I scored!!

[Canotrouge]

I scored a pair of used(one new and one in mint condition) Gränfors Bruk axe. One brand new splitting maul for $145. And the other one lightly use Scandi forest axe!!

I love axes, and I have a large splitting axe and a Swedish carving axe from them already and love there axes, especially wen I can buy them used!!

 

[BWCA66]

Congrats, great score. I have their small forest axe and take it tripping all the time.

 

[sweeper]

Discounted used is always great. Yes that is a score.

 

[Odyssey]

Sorry Canot, but I don't believe you...not without a photo. Hint hint.
Congrats on the score.

 

[Canotrouge]

Ok ok, I will come up with some picture in a day or two!!

 

[Canotrouge]

No Title

So here they are!!

 

[sweeper]

Sweet, but I think I lost a couple days of sleep.

 

[Odyssey]

Thanks Canotrouge. That's gotta be the nicest non-collection I've seen. Judging by the woodpile I can see why you bought the maul.

 

[Canotrouge]

The wood pile is not quite enough yet, we need an other load(200cf- 1.5ish cord) for the winter!!

 

[Alan Gage]

What species do you burn up there? Is it your main heat source or a supplement? How many cords/year?

Alan

 

[Canotrouge]

Heye Alan, the main wood is white spruce, and some lodge pole pine. Wood is our main source of heat( we have an oil monitor as a back up) we burn about 6 cords(4'x4'x8', 128 cubic feet) a year. Our house is hold and drafty, but even a good house would burn about 4ish cords a year. One thing to keep in mind, is that our spruce up here is way more dense than what we find down south.

 

[Alan Gage]

That's pretty good, less wood usage than I would have expected for the climate. Looking at the charts Lodgepole and White Spruce have more BTU's than I thought they would.

I'm pretty spoiled here. Fall is wood processing time for me and this year I went slumming when I cut up a big, beautiful, straight White Ash that blew down last summer. Nearly an entire winter's worth of wood just from that tree. Normally I only burn White Oak (Burr) but I get it from a friend's cattle pasture and all the dead fallen stuff has been cleaned out. Waiting on a couple big old dead ones to topple. Nicest thing about White Oak is even if they've been on the ground for 10 years the wood is still solid.

I used to burn 3 cords/year when I first bought my land that had an old double wide trailer on it and still froze to death in the winter. I tore it down and built a 1000 sq ft. super-insulated house a few years ago and now go through 1.5-1.75 cords per year. That makes wood processing season much more relaxed and right now I'm splitting wood to burn the winter of 2017/2018. Thought about taking the fall off until I found that Ash. We have the same climate as Minneapolis.

I split mine with a Gransfors small splitting axe. I have their large splitting axe as well but only break it out for the occasional tough round the little one can't handle. I get pretty picky about what I take for wood anymore so the twisted and knotty stuff usually gets left in the field.

Alan

 

[Canotrouge]

Up here, you can't be that picky, people pay 250 a cord in average for bucked to stove length. I cut my own, do 4 trips. I usually put about 200cf in my truck, so it is four days of work that I enjoy!!

I would sure use that ash for some thing else than fire wood, lol!!

Cheers

 

[Alan Gage]

I would sure use that ash for some thing else than fire wood, lol!!

I thought the same but the only way it was coming out of that river bottom land at the bottom of a steep hill was 3-5 rounds at a time in the tractor bucket. And even that got pretty tense a couple times.

Is it difficult to find good trees to cut down for firewood? How much land is public vs. private? Are you limited as to where you are and are not allowed to cut? Is everyone battling for the same trees or is there plenty for the taking?

Sorry for all the questions. It's interesting to know how things work in different parts of the world.

Alan

 

[Canotrouge]

Don't be sorry Alan lol it is all good!!

We are allowed cut on crown land, we need a permit for fuel wood harvesting, but it is free, you are allowed about 5 cords, but never had any problem asking for a bit more.

The good lots are about an hour+ from our place(Whitehorse) Only dead trees, no green allowed, most of it is beetle killed, some of it is fire killed.

So when you get in the bush, some time you are lucky and there is no body around and the trees are plenty full, but some time, on the weekends, there is a lot of people and the trees are sparse. I've been lucky in the 18 years I have been up here, I usually park the truck fell limb and buck right beside the truck and don't have to move. Some time you have to do a bit more looking around to find good wood!

The wood up here is really knotty, and twisted. So as long as it's not puncky, you cut it and load it. you have to take down to 4 inch in size, the rest can stay in the bush.

 

[tump_lion]

flew into whitehorse the night of chirstmas day a few winters ago -- they cracked the airplane door and the crisp -25 air laden with the smell of a whole town fueled by spruce-firewood filled my nose -- has to be one of the best scent memories in my collection...

 

[Canotrouge]

lol, Some time it is a lot of wood smoke!!