Leather Crafting and Fire Smoke

Place: Almunge, Uppsala, Sweden
Time: 1 day in February

Friends, coffee, freshly baked bread, cozy fire, leather... Words describing this beautiful and snowy February day. I'm in Almunge at my dear friend and saddler Per Gustavsson's place. Besides good food and laughter I got loads of inspiring tips on how I could go about making a leather sheath for my newly restored Säter Axe. This will be a blast. Stay tuned for the result.

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Silky Folding Saw Super Accel 21

Japanese Silky has delivered saws since 1919 and 1991 Grönyte-Konsult AB brought the saws to Scandinavia. Super Accel 21 is one of Silky's mid-size folding saws and one of the test objects in my latest field test on saws. The Super Accel ended up among top three when it comes to cutting performance. Only Super Accel's bigger sibling; Ultra Accel 240 Curve got better results when it came to cutting. If you want to read more about the saw test covering 12 test objects; please click HERE.

Silky Super Accel's handle consist of a aluminum frame covered in rubber featuring a nice and slim shape and a lanyard hole. A robust leaver locks the blade in two different positions unfolded. Folded the blade is not locked by the locking mechanism, however the friction is keeping the blade tucked in securely during transport. Unfolded the blade has a slight play vertically, this is nothing bothering me though.

I've now been using this saw since 2011 and I'm still very pleased with it. The saw delivers serious cutting although it's light and slim design. Take a look also on my reviews on the Silky Pocket Boy 130 and the Silky Ultra Accel 240 Curve.

Specs
Manufacturer: Silky, Japan
Model: Super Accel 21
Blade material: Stainless steel
Blade length: 207 mm
Blade thickness: 1,38 mm
Blade width: 36,25 mm
Unfolded length: 436 mm
Folded length: 239 mm
Handle material: Aluminium och gummi
Handle thickness: 21,2 mm
Weigh: 200 g
Price: 405 SEK (Sweden 2015)
Dealer: Grönyte-Konsult

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The Restoration of an Old Säter Axe

I found an old rugged axe out by the cabin. After brushing of some dust and spiders web I can see it's an old classic; it's a "Säteryxa" (Säter Axe). This charming tool makes me wanna dig deeper into it's history. Helpful people at the municipality, hembyggdsförening and last but not least The Technical Museum enlighten me about the Säters Axe Factory that was built in the year of 1894. They manufactured the appreciated Säter Axe up until 1966 when the factory closed down. By then the Swedish Säter Axes had been exported all over the world. My old and rusty find bears the name "SÄTER BANCO" on the left hand side of the axe's head. This marking was put to use in 1920. Judging from the material I've been provided I'd say that this particular axe might have been made during the 1920's. In an old catalog from 1935; Aktiebolaget Säters Yxfabrik, 1935 Års Katalog I can find a younger sibling named N:r 12 Huggyxa, Turpentinemodell.

Inspired by the winds of history it's now time to clean this axe up. The handle is broken and the head is in bad shape. This axe has lived a rough life, but it will absolutely be chopping away out in the forest again soon. Conveniently I also find a new handle in the barn. I remove the broken handle, do some filing to the head and put the new handle in place. This gives a fine size axe that reminds me of an American Felling Axe. The total weight of the axe is now 1,9 kg, and the length 69 cm. After some oiling and sharpening this axe is ready for some test chopping. An scots pine get to feel this old Swedish steel and contribute to this evenings fire. The reborn Säter Axe feels really good and will probably from now on be my reliable friend in the woods. But first I need to work some more on the sharpening and also make an protective leather sheath.

To see more about the Säter Axe; click HERE.






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