Scouting's ethics and practise axe handling skills only on dead or downed trees. Let's look at some points to remember when teaching Scouts the proper way to handle an axe.
Experienced campers favour a small pack axe for cutting firewood and light chopping.
For chopping logs and limbing trees, they choose the larger pole or three-quarter axe, which takes both hands to use safely. The still larger logger's double-bitted axe is overkill for most Scouting situations. When choosing a pole axe, select a handle about as long as your arm from armpit to finger tips. The quality of steel used for the head affects the ability of the bit to hold an edge. Buy quality steel heads.