'Just get a Gransfors..' Axes, axes, axes!
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Ooh drama.
As I said in my earlier post - ultimately you get what you pay for. Hultafors are a cheaper alternative to GB. Their quality is perfectly adequate and on the whole they are rather nice; yet GB is a step up from there.
My Hultafors wasn't one of the forged ones and it despite arriving shaving sharp - it lacked a leather sheath.
Andy
I keep one of the GB "hand axes" in my van for the times I may just need a small axe...at work the other day I needed a hatchet to split a barrow load of kindling ... the farms axes and bill hooks seem to have been chopping concrete since I last fettled them and so I fetched out my van axe. A tad of surface rust on the poll but the edge was shaving sharp and the kindling was soon cut 
Today I hope to get time to fettle the farms "Sharps" again....
Today I hope to get time to fettle the farms "Sharps" again....
There are several ranges of Hultafors, from utility to hand forged. The top ranges are, IMO, as good, if not better than, GB. The budget ranges clearly have to be made to a price.
Well yes, but I should hope most people would realise that going in to it.
My hulty was £25 plus post. It doesn't have a forged finish but the overall fit and finish was rather good. Perhaps not quite at the same level as GB in terms of looks but as a usable tool it is absolutely excellent. Better than the GB equivalent I'd say. That said I knew going into it that I may have had to tidy the edge up and perhaps sharpen it myself. Something I was prepared to do given the price compared to the GB.
I guess ultimately we could go round and round with this but the truth is that a few years ago Gransfors were the dogs danglies of axes - Not only endorsed by Uncle Ray but they were at the higher end of what you could buy - Many went for Wetterlings with no complaints though they seem to be less talked about even today despite by all accounts making a very fine axe. Sadly I've never had the pleasure of trying a Wetterlings axe so again I can't comment.
These days there are a couple of alternatives that present a very affordable and yet very acceptable axe for the common man - Hultafors and Husqvarna come to mind.
If we could afford to kit ourselves out with a full range of GB or Wetterlings axes I suspect most would. - I certainly wouldn't say no if I was offered one of their double bits or even a broad axe (My personal favourite to use)
But if I can pay half the price for a tool that does the same job just as well if not better then I know what I would opt for...
Just had a quick look:
Hultafors Classic hunting axe - £40
Hultafors Trekking axe - £21
Gransfors SFA - £65-73
Wildlife hatchet - £60
Wetterlings SFA - £65
Wildlife hatchet - £70
Husqvarna Forest axe - £45
Hatchet - £22
Andy
My hulty was £25 plus post. It doesn't have a forged finish but the overall fit and finish was rather good. Perhaps not quite at the same level as GB in terms of looks but as a usable tool it is absolutely excellent. Better than the GB equivalent I'd say. That said I knew going into it that I may have had to tidy the edge up and perhaps sharpen it myself. Something I was prepared to do given the price compared to the GB.
I guess ultimately we could go round and round with this but the truth is that a few years ago Gransfors were the dogs danglies of axes - Not only endorsed by Uncle Ray but they were at the higher end of what you could buy - Many went for Wetterlings with no complaints though they seem to be less talked about even today despite by all accounts making a very fine axe. Sadly I've never had the pleasure of trying a Wetterlings axe so again I can't comment.
These days there are a couple of alternatives that present a very affordable and yet very acceptable axe for the common man - Hultafors and Husqvarna come to mind.
If we could afford to kit ourselves out with a full range of GB or Wetterlings axes I suspect most would. - I certainly wouldn't say no if I was offered one of their double bits or even a broad axe (My personal favourite to use)
But if I can pay half the price for a tool that does the same job just as well if not better then I know what I would opt for...
Just had a quick look:
Hultafors Classic hunting axe - £40
Hultafors Trekking axe - £21
Gransfors SFA - £65-73
Wildlife hatchet - £60
Wetterlings SFA - £65
Wildlife hatchet - £70
Husqvarna Forest axe - £45
Hatchet - £22
Andy
I think what Andy says is very true of a lot of our kit these days.
When I started to get more serious about bushcraft 12 or so years ago the choice of kit was very limited, now we are fortunate to have a bewildering array of choices.
I remember my first GB axe was so far removed from any axe I'd ever encountered before, hell, you could cut stuff with it like you would with a knife, amazing. Same went for knives, there wasn't much choice. Mind you, I'm still using the axes and knives I bought back then, so I suppose the quality was there, maybe I'll be able to pass them on to my grandkids, I do know I won't bother giving them the 2 bahcos I mentioned in an earlier post. Now, I must get a Hultafors to try out, their knives a fantastic, dare I say it, I think they're better than Moras.
Dave
When I started to get more serious about bushcraft 12 or so years ago the choice of kit was very limited, now we are fortunate to have a bewildering array of choices.
I remember my first GB axe was so far removed from any axe I'd ever encountered before, hell, you could cut stuff with it like you would with a knife, amazing. Same went for knives, there wasn't much choice. Mind you, I'm still using the axes and knives I bought back then, so I suppose the quality was there, maybe I'll be able to pass them on to my grandkids, I do know I won't bother giving them the 2 bahcos I mentioned in an earlier post. Now, I must get a Hultafors to try out, their knives a fantastic, dare I say it, I think they're better than Moras.
Dave
I've never owned a Hultafors but I've had one Granfors and many cheap (Bahco etc) axes and hatchets.
I could put a paper-slicing edge on any of them. The GB hatchet would still have a paper-slicing edge on it after several hours of work. The others wouldn't.
I could put a paper-slicing edge on any of them. The GB hatchet would still have a paper-slicing edge on it after several hours of work. The others wouldn't.
Yeah that's true there's no sheath / mask for many of the Hultafors range, but it's easy enough to knock one together. Which axe have you got??
No more than ten feet away from me I have 2 tomahawks, 4 Hultafors axes (800 + 900gm trekking, splitting and light felling SY20), a Norlund hatchet, pack axe, fiskars / wilkinson sword x10, an estwing hatchet, snow & nealley hudson bay axe, a GB hunters, a GB SFA and a warren axe "old faithful", I have others at work. In the last year I have probably used the Hultafors axes more than the others.
My favourite axes to use aren't actually the most expensive. I have been very impressed with the Hultafors axes, they all have masks which I made for them, yes they are cheap, but they're easy to sharpen and maintain as long as you have a b'stard cut file and an axe stone (I use a cheap lansky). My favourite of all of the axes is the Warren Axe "Old Faithful", but this was rehandled and had a mask made for it by me.
For trekking the Hultafors trekking axes are actually ideal, so in that respect they make the GB SFA redundant. The SY20 is effectively a budget version of the GB SCFA. I could by three and ship them for the price of a Scandinavian forest axe. All axes need setting up properly anyway so that's no problem any minor imperfections on the grind are removed then and it takes an hour to make a mask.
If I am 100% honest I prefer the hunters axe over the SFA as well. People expect a lot from the SFA and to be honest it doesn't really deliver on all levels that it's expected to, it's a nice good quality item, but it's not as good as a trekking axe for trekking, it's not as good as the Scandinavian or the SY20 for light felling and limbing. The only other thing it can be used for would be as a hunters axe and I am afraid that the GB hunters has it beat hands down for that as it's purpose built for that.
They say "jack of all trades master of none", I am sorry to say that's where the GB SFA falls for me.
My first outing with the SFA left me thinking it needed to be slightly heavier and an extra 2" on the handle. - If only my name was Ray Mears and I could speak to GB directly. I'd be rolling in it.
Andy
Andy
My first outing with the SFA left me thinking it needed to be slightly heavier and an extra 2" on the handle. - If only my name was Ray Mears and I could speak to GB directly. I'd be rolling in it.
Andy
Andy I am a fan of the longer handle for a field axe, I'd make it longer than that and give it a heavier head, but then I end up with the SY20 Hultafors so Where do I go. The option in between for me is the Snow & Nealley Hudson bay, which is one hell of an axe.
I keep one of the GB "hand axes" in my van for the times I may just need a small axe...at work the other day I needed a hatchet to split a barrow load of kindling ... the farms axes and bill hooks seem to have been chopping concrete since I last fettled them and so I fetched out my van axe. A tad of surface rust on the poll but the edge was shaving sharp and the kindling was soon cut
Today I hope to get time to fettle the farms "Sharps" again....
Thank God I am no longer the only one saying that... They are a little on the small side at GBs, aren't they? I own one GB "large" forest "axe" and still consider it a hatchet. I love the Hultafors or Hults Bruks axes however. The old green Swedish Army axes that have been taken in lots out of the Army Volvos recently were made by Hults Bruks. The stamp says "Hults Brukaby" to be precise and those axes really rock. They have the right length with a handle around 67-70 centimeters and have a nice heavy head of 1,75 kg... Actually something that gives you a less toylike impression than the GB thingy.
But of course there's absolutely nothing wrong with GB at all - they produce really nice hatchets.
Regards,
Marc
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I know they have the large stuff as well, there's just nothing in between in my opinion. You'd have to get a GB felling axe and equip it with a shorter handle to get that "Skookum" feeling. But that's just me.
Each to their own. I lean the other way. A 2lb head on a 28" handle makes a brilliant axe, not much more weight than the forest axes (small or Scandinavian) but so much more capable. Make that two pound head a double bit, and you get a cruiser axe. I find it superb for real work and light enough to carry
Cruiser Axe next to Scandinavian Axes by British Red, on Flickr
Cruiser Axe next to Scandinavian Axes by British Red, on Flickr
I think the best axe I've ever used was the GB broad axe. I just love it. I could do anything with one of those.
Andy
Andy
I think some of us forget that in our hobby without a car to roll us to our fun spots miles and miles away (not dogging lol) and without the intention to sleep over for a week we don't need felling axes or anything large. Just something with a choppy end to cut wood and and then break it down to get the fire started.
Professional work tools often get brought up on here, people flashing their stonking gert axes and calling them bushcraft items. Although they can be, in much much longer stays outside they are mostly home/work tools.
So for those who say something like the granny b sfa is too short or too light, remember, it's supposed to go in your backpack for a night or two out. Not replace a working axe or take on a mighty oak! lol
Professional work tools often get brought up on here, people flashing their stonking gert axes and calling them bushcraft items. Although they can be, in much much longer stays outside they are mostly home/work tools.
So for those who say something like the granny b sfa is too short or too light, remember, it's supposed to go in your backpack for a night or two out. Not replace a working axe or take on a mighty oak! lol
My van axe
http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/products/forest-axes/gransfors-hand-hatchet/
smaller than an SFA...
http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/products/forest-axes/gransfors-hand-hatchet/
smaller than an SFA...
I get what you are saying, but any tool is personal choice. I like the 800 and 900 gram hultafors for trekking and they do what you describe very well and IMO they do it better than the GB SFA. They are more accessible due to cost to people that aren't as flush as others, they provide a good solid tool at a reasonable cost that's relatively easy to maintain. They are better for beginners to learn with because they will not be worrying so much about damaging the axe.
Due to the weight and grind they make splitting a doddle and they require less effort to use, which means you can concentrate more on technique. They are not a fine carving tool, that's not what you want for a trekking axe.
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