Best brand of axe?

[WittyUsername]

Hi, I’ve got myself a few knives (carbon Garberg, TRC South Pole, and I just ordered the new Fallkniven F1 in Elmax), and now I’m going to get an axe or two for my kit.

What’s the best brand? I like the look of the Granfors Bruks ones. I’d only want something 600-700mm long at the most, I think. I just know nothing about the quality of the various brands.

Any help would be much appreciated, cheers.

 

[Broch]

Welcome to the forum!

What do you want one for? to process wood at a camp (i.e. to split wood for the fire when there's a group of you), to carve the bulk off wood blanks so you can do other carving with a knife, to cut kindling at home, to throw at log targets, or to sit besides you at the camp fire?

For the latter, you'll have to get a GB otherwise you'll not be able to hold your head up; for the rest there are a whole load of axes ranging from £2 or £3 off the car boot sales to £30 in farm supply shops that will do the job just as well. OK, modern cheap axes are often (but not always) cast not forged but they are very capable of doing everything you're likely to want to use it for. Old English steel axes you can pick up from car boot fairs for next to nothing and they have history, character and are made of excellent steel.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now - and let the axe enthusiasts have their say.

 

[Billy-o]

See if you can find a Plumb.

But there's not just axes. There's leukus and billhooks and other things to ponder on too.

 

[Erbswurst]

Because I get not payed by Solingen I just set this link here, where I recently wrote a bit about axes which are currently made in Germany. Fiskars axes from Finland also are very good and pretty cheap, especially the X7 is worth to look at as a rucksack hatchet.

Swedish Axe choices

This is my first thread so I hope its in the right place. Im just wondering if Granfors Bruks forest axes live up to their reputation and are worth the price, when I really like the look of the craftmanship and handles of the Hultafors Premium series. Id especially be interested to hear from...

bushcraftuk.com

At home I split my logs for the oven with an ugly yellow Aldi splitting axe which works surprisingly well.

I guess it's more the personal technique than the brand, but of course the axe should be securely and straight put together.

I agree that old axes can be very nice too.
They throw the stuff everywhere behind you.

 

[Robson Valley]

I have all sorts of Fiskars pruning tools.
Probably a couple of Fiskars axes and hatchets in the shed some place.
Reliable. Pieces don't fall off. Nothing splits.
In a camp, I'd rather use a bow saw or a power saw for firewood.

I like the whole idea of restoring old axe heads from your car boots.
I'd even consider carving a billet for a new ash or hickory handle.

 

[Erbswurst]

What's about this one?

Search: 28 results found for "Saw"

The Agawa Canyon team blends a love for the outdoors with industrial design and engineering talent to create exceptional gear for the outdoor adventurer.

agawagear.com

 

[C_Claycomb]

There feel like there have been a lot of questions about this, but looking back at the search suggest it has mostly been people asking about handles lately. As Broch asked, what do you want to do?

New axes you won't go wrong with a Gransfors, Hultafors, or Helko, if you can pay for them. The more expensive tends to be a little better finished, but they will all chop. Old axes or axe heads can be found cheaper, but by the time you spend £20 on a head, £20 on a handle, a little more for some wedges, then put the time in to clean the head, then fit the haft...well, maybe it would have been no more expensive to buy a Gransfors Small Forest There is something cool about using a tool you created though. Its okay though to want a tool to use, rather than a project to search for parts and spend time on.

Axe upgrade

I've been making do with the only axe I've ever owned; a lousy hatchet from homebase that cost me a tenner a few years ago. I ground a new edge onto it a while back. I can shave with it no problem, but I can't get a whole lot more done with it. The head is also misaligned from the handle. So I'm...

bushcraftuk.com

Swedish Axe choices

This is my first thread so I hope its in the right place. Im just wondering if Granfors Bruks forest axes live up to their reputation and are worth the price, when I really like the look of the craftmanship and handles of the Hultafors Premium series. Id especially be interested to hear from...

bushcraftuk.com

Should I axe my axe ?

On all my bush craft outings this year I haven’t used my axe Once. Which has led me to think, do I really need to take one. It weighs 2lb and is awkward to carry. My knifes, Boreal 21Saw and pruning saw have covered all the wood craft I have done. Also they are tucked out of site in my pack...

bushcraftuk.com

axes

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...

bushcraftuk.com

good axe

Can anyone recommend a decent axe that doesn't cost the world I bought a cheap one and it isn't worth taking with me Sent from my SM-A920F using Tapatalk

bushcraftuk.com

How much to spend on an axe

i want a small hatchet to use for splitting, carving and other smaller duties. I don’t know much about axes and hatchets, so need advice about size, cost, where to buy from. Thanks, Darryl

bushcraftuk.com

 

[trashcanman1984]

See if you can find a Plumb.

But there's not just axes. There's leukus and billhooks and other things to ponder on too.

I have been after a Plumb scout axe for ages, just cannot find one.....possible to point me in any directions?

 

[Billy-o]

You'll always see them on the ebay.com, gra_farmer -- $50-150 plus shipping ... maybe $30+ from US. Different states of polish and repair.

Vintage Hatchet Axe PLUMB USA U S A Woodworking Tool Red Handle Camping Survival for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for Vintage Hatchet Axe PLUMB USA U S A Woodworking Tool Red Handle Camping Survival. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.ca

Nice Vintage Original GENUINE PLUMB BOY SCOUT Axe Hatchet Camping for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for Nice Vintage Original GENUINE PLUMB BOY SCOUT Axe Hatchet Camping. Shop with confidence.

www.ebay.ca

 

[Robson Valley]

It's -10C tonight, I don't expect it to be much warmer until next April.
That's a 5-6 cord winter coming if you use round wood for heat. All split, ready to go?
I'm hearing the song of the power saws all day long right now.
More and more people here are using electric or hydraulic splitters, I suppose it's a sign of age.
You can see the bits of log behind me in my avatar. Those took wedges to break them into pieces that the hydraulic splitter could eat. That us geezers could lift!

The deal is, what do you need to be able to do with the axe?
A nylon or a fiberglas handle is elastic enough to save some energy.
You can feel it flex under your hands. Interesting sensation.
I think that I depend more on accurate sharpening for splitting vs cutting
to enjoy what I need to do.

I believe there's a Zen thing, swinging an axe and splitting firewood.
You get to shift your thinking to far away places.

 

[Onelifeoverland]

Regardless of what you want it for. Probably to sit nicely against your selection of blades

You'll not go far wrong with a Hultafors, good selection of sizes and weights and at their price point IMHO they are unbeatable quality.

OLO
www.onelifeoverland.com
//probably typed on mobile so please excuse typos!

 

[Broch]

I believe there's a Zen thing, swinging an axe and splitting firewood.
You get to shift your thinking to far away places.

I agree; there's nothing more satisfying than swinging a good sized axe down onto ash logs

However, I have resorted to an electro-hydraulic splitter for my house fuel because swinging an axe for more than ten minutes upsets my sciatica and once started the pain lasts weeks

 

[Sieddy]

I just got the Hultafors trekking axe from heinnie 40 quid and it's awesome perfect for my (mostly garden firewood chopping needs) but the Husqvarna forest axe is available for £37 that surely is the best bang for the buck option right!?!

 

[xellos99]

Hultafors are good, they have shot up in price ALOT since i bought one many years back.

I paid £29.99 for a huge one from FX tools.

Now they are £36.64 for the mini version

 

[WittyUsername]

Sorry everyone, I made this thread and I’ve been flat out at work ever since. I’ve only just found the time to sit down and reply.

As for ‘what I need the axe for’, it’ll just be a variety of camp needs. Chopping the odd small dead tree down, splitting logs, trimming small branches off tree trunks, etc. Nothing in particular, but everything you’d use an axe for.

The only ‘speciality’ I’d like from it is a nice, flat back on the opposite side of the head to the edge (I don’t know the terminology), basically so it could be used as a mallet if needed.

Thanks very much for the help so far, I’ve got some time this evening to sit down and google through some of the names you’ve recommended.

Much appreciated, and thanks for the welcome.

 

[Billy-o]

The thing about the Plumbs is that they are shaped to maximize their ability to both cut and split. GBs are shaped to maximize their capacity to do one or the other.

Personally, of all, I prefer the short handled Roselli; for a number of reasons, but mainly because you can choke up behind the edge ... and, like the Plumbs, they both cut and split.

 

[henchy3rd]

Wedge shape for splitting, fine taper for detail.
Although I find my cheap Condor Agador pretty useful for both jobs.

 

[lostplanet]

I've got a couple of super cheap hatchet/axes (bahco and spear and jackson) which need tlc on the the handles to stop blisters etc.
I mainly use a laplander, as I don't do much timber processing but I like to have the axe option. The next beater I will be getting is a Estwing 24a sportmans axe. I like the stacked leather handle. They pop up every now and then cheap on offers. Might not be the best axe available but Its good enough for me and has a decent hammer, I know its going to be tough and will probably outlast me.

 

[Billy-o]

A nylon or a fiberglas handle is elastic enough to save some energy.
You can feel it flex under your hands. Interesting sensation.

 

[TLM]

A nylon or a fiberglas handle is elastic enough to save some energy.
You can feel it flex under your hands. Interesting sensation.

I think all "plastic" axe handles are about 30% short glass fiber filled PA, except the ones that are PE/long fiber pultrusions or a few resin injected ones. All the long fiber ones are stiffer than wood, on the short fiber ones it depends.

But to save energy on what? One wants all the energy in the swing to transfer to cutting or splitting wood ".".

If one is doing work with known softer woods like we do here in Fennoscandia I prefer a tough steel on an axe especially when splitting where edge keeping is of secondary importance. On harder woods it really depends what one is doing but it seems quite logically that for cutting many prefer harder edges and better edge keeping. The end to that trend comes when the edge has insufficient toughness and starts breaking or you happen to have a cold brittle axe head in -40C.