Selecting an axe (picture heavy)

[fred gordon]

Many thanks Red and as Blue Boy says very timely. I am hinting at a small forest axe for Christmas. One thing though when I looked the first pic for the first time I thought it was a hairy chest!!

 

[British Red]

Many thanks Red and as Blue Boy says very timely. I am hinting at a small forest axe for Christmas. One thing though when I looked the first pic for the first time I thought it was a hairy chest!!

It is a hairy chest of course...err...just more "Vixen" than "Red"

Just so you don't get misled, thats a Scandanavian Forest shown (24"), not a Small Forest (19")

Red

 

[mattw4466]

thanks alot very interesting, i'd like to know what a wood grenande is. Thanks.

 

[British Red]

A wood grenade is a slightly twisted pyramid of metal matt. its placed in the centre of a small round and pounded with a sledge hammer causing the round to fallinto several "wedges" of wood in one operation

Red

 

[Rod]

Cheers Red - really helpful article

 

[dwardo]

Cheers thats a wealth of info ! I am looking for an axe so this helps loads

 

[Klenchblaize]

Just purchased one of these via e-bay for under £30 including shipping to UK.

I plan to give one blade a log splitting edge and the other a semi-hollow grind for meat work. I’ve no idea if the brand (Marbles "No. 9 Hunting Axe") is any good but guess I’ll soon find out!

Cheers
Ps: Long may the $ be worth 50p!!

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

Very nice axe

 

[Spikey DaPikey]

A wood grenade is a slightly twisted pyramid of metal matt. its placed in the centre of a small round and pounded with a sledge hammer causing the round to fallinto several "wedges" of wood in one operation

Red

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

Got my Gransfors Scandi today, I was expecting something heavier...but does it chop nicely! It's perfect for what I do, although I'm thinking of also getting an American Felling axe, anyone know where I can order one?

 

[weaver]

I’ve no idea if the brand (Marbles "No. 9 Hunting Axe") is any good but guess I’ll soon find out!

Marbles used to make the finest edged tools in the world. Don't know how they are now. Wish you the best and would like to know how it works out.

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

Tested out the Scandinavian Forest Axe for two days now. Came to two conclusions;

1) great for light work, such as simple bushcraft

2) Needs a heavy timber axe to help it achieve any more heavyduty work (felling large trees, splitting wood, felling hardwoods)

I really like the price tag too, not too expensive for such quality... But I'm definately getting an American Felling axe for the jobs that require more force than precision.

Anybody know of a good price for a good felling axe?

 

[British Red]

OMN,

The Scandinavian is a limbing axe rather than a felling axe so hence, if you were expecting a felling axe, my apologies. I do find a full 30" plus 3lb felling axe too heavy to carry around as a rule for general Bushcraft purposes hence my love for my scandinavian. Even out of the box it does require some bevel polishing etc. mind you!

The puppy meister (Andrew at Outdoorcode) will sort you out a hell of a price on an American if thats your preferred choice - I would suggest you consider the "working axe" option though - a truly beautiful axe

www.outdoorcode.co.uk

Red

 

[British Red]

KB,

You may notice a certain picture of a double bit axe above. Its a Marbles no.9

I hope you love yours.

I hope you love it enough to buy mine

Sorry

Red

 

[OldJimbo]

The GB American Falling Axe is out of production now. It's possible that the specialty dept at Lee Valley might still have one.

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

OMN,

The Scandinavian is a limbing axe rather than a felling axe so hence, if you were expecting a felling axe, my apologies. I do find a full 30" plus 3lb felling axe too heavy to carry around as a rule for general Bushcraft purposes hence my love for my scandinavian. Even out of the box it does require some bevel polishing etc. mind you!

The puppy meister (Andrew at Outdoorcode) will sort you out a hell of a price on an American if thats your preferred choice - I would suggest you consider the "working axe" option though - a truly beautiful axe

www.outdoorcode.co.uk

Red

Oh trust me, I was expecting what I got, and I definately love this axe! I just realised that for the work I plan on doing, a larger axe would be needed as well.

 

[OldJimbo]

How big and what type are the trees to be cut?

 

[OzaawaaMigiziNini]

How big and what type are the trees to be cut?

Mostly 8 inch sometimes the rare 10-12 inch tree. Mostly pine, maple, spruce, fir, hophorn beam (thinner but denser wood), and willow. I know with the Scandi the softer woods can be cut, but the denser and thicker wood, I'll need a feller, or stick with my home hardware brand one .

 

[OldJimbo]

The Iltis faller which is $84 at Lee Valley would be a decent choice, since it has a thin blade. The trouble is that the wider oxhead blade doesn't bite as deep as a narrower one. You'd also need to see a bunch to select as quality control is all over the place from good to terrible.
The classic tool for clearing small trees like that is a 10/11" double of about 3.3 lb head - lots of those in decent shape on ebay.

 

[Mike B]

Cheers British Red
A very informative thread I now know what I'm looking for for my next axe and my son's first axe.Mike B...