Max Ax

[mugwump]

Thought I'd share. My little brother rides his dirt bike in the sticks and has started carrying this (http://www.maxax.com/) on every trip. He swears by it. I played with it a bit and it's no toy -- the attachments fit snugly into a socket and are secured by a forged hitch pin. Pretty spendy, but not bad for a Leatherman axe.

6713

The bro's a master diesel mechanic -- I'll show you his homebrew, $1500, 15KW, water-cooled diesel generator next. He claims if he has the diesel fuel, kerosene, or vegetable oil he can run it 24x7x7.5 years (with downtime for oil changes) before it needs an overhaul. :)

mugwump

[Aoresteen]

Humm, looks like a crew served weapon. :D

[Peregrino]

MW - Nice toy. It's been around forever but tends to get overlooked by the mainstream. Ranks right up there with the Hi-Lift Jack. IIRC it was originally devised as a tool for fire crews fighting forest fires. Don't know how popular it was in its original incarnation but off-road enthusiasts still appreciate it for all the obvious reasons (as the link shows). The nice thing about my F-350 - I've got room to carry the real tools and all of them together cost far less than the MaxAx. NTM - with five different tools I can put lots of hands to work. Depending on what I'm doing in the woods, the truck bed has the equivalent of the old Pioneer Tool Set on steroids. It'll be even better as soon as I get my ***** chainsaw into and back out of the shop. Peregrino

[Sgt_Metz]

In my unit our signal vans all carry a very similar version of that tool. All OD green of course. The ax handle was solid plastic. I never really cared for the plastic ax.

[Bill Harsey]

In my unit our signal vans all carry a very similar version of that tool. All OD green of course. The ax handle was solid plastic. I never really cared for the plastic ax.
I agree but if the handle is made from the right plastic, it will far outlast wood in tough use.

[Air.177]

....IIRC it was originally devised as a tool for fire crews fighting forest fires.... Peregrino

I have not seen one of these in use, doesn't mean they aren't there. Several of the tool heads look much like common wildland fire hand tools. The "mattock" is identical to whatis referred to as a "Pulaski" and the "Hoe" and "Rake" are opposite sides of the same tool called a "Mcleod" Looks like a mildly interesting piece of kit, but I'm not turning in my Pulaski for one.

I tend to agree on the plastic handled tools, but on the other hand, a Nupla handled sledgehammer is a thing of beauty if you have to use it for very long.

Good times,
Blake

[TF Kilo]

My meager time in the fire service has made me a believer in the "plastic" handles on hand tools over the wooden handles.

[Golf1echo]

I agree but if the handle is made from the right plastic, it will far outlast wood in tough use.
Something tells me you know a thing or two about using tools. I have been curious about this for a while. Being no stranger to using and even wearing out pioneer tools, I prefer a quality wood handle ( Ashe or Hickory) but it seems the minute someone else (employees) pick one up there goes the wood handle ( mostly from prying), strange because I have worn out many shovels down at the metal of the edge?

Which would be best for team kits, wood, fiberglass or plastic?