If someone told you that you would be dropped from a plane in the heart of the Canadian wilderness and could pick one tool, implement or instrument to take with you, what would you choose? Would it be a rifle, pistol or similar weapon? How about a tent or sleeping bag? Or would a box of matches be more useful?

An experienced woodsman was asked this question and without hesitation he said, "My Ax. " He said that with his ax he could defend himself, build shelter, cut materials to make snares and fishing equipment to make food. The steel in his ax would strike a spark from the rocks in the area and provide him with fire. He said that in this day of marvelous inventions, only the simple ax could do all these things and guarantee his survival.

If the ax is so important to the experienced woodsman, shouldn't we be a little more respectful of it? Shouldn't we learn how to use it correctly, to care for it, and always to keep it sharp and ready for emergency use?

The woodsman, when he said, “My ax," really meant, "My sharp ax, unrusted, with a tight head, ready for hard use. " An ax that doesn't meet these standards is pretty useless. Let's be sure our axes are always ready for use.