What’s it about?
This 1 day bushcraft axe course has been put together for anyone who wants to become competent in the use of an axe, whether that be honing existing skills or learning new ones.
The axe is one of the most important and useful tools used in bushcraft and mastering its use is going to make your life much easier.
Axes have been used for thousands of years to fell trees and shape, split and cut wood and whilst you can get by with a knife and saw, the axe really makes life easier.
It’s been argued that the axe is a more useful tool than a knife as you can do everything with an axe that you can with a knife, but not the other way around!
What will I do on this 1 day axe course?
During this 1 day axe course you will:
- Be shown axe safety and maintenance,
- Learn how to recognise different types of axes, their design features and what to use them for,
- Use your axe to make a woodland mallet,
- Learn a number of safe techniques to split wood for firewood, down to fine kindling,
- Cross cut logs,
- Carve a spatula,
- Make feather sticks with an axe,
- Sharpen your axe.
Note: We supply all tools and equipment for this axe course. We have a wide variety of axes and hatchets from different manufacturers so that you can give them a try and get an understanding of which feels most comfortable for you.
Book now
You can see our complete course schedule here.
Other information
Location: Westwell, Kent
Duration: 1 day
Start: 10am
End: 4pm
Course size: Maximum of 8
Catering: We’ll provide tea & coffee but you’ll need to bring a packed lunch
Note: There is a short walk from the meeting point to the camp. We’ll transport your bags in our 4×4.
You might also find these Frequently Asked Questions useful.
What our customers say
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June 2024
If you are in anyway thinking about using or buying an axe, I would recommend attending this course first.
The Axe workshop packs a lot into one day but is well paced. Like Simon, I was looking forwards to this course and was not disappointed. During the day I had the opportunity to handle and use over six different sizes of axe, from four major manufacturers, ranging from Hatchets up to full size axes. As I am thinking of buying an axe, this was incredibly useful, as the axe I found the best, was not the axe I was looking at buying.
The course assumes no previous experience and allows you to practice all of the major techniques which you might need in bushcraft or camping. You gain a through understanding of how the wood and the axe will behave in the real world for you. It is not always what you see in some online videos.
Gary is as always an excellent mentor and ensured we had a good understanding of the correct techniques and safety requirements before using and practicing that technique with an axe. Starting with learning to batten using an axe, up to double handed log splitting, the day also includes how to carve camp utensils and feather sticks with an axe. Axe maintenance is also covered during the day.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, I would recommend this course, which allowed me to build my confidence in choosing the right axe for the job and using it safely.
But splitting logs is very satisfying!
I attended the two day axe workshop over one of the hottest weekends of 2022. The camp has lots of shade and the activity was so absorbing that I almost forgot about the 32 degree heat.
I'd been looking forward to the course for many months and I was very happy with it. As I've found before, the main thing for me in learning something new is developing confidence with the tools, the pace of the course allowed be to build that confidence. The course follows a logical progression from splitting to carving. Felling is covered too and safety is prominently first.
The food provided was tasty and satisfying and the breakfast on Sunday morning including eggy crumpets was something to remember.
I'll be back for more (courses, eggy crumpets) soon.
A great weekend in the woods becoming more proficient in the use of an axe. Well paced so feels relaxing as well as having the chance to try out and make different things. The camp was lovely - a great escape into the woods for the weekend.
A great weekend in some beautiful woodland doing more things than I thought I could with axes. I feel considerably more competent at splitting wood in a variety of ways with a much reduced risk of digit loss or shin damage.
I now have a pretty solid understanding of what it takes to cut down a sizeable tree without getting flattened and know how to turn it into something useful afterwards.
The team clearly have a very strong respect and understanding for the environment as well as an encyclopaedic knowledge of the flora and fauna - no question went unanswered. I left feeling considerably better informed about trees, but without being overwhelmed.
Thanks Gary and team, will be back!
I thoroughly enjoyed this weekend. It was well paced, professional, and interesting; I have a new found respect for anyone who frequently uses an axe!
It was great to learn both the core skills (splitting down and processing wood) as well as more techniques that require more finesse (carving).
An all in enjoyable experience.
