Fiskars Axe

[mjojom]

Hi All,
I have query about my axes, have few fiskars and so far im not impressed, this are my first and only axes so far so want to know what to expect really. Ive got x5, x7 and x15 (havent used yet)
Bought x5 for some hiking/bushcraft trips, x7 for chopping meat/bones (for my dogs) and x15 was for later project.
Anyhow, when arrived all were razor sharp, easily shaving my arm hairs off so i thought lovely. I took my x5 out for dartmoor trip, which was 3 days and it was my only tool for firewood. After three days (including using field sharpener (bear girls) in between) the x5 become quite dull. Also it had a small nick, perhaps from finding a nail in one of the boards I was chopping. X7 im using every two weeks to chop large bones, mostly pork. The amounts of pits the blade is going through is unbelievable. I need to regrind the blade every time im using it for an hour or two chopping bones. Is this expectable, or the marksmanship of the fiskars is not what I read is should be? any similar experiences? any tips? could they be heat treated to improve?

cheers
joe

 

[Ed the Ted]

I've never heard of axes being used to chop bones, perhaps it's the wrong tool for the job? I'm sure someone else can advise on that on better.

As for your hatchet, it's a wedge of metal you are smashing into wood and through some very hard features like knots. They have a tough life and since for splitting they are a tool of brute force they don't actually need to be really really sharp for lots of jobs. I don't inspect the edge on my hatchet very closely, I assume it has chips and so on since I'm often smashing it through very stubborn and tough bits of wood, that's just what happens when you use stuff.

So as for that one if it still splits and chops reasonably well (but doesn't shave hair off your arm, something which isn't part of its intended use repertoire), I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[mjojom]

I had a few (apparently heavy duty) meat cleavers which has got chipped straight away, therefore I opted for axe (also its easier to generate enough force with axe to split tough bones), as remembering when i was a kid, butchers and even my dad at home used big axes to work on bones. as for sharpness, im not intending to shave with the things, but i believe because of small size and therefore not as much force generated small axes should be quite sharp. you would not have the issue with large axe and long handle where the shear force would split the wood with ease.

 

[sunndog]

For chomping through tough pork bones sommat like a splitting hatchet might be better

 

[cranmere]

I worked for a butcher part time when I was a student, anything you use to chop bones will blunt quickly and potentially get dings on the edge. A camp hatchet too gets quite a hard life so I expect to sharpen it fairly frequently. having said that, I bought a Fiskars small axe some time ago because I very much like their scissors and garden blades, but was a little disappointed. I think the steel is too hard - which is an advantage for things like scissors - so it tends to chip, and I don't like the balance although that's very personal.

 

[Andy BB]

Have an X5 and X7. not really used the X7 as yet, but the X5 has a very narrow/sharp edge. Great for limbing etc, but very easy to chip - first time I hit a stone - big chip on edge. I'm guessing - like Cranmere - the steel is actually too hard.

 

[sandbender]

Off topic a bit, no experience of Fiskars Axes however I have been using a Fiskers spade over the past few weeks, tough as nails, quite pleasing to use.

 

[Macaroon]

When I worked a Saturday job for a big butchers, many years ago now, none of the butchers chopped through big bones, they used hacksaws and bowsaws with various blades dependant on the job. They'd chop through joints well enough, but not through bone.

 

[sunndog]

When I worked a Saturday job for a big butchers, many years ago now, none of the butchers chopped through big bones, they used hacksaws and bowsaws with various blades dependant on the job. They'd chop through joints well enough, but not through bone.

Yup, a saw is the proper tool for cutting large bones

 

[Harvestman]

I have an X5 hatchet and I really rate it. Great little tool for trimming, limbing and small scale chopping. Mine holds its edge really well too.

 

[British Red]

Large scale bone cutting is done on chugging great bandsaws nowadays, lesser stuff with handsaws. Chopping bones can cause splintering which can be risky ( although some dogs will crunch bones anyway).

 

[Mike313]

I'm a novice at these things but just wanted to say, my granddad was a butcher and he used a bow saw with a stainless steel blade to cut bones. Not sure what grade of stainless, I have one of his saws which I'm guessing is at least 60 years old and it cuts through wood like a hot knife through butter.
I also have a Fiskars X10 axe which is in fact the only axe I own. I have used it for chopping wood and also for carving. It is a great little axe but if you hit a nail (which the OP said he may have done) it will most definitely chip the blade edge. I read a review that said the metal might be too hard/brittle but maybe any small axe that hits a nail will have the same problem? Personally, I love it ....

 

[Sparky415]

I have read that some new axes come with too hard an edge but after it has been sharpened a few times you will get back to ‘good steel’

Also, I don’t own one but it seems to me the fiskars factory edge needs to be convex when you re-sharpen

 

[mjojom]

thanks for your replies guys.

 

[cave_dweller]

When I worked a Saturday job for a big butchers, many years ago now, none of the butchers chopped through big bones, they used hacksaws and bowsaws with various blades dependant on the job. They'd chop through joints well enough, but not through bone.

Exactly. My old fella was a butcher all his life, and for big beef bones or pork bones he always used a Hook-Eye bone saw rather than a blade. I still have it in my shed. Apart from anything else, bone can chip, and getting a bone splinter in your eye as a result of an axe swing is going to be no fun. My advice would be to use a hack saw rather than an axe for bone.

 

[spader]

I have a few Fiskars axes X25, X27 and the smaller ones as well for making fire woods from dead trees. I like them because they are not too heavy, and handles solid and tough, the edges can get dull after heavy use, but easy to razor sharpen again with little effort.

 

[Johnny Canuck]

My experience also. They are very good quality and the X27 may well replace my "go to" maul.

I have a few Fiskars axes X25, X27 and the smaller ones as well for making fire woods from dead trees. I like them because they are not too heavy, and handles solid and tough, the edges can get dull after heavy use, but easy to razor sharpen again with little effort.

 

[petrochemicals]

I believe fiskars and gerber are the same axe. The gerber one is made from boron steel, and I believe the fiskars used to be, as apparently they are the same product.
On the fiskars website they are nnot listed anymore as boron, even though some products are and they have a symbol for boron steel. I think the boron steel version may have been stopped and replaced, probably due to problems!

 

[petrochemicals]

Talking of bones and gerber

http://www.gerber-store.co.uk/saws-c10/myth-fixed-blade-saw-p211

I expect to see it have bear grylls splashed all over it soon.

Or

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000G...spell&pi=SL75_QL70&keywords=gstor+saw

 

[OldJimbo]

I've used a short axe to quarter moose - splitting down the middle of the backbone - without issue. But there the animal is freshly killed and so the characteristics of the bone is different to bones from aged meat. While big cleavers like the CCK Rhino are used to disassemble pork in China, again it's on freshly killed meat.

I still own a Gerber Paxe which would correspond to the X5, and several X7 sized Fiskars hatchets. Years ago we did extensive grind testing on Fiskars hatchets as a possible replacement for the Boy Scout hatchet but with limited success. Simply using a large drywall pad loaded with emery paper was sufficient to convex the edge. Unfortunately since the edge bevel has to line up with the eye which is covered by synthetic and so can't be modified, the resulting steep edge bevel does have the tendency to lead to glancing which made it unsuitable for use with inexperienced users. I've never heard of boron steel being used, and found the steel easy to work by hand on these hatchets which are more than a decade old. I'd chop with the original edge which deformed (apparently) badly, but after hand work, there were no further issues. Since I keep the equivalent of the X7 in the truck, it's seen lots of use over the years!
While more recently I've had great success with Fiskars splitting hatchets and axes, I never did have any real success with the original hatchets for splitting wood with a baton. While they certainly work, a more conventional hatchet can be ground to work more efficiently.