Why Gransfors?

[Pete E]

Tomtom,

I have no issues with Ray Mears nor the quality of GB axes, my now deleted tittle was very much tounge in cheek.

While Ray Mears was not the first to cite the importance of an axe, I can't think of too many others that have written so many books or appeared on TV so many times over the last few years. Somehow I will always associate Ray with a GB axe and his woodlore knife, and Lofty Wiseman with a parang (sp?)! I would add that it was a couple of Ray Mears programes from Scandinavia, that have inspired me to want to visit that part of the world.

Regards,

Pete

 

[tomtom]

Pete apologies if i sounded argumentative
on axes, for me.. Mors Kochanski is the associstion.. :mrgreen:

 

[EdS]

why bother with an axe in the UK - a decent billhook will do all a small axe will and more.

After all it got 2000 years + of design behind it.

I used t obe mad keen on my SFA until a got a billhook and now the SFA gets very little use - it either a big felling/splitting axe for splitting logs or athe billhook for me.

 

[tomtom]

After all it got 2000 years + of design behind it.

i reckon an axe does too..

its a vaied point.. i have an old bill hook, and i like to use it, but it doesnt have a proper sheath and i dont like to carry around something with such a large cutting edge which is exposed.

each to his own.. eh

 

[Andy]

why bother with an axe in the UK - a decent billhook will do all a small axe will and more.

I was waiting for this comment

runaway runaway

 

[jakunen]

Personally I'm a Wetterlings fan. I've got the SHA that Gary sells (he even put my review on his site ), and I just find that it suits me.

I've tried both brands and the SHA just feels RIGHT. It fits my hand perfectly (and no it was an off the shelf not a custom haft), the action is superb and straight out of the box it was almost dangerously sharp. I took down a tree and limbed it and apart from a little cramping as I hadn't used an axe for a while, I didn't get ANY blisters. And it hardly needed sharpening (well not until I found a piece of gravel in the middle of one of the branches .

Its horses-for-courses. This horse prefers the Wetterlings for use in the field.

 

[bambodoggy]

I'm a bit of a newie to Axe use, I used small hatchets while in the scouts years ago but always prefered the bowsaw (we were only getting firewood).

I have got back into Axe's in the last year or so but I'm not shelling out on a GB axe.....like I'm good enough with one for the make/model to make any difference to me!
I have a wood burning stove so I spend a lot of time log splitting and I think I can safely say that NOTHING will beat my "Stihl Log splitter", which is a cross between a full size axe and a sledge hammer!!!! ): ): ): (but I admit, not the ideal bushcraft tool )

I have two axes I take out to play with me in the woods, both made by Gerber and both with hollow plastic handles....I'm not going to review then as this isn't the thread for that but I'm coming to love them...they take no end of punishment and require virtually no maintenance at all and they cost about half that of a GB axe. One is camp sized and the other is only just bigger than my hand....they hold an edge and are easy to sharpen.

I'll be bringing them to the Ashdown meet up so any interested can have a play with them..... I'd also be grateful if anybody has a GB that they would let me play with and can show me why I should part with that ammount of cash for it.

I don't do BIG axes....I've got the splitter and a chainsaw and I don't want to carry a full sized axe about anyway....they look scarey and weigh a ton!

 

[EdS]

what about a GB or Wettlings spliting axe or maul!

Thinking of getting the Wettling's one after Xmas.

 

[bambodoggy]

I don't suppose there's much in it....I just like Stihl gear....never ever let me down!

 

[jakunen]

I don't suppose there's much in it....I just like Stihl gear....never ever let me down!

Now there's a man who likes to tempt Mistress Fate...:smiley-fa

 

[tenbears10]

what about a GB or Wettlings spliting axe or maul!

My brother just got a gransfors large splitting axe and I had a go the other weekend, it is fantastic. It's not like any other axe I've used. The bit goes a couple of cm into the wood and you hear a very satisfying crack and the log is split in two. The axe doesn't get near the block you are chopping on, the job is done long before that.

Having said that the are not much use for anything other than spliting rounds of wood with the grain. If you have a fire at home you should get to use it but they are not for bushcraft. I wouldn't bother with the maul, get a spliting axe and a cheap sledge hammer.

Bill

 

[Gary]

Remember the safety aspects too - a saw can be learnt and safely used in a few hours a axe can take a life time!

Plus a axe injury in the wilds is a very serious matter - if in doubt leave it out thats why we teach and preach using a baton!!

 

[Hoodoo]

Remember the safety aspects too - a saw can be learnt and safely used in a few hours a axe can take a life time!

Plus a axe injury in the wilds is a very serious matter - if in doubt leave it out thats why we teach and preach using a baton!!

I totally agree! Axes take a lot of practice to use effectively. Good axemen have spent their lives using an axe. Yet I've read more than a few accounts of experienced outdoorsmen who injured themselves with an axe. However, if you are planning on building a cabin to spend the winter in the wilderness like many trappers do in the northwoods, an axe is essential. Nowadays the chainsaw is more common for the big tasks although because of the problem with hauling gas around, many northwoods travelers are turning away from snowmobiles and chainsaws and are returning to dog sleds and axes.

 

[bambodoggy]

Sorry guys, at the risk of heading seriously off thread here....

Ok, I've decided to go out as a non petrol person. I've got my Dog Team and sled and my trusty axe as well as a small folding saw.....
Before I headed out I saw a "pocket Chainsaw" in a camping shop.....should I have bought it?

Have any of you used one? Not the flimsy commando type wire saws but an actual pocket chain saw?

 

[Viking]

To me a GB axe a very special item, someone has made the axe and then out is signature on it, someone is proud of his workmanship, the axe more or less got a soul. It´s the same with knives, a mora knife is a really good knife but a handmade just got that little extra (a soul).


The "oocket chainsaw" is more or less crap, go for a folding saw instead.

 

[Buckshot]

Before I headed out I saw a "pocket Chainsaw" in a camping shop.....should I have bought it?

Have any of you used one? Not the flimsy commando type wire saws but an actual pocket chain saw?

Rich has one, I tried it when we were at the Gathering.
I thought it was pretty good, a bit jumpy though. It cut through wood quite easily, perhaps about the same speed as a sharp bow saw.
I presume it was a sharp pocket saw...

Cheers

Mark

 

[Paganwolf]

To me a GB axe a very special item, someone has made the axe and then out is signature on it, someone is proud of his workmanship, the axe more or less got a soul. It´s the same with knives, a mora knife is a really good knife but a handmade just got that little extra (a soul).


The "oocket chainsaw" is more or less crap, go for a folding saw instead.

Totaly agree with you there Viking, You can not beat a hand crafted tool, they have been brought in to being by a craftsman/woman, It has character and a warmth about it that cant be explained, there are too many mass produced items floating about and id wait and save my pennies and buy something with quality which will last you a life time and gain character with age. When i was a blacksmith i inherited my smithing tools from the old smith before me they were built with purpose by someone who new how to use them and did use them they had character as i have said something which seems to be lacking around us now a days, is it a thing of the past now plastic and perspex and mass production has come into play?? :?:

 

[jakunen]

Totaly agree with you there Viking, You can not beat a hand crafted tool, they have been brought in to being by a craftsman/woman, It has character and a warmth about it that cant be explained, there are too many mass produced items floating about and id wait and save my pennies and buy something with quality which will last you a life time and gain character with age. When i was a blacksmith i inherited my smithing tools from the old smith before me they were built with purpose by someone who new how to use them and did use them they had character as i have said something which seems to be lacking around us now a days, is it a thing of the past now plastic and perspex and mass production has come into play?? :?:

Being an artisan by nature I have to agree with both of you, especially as the gents at Wetterlings also sign the heads, in fact my puuku I got from Stuart is also signed. There is nothing to my mind better than buying or receiving a tool or whatever that someone has handcrafted with the love of their art.
But I think that people are starting to go back to wanting REAL things that are not just meant to be used and then thrown away.

From discussions I've had more people are turning back to the old values of quality, value for money, craftsmanship.
In Reading there are a number of new quality furniture shops for example. I've always had this thing for REAL furniture and running my hands over a nice peice of wood as my grandfather was a master carpenter and cabinet maker and its my way of remembering him, and I was surprised to see that they were using REAL wood and actually using REAL joints not cam-loks and metal brackets but actual real dovetails and rabbets. I nearly died of shock!

People seem to be becoming more discerning and less inclined to go for something 'because it was cheap', and seem to be prepared to pay a bit extra for something that won't just last a year, but 10 years or longer, that they can take some pride in owning. I personally think people are getting fed up with disposable trash and want the real thing...

 

[MSkiba]

Hello,

Rather than starting a new thread I thought I would highjack this one! =)

Im thinking of buying the small forrest axe, does anyone have a picture of one with the RM logo? (specifically the logo)

Also, they come with warranty, what happens if I give someone the axe? i.e. a present, do I also need to give them the invoice for it for the warranty sticks?

I would also like to bang a logo onto the sheath, emboss if you like. I have a stamp and was thinking of wetting the leather and then leaving the stamp pressed into it, would I get away with that trick?

 

[Chris the Cat]

The best axe I own ( and I own a few! ) for general bushcraft use is my hand forged Dave Budd trade axe.
Best splitter for fire wood, large Rosseli.
Love my GB's but in use, so far, it is the above.
My best.
Chris.