“Give a man a knife, and he can survive. Give him an axe, and he can live like a king.” To pioneer men and women alike, the most prized tool they owned after their flintlock rifle was their axe. With it, they could build a life for themselves – clear land, build a cabin, warm it, and furnish it. Although axes have faded in importance over time, they still hold a vital space in the woodsman’s arsenal. Powerful and versatile, there’s nothing like a good axe.

Here’s what you’ll learn in this half-day class:

• Safe axe use, and how to avoid common injuries
• Different types of axes and their uses
• How to fell, limb, and buck a tree
• Multiple ways to split firewood
• The axe as a 1-tool option for wilderness survival and bushcraft
• Unexpected axe uses such as food prep, firecraft, and more
• Axe care, maintenance, and sharpening
• Choosing the right axe and restoring an antique

No tool unlocks the bounty of the forest like an axe. If you want to call yourself a woodsman, you owe it to yourself to master it.