Willi ([edit]: Willy, Willi was his father*ggg*) has one. He made it himself, and it serves him well as a support.
But only but recently I came across some info on it, and BOY, is it interesting! I am speaking of the Polish, Ukranian, Carpathian Ciupaga, Fokos or "Her Grace Sokyra", the walking axe. I came across this blog:
with a load of interesting input.
For instance, "The skillful Woodsman manual", a treasury of woodcraft tradition in Carpathian culture. Not so technically, but rather culturally interesting.
And, a really great picture of the "Sokyra" or "Her grace Sokyra", which also played a central role in traditional "axe" dance.:
Visit the blog, it´s well worth it!
Coming to think about it, I still have a piece of metal for an axe head...;-)
Most interesting, however, is that in traditional German miner´s attire there is a so-called "Fahrstock" or "Steigerstock" (miner´s stick) with a stylized or even functional axehead as a handle, of about the same size as the Ciupaga / Sokyra / Fokos and with quite a similar function. The axeheads are even now seldom available in good quality and mostly made from brass or bronze. At this site I found this carving of a "Bergmann" in the attire of the Erzgebirge region:
The site is www.erzgebirgsschnitzer.de.
Well worth a visit in itself, but off topic for now. The so-called "Westfälischer Häckel" (Westfalian hatchet, after the region I come from) is another version even closer to the Sokyra. In the Ruhr region, there was a massive immigration of Polish people working in the mines and connected industries, and their culture had a very thorough impression on the culture. So I guess the Ciupaga in this manner found a place in the mining culture of this country.
The same might hold true for the regions "Erzgebirge" and the "Mansfeld" region.
Also, in Bavaria, Austria, Switzerland and Northern Italy, there is a morphological variant, the "Sapie" or "Griesbeil", a woodfloating or -catching hook, sometimes with a hammer. From what I heard, it was often also mounted to a walking stick, and has a close connection to the Kuk ice-axe from WWI which was in use also in early European alpinism. This tool had a pick and shovel blade and a spike to aid in climbing. Rural versions often had a hatchet and pick blade to go with the spike.
All in all, this is a fascinating topic and you have certainly not seen the last of it!;-)
Those are the adventures of Mr. Fimbulmyrk, in bushcraft and blacksmithing, mountainbiking and hiking, reenactment, writing, singing, dancing, stargazing and having a piece of cake and a coffee. Pray have a seat and look around you, but be warned - the forest´s twilight is ferocious at times.
Donnerstag, 14. Februar 2013
I want a Ciupaga! - Interesting Information on a traditional Eastern European tool
Labels:
Ciupaga,
Fahrstock,
Fokos,
Griesbeil,
Knifemaking Tribal Smithing Bushcraft,
Sapie,
Sokyra,
Steigerstock,
traditional woodcraft,
Valaska,
walking axe,
walking cane,
Westfälischer Häckel,
woodcraft
Beliebte Posts
-
At my recent visit to Solingen I also dropped by the Otter knives booth. Now they were very persuasive;-) and I got this beautiful tradit...
-
So I am in a really fascinating process of recreating the Trollstein knife, a knife that had been found in the glacier melt near Trollstei...
-
Made a simple sheath for the new Trollstein knife trial piece. Just quick and dirty is all, but I already found out something. These are t...
-
I like to think that I am a thinking man. I like to think that I have a reasonable amount of common sense. I have a day job like so many ...
-
They say it. They urge us and nudge us, everywhere in the Media. They talk about the "hardest winter in the history of mankind". ...
-
I must admit I am a bit proud of this... it has been some time since I last had the opportunity to actually forge more complex things, so...
-
Another bushcraft treasure trove is the humble tinder conk, also known as horse hoof fungus, fomes fomentarius. It is a large polypore grow...
-
(Photo courtesy of Secrets Of The Ice, Norway) This is an awesome story. Says I. Because it was once upon a time, in the sixth century, ...
-
I had decided to make a neck pouch from the Amadou I recently harvested, and I thought, well, why not make it a challenge and make it with...
-
Made a fast herb chopper for the most extremely bestest magical sorcery troll. File steel, selective quench and triple temper.