls within the forest, it typically takes different timber down with it creating widow makers and spring poles that you just need to clear out of your work space earlier than you begin to chop up a tree. Equally, when stepping over a tree, it pays to place it down on the bottom, so that you don’t unintentionally fall on it and lodge it in your chest or leg.
When chopping, you need to strike the tree at a 45-degree angle and alternate between the suitable and left sides, switching the place of your palms while you change instructions. It’s a surprisingly gradual and exhausting course of, though I suppose you construct up your stamina in the event you do it often. However you shortly perceive why a form axe is a crucial prerequisite for fulfillment.
For those who’re thinking about taking this class or the chain noticed certification coaching that the AMC additionally affords, the lessons are listed at Outside.org (Search on Vacation spot: Camp Dodge) and are provided often all year long. I take advantage of a chainsaw pretty often to reap firewood within the White Mountain Nationwide Forest (with a allow) and hope to attend their Chain Noticed Bucking and Limbing Class as properly.
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