Hulltafors Felling axe

[Bumbler]

I wen't to Biltema today to pick up their 8£ bow saw...but I took a wrong turn and somehow ended up outside the local TOOLS supermarket kind of thing. And they happened to have this on sale, so know SWMBO does not have to strangle me with my paracord, she can use a true Viking weapon to send me off to Valhalla with
Details at the end:

Let me pressent the Hultafors Felling axe HY-20 with a 0,85kg head.

I deliberately chose one with a dark colored hickory handle for aesthetic reasons. They have one other axe left in with a lighter handle.

Both wooden and hollow metal wedge.

Removed all the stickers and gave it some lins seed oil...I guess what I will do is once a day for a week, then once a week for a month, then once a month for a year, kind of thing.

Hultafors brlurb on it from their website:
http://www.hultafors.com/products/cutting/axes/felling-axes/felling-axe-hy-20/

Hultafors Felling Axe HY 20

An axe suitable for small-scale felling, made from blasted and clear-lacquered ironwork. The shaft is curved and made from hickory. Particularly suitable for lopping branches or clearing bushes and brushwood.

The axe is hand-forged and made from Swedish axe steel using traditional methods in use since 1697.
The steel is stuck several times, increasing its density and thereby the durability of the axe.
Has a clear tempered zone within which the axe can be sharpened whilst not detracting from the strength of the edge.
The shaft is made from hickory and treated with linseed oil.

Data
Axe head weight: 850 g
Handle length 650 mm/ 26"
Hickory handle

 

[Dave]

Should help to slay any trolls you come across. :viking:

 

[mrcharly]

lovely looking head - handle doesn't seem to fit the eye very well, there seems to be gaps (or is it just the photograph?).

I guess if it is for felling then the bit is fairly thin. Should be good for carving and shaping, and not too heavy either.

 

[Teepee]

A cracking axe

I got one in dark red hickory too, its a capable tool. The axe size of choice for winter travel in the forest.

You do look right with an axe in your hand

 

[palace]

I was given one by my old team as a retirement present last year, marvellous bit of kit, as Teepee said nice weight for winter camping , mine also has the dark wood, treated mine with Tung oil easy to sharpen & holds the edge.

 

[Bumbler]

lovely looking head - handle doesn't seem to fit the eye very well, there seems to be gaps (or is it just the photograph?).

I guess if it is for felling then the bit is fairly thin. Should be good for carving and shaping, and not too heavy either.

Nope, sadly there are gaps. Maybe thats why it was on sale. The other axe they had left in white hickory had the same problem. We'll see if this develops into a problem later, but then Hickory handles are not that expensive, so no problem as such.

Yeah this is a felling ace, so the head is pretty thin. A splitting axe I think is to heavy to drag into the woods. In the woods What I have used an axe for is mostly to chop dry limbs of dead falls,and for that this one should be ideal. And it should be able to split as well. Just not so well as a splitting axe. This is an axe for winter use in the woods, and any splitting will be in very small quantities anyway

 

[mrcharly]

Maybe add some wedges of your own, in the gaps.

If you have a light, sharp axe and need to do major splitting, it doesn't take much to shape a few wedges and a rough maul. I've split a pretty big log (as in over 10ft long and 8" thick) this way using a GB mini.

 

[Bumbler]

Maybe add some wedges of your own, in the gaps.

If you have a light, sharp axe and need to do major splitting, it doesn't take much to shape a few wedges and a rough maul. I've split a pretty big log (as in over 10ft long and 8" thick) this way using a GB mini.

The oonly wood I'll be splitting would be fire wood in camp. And that not often. I tested the axe now on a dry log with a knot in it. Went straight trough it. But in the woods the wood may be a little wet, and have some sap left, but this is for my winter kit and frozen wood is not so hard to split either. But 90% of the use will be de-limbing dead falls. Thats the main fire wood supply in the woods here. Anything else, including dead standing is not legal to take without permission. And with dead falls the tree trunk itself is often to rotten, unless the moose was at it. If moose eats off the birch bark, it dries nicely provided some branches holds it off ground.

 

[Bumbler]

Ordered a nice leather edge sheath for it, as it does not come with a sheath. For now itæ's making do with one made semi hard plastic and duct tape. I am notorieus for cutting myslef, and should really not be allowed anything sharper than over cooked spaghetti

As for the gaps, someone suggested leaving the axe head in a bucket of oil for a couple of days would probably se most of those gaps away. The axe handle has probably dired out some in storage. The same person did not think those would be a problem though.

 

[Nomad]

What sheath did you get, and where from?

 

[Bumbler]

What sheath did you get, and where from?

This one

http://www.ebay.com/itm/12093493172...eName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

 

[Bumbler]

I am itching to go out and chop at something. But we are in the 7th day of near torrential rain...in february at 68*North - 380 km north of the Arctic circle...

But the weather people are informing us that winter will resume it's regular service in the weekend.

 

[spandit]

I'd be inclined to fill those gaps with epoxy or gorilla glue to stop moisture getting in, although as you say, the wood might swell anyway

 

[lurker]

got one of these myself lovely axe, splits well up to 9" thick timber, holds a mean edge shaving sharp, lovely to use and not too heavy to carry.

 

[Bumbler]

I'd be inclined to fill those gaps with epoxy or gorilla glue to stop moisture getting in, although as you say, the wood might swell anyway

Thinking of leaving it in a bucket of oil for a few days, to see if I can make it swell. The gaps are actually not as bad as they look int hat picture. But it could be the wood is swelling allready. Been giving it liberal ammounts of linseed oil every day since I got it

 

[Bumbler]

got one of these myself lovely axe, splits well up to 9" thick timber, holds a mean edge shaving sharp, lovely to use and not too heavy to carry.

Yes I am totally in love with it. Tried chopping off a dead limb on the garden tree with it, and it went trough it like a hot knife trough butter. It's quite light to. Axe head is 850 grams. Thats actually ligher than my hatchet!