Lumberjack tool information

[Elmas]

Dear Friends

The picture above is of a traditional tool widely used here in Italy by local lumberjacks (and myself in my garden).
Knowing that many of you have a familiarity with woods and trees I'd like to know:

A - Is this tool used outside Italy? (I think yes).

B - In a case of a positive reply to question A, the sharpening of this tool is symmetrical, ie can be used indifferently by right and left handed, or must be sharpened differently if used with the left hand or the right hand?

This is because in an Italian forum there are different opinions about it.

Thanks!

 

[mikewint]

I would tend to call this a kind/type of sugar cane knife though most have broader flatter blades with a smaller hook.
I would tend to sharpen it like a right triangle with the bottom flat part facing the ground whichever way you swing it. If you want to swing it either way switching off then sharpen like an isosceles triangle.
I have used a similar knife and found it especially useful in Vietnam. In the US is is known as the Woodsman's Pal. You can easily see the wedge-shaped taper on the side hook

 

[fubar57]

This isn't me but this is what I used back in the 70s when I was a logger(never call a logger a lumberjack), Husqvarna 2100

 

[mikewint]

You'd be a Lumbergeorge in any case. Used that Woodsman's Pal quite a bit in Vietnam but never on plant life

 

[Elmas]

Thanks for all the expanations!
Unfortunately my English is not as good as I would like to and I'm missing some differences in the vocabulary...

 

[fubar57]

Lumberjack is used mostly in the U.S. and maybe eastern Canada

 

[Shortround6]

Lumberjack is used mostly in the U.S. and maybe eastern Canada

and in Monty Python skits................ I'll get my coat..........

 

[michaelmaltby]

... I would tend to call this a kind/type of sugar cane knife"
Brush hook .... very effective on woody shrubs better than a machete in close quarters.

 

[Graeme]

This isn't me but this is what I used back in the 70s when I was a logger(never call a logger a lumberjack), Husqvarna 2100

WOW!

 

[Bustedwing]

That looks very similar to the knives or machetes guys used to trim date palm branches when I lived in California.

 

[mikewint]

I'm missing some differences in the vocabulary...

I'm not sure what part of the vocabulary you are missing. This is a right triangle triangolo rettangolo
I would make angle A about 25 degrees and see how well the edge holds up in use. If it dulls quickly sharpen at a larger degree 28 - 30. The bottom line AC would face the ground so you would be holding the knife in your RIGHT HAND (mano destra) and would be swinging the knife to your LEFT (dondola sul lato sinistro). Reverse everything if you want to use your left hand (rovescio per la tua mano sinistra)

 

[Elmas]

Thanks Mike! I did understand the part about sharpening, but of course a drawing is much better to be sure to have understood well.
The doubts about vocabulary in effect was about my use of the term "lumberjack": this was the translation I did find in the vocabulary for the italian term "boscaiolo", but I see there's a difference between "lumberjack" and "logger" that probably escapes me...

 

[pbehn]

Thanks for all the expanations!
Unfortunately my English is not as good as I would like to and I'm missing some differences in the vocabulary...

"Jack" in the middle ages was a generic name for a man as well as actually being a name in use. Many stories and sayings have "Jack" as a character.
like "Jack and the beanstalk", "Jack and Jill", "Jack Sprat", "Little Jack Horner", "Jack of all trades, master of none" etc.

Since Lumber is another name for timber it simply means someone who works with wood.

The use of words changes with time and location, for my Grandmother "lumber" was a collective name for everything stored in a shed or storehouse.

 

[Elmas]

Yes, but the difference between "lumberjack" and logger"?

This isn't me but this is what I used back in the 70s when I was a logger(never call a logger a lumberjack), Husqvarna 2100

View attachment 487868​

 

[mikewint]

The terms are somewhat synonymous with each other in the outside world but IMHO the term LOGGER sounds more professional. You could say that he was a TREE MURDERER for example. However in the lumbering world the term Lumberjack has come to mean an entertainer in shows which feature ax-throwing, pole climbing, & etc. A man who "works in the woods" is a logger not a lumberjack.
Like every other profession it creates its own vocabulary with terms generally meaningless or having a false meaning to those not part of the group
A SCHOOLMARM has nothing whatsoever to do with School or Marms (colloquial term for Madam)
There are also specific terms for specific jobs like a FALLER probably the most dangerous job in a dangerous profession
To BUCK a log and the man who performs this task BUCKER has nothing to do with hitting it with your head
And a BULLCOOK has nothing to do with Bulls or Cooking

 

[Elmas]

Thanks!

 

[tomo pauk]

Dear Friends

The picture above is of a traditional tool widely used here in Italy by local lumberjacks (and myself in my garden).
Knowing that many of you have a familiarity with woods and trees I'd like to know:

A - Is this tool used outside Italy? (I think yes).

B - In a case of a positive reply to question A, the sharpening of this tool is symmetrical, ie can be used indifferently by right and left handed, or must be sharpened differently if used with the left hand or the right hand?

This is because in an Italian forum there are different opinions about it.

Thanks!

A - In Dalmatia (southern part of Croatia) it is used frequently, and can be bought in shops and flea markets. No wonder that we here have plenty of stuff & nomenclature similar to Italy, after all we were part of Venetian republic for several centuries, as well as being phisically close.
B - Here it is sharpened on both sides, it is used for example to trim small branches from logs, so being ambidextrous helps. Obviously one hand holds upper part of the log, other hand works with 'kosir', as it is named here.

BTW - we also have a 2-handed variety, with longer handle.

On-line selling of the tool, in my neihborhood: link