axe reccomendation?

[jonnie drake]

Im a novice with axes im looking for something to introduce myself into the wonderful world of axes.

Something packable, able to use one handed, that will graduate from a bushy knife to an axe. So something that will split 6in. logs, a bit of rough carving, feathersticks, light limbing. Nothing too heavy and overgunned. Say around a £50 budget.

cheers

J

 

[Tank]

my suggestion is a husqvarna hatchet which at around £25 is well within budget.

 

[Harnser]

you may be able to pick up an old carpenters axe at a carboot for next to nothing however the condition my reflect the knowledge of the last owner. these old axes are still worth considering even if you have to rewedge or replace the handle the steel is normally good. you can get an idea of the quality of the steel by tapping it with another peice of steel if it rings rather than thuds its a reasonable indicator that the steel is intact and hardened/tempered and will hold an edge.

 

[robin wood]

Gransfors wildlife hatchet takes a lot of beating, comes sharp and with leather cover.

 

[FGYT]

the New swedish forger on the block
ARRRRR Gooose if you can fine one in store £2.99

ATB

Duncan

 

[BarryG]

Id go with the Gransfors wildlife hatchet.

 

[Mojoracinguk]

my suggestion is a husqvarna hatchet which at around £25 is well within budget.

Yup!
not used a GB but I chose the Husqy over the wildlife hatchet mainly on price and the fact loads of people (on here i think) mentioned that the GB's started to need edge finishing and the choice of handle material was not A1 so for half the price the husky came and yes the sheath was shocking (resized and stitched now by me is fine) and he edge rolled on its first use, but now it has been on the whetstone for 10 mins the edge is slightly steeper in profile and holds well....i'd not be with out it now...limbing/kindling/rough shaping....I love it!

 

[wattsy]

husky hatchet never had any problems with it top buy

 

[DaveBromley]

I'm using an Argos axe it cost about £10 of the bay but it works a treat once you sharpen it to a decent edge!

Dave

 

[Everything Mac]

I'd go with the argos hatchet if you can find one on the bay for a tenner.

Mine is ACE. - though I had to put a new wedge in mine after though (turns out that they don't like being thrown )

 

[Retired Member southey]

If your budgets around £50 why not a GB Small Forest Axe, mine never let me down, came with a great edge and a nice mask, it's not reallt heavy. a good axe.

 

[marcelxl]

I have a Wetterlings for playing out and an Estwing for work, also have one of those little gerber pack axe thingies with the knife housed in the handle-surprisingly usefull little thing it is

£50 is not a bad budget though and you're welcome to try out any of mine.

I have been thinking of Cold Steel tomahawk of late too, i bet they could be very handy and have the bonus of being fun too with the throwing of (responsibly!) and all!:yikes:

 

[paolo]

I'm planning to change my supercheap axe and I was thinking to buy a Wetterlings too: I only have to choose between the Small Hunting and the Wildlife one.
I have found them online for about 50 euros here (I have bought a knife there and it's a good seller).
Any other good online shop to check?

Cheers
Paolo

 

[ged]

I found an old hatchet that had fallen in the bilge a few years ago. Very rusty. It still had the price ticket on the cheap plastic sheath, 4.99 from the marina at Maldon so I was probably robbed there. Soaked it in vinegar for a month to get the rust off and spent all of a minute putting an edge on it on the bench grinder. It splits 6" sycamore logs just fine.

 

[_scorpio_]

i suggest a cold steel tomahawk. i have the frontier hawk just because its a good thrower but i decided to spend sunday giving it a beating to see if it could stand up to things i wouldnt do with some of my other axes.
i managed to split some (slightly damp but seasoned)12" diameter by 5" height pine logs with little effort, though not in one hit. i then felled a small ash (5" diameter) and removed all the branches, chopped it into 1' lengths and split each one (about 20 of them) 4 times. then i roughed out some spoons with it.
after all this i could still use it like a machete to slash through some tall grass and weeds and nettles with ease and (apart from hitting a nail in a log!) the edge seemed to be exactly as sharp as it was.
havent thrown it yet but i have thrown one at the wilderness gathering (where i got it) and it was very good.
only downside is no hammer poll jobbie on the back, but i still knocked wooden stakes into the ground with th back of it easily.
very good and nearly half your budget.

 

[jamin]

a up. would recomend the small forest axe. dose all of that you listed very well. the huskey axe is a little too small for me but it is not bad. ben

 

[Stockfish]

Go with a cheap one first, then when you know how to use it, get to the next level with a fancy swedish axe if you need it.
After 25 years or so, I stick with a middle class(fiskars) axes.

 

[jonnie drake]

thanks for all the reccomendations guys

marc, apologies for not getting back to you about weds night- my internet stick was commandeered by the GF for her uni matriculation. Little bugger! Will deffo take you up on the offer for a play with your axes. I have had a look at a couple of the wetterlings offerings and they look nice, very similar to gransfors with my novice eye.

I like the look of the small forest axe, and looks like it would be more manned up than a hatchet but I just wonder if it might be a pain to use one handed? like I say I want something that will take over some of the tougher jobs I put my bushy upto.

stockfish, I think tis a good idea for me to get a cheaper axe like you say.

All I can find is a 2.5lb axe at argos? seems a little heavy?

P.s. is it me or do axes seem a lot cheaper than knives?

 

[jonnie drake]

well... just snapped up a gransfors small forest axe in the classifieds for £40 squiddies posted... bit of an impulse buy but what the heck there was money in my paypal buring a hole

 

[hanzo]

GB and Wetterlings are the same company. I prefer the Wetterlings because I think it is a comparable axe with a much better price (maybe half the price of a GB).