Well, as promised here is the 'in use' part of the review. I'm no expert so a lot of this is purely subjective but hopefully useful to somebody.
I got to use the Cegga axe today for the first time in anger (well pleasure actually
). The first thing was to try a featherstick but this time on something a little more challenging.
The control on such a small item was very good indeed and it shaved very smoothly. I tried the same with the Wildlife hatchet and it did a similar job but produced thicker shavings and was slightly harder to control. Of course some of this could so easily be down to my last sharpening of the GB! Anyway, I was impressed!
Now on to some chopping. I used a fallen Scot's Pine branch that was approximately 8cm thick. Both axes seemed to fair the same. I couldn't really tell any difference between them at this point (maybe my inexperience). Penetration was about the same for both axes though the Cegga may have made it a couple of mm deeper each time. The most obvious difference was how the edge landed on the wood. In both cases the axe was swung from a semi-crouch with the head travelling about 50cm downwards. The GB presented approx. 50% of its edge to the chop from that position whereas the Cegga had about 80% of its edge in contact with the wood. This has everything to do with the shape of the handle. The other noticeable difference between the 2 was again due to the handle shape. The shape of Cegga's axe handle put less strain on the wrist than the straighter handle of the GB providing a more comfortable angle in use.
I did some limbing of small branches with both axes performing similarly. Again the only difference being that the Cegga was a bit more comfortable to use and there was less follow through because of the better wrist angle. In straightforward splitting of logs there seemed to be no difference in performance that I could detect.
So my overall conclusion? The Cegga is much better finished than my GB, it has the advantage of being hand forged on a small scale by a maker who takes obvious pride in his work. I couldn't really detect any difference between the two in use but time may tell on that one. The Cegga however is just gorgeous, hand made, better balanced than the GB and more comfortable (and perhaps safer as a result?) to use. Perhaps it is a bit more efficient at cutting because there was more blade in contact with the wood than the GB in that particular position but again that could well end up being swings and roundabouts.
Would I buy one knowing what I know know? Hell yes. I know I was lucky to get this one at the price I did. I think it is superior in many ways to my GB which was about the same money. I would pay more for it though I was/am happy with my GB so how much more I would pay I'm not sure. All I can say is that it is a great bit of kit, I love it to bits and I'm chuffed to bits that I have one.
Joff
I got to use the Cegga axe today for the first time in anger (well pleasure actually
). The first thing was to try a featherstick but this time on something a little more challenging.
The control on such a small item was very good indeed and it shaved very smoothly. I tried the same with the Wildlife hatchet and it did a similar job but produced thicker shavings and was slightly harder to control. Of course some of this could so easily be down to my last sharpening of the GB! Anyway, I was impressed!
Now on to some chopping. I used a fallen Scot's Pine branch that was approximately 8cm thick. Both axes seemed to fair the same. I couldn't really tell any difference between them at this point (maybe my inexperience). Penetration was about the same for both axes though the Cegga may have made it a couple of mm deeper each time. The most obvious difference was how the edge landed on the wood. In both cases the axe was swung from a semi-crouch with the head travelling about 50cm downwards. The GB presented approx. 50% of its edge to the chop from that position whereas the Cegga had about 80% of its edge in contact with the wood. This has everything to do with the shape of the handle. The other noticeable difference between the 2 was again due to the handle shape. The shape of Cegga's axe handle put less strain on the wrist than the straighter handle of the GB providing a more comfortable angle in use.
I did some limbing of small branches with both axes performing similarly. Again the only difference being that the Cegga was a bit more comfortable to use and there was less follow through because of the better wrist angle. In straightforward splitting of logs there seemed to be no difference in performance that I could detect.
So my overall conclusion? The Cegga is much better finished than my GB, it has the advantage of being hand forged on a small scale by a maker who takes obvious pride in his work. I couldn't really detect any difference between the two in use but time may tell on that one. The Cegga however is just gorgeous, hand made, better balanced than the GB and more comfortable (and perhaps safer as a result?) to use. Perhaps it is a bit more efficient at cutting because there was more blade in contact with the wood than the GB in that particular position but again that could well end up being swings and roundabouts.
Would I buy one knowing what I know know? Hell yes
. I know I was lucky to get this one at the price I did. I think it is superior in many ways to my GB which was about the same money. I would pay more for it though I was/am happy with my GB so how much more I would pay I'm not sure. All I can say is that it is a great bit of kit, I love it to bits and I'm chuffed to bits that I have one.Joff
