Axe Sharpening Business
"No productivity app will gain me back the time spent researching them"
(Paraphrasing because I cannot find the original quote or its author.)
Once upon a time, a very strong woodcutter asked for a job in a timber merchant. The pay was really good and so were the working conditions. For those reasons, the woodcutter was determined to do his best. His boss gave him an axe and showed him the area where he would work. On the first day, the woodcutter felled 18 trees.
“Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!” Motivated by the boss's words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring down 15 trees. On the third day, he tried even harder, but he could only manage 10 trees. Day after day, he finished with fewer trees.
“I must be losing my strength,” the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on. “When was the last time you sharpened your axe?” the boss asked. “Sharpen? I’ve had no time to sharpen my axe. I have been so busy trying to cut trees...
After understanding the importance of regularly sharpening his axe, the woodcutter was frustrated he spent his time and energy less than optimally, but he was also happy he now knew why. As instructed by his boss, the woodcutter used the sharpening stone at theworkshop and worked on his axe until it was razor-sharp. The next day he came to work, he chopped 20 trees! A new record! His boss congratulated him yet again, and he felt relieved
the problem was not him. The next day, however, he managed to chop only 19 trees. That’s not too bad at all, but he wasn’t content. Must be the axe, he thought. It needs sharpening again. Even though his boss assured him there was no need to sharpen it every single day, especially for so long, the woodcutter did so anyway. He would not spend an ounce of unnecessary effort due to an unsharpened axe ever again. That day he only felled 8 trees.
Not because the axe wouldn’t cut through, on the contrary. It cut through like butter, and he cut all 8 trees in just a few hours. The problem is he spent all morning sharpening his axe, and by the time he started chopping, it was already late afternoon. He decided he would only sharpen his axe every Monday morning, and for a few weeks, this worked just fine, averaging on 18–20 trees a day. All was going well.
One day, he overheard his coworkers talking about their new special woodcutting gloves. This helped them grip the axe better even with sweaty hands, and it helped avoid calluses. The strong woodcutter went on with his day as normal, but he started to notice that indeed his sweaty hand made it hard to grip the axe properly, and by the end of the day they began hurting. So he went down to the store and got himself a pair of high-tech gloves. He could barely afford it, but they would surely get him a return on investment, he thought. Sure enough, they were comfortable and he started to lean a bit on the upper range of his daily average more often.
But after just a few days, the exciting, tingly sensation of heading off to work with his new high-tech gloves faded away. It was back to the same ol’ chop and drop of everyday life. He noticed sometimes his handle still slipped from his hands, and thought maybe he would need even better gloves or some other brand that fitted him better. And then he had an idea.
Maybe the problem is the handle, so he dropped by the store once again. Lengths, grips, materials, woodwork, shapes. The range of different handles was all so overwhelming to him. The store clerk was friends with the strong woodchopper so he allowed him to try a different handle each week and by the end of the month, he could pay for whichever he liked
the most. This proved to be a difficult choice. One was too short, the other too long. One didn’t quite fit the axe’s head unless he also replaced that. But if he did replace his axe’s head then he wouldn’t be able to use his new favorite handle that has a nice belly to it.
He did find a combination that worked but honestly, it was too ugly. Such an ugly-looking axe wouldn’t help with the fact his motivation to do the work was decreasing every day. Weeks went by and the woodcutter would’ve been lucky if he could rush cutting 14 trees by the end of the workday. He wasn’t forgetting to sharpen his axe. In fact, he started doing so thrice per week now. The problem is he spent every morning and overextended every break setting up new axe parts and looking at different axes and their pros and cons. Handles, heads, knobs, screws. He read a book on why chopping top to bottom was superior. He then read an article refuting the book, explaining why bottom-up was optimal due to the tree’s rings growing at a 34.56° angle during spring. Then he decided to invest in an expensive cutting wheel so he could sharpen his axe every single day without too much time or effort.
But which one should he buy? He watched five different Keep Sharpening videos on WoodTube and he still couldn’t decide. Then he read a post on Axxit explaining why sharpening your axe every day actually damages the toe and heel over time. Some of the comments recommended a special technique designed to help minimize the adverse effects. This is my workflow, this is my tools, oh I use this, I use that, oh I switched to this axe because this one was too unstable, what should I try, what do you recommend, why don’t
you try this? They wouldn’t shut up. He was overwhelmed.
A new trending video on WoodTube: this new amazing, all-purpose electric saw called a “Power Saw.” It looked like it was highly complicated, but the way August Axely handled it, he was determined to learn the ins and outs of it. He spent countless hours reading about it. His good store clerk friend allowed him to try the new model that just came in. He did so
without hesitation because even though he had lent the strong woodchopper practically everything in his store, it came back mostly untouched, and over time he became his most valuable customer, buying what he thought would be his final purchase only to come back the next day. The moment he had the power saw in his hands, the exciting, tingly sensation was back. He couldn’t wait to set it up the next day at work.
The next day, the woodchopper felled zero trees. In fact, the past month he barely got ten a day. Now, he got absolutely nothing done. Well, in terms of woodchopping, because he did spend the entire day setting up his power saw. He only cut down 4 trees the following day to test his new tool, or toy, out. Mostly, he spent his time reading about how to optimize his axe to saw ratio depending on the tree’s thickness. However, what he soon realized is that the power saw is best used in a very dense forest with very big trees. The relatively thin trees of the not-so-strong-anymore woodchopper make it rather useless and ineffective when taking into consideration he is paying for the fuel with money out of his own pockets and the time it takes to set it up. Maybe he needs to return his saw and refocus his efforts on his axe and technique. Read about it and watch videos, that is. There’s a group of people on Axxeit that
swear by using a battle axe!
“That’s ridiculous,” he thought. Before he left work, his boss called him to his office. He was upset that his performance was going downhill; the worst out of all his employees. If this continued, he would have to let him go. The woodcutter apologized, saying that he could not understand what was going on.
“When was the last time you cut down trees for an hour
straight?” the boss asked.
“Cut trees? I’ve had no time to cut trees. I have been so busy trying to sharpen my axe….”
The boss sighed. “Abe Lincon once said: ‘Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.’” his boss replied. “However, if Honest Abe decided to drop out of the presidential race and become a lumberjack chopping trees six hours a day every day, do you think he would spend two-thirds of his workday sharpening his axe, daily? Or would a couple of hours a week suffice if done consistently and regularly? I advised you to sharpen your axe, not get into the ‘axe sharpening business!’”
The woodcutter realized what had been going on. It wasn’t that he wanted the optimal tool to cut down trees. He was simply avoiding cutting trees. It was hard work. “Do you actually enjoy all these trips to the hardware store, all these hours reading on axes?” asked his boss. No, he didn’t. He would much rather do something else after work. “Before I was a merchant, I was a lumberjack like you, back in my youth. I know it’s hard work. I know sharpening your axe is more fun in comparison, and that it feels like progress. But what is exponentially more fun and enjoyable is finishing your work on time to get home to your family and doing what you love. That might very well be sharpening axes. Yet, I doubt that is the case, son.”
The woodcutter understood. Monday morning, he spent the first few minutes sharpening his old, rustic yet trusty axe he was first given when he started his job until it was reasonably sharp, and he headed down the woods to chop trees. As hard and monotonous as it may be, it was time to work. And as soon as he accepted this fact, peacefulness came over him.
The End.
You just destroyed my entire worldview for the past 2 years. ill still be bookmarking everything though lol