Hi guys,
A buddy of mine knows I spend time on the Forestry Forum. He's a guy who likes getting the best he can, the tools that real craftsmen make, but that are still tools to be used, not just put on a shelf.
He's looking at buying a Gransfors Bruks ax or hatchet for camping. From the looks of it, they sound like they're the real deal. Whadya all think? Are there some other options for a guy like this who wants something that's made really well? Are there some great American axes out there, made to this high a standard?
I'm curious too!
I really like my Fiskars ax. It is easy to sharpen, holds an edge and will cut with little effort. It's still a work out, but it is the best cutting ax I have ever owned. It also has a lifetime warranty on the handle and all. 8)
Stew
I love my old double bit $10 junk show special. Its a kelly warrior. Absolutely love it. Thin bits, perfect handle, everything about it is great. Watch fle markets and antique places, because really, who uses axes anymore. Most arent worth that much money.
A sharp one ;) :D ;D
Hey Corley...it looks like you just hit 2500 posts! 8)
I like a sharp one myself. ;) What I'M really interested in, is to see if LogRite is going to put that splitting maul they made into production. ;D
8) Now it's 2,501 ;) ;D That LogRite maul would be nice ;D
Here is a thread from last year on the Axe shopping subject. I know there are some more.
https://forestryforum.com/board/index.php?topic=14946.0
I did a search for "favorite axe," but didn't find these. Thanks Tom!
I split firewood all winter here and I bought a monster maul and threw it away same day, it had a steel handle . I like the simplest axes there is with wood handles . No preferance to brand . I think Buzz know's his axes ,he can tell ya smiley_chop
I bought a monstor maul type maul years ago and use it today. Least when I'm able, I do.
I taped a piece of plastic tubing along the bottom of the handle where I grabbed it. My fingers would "learn" where the tubing was and it helped to keep the maul head straight. Without some indication, you don't know if the head of the maul is vertical or horizontal. Hit a piece of wood with that maul sideway and you'll ring like a ten penny finishing nail hit with a greasy ball peen hammer. :)
My favorite ax was is made in Connecticut and has a blue handle. the original handle was 24", but the new one has a 30" blue handle, having been sent back to the mfg. for a rehandle. I have it loaned out at this time to a possible new comsumer that seems very interested in a variety of the company products, not just the axe. 8) 8) 8)
Gränsfors axes are said to be very good. I have not been able to afford one so I have no own experience but if I wanted the best and could afford it I would buy one. They are made somewhere in Hälsingland in Sweden.
Fiskars axes are good for splitting but they do not fit me somehow for any other use. They feel clumsy and they get clumsier when they get ground down. I wold not buy another one of those.
I am not experienced enough to tell any absolute truths but those are my oppinions.
I have a small vintage Craftsman wood handled hatchet that I like a lot. I don't have an axe that I like, I do have a couple of really abused wood-handled single-bit axes that I doubt I can make worth using again. I like the Monster Maul, I can't get my dad to part with his so I'll have to find one of my own.
My grandfather did a lot of work in the woods with axes and cross-cut saws before chainsaws became all the rage. Everyone of his was sort of custome made. He bought the handle seperate from the axe head and joined the two in his own special manner. Then came the axe handle itself. He would use a draw knife and curve and shape it just the way he liked it.
I was too young to pick up on all this back then, but he made sure his axe had just the right amount of spring in the handle, the right curvature and weight. Maybe we could all learn from him in some ways huh?
My dad has an ash axe handle that my great uncle made for him, in the same way your grandfather made his tools. Uncle Arvid lived on the old family homestead until he was about 80--no running water, no electricity, and only wood heat. That man could work with wood though, and all by hand. If he needed a new axe handle, he just made it himself. He died about 10 years ago, and it was only the last five or so years of his life that he didn't live in that homestead. Could've still made an ax handle for you in that last year of his life too. :)
I have one of the gransfors carving axes for doing log work and they are definately a first rate tool. I also bought a Wetterling hatchet on ebay, they are kind of a gransfors copy with decent quality, but the gransfors came SHARP. The wetterling I had to work on a bit, you need a razor sharp edge for the log work. The handle on the wetterling is out of alignment too. Most any other new axes or hatchets I have looked at just feel too clumsy, I think they're just for choppin roots in the back yard. My .02
I like the carpenter's axe the best .I've got one of their hatchets too.
I've had the Monster Maul axe since the mid 70's and once beat my Dad and brother who were using a hydraulic! A great splitter and a good workout.
I've got a double bit axe that I sharpen with two different slopes since you need to do sharp work and rough work - very useful and more balanced than a one bit.
But my favorite axe has six strings and I use it sitting on the porch on a warm summer evening! 8)
Way back when I was young ( many decades ago ) and ignorant ( about supper time ) I went out and bought me a wood stove, an axe, and a two man saw. Learned real quick that even a beat up used chain saw from the hardware store in the county seat was better than that two person job. Next a friend showed me a monster maul. Well for cutting a good axe is fine but for splitting those monster mauls have saved me a bundle on replacement handles ( well maybe now I 've finally got the idea that you're to use the blade not the handle ) and with a little luck I can even split short pieces of elm or knotty stuff with it. Oh - I guess the axe mighta come from Sears back then.
Right now my Snow and Neally axe is coming in handy. It's super sharp which makes lobbing off a pound of flesh a lot easier. I have to do that now everytime I fill up my truck ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D