The axe
I used to love to cut wood. Splitting, sawing, the bite of the axe and the curl of the saw and the smell of the wood was a joy to me. I don’t have the wind to do much of it anymore, but I still enjoy it.
Part of the reason I enjoyed it so much then, was I had run across a real master. This guy could do things wiht an axe that amazed me. He was in his 80’s then, and his skin had that papyrus texture that old people get- but the muscles in his arms were like whipcords, and his chest was like a brahman bull.
What always amazed me about him were his tools. He had some incredible chisels, each of which was shaving sharp. he had a two man crosscut saw that was… well, it was incredible. it was the most incredible saw I ever used. When he died, I bought it from his estate, and it hangs in my garage still.
The most remarkable tool, however, was the hewing axe.
When I first saw this, I thought it was some wierd broken shit. The head seemed to be attached to the handle at an impossible angle, and the head of the axe was completely flat on one side- the sharpening bevel was all on the opposite side. In addition to this, the handle was bent way off to the left. If you placed head of the axe flat on the floor, the handle came away from the floor at about a 30 degree angle.
I really did think the handle had just sat somewhere and warped for a hundred years, but my friend disavowed me of the notion quickly.
“it’s a squaring axe” he said, and proceeded to demonstrate.
He took about a ten foot piece of oak, about 12″ around, and started hacking away at one side. The axe peeled away bark and wood and in a few minutes he had a flat surface. He then chalked a line, and standing on the top of the log, cut to the line with a single bitted axe. he took the squaring axe and flattened that side, and continued until he had a more-or less square beam.
This took about twenty minutes, total.
He’d built barns in his youth, hewing and squaring beams, he’d split and hewed railroad ties. he was an artist with an axe, and he did things with that offset blade I would have thought impossible. here’s a description of the job, showing a guy using a squaring axe.
I told you that story to tell you this one.
Pascal talks about Wretchard talking about the Fasces.
The fasces- the single ax, whose flank is surrounded by straight, true rods, bound by the common interest, was the symbol of our young Republic. Ben Franklin wisely chose it, and it is part and parcel of our national symbolism.
The Fasces has also been used as the symbol for Fascism, first by the italians, and this is where the symbolism starts to fit.
The axe of the Fascists is a bent and twisted one, suited only to the purpose of hewing left, ever more left. As the Fasces of the USA has become more and more left leaning, the original straight rods that protected the axe’s handle, either bent to follow the ever more left leaning axe, or broke, and were discareded from the bundle, replaced with more leftists.
When I think of the Republic today, it is not represented by the arrow straight axe of the Republic, surrounded by jack-straight rods of birch, but the indiscriminate left leaning broad hewing axe, surrounded by limp willows or ever more left leaning boughs, tied toghether- as one of the original commentors stated, with cords of hate. hatred for the true and the straight, for they themselves cannot be, having tied themselves to the twisteed axe of fascism.
I shouldn’t drink and post, really.
More: Pascal suggests- and very correctly so- that the metaphor casts unwarranted aspersions on the hewing axe, an intrinsically useful item. Yes, it does- to use it as a metaphor for this is to slander an honest tool. My apologies to the hewing axe- and a sincere thank you for the loan of your off center head and bent handle for the metaphor.
13 comments Og | Uncategorized
Common interests supports a true republic. What our Declaration meant by leaders who rule with the consent of the governed.
As you point out, over time, however, the rods that protect the axe’s flank are replaced by rods that are favored by the leaders. And in turn, the interest groups gains are reflected in their support of the leaders. When they rob Peter to pay Paul they buy the loyalty of Paul.
So Wretchard and Carry_okie were both correct about the altered bindings.
What bound the states together was the need to provide for a common defense. Those who sought to be rulers rather than servants needed many more goals than that. So defending justice has been gradually replaced by those who demand “social justice.” And that is the insatiable demand for what other seem to have: happiness. As Ed Bonderenka put it: “yeah, we want MORE.” The covetousness that Carry_okie rightly pointed out is what has bound the Left together.
And Wretchard was also correct: What is shattering the Left alliance is that the Left’s binding agent has turned to hate as the Feminist interest group and their allies turns against the Black interest group and their allies.
As that alliance has faltered, there is a chance for the rest of us to realign to take back our positions in support of the axe. But we must love each other as much as we love ourselves.
I realize now that I would also rather alter those two interests group designations to Left-feminist and Left-black. That is because the leaders of the groups don’t give a damn about the individuals in their group any more than they do for individuals of any group or none.
I agree with Pascal, although on a less intellectual, and more visceral level:
It’s just all kinds of fun watching the Democongs coming apart like a cracked flywheel revved to 6800 rpm.
What I want to know is how did the early pioneers dig and secure a working well with only hand tools?
Nice metaphor.
Cool axe.
Redbone, you never dug a well? it sucks, but you only need a bucket, a rope, a short handled pick and shovel.
Or maybe you should do it more. If your liver can stand up to it, that is.
M
Mark, you ain’t saying you BOUGHT any of this drivel, surely.
Tip fer ya, bro. Never apologize to the audience. It’s a sign of weakness and they’ll turn on you in a hearbeat.
Dunno if I bought it, but the enthusiasm of your presentation is… interesting.
M
LOL! maybe where liberals are concerned. Decent folk apologise to the audience all the time.
I’d be interested in what you mean by the enthusiasm of the post. Email me, if you like.
I sincerely doubt that the hewing ax cares, but I knew your love of tools. You’ll feel better about this post now. :)
You’re right, I do.
Ok, call me stupid (waits for the obvious snickers, titers, and snorts to die down), but your post and it’s “corrupting tools” metaphor was understood and applauded over here in the hinterlands.
Who could axe for more then that. (Had to do it … the doc says there is no know cure.)
I always heard it called a broadaxe, and I’ve seen some hatchet-size ones for smaller work.