The guy who reinvented (and improved) the axe after a million years

In a society that evolves by leaps and bounds with things that only 100 years ago were unimaginable, it is extremely curious that one of the first inventions created by man could have been improved, without anyone at all time having occurred to him first.

Finn Heikki Kärnä spent many years trying to create a stronger ax than the conventional one and to generate a lot of wood in a matter of minutes. This is his story:

The ax is one of the oldest tools created by man and the least modifications have suffered, so we could say that we are facing a revolutionary progress

The origin of the ax goes back to the Lower Paleolithic, early stage of the Stone Age. The silica stones were carved amygdaloid, while those of diorite or basalt were polished at one or two ends, and sometimes with a notch in the middle. These were fastened to a stick by strong ligatures, forming a right angle. The first axes were used as an offensive weapon to hunt or defend against wild animals.

Here you have a normal ax. In the hundreds of thousands of years that have passed since the Stone Age, the design of the ax has not changed practicing anything. Until now…

After fifteen years of hard work in which he came up with numerous prototypes, Heikki Kärnä, a 74-year-old Finn, came up with the perfect solution to alleviate the grueling task of cutting wood, creating a new version of the ax. Renamed as Vipukirves.

The reason for his obsession to improve this tool arose 20 years ago in the forest of Sipoo, when he began to clear a field of trees and stones to build a house

The task was so exhausting, she could only think how to make it easier. After much persistence, finally came up with the solution: integrate the mechanics of lever. In addition, the metal is attached to the handle by one side, not by the center, changing the center of gravity and the line of attack of the ax.

The Vipukirves uses the action of the lever to easily separate a trunk into sections, without it being embedded in the trunk

It is used practically the same as the conventional ax, except that you have to relax the control of the handle when the tool hits the trunk. In this way, the ax will automatically tilt to the right, separating the sectioned portion with the same force of the blow.

If you want to know more about this renewed tool, visit the website, where you can also purchase the product. Next, we leave a graphical demonstration, so that you see in action to the Vipukirves.

Fuente: http://www.politicaysociedad.net/el-finlandes-que-rediseno-el-hacha-un-millon-anos/