My new Wetterlings 15" Small Hunting Axe, Pic Heavy

[Boston973]

I will give this a proper reveiw once I have had a chance to put it through its paces so far i have only used it for a few hours. Here are a few pics to show what you could get when you order one of these.

The Leather sheath it came with is much stronger than i had heard. I sapose you could rip it apart if you realy tried but i am not worried about this being in my pack.

Here is one of the Axe in the sheath. Its a snug fit.

There are alot of imperfections on the Axe. I have to say that surprised me. Also the handle does not fill the socket in the axe head one the front and back as much as i would like. It feels secure but i may add an extra small cross wedge just for peace of mind. I will try and get a good picture of what i am talking about. Until then here are some more shots of the Axe.

At first try the edge seemed great but when compared to my Hawk that i have been using for about three years it was dull. If its goin to replace my normal carry then I am goin to have to put a new edge on and test the heck out of it.

Well thanks for looking. Mabie i will do a comparison of the axe and Hawk once i get a chance to spend some time workign with the two of them together.

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

Hey man, nice axe. Wetterlings need a little TLC upon arrival, but you can tune them up as good as any axe IMO. I have a large hunters (which has the same head as the small hunters, but longer haft)

First, I would sand off the coating on the axe handle and head. Next, I would would soak it in boiled linseed oil for a couple days. I soaked the whole axe, but you might just soak the head to expand the fibers (making a tighter fit). Perhaps make a mix of BLO / turpentine, which supposedly helps the oil penetrate deeper. Let it dry, maybe sand it again, and perhaps put a poly finish on it (I didn't, I liked how the wood grain felt).

After that, give it a good sharpening followed by a strop. Your "new" axe should be as good as any out there (IMO, which is limited to hardware axes, wetterlings, estwing, fiskar and handling a GB)

edit - also, the sheath is new. It does come with the belt loop, and is made of heavier stock leather. The leather is a little dry, so I would oil it inside and out to help with water resistance and wear

Grats

 

[JDO330]

Im sure you can turn it into something special but I must say, from the first couple of pics the head & mask make it look 2nd hand / well used. Whats the head / haft allignment like?

ATB, Jon.

 

[UCBerzerkeley]

Im sure you can turn it into something special but I must say, from the first couple of pics the head & mask make it look 2nd hand / well used. Whats the head / haft allignment like?

ATB, Jon.

Why do you say that? Wetterlings purposely leaves the rough finish on the axe head, as does GB. It is something of an aesthetic trait of many Swedish axes

 

[helixpteron]

Why do you say that? Wetterlings purposely leaves the rough finish on the axe head, as does GB. It is something of an aesthetic trait of many Swedish axes

I guess that its self evident as to why.......... Because its true!

Sure, GB do leave their axe heads unfinished, that being said, the difference in the head on my new GB, and the axe in the photographs, is worlds apart!

I agree with Jon.

 

[Boston973]

I agree, i was definetly surprised at the look of it. The ailienment is great. But the edge profile is awful. I am really hard pressed as to wether this is going to replace my trail hawk from cold steel. Sure the trail hawk is a drop forged assembly line product. But i have it razer sharp, I used gorrila glue and a mallet to enforce the head, and i have refinished and waterproofed the handle. So far i am just not sure wich i prefer. I spent a half hour on the Weterlings edge but the profile needs to be redone completly for it to hold an edge i can be happy with. I will post more picks later on.

 

[heath]

I bought a wetterlings a while back and British Red taught me how to reprofile it (do a search for pocket axe and you should find the thread), It took me quite a while to finish, working on and off, some kind of diamond file would have made a big difference for the transition from ba****rd file to wet and dry. It's a great little axe now, you just have to persevere.