Uploaded September 2016 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
4DB Website at: 4directionsbushcraft.com
Quality gear at low prices.
Thank you all for watching. In this video I haft the full groove stone ground axe head that I have been working on. I start with birch tar glue and cow raw hide. I use the plummet to flatten a piece of the hide and place it on the white tail deer antler to fill in the voids so hafting would be easier. I wrap cow raw hide through the groove on the axe head. This will fill voids and when it dries it secures the axe head as well. I then wrap the axe head and antler with artificial sinew. This must be as tight as I can possibly make it. Real sinew is recommended due to it's natural strength and glue characteristics. I secure it with birch tare glue. I then wrap natural cordage white willow bark around it and I also secure that with birch tar glue. I repeatedly reheat the entire axe over the hot camp fire coals and press the birch tar glue into the bindings of the sinew and willow bark. This will make it like they are bonded together and stronger when it dries. The last step in hafting I wrap natural cordage Basswood inner bark (this was made off camera to save time) around the axe for more stability and to make it look a little better. I secure this with birch tar glue as well.
I had to wait a few days for the raw hide to dry and the birch tar to set. I then wanted to put it to the test and I did this by building a deep woods brush shelter. I chopped a tree using a beaver chew technique, I wanted the tree to still be attached to that it would create the header for my shelter. The axe held strong and performed well. I finished the shelter off with Japanese Honeysuckle branches which I also cut down with the axe. I finish the shelter off with a fern bed which made it very comfortable. I wanted a fire and started it with a soaking wet bow drill set that I submerged into water a couple of times. This bow drill set is Basswood and can be purchased on my website using this link 4directionsbushcraft.com/product/bow-drill-friction-fire-kit
This took two tries to accomplish a coal and my spindle was binding up due to the wood being wet. With a little patience I did pull it off on the second try and I was able to boil some water in my primitive clay cup that I made last year. This was a nice treat while I enjoyed the shade that my brush shelter provided.
The hafting process took a total of 4 days while the stone ground axe head took approximately 2 days. Hafting is an art all in itself and is usually done several times during an axes life time. It requires a lot of patience due to the processes that must be done to ensure strength, like birch tar and natural cordage.
This is how our ancestors would have completed a project like this. They used the same techniques but without some of the resources like the tin can and pliers.
Thank you and have fun out there. Please subscribe, like and share and we will see you on the next video.
Check out the links below to follow 4DB
4DB Facebook at: facebook.com/4directionsbushcraft
4DB Blog at: 4directionsbushcraft.com/blog
4DB News letter Registration at: 4directionsbushcraft.us13.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=45c5a502686fc44211df4d689&id=431382b638
4DB Instagram at: instagram.com/4directionsbushcraft
4DB Website at: 4directionsbushcraft.com
Quality gear at low prices.
Thank you all for watching. In this video I haft the full groove stone ground axe head that I have been working on. I start with birch tar glue and cow raw hide. I use the plummet to flatten a piece of the hide and place it on the white tail deer antler to fill in the voids so hafting would be easier. I wrap cow raw hide through the groove on the axe head. This will fill voids and when it dries it secures the axe head as well. I then wrap the axe head and antler with artificial sinew. This must be as tight as I can possibly make it. Real sinew is recommended due to it's natural strength and glue characteristics. I secure it with birch tare glue. I then wrap natural cordage white willow bark around it and I also secure that with birch tar glue. I repeatedly reheat the entire axe over the hot camp fire coals and press the birch tar glue into the bindings of the sinew and willow bark. This will make it like they are bonded together and stronger when it dries. The last step in hafting I wrap natural cordage Basswood inner bark (this was made off camera to save time) around the axe for more stability and to make it look a little better. I secure this with birch tar glue as well.
I had to wait a few days for the raw hide to dry and the birch tar to set. I then wanted to put it to the test and I did this by building a deep woods brush shelter. I chopped a tree using a beaver chew technique, I wanted the tree to still be attached to that it would create the header for my shelter. The axe held strong and performed well. I finished the shelter off with Japanese Honeysuckle branches which I also cut down with the axe. I finish the shelter off with a fern bed which made it very comfortable. I wanted a fire and started it with a soaking wet bow drill set that I submerged into water a couple of times. This bow drill set is Basswood and can be purchased on my website using this link 4directionsbushcraft.com/product/bow-drill-friction-fire-kit
This took two tries to accomplish a coal and my spindle was binding up due to the wood being wet. With a little patience I did pull it off on the second try and I was able to boil some water in my primitive clay cup that I made last year. This was a nice treat while I enjoyed the shade that my brush shelter provided.
The hafting process took a total of 4 days while the stone ground axe head took approximately 2 days. Hafting is an art all in itself and is usually done several times during an axes life time. It requires a lot of patience due to the processes that must be done to ensure strength, like birch tar and natural cordage.
This is how our ancestors would have completed a project like this. They used the same techniques but without some of the resources like the tin can and pliers.
Thank you and have fun out there. Please subscribe, like and share and we will see you on the next video.
Check out the links below to follow 4DB
4DB Facebook at: facebook.com/4directionsbushcraft
4DB Blog at: 4directionsbushcraft.com/blog
4DB News letter Registration at: 4directionsbushcraft.us13.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=45c5a502686fc44211df4d689&id=431382b638
4DB Instagram at: instagram.com/4directionsbushcraft
