A must-have compendium for the axe-wielding adventurer by one of the industry’s leading tastemakers Buchanan-Smith’s Axe Handbook is a trusted resource for anyone looking to reconnect with handcraft and the outdoors. Beautifully designed and lavishly illustrated, this handbook will inspire readers to rediscover the great outdoors. Peter Buchanan-Smith founded Best Made Co. in 2009 because he loved making things with his hands and wanted to start a company that would not only celebrate the inherent beauty of timeless, utilitarian tools, but would also inspire people to get out from behind their screens and experience the natural world. From the basics and fundamentals of handling and owning an axe to the details on how to find the right axe to everything a reader must know about use and maintenance, this stylish, informative axe guide is ideal for anyone interested in the outdoors. .
From hand-forged axes of the Viking conquests to the American homesteader’s felling axe, this is a tool that has shaped human history like few others. American Axe pays tribute to this iconic instrument of settlement and industry, with rich history, stunning photography, and profiles of the most collectible vintage axes such as The Woodslasher, Keen Cutter, and True Temper Perfect. Combining his experiences as a forester, axe collector, and former competitive lumberjack, author Brett McLeod conveys the allure of this deceptively simple woodcutting implement and celebrates the resurging interest in its story and use.
Illustrated story of the revolution of the axe and its varied uses with photos from the author's collection and museums. Identifies the great variety of North American axes, dating from the Colonial period to the present. Detailed drawings and diagrams of construction and production of basic types of axes are also pictured, along with a list of all known American axe manufacturers since the 18th century, and notes on the care of axes.
Based on the Webby Award–winning Tumblr site, Things Organized Neatly is thoughtfully composed of everyday objects, all displayed beautifully for the neat freak. Things Organized Neatly takes the messiness of the everyday world and recasts it in neat and appealing designs. On one page a massive collection of cellphones from the past twenty years is laid out on the floor and photographed from above; on the next, a collection of candy is pleasingly arranged by color. Things Organized Neatly capitalizes on our current obsession with photographing and cataloguing all the objects that we interact with on a daily basis. It has many images of food laid out in visually appealing, often humorous designs, as well as images of GI Joes standing at attention and old Nintendo cartridges arranged in the colors of the rainbow. Whether you’re a design aficionado, an obsessive cleaner and straightener, a social media maven constantly documenting your day, or someone just looking to be swept away for an afternoon in a book full of beautiful images, Things Organized Neatly offers every reader a chance to revel in the beauty of everyday life.
“A surprise best-seller which, apparently, has the power to turn even the most feeble of us into axe-wielding lumberjacks.” —Independent The latest Scandinavian publishing phenomenon is not a Stieg Larsson-like thriller; it’s a book about chopping, stacking, and burning wood that has sold more than 200,000 copies in Norway and Sweden and has been a fixture on the bestseller lists there for more than a year. Norwegian Wood provides useful advice on the rustic hows and whys of taking care of your heating needs, but it’s also a thoughtful attempt to understand man’s age-old predilection for stacking wood and passion for open fires. An intriguing window into the exoticism of Scandinavian culture, the book also features enough inherently interesting facts and anecdotes and inspired prose to make it universally appealing. The U.S. edition is a fully updated version of the Norwegian original, and includes an appendix of U.S.-based resources and contacts. “A how-to guide as well as a celebration of wood—its scent, its variability, and the way it can connect modern life to simpler times . . . You don’t need to have a wood-burning stove or fireplace to be captivated by the craft and lore surrounding a Stone Age method of creating heat.” —The Boston Globe “The book has spread like wildfire.” —Daily Mail “A how-to book with poetry at its heart.” —The Times Literary Supplement
'Sound, well-seasoned advice [on] how to bring wood fires into our lives.' - BBC Countryfile Featured in the Sunday Telegraph, The Wood Fire Handbook shows you that the soothing effect of dancing flames and glowing embers is a simple pleasure to have in our lives. Understanding everything that underpins the perfect wood fire makes it even more enjoyable. Vincent Thurkettle's handbook is the essential companion and manual. Contents include... Understand which trees make the best firewood Learn how to split, season, and store wood Lay the perfect fire Make an ingenious campfire Choose wood for its scent ...and much much more!
Robert Penn cut down an ash tree to see how many things could be made from it. After all, ash is the tree we have made the greatest and most varied use of over the course of human history. Journeying from Wales across Europe and Ireland to the USA, Robert finds that the ancient skills and knowledge of the properties of ash, developed over millennia making wheels and arrows, furniture and baseball bats, are far from dead. The book chronicles how the urge to understand and appreciate trees still runs through us all like grain through wood.
Why are some countries rich and others poor? In 1500, the income differences were small, but they have grown dramatically since Columbus reached America. Since then, the interplay between geography, globalization, technological change, and economic policy has determined the wealth and poverty of nations. The industrial revolution was Britain's path breaking response to the challenge of globalization. Western Europe and North America joined Britain to form a club of rich nations by pursuing four polices-creating a national market by abolishing internal tariffs and investing in transportation, erecting an external tariff to protect their fledgling industries from British competition, banks to stabilize the currency and mobilize domestic savings for investment, and mass education to prepare people for industrial work. Together these countries pioneered new technologies that have made them ever richer. Before the Industrial Revolution, most of the world's manufacturing was done in Asia, but industries from Casablanca to Canton were destroyed by western competition in the nineteenth century, and Asia was transformed into 'underdeveloped countries' specializing in agriculture. The spread of economic development has been slow since modern technology was invented to fit the needs of rich countries and is ill adapted to the economic and geographical conditions of poor countries. A few countries - Japan, Soviet Russia, South Korea, Taiwan, and perhaps China - have, nonetheless, caught up with the West through creative responses to the technological challenge and with Big Push industrialization that has achieved rapid growth through investment coordination. Whether other countries can emulate the success of East Asia is a challenge for the future. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable.
This handbook focuses on physical paper testing in the laboratory and online. Divided into five parts, it highlights assays for paper interactions with light, moisture, electricity, and heat. Topics expanded upon include laboratory testing procedures; microscopy analysis and paper surface properties; liquid and gas penetration; electrical and thermal interactions; and methods of surface characterization.
