When it comes to axes there are a great range of styles available to buy, and like most things each style has it's own pros and cons, and it comes down to what you intend to use the axe for.
I thought I'd review the 3 axes that I own as they all do different jobs.
They are from top to bottom;
Husqvarna hatchet
Gransfors bruks small forest axe
Husqvarna sledge axe
Husqvarna Hatchet
The Husqvarna hatchet is a budget axe, I think I paid £20 for it inc. postage. The grain on the handle isn't the best, but it's never shown any sign of movement, and the edge is not the best finish. It has a tendency to chip, which I can only think is either that it's too hard or the composition of the steel isn't great. The sheath isn't the best as it can be knocked off, I think I could doctor that easy enough though. But for £20 it's great.
The GB small forest axe (SFA) is another league quality wise. The steel polishes up really nice, it has never chipped and holds the edge really well. The handle has been well picked with good grain, and the sheath is well designed, although I did cut it open once and bodged it with 5 min epoxy. You do expect quality for the money though.
The Husqvarna sledge axe (I would just call it a maul really) is a better level of quality than the hatchet. The steel seems better, the handle has been well selected and the sheath stays on well.
So the main deciding factor about an axe for me is the profile of the head.
On the Left is the Husq hatchet, then the SFA, then the Husq sledge axe.
Immediately this tells you so much about the intention of the axe, that you don't get from the side view. The SFA in the middle is a great cutter, a slicer, it gets deep into wood quick with little friction, almost knife blade like. At the other end of the scale, the sledge axe on the right is super fat. It's a struggle sometimes to just get it to stick into wood like in the pic. It either splits right through or bounces.
The SFA on the other hand is 'sticky'. You don't need much force for it to go deep into wood. It's great for limbing and cutting jobs, and good for carving work.
The hatchet is somewhere in between. It's a great kindling chopper. It will limb, but it doesn't have the bite of the SFA. I probably shouldn't but quite often I use a wooden mallet to baton big logs with it. I've split many big rounds that I would normally use the sledge axe for this way, and it's efficient at doing it too. It's actually not that bad for carving. I think because it's cheap I tend to do a lot of dirty work with it, and it copes well with the abuse.
Handle length is important too, not as important I believe. The hatchet I think is a tad under 40cm long. Even though it's quite a heavy head it's really usable as a single handled axe. Although bear in mind shorter axes are probably more dangerous. The SFA I think is a tad under 49cm. I can use it 2 handed or single handed, but it can get tiring, and you are further up the handle with one had generally so it's not quite as comfortable. The sledge axe is something like 80cm. Nice and safe, really designed around 2 handed use, but for softwood kindling it will work if you can't be bothered pulling out a better tool.
Hopefully this review was useful to a few of you!
P.s. my favourite is the Hatchet
I thought I'd review the 3 axes that I own as they all do different jobs.
They are from top to bottom;
Husqvarna hatchet
Gransfors bruks small forest axe
Husqvarna sledge axe
Husqvarna Hatchet
The Husqvarna hatchet is a budget axe, I think I paid £20 for it inc. postage. The grain on the handle isn't the best, but it's never shown any sign of movement, and the edge is not the best finish. It has a tendency to chip, which I can only think is either that it's too hard or the composition of the steel isn't great. The sheath isn't the best as it can be knocked off, I think I could doctor that easy enough though. But for £20 it's great.
The GB small forest axe (SFA) is another league quality wise. The steel polishes up really nice, it has never chipped and holds the edge really well. The handle has been well picked with good grain, and the sheath is well designed, although I did cut it open once and bodged it with 5 min epoxy. You do expect quality for the money though.
The Husqvarna sledge axe (I would just call it a maul really) is a better level of quality than the hatchet. The steel seems better, the handle has been well selected and the sheath stays on well.
So the main deciding factor about an axe for me is the profile of the head.
On the Left is the Husq hatchet, then the SFA, then the Husq sledge axe.
Immediately this tells you so much about the intention of the axe, that you don't get from the side view. The SFA in the middle is a great cutter, a slicer, it gets deep into wood quick with little friction, almost knife blade like. At the other end of the scale, the sledge axe on the right is super fat. It's a struggle sometimes to just get it to stick into wood like in the pic. It either splits right through or bounces.
The SFA on the other hand is 'sticky'. You don't need much force for it to go deep into wood. It's great for limbing and cutting jobs, and good for carving work.
The hatchet is somewhere in between. It's a great kindling chopper. It will limb, but it doesn't have the bite of the SFA. I probably shouldn't but quite often I use a wooden mallet to baton big logs with it. I've split many big rounds that I would normally use the sledge axe for this way, and it's efficient at doing it too. It's actually not that bad for carving. I think because it's cheap I tend to do a lot of dirty work with it, and it copes well with the abuse.
Handle length is important too, not as important I believe. The hatchet I think is a tad under 40cm long. Even though it's quite a heavy head it's really usable as a single handled axe. Although bear in mind shorter axes are probably more dangerous. The SFA I think is a tad under 49cm. I can use it 2 handed or single handed, but it can get tiring, and you are further up the handle with one had generally so it's not quite as comfortable. The sledge axe is something like 80cm. Nice and safe, really designed around 2 handed use, but for softwood kindling it will work if you can't be bothered pulling out a better tool.
Hopefully this review was useful to a few of you!
P.s. my favourite is the Hatchet
