Uncle Rays New Signature Axe
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Just to keep things in perspective on hand forging.
If you take a steel billet and only use hand tools,ie. a hammer and anvil,by the time you finish one head you'll be very tired and have arms like legs.
I would still consider using a machine to do the hammering whilst the craftsman positions and turns the billet to be handmade.
I notice a few people have ordered the cold steel tomahawk but no-one has said how they compare to other axes.Has anyone got any comments on this axe regards use as compared to the SFA?I have used the SFA and couldn't get on with it.I fancy the cold steel one though, but if it's similar in heft and feel to the SFA I'll think twice.
If you take a steel billet and only use hand tools,ie. a hammer and anvil,by the time you finish one head you'll be very tired and have arms like legs.
I would still consider using a machine to do the hammering whilst the craftsman positions and turns the billet to be handmade.
I notice a few people have ordered the cold steel tomahawk but no-one has said how they compare to other axes.Has anyone got any comments on this axe regards use as compared to the SFA?I have used the SFA and couldn't get on with it.I fancy the cold steel one though, but if it's similar in heft and feel to the SFA I'll think twice.
I agree that an item can be reasonably called 'hand forged' even if some of the grunt work has been done with a power hammer. It still takes years of practice to get it right, know the temperature ranges to work in etc... this is miles different from a blob of hot metal falling out of one machine into a die in another machine.
I did seriuosly think about getting a cold steel Tomahawk but have decided not to for now, as I am rather fond of my wildlife hatchet that goes out with me on nearly every trip & is small enough to disappear into the side pocket of my pack. Nice bit of kit for the money though & I love the idea of it being able to dismantle it for storage, like I can do with my froe.
I want to hear what that new axe is like to use though, as it does sound interesting.
I did seriuosly think about getting a cold steel Tomahawk but have decided not to for now, as I am rather fond of my wildlife hatchet that goes out with me on nearly every trip & is small enough to disappear into the side pocket of my pack. Nice bit of kit for the money though & I love the idea of it being able to dismantle it for storage, like I can do with my froe.
I want to hear what that new axe is like to use though, as it does sound interesting.
I had a cold steel tomahawk and swapped it for a SFA.
The hawk was fun, but lacked power as the head was very small and light (compared to the SFA). It looked a little mass produced, which suits some folks fine but not others. I found the curve of the cutting edge a little too pronounced, and so flattened it, which helped a little, but the cutting ability is very small when compared side by side to the SFA.
I liked the hammer poll on the hawk, but in reality never used it, and could have done the same hammer tasks with the poll of a conventional axe.
Just my opinion...
Dom.
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I think to be fair to the axe, you have to view them in weight class. You wouldn't expect a featherweight to outpunch a middleweight. The trail hawk is lighter than the wildlife hatchet, so that's the axe to compare it to. It'll never out-chop a SFA, but there are two big reasons why it doesnt have to.
One, for cutting stuff in half, use a saw.
Two, the SFA is too heavy to backpack with IMO. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of ther SFA, it's too small to be a really good axe in it's own right and too heavy to be a backpack axe.
Havent we covered this already?
One, for cutting stuff in half, use a saw.
Two, the SFA is too heavy to backpack with IMO. To be honest, I'm not a big fan of ther SFA, it's too small to be a really good axe in it's own right and too heavy to be a backpack axe.
Havent we covered this already?
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I couldn't see where it had been covered,but it seems a comparison between the two would be unfair .As you say ,they're in different classes.
AH WELL! something else for me not to buy ,due to my inability to use an axe.
AH WELL! something else for me not to buy ,due to my inability to use an axe.
Well it was only a matter of time .....
Just used for an hour in the garden yesterday splitting down some firewood. I think the mask has only been on and off about twenty times, mostly when I was drooling over it when it came and then probably half a dozen times yesterday. I was hoping to at least get it out for a trip.
Sent the pics to Woodlore this afternoon too, who had contacted me today with an update earlier. Apparently the batch have been checked and some are tight but will slacken with use, I nicked my index finger when the toe popped through but it could be a lot worse for somebody else.
Just used for an hour in the garden yesterday splitting down some firewood. I think the mask has only been on and off about twenty times, mostly when I was drooling over it when it came and then probably half a dozen times yesterday. I was hoping to at least get it out for a trip.
Sent the pics to Woodlore this afternoon too, who had contacted me today with an update earlier. Apparently the batch have been checked and some are tight but will slacken with use, I nicked my index finger when the toe popped through but it could be a lot worse for somebody else.
Poor.
If you don't get any joy with woodlore, I'll make you a new mask gratis.
I'll need something to measure off (the old mask will do)
If you don't get any joy with woodlore, I'll make you a new mask gratis.
I'll need something to measure off (the old mask will do)
Poor.
If you don't get any joy with woodlore, I'll make you a new mask gratis.
Derrrr! Ask for the axe man, the axe!
Poor.
If you don't get any joy with woodlore, I'll make you a new mask gratis.
Thanks for the offer Stew, really appreciate it. I will pay for it though mate.
I'll see what the replacement is like and maybe give you a shout.
Well the new axe mask turned up today which is good.
On opening it it looks like they've sent me one of their GB Outdoor axe sheaths which they sell on the website. Pretty stupid really considering the whole point of me getting a replacement was because the one I got with my Wilderness was too tight, how could a mask for a smaller axe have any chance of fitting
Replacement on top of the old one...
V. poor Woodlore it has to be said
Anyway they're going to get both barrels from me in an email soon, not a happy chappy today as I've got loads of parcels which haven't turned up and the ones that have aren't right anyway.
On opening it it looks like they've sent me one of their GB Outdoor axe sheaths which they sell on the website. Pretty stupid really considering the whole point of me getting a replacement was because the one I got with my Wilderness was too tight, how could a mask for a smaller axe have any chance of fitting
Replacement on top of the old one...
V. poor Woodlore it has to be said
Anyway they're going to get both barrels from me in an email soon, not a happy chappy today as I've got loads of parcels which haven't turned up and the ones that have aren't right anyway.
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That's a real shame.
I always feel that how a fault is dealt with is far more important than the fact that you experienced said fault to begin with.
Anything can go wrong (although as consumers we always hope that it doesn't) and when it does, there is an opportunity for the manufacturer/vendor to really make a statement and reassure the customer. It's a double whammy of the worst kind when you experience a fault AND the attempt to rectify it falls below expectations.
Fingers crossed for an acceptable resolution for you.
I always feel that how a fault is dealt with is far more important than the fact that you experienced said fault to begin with.
Anything can go wrong (although as consumers we always hope that it doesn't) and when it does, there is an opportunity for the manufacturer/vendor to really make a statement and reassure the customer. It's a double whammy of the worst kind when you experience a fault AND the attempt to rectify it falls below expectations.
Fingers crossed for an acceptable resolution for you.
A version of what?
A version of this particular, only-one-in-the-world-like-it, Ray-Mears-designed, must-have, makes-you-better-at-chopping-wood, bushcraft axe?
I think what he's trying to say is, it's just an axe! Dropping a ton on it because RM says it's great, doesnt make you better at chopping wood. I mean, honestly we get so caught up in the minutae I think it's easy to loose perspective. Is this axe really so much different/better than the Scandinavian Forrest Axe? What do you actually get for your hundred quid that you dont get from the ScFA you already own? Aside from product endorsement that is?
Lets face it, it's just marketing. It's no different from Sindy dolls, ninja turtles, pokemon, Jamie Oliver cooking pots or anything else. If Gransfors had released this axe without the RM celebrity product endorsement, it wouldn't have caused more than a ripple of interest. It's not going to make you a better woodsman any more than a Jamie Oliver cooking pot is going to make you a better cook.
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Showing your age there...
Action Man before the Eagle Eyes version was better IMHO.
And before JD says anything, I read the Victor and Warlord not the Bunty...
Showing your age there...
Action Man before the Eagle Eyes version was better IMHO.
And before JD says anything, I read the Victor and Warlord not the Bunty...
Hmmm, I agree, Eagle Eyes was annoying if you put a scuba outfit on him, his head would fill full of water. Never had a Sindy doll, so the advertising was wasted on me, as is the axe hype, or anti-hype for that matter.
rancid badger
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
You're absolutely right there; how a fault/complaint is dealt with, is often far more important than the fault itself.
That said mind; the masks supplied with any of the GB axes are poor anyway, best replaced with something that will last and do the job properly.
They are far too thin and soft and the rivets are not up to the job either.
I've twice seen the blade of a GB axe come through the rivets, once when the axe was dropped onto a pine needle forest floor but hit a tree root.
And the other time; when a rucksack fell from a Land Rover tailgate. The damaged sheath was not discovered till the axe was removed from the rucksack for use.
I'd suggest making/having made, a replacement, with solid copper saddlers rivets, replacing the cheap ones used by GB or their suppliers.
just my thoughts on masks
atb
Steve
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