Gransfors Wildlife Hatchet

[Zammo]

I'll go against the general tone of the thread.
Had a Wildlife and found it wanting when it came to actual use. Too small, not enough weight and could do what a good big woodlore knife could do.
Sold it and got a SFA-which is perfect.
Admittedly it is bigger but it copes with things beyong that of a knife/baton combo and for finer work I just choke up on the handle.
I'll get me coat....

I suppose it depends on what you expect it should do, obvoiusly your not gonna be able to chop down large trees with it or do real heavy work with it, but as long as I can split some logs for the fire and have the handyness of being able to use the back of it as a hammer it should do me ok. I just don't fancy lugging around a SFA especially if I have to use the train to get where i'm going, with one of those things poking out the top of my rucksack I think the old bill wouldn't be too impressed.

 

[gregorach]

Sort of true but if distracted the longer axe hits the ground before it hits your leg

I usually kneel down to use a hatchet for splitting. I generally reckon that your arm should be near horizontal at the moment of impact, and the blade should be moving more-or-less vertically, not in a noticeable arc.

I really don't like it if the blade is ever moving in a arc towards any part of my body!

 

[sargey]

I suppose it depends on what you expect it should do, obvoiusly your not gonna be able to chop down large trees with it or do real heavy work with it,

this is sort of what i was trying to say the other day. compare the size of the tree to the size of the axe in this pic. the guy on the springboard on the right has his stuck into the tree. it'd be about the equivalent of you tackling a tree four foot in diameter with your wildlife. how big did you want it again?

darius kinsey photographs

back to reality though, at about this size it is a very personal and subjective choice really. there is no right or wrong, if you're in doubt, try to borrow one or at least get to handle one. if you dobuy one, and it doesn't work out you could probably sell it on without too much of a loss. alternatively pop in to homebase and pick up a superb (if less attractive) fiskars hatchet for £17:50. just keep away from the spear&jackson rubbish.

for me personally, i like the wildlife alot. the small forest axe is the one that i find to be neither fish nor fowl. it's just long enough for the bottom of the helve to be awkward for small jobs when you've choked up. and not quite long enough for me to use comfortably two handed. but being as my gransfors handle has started developing a load of checks (spilts) in the handle, it's about time for a new one.

what i also have is a hachet head on a 28" helve. which works out to be only a bit heavier than a wildlife with more reach than the sfa.

cheers, and.

 

[gregorach]

Jeez, whatever your thoughts about logging old-growth forests, you've really gotta respect the guys who actually did the work!

 

[oetzi]

hmm, whats the deal with the changes in the wildlife hatchet?

Anyone know when these changes were made?

thats how they look in comparison:

with some comments in this thread, at the end of it:
http://bushcraftuk.com/community/showthread.php?p=263285#post263285

 

[steven andrews]

Thanks for the scale sizes.

I've been searching for a best price and found this:

http://www.greenwood-direct.co.uk/default.cfm/loadindex.28

£39 delivered!

I bought my GB Splitting Hatchet from them. Great customer service

 

[eraaij]

One bit of advice: if you are going to buy a hatchet (or any other axe), do not buy it just off the net or trust others to pick a good one. There is a LOT of variation in build: balance, edge straightness/lineup, even with a quality brand like Gransfors.

Choose one that couples a good handle with the nerves going in the right direction to a well done axe head. Or go for one that has at least the best made axe head - you can always get a replacement handle later.

They will all do the job, but if you are paying a good price for a quality product, you should pick the one that does the job best.

-Emile

 

[Hoodoo]

Without a doubt, the Wildlife is my most favorite axe from GB for three-season carry. It's rare I need more than the Wildlife hatchet and half the time I can easily get by with the mini. I especially love the Wildlife as a carving hatchet and I prefer not to have to choke midway up on an axe handle for carving. Rarely do I have to split large rounds and will generally cut small dead standing wood and use a baton with the Wildlife for splitting if needed, along with some wooden wedges if I really need to get serious. I think the medium sized axes are far more dangerous than the Wildife. They are long enough to get them moving seriously fast and short enough than if you screw up, they can bite you in a bad way. Small hatchets are easier to control imo, and you are less likely to make wild two handed swings with them. Unless you need to lay in a lot of wood (late fall or winter trip to the northwoods?), or building a cabin or large lean to, the small forest axe and scandanavian axe are overkill imo. And if I KNOW I will be needing a lot of wood, I will usually carry a full sized axe. I also keep one in my truck for clearing fallen trees from backcountry roads and two tracks although a good chainsaw is hard to beat for that.

 

[Zammo]

Sorry to sound ignorant but what do you mean by choking?

 

[British Red]

Choking or choking up is moving your hand further up the helve towards the head. In extreme cases, you can wrap your index finger over the head of the axe and use it like an ulu knife. Some "bearded" axes (particularly the Roselli) can be gripped behind the blade for specifically that purpose.

A good example is the Scandinavian Forest axe. Most of the time, unless used for its intended purpose (limbing), you grip it 6" above the palm swell for one handed use - thats choking

Red

 

[oops56]

Well i guess i jump in this is really not for tress maybe small fire wood. But i use it on my bow stave to take most of the wood off then use spoke shave. Made in Italy model Fox