REVIEW: Council Tool Velvicut Hudson Bay Axe (pic heavy)

[ColoradoWildman]

Hi all, I'm new to the forum but have had some UK bushcrafters at Bushcraft USA ask me about this axe so I thought I'd repost the review of it from my blog. Cheers, CW

REVIEW: Council Tool Velvicut Hudson Bay Axe

Council Tool is a relative newcomer to the field of boutique axes, with the category being formerly dominated by Swedish axe makers Gransfors Bruks and Wetterlings as well as Maine-based Snow & Neally. Due to the rise in popularity of homesteading, bushcraft and wilderness survival, the axe appears to be making a comeback after decades of obscurity following the invention of the chainsaw. This has influenced longtime makers to introduce the concept of "boutique axes" or axes that are assembled by hand with a high level of fit and finish so that the axe needs no work before using.

Prior to the boutique concept, a person would have to hand select their own axe and then spend several hours with a file, sharpening stones and lindseed oil to make the axe head and wooden handle ready for use. All that's changed today. If one can muster up the dough then one can have a finished axe that is "turnkey," to borrow a term used in the automobile world. Though costing roughly 4-5 times what a cheaply built Chinese made axe costs, the advantage is that persons without years of experience can buy an axe that is expertly tweaked, finished and ready for use.

Enter Council Tool's Velvicut Hudson Bay Axe. Council is America's oldest continuously operating axe business, originally founded by John Pickett Council in Lake Waccamaw, North Carolina back in 1886. Council has managed to survive for so long by providing simple, yet well built tools along with a commitment to customer service. Council has also provided axes to the US Forest Service since at least the 1930s. They continue to forge and assemble their axes today in the same little North Carolina town.

The Axe

Sporting a two pound, drop forged 5160 polished steel head, 22.5" top grade hickory handle (Grade "A" handle for those new to axe terms) along with a sturdy yet elegant brown leather sheath, the axe is simply stunning:​

The size and weight are similar to famed UK bushcrafter Ray Mears' Wilderness Axe (made by Gransfors Bruks of Sweden). In other words, a very compact 3/4 axe. Council felt that this was an optimum size/weight for a packable axe yet still having enough oomph to split larger pieces of wood. This was also Mears' thinking when he helped design his wilderness axe. My preference with this head weight is a longer handle, but the shorter handle of the Velvicut does make it feel handier. The axe is also hung in the traditional manner with a wooded wedge and metal pin as opposed to Council's usual manner of an aluminum wedge.

The steel that Council uses for the Velvicut line, 5160, is quite revered in the knife community for having outstanding toughness along with good edge retention. Kudos to them for selecting a steel with these kinds of qualities. The axe is advertised as having a Rockwell hardness of 50-54 at the bit (the axe's edge). This particular axe tested in at RC 53. By comparison, the Swedish manufacturers Gransfors Bruks and Wetterlings harden their high carbon steel axe bits in the range of RC 56-58.

This is a fairly substantial difference. This means that the harder Swedish axes tend to take a finer, sharper edge while also retaining that edge better. The downside is that their harder edges can chip easier, especially when it's cold or if hitting a hard knot in a log while chopping.

By contrast, Council's softer yet tougher 5160 steel is more resistant to chipping and breaking. The downside is that it won't hold an edge as long and may not get as absolutely sharp as an axe with harder steel. I guess everything is a tradeoff. The obvious advantage to having an axe with softer, tougher steel is in winter, where steel can become overly brittle. In this situation, maybe the lower hardness makes sense. Either way, Council guarantees the head for life. For additional information on this axe's specs, please check out my Initial Impression Review. It also includes photos of the box and brochure as well some additional angle shots.

 

[ColoradoWildman]

Performance Testing​

I received this axe back in October, and having used it for a couple of months, feel like I have a good sense of its capabilities. I based my review on five specific traits: 1) Chopping ability 2) Splitting ability 3) Balance\Feel 4) Quality of steel and 5) Wood shaping ability for bushcraft\camp duties.

I decided to pit the two pound Council axe against the 1.5lb Wetterlings Large Hunting Axe, also known as the Wetterlings 19.5" Bushcraft Axe. The Wetterlings is a popular axe and has a well deserved reputation for having excellent chopping ability in spite of its smaller size. Even though the Council axe is bigger, I thought they were close enough in overall size to be a good match for each other.

The bit on the Council axe came roughly paper cutting sharp and slightly thick, while the Wetterlings when new had a thinner edge and was hair shaving sharp. To ensure fairness, I cleaned up the edge on the Council with a belt sander and then stropped it to get it as sharp as possible. The Wetterlings is my personal user, so it was already sharp and ready to go.

The two competitors side by side:

Head profiles of the two (Council on left):

Closeup (note the thinner edge of the Wetterlings on the right):

Chopping​

I tested each axe by chopping 30 times into a large seasoned Ponderosa Pine Log. The wider bit and heavier weight of the Council gave it a slight advantage. With a thinner edge I think the Council would have chopped even better. The Wetterlings' thinner edge and smaller cutting surface bit in deeper, but was still bested by the Council axe, thicker edge and all.

The notch to the left is the Council, the right is the Wetterlings:

Down and dirty! Rough testing the axe by chopping some tough roots to find the magical Elven resinwood from a dead Douglas Fir tree:

Splitting​

This log is bigger than what I would normally split with an axe of this size, but I wanted to see what it was capable of if this were the only sized firewood around. The log to be split was chopped off the main log (shown in the photo) with the Council axe. The technique for splitting shown in these photos is an old woodsman's trick for when no splitting block is available.

First swing:​

Rotating the log to get away from the large knot and then another swing:

Success:

After getting the big piece split, the rest of the wood was easy to reduce into both medium sized and kindling sized pieces:

Wood carving/shaping tasks​

For wood carving and shaping, I did two simple and commonly used camping/bushcrafting techniques: 1) Feathersticks for firemaking and 2) carving a tent peg. In these tests, it was quite evident that the extra head weight and thicker edge that helped with splitting duties make things a bit more tricky when doing finer work. In all fairness, using any 2 pound axe for making feathersticks just isn't my idea of fun anyway I would certainly suggest carrying a sheath knife with this axe for doing the finer work, but it's also good to know that if the knife was lost then one could still survive with just the axe.

Rough featherstick made with the Council axe:

Pointed end of a tent peg made with the Council axe:

CONCLUSION​

All in all, the Council axe performed well, and was exceptional in the splitting category. That said, I feel it would make a great winter trekking companion in the cold country due to the nature of the steel. I also believe that if the bit was thinned out some more it would noticeably increase the chopping and wood carving ability of this axe.

I would like to see Council raise the hardness up to about Rockwell 54-56, which I think is a good compromise between hardness and toughness. That said, its present hardness doesn't hamper its ability to chop and split well. I would however suggest carrying a ceramic sharpening rod to touch up the edge occasionally when doing lots of fine work though.

The Velvicut feels well balanced in the hand, and the handle shape is excellent. One of the criticisms I have about Wetterlings is that their handles are too thick. I believe Council is superior to Wetterlings in this respect.

I'd also like to see another sheath option. The supplied sheath is well built, attractive and provides good protection, but I'd like to have an option for one like in the photo below. This style is generally easier to use in the field compared to the top loading factory sheath:

What's most significant about this axe is that it's a piece of history. It's the first American-made boutique/bushcraft axe introduced to compete directly with the popular Swedish axes. It is indeed a worthy competitor, and in an age where almost everything in the US seems to be outsourced to China, Council is bucking that trend, and I applaud them for it.

 

[markheolddu]

Great review its nice to see some thing different in the axe world. I hope they add more models to the range.

Mark

 

[woof]

Excelent review, & welcome to the forum.

Rob

 

[HillBill]

I'm liking the look of that. I've always liked the S&N hudson bay pattern but quality control issues have stayed my hand as far as buying one goes. This axe looks the same but seems to be of a good quality.

Cheers for the review.

 

[Neil1]

I have had a S&N Hudson Bay for 3years now. Its basic, but it works and works very well (I was never one to shop in boutiques anyway). I have a nice picture of Mors Kochanski using Rods S&N (and waxing very lyrical about it!)
I really like the look of this one though - if I was in the market for a new one I think I would be beating a path to their door.
N

 

[Shewie]

Great review CW, that's a smart looking tool

 

[R3XXY]

Possibly the best review I've ever seen on here.

What a great looking axe too, makes me want to go and build a log cabin

 

[crucible]

Just got my Council Hudson's Bay Axe from a local dealer, Bushcraft Canada.

My closest compqrison is a GFB Small Forest Axe, and I agree that the shape and thinness of the handle and the more robust head profile on the Council Axe are nicer features.

I'm not too crazy about the leather axe head cover, but that's easy enough to address with a DIY cover.

I have just finished sharpening the axe head torazor sharpness, and applied some linseed oil to the handle- now I'm ready to go out into the yard and chop up some wood.

Geo

 

[Osagian]

This council Axe looks pretty good! The form of the head with the long edge and short hammer should by some to me unknown reason make it work a little better than these cheap axes with a more rectangular form. I say "unknown reason" as don't know why this type of axe tends to cut better, just that it does. My own favourite axes have that form.

Quality seems to be somewhat higher than the Wetterling, which too often are a little skew or squinting. If one look on the picture below, the Wetterling bends slightly to the left at the edge. Not to exaggerate, but Wetterling is good enough but not perfect.

Where is this fine axe sold?

 

[kodiakjoe]

really great review of a really great looking axe. Thanks for putting the work in