Hi is this a good place to start?
First axe
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It all depends on what you want to do with that size axe. If you want to use it for carving and processing wood into kindling then it's fine. If you want to do something more serious with it like chop a tree down then you'll need something bigger.
As for manufacturer, Husqvarna axes are a reasonable brand but you might need to work the edge a bit as I've found that they don't come 'working sharp'.
As for manufacturer, Husqvarna axes are a reasonable brand but you might need to work the edge a bit as I've found that they don't come 'working sharp'.
As Mesquite says, it depend on what you want it for.
If you want to try preparing smallish fuel for camp fires then it will be perfectly fine. However, to be honest, a £12 hatchet from your local farm supply store or even Screwfix would do the job just as well. There's a lot of snobbery in axe ownership (I'm just as guilty of it at times) but there's very little objective value in an expensive axe (Husqvarna come sort of mid-range) if it's just used for preparing campfire fuel. If you hit a £120 axe on the floor it is likely to chip the edge; if you hit a £12 axe on the floor it will either chip or dent. Both will split logs.
My fondness is for old British late nineteenth/early twentieth century axes, but that's just a perversion
If you want to try preparing smallish fuel for camp fires then it will be perfectly fine. However, to be honest, a £12 hatchet from your local farm supply store or even Screwfix would do the job just as well. There's a lot of snobbery in axe ownership (I'm just as guilty of it at times) but there's very little objective value in an expensive axe (Husqvarna come sort of mid-range) if it's just used for preparing campfire fuel. If you hit a £120 axe on the floor it is likely to chip the edge; if you hit a £12 axe on the floor it will either chip or dent. Both will split logs.
My fondness is for old British late nineteenth/early twentieth century axes, but that's just a perversion
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Just this. I would buy one of these
Forge Steel Hickory Axe 32oz (0.9kg) - Screwfix
Order online at Screwfix.com. High strength carbon steel head with a sharp cutting edge for a strong and precise cut. Extra-hard hickory wood handle for strength and shock-resistant qualities, allowing for more comfortable use. Optimum balance point for comfortable and powerful swings. Ideal for...
I would take it home and strip all the varnish off the handle, rub it down well and finish with several coats of boiled linseed oil
That done I would take a file and some stones or wet & dry paper and put a good bevel & edge on it
It's worth doing just to learn how to set up an axe. I use axes most days and processed 60 cubic metres of logs this year. Cheap axes work fine.
Just this. I would buy one of these
Forge Steel Hickory Axe 32oz (0.9kg) - Screwfix
Order online at Screwfix.com. High strength carbon steel head with a sharp cutting edge for a strong and precise cut. Extra-hard hickory wood handle for strength and shock-resistant qualities, allowing for more comfortable use. Optimum balance point for comfortable and powerful swings. Ideal for...www.screwfix.com
I would take it home and strip all the varnish off the handle, rub it down well and finish with several coats of boiled linseed oil
That done I would take a file and some stones or wet & dry paper and put a good bevel & edge on it
It's worth doing just to learn how to set up an axe. I use axes most days and processed 60 cubic metres of logs this year. Cheap axes work fine.
Got one of those myself for chopping the kindling at home, and also for camp.
Great little axe, and dead cheap. The edge will need some work from new, but with proper care, its a pretty bullet proof little number.
Just this. I would buy one of these
Forge Steel Hickory Axe 32oz (0.9kg) - Screwfix
Order online at Screwfix.com. High strength carbon steel head with a sharp cutting edge for a strong and precise cut. Extra-hard hickory wood handle for strength and shock-resistant qualities, allowing for more comfortable use. Optimum balance point for comfortable and powerful swings. Ideal for...
I would take it home and strip all the varnish off the handle, rub it down well and finish with several coats of boiled linseed oil
That done I would take a file and some stones or wet & dry paper and put a good bevel & edge on it
It's worth doing just to learn how to set up an axe. I use axes most days and processed 60 cubic metres of logs this year. Cheap axes work fine.
That's the one; I've had the smaller 1Lb one for a while and it does a perfectly good job
Just this. I would buy one of these
Forge Steel Hickory Axe 32oz (0.9kg) - Screwfix
Order online at Screwfix.com. High strength carbon steel head with a sharp cutting edge for a strong and precise cut. Extra-hard hickory wood handle for strength and shock-resistant qualities, allowing for more comfortable use. Optimum balance point for comfortable and powerful swings. Ideal for...
I would take it home and strip all the varnish off the handle, rub it down well and finish with several coats of boiled linseed oil
That done I would take a file and some stones or wet & dry paper and put a good bevel & edge on it
It's worth doing just to learn how to set up an axe. I use axes most days and processed 60 cubic metres of logs this year. Cheap axes work fine.
This Screwfix axe seems like a great recommendation and great value. I'm not experienced with axes so please forgive the noob questions...but would this class as a splitting axe or a chopping axe? Or a mix of both? I've got a fiskars chopping axe which is great, but I like the idea of something a little less plastic, but that also doesn't break the bank.
Also, I'm interested in your suggestion to put a bevel on it. What exactly would you be changing on the axe, what kind of bevel exactly (beyond just sharpening)? And why?
Cheers.
I'd say this is a general purpose axe - lighter and more acute in angle than a splitting axe. Value axes - including Fiskars - are often flat ground. I find that a little work with a file and some wet & dry creates a sharper, stronger convex bevel.
I have this Fiskars which I bought brand new from a market for £15.
It has a thinner edge than your normal axes and it's not that aesthetically appealing to some, as it uses a plastic integrated handle.
It chops bushes in my garden like it's no tomorrow.
www.fiskars.com
It has a thinner edge than your normal axes and it's not that aesthetically appealing to some, as it uses a plastic integrated handle.
It chops bushes in my garden like it's no tomorrow.
Chopping Axe S X10 | Fiskars
Fiskars next generation chopping axes serve all manner of woodwork, chopping, carpentry and pruning. The range delivers a beautiful package of minimalist design and sharp-edged functionality with the right fit for all wood preparation tasks. Pick your size according to the task at hand. The...
www.fiskars.com
If, you haven’t? Watch Mors Kochanski and a few other YouTube primers on safety. My grandfather said an axe is a double barreled shotgun, loaded and the hammers cocked 24/7
Hultafor for me out of Lamnia in Finland has proven to be a good balance of cost versus performance versus general finish. The Prandi from Italy are also pretty good for a low price as well.
In a light use camp axe, I generally like a really heavy head and something with thin cheeks and a reasonably thick poll for splitting with a ~16" handle/haft.
I don't have much experience with modern Husqvarna axes so, can't really speak to those since they changed the foundry that makes their axe heads. Older versions were solid axes and hatchets but, finished a little rougher than the Wetterling double-gangers.
A lot of this really depends on your budget too, not just the intended use. Hardware store axe and hatchet brands to me are generally pretty soft in the head and don't have good head shapes for cutting. That is a bit part of the reason, I buy Hultafor and Prandi axes and hatchets generally for some cheaper 'utility' grade options because they are hard (good RC) and have a good shape to cut and split.
Something like a Hultafors Trekking Axe H009SV is ~$50 delivered for me. Not sure what it costs in the UK with local taxes or even what availability is.
In a light use camp axe, I generally like a really heavy head and something with thin cheeks and a reasonably thick poll for splitting with a ~16" handle/haft.
I don't have much experience with modern Husqvarna axes so, can't really speak to those since they changed the foundry that makes their axe heads. Older versions were solid axes and hatchets but, finished a little rougher than the Wetterling double-gangers.
A lot of this really depends on your budget too, not just the intended use. Hardware store axe and hatchet brands to me are generally pretty soft in the head and don't have good head shapes for cutting. That is a bit part of the reason, I buy Hultafor and Prandi axes and hatchets generally for some cheaper 'utility' grade options because they are hard (good RC) and have a good shape to cut and split.
Something like a Hultafors Trekking Axe H009SV is ~$50 delivered for me. Not sure what it costs in the UK with local taxes or even what availability is.
Hi is this a good place to start?
That looks a lot like the Hultafors Hatchet H006SV model with a different name on the Haft.
Husqvarna and Hultafors are good. Like Gransfors but without the fashion brand premium. You may have to give it some TLC when it arrives, I heard they're not always finished perfectly. But that's fine with me, I buy regular forestry axes and you're expected to sharpen them first anyway.
Keep in mind that an actual small axe with an arm's length handle may be more useful for a wide range of axe work, whereas these short hatchets may be portable but they're also more dangerous. It's easier to cut yourself with something that swings in such a tight radius to your own body, and you have to use more force.
That Trekking Axe looks good.
Keep in mind that an actual small axe with an arm's length handle may be more useful for a wide range of axe work, whereas these short hatchets may be portable but they're also more dangerous. It's easier to cut yourself with something that swings in such a tight radius to your own body, and you have to use more force.
That Trekking Axe looks good.
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