Constantin Brancusi working on Endless Column in his studio at 8 impasse Ronsin, Paris, c. 1924.
Photo by Constantin Brancusi.
Shelter in Fludir, Iceland.
Contributed by Helen Jack.
bestmadeco: The Beauty in the Details: Crafting the Best Made Edge
“The best way to learn the value of a well crafted tool is to try using a poorly crafted one.” — Unknown
A few weeks ago we took a couple of our restoration axes up to our secret hideout in Lumberland, NY for their first taste of wood. It could have been years, possibly decades since these axes had dined on such a feast: boy were they hungry! In addition to the love and attention we’d given them cleaning free the rust and fitting them with new helves, we spent some quality time giving them blazingly sharp edges. To use such a sharp axe is truly a joy. The efficiency with which they cut is only paralleled by the respect that they demand. You can see for yourself in these pictures: the incisions into the wood demonstrate an immaculate, uncanny — almost scalpel like — precision. Half the energy was expended to cut through 14” of a dead hardwood log that would be required with an axe with a mildly inferior edge. Every last degree of infinitesimal sharpness that was bestowed on these axes meant exponentially greater effectiveness of cutting.
Sharpness is a science at Best Made, and has definitely been on our minds lately, and you can expect more details on how to obtain an edge like this on your own axe in the near future. Keep your eyes peeled here. In the meantime: Stay Sharp.
The abandoned wooden bridge Kinsol Trestle in Vancouver Island, Canada (by Bryn Tassel).
This weeks fuel for the oven.
Entering the shadows by wolfgang-alaska
bushsmarts: Woodcraft and Camping by George Washington Sears.
An immediate hit when first published in 1884, Woodcraft outlines the practical lessons, gear and anecdotes of a 60-year-old Sears (under the penname “Nessmuk”) as he tramps through the Adirondacks with his 10lb solo canoe named Sairy Gamp.
