What is a great axe?

neverbilly said:

I recently bit the bullet and bought a Gransfors Bruk Wildlife hatchet because I needed a hatchet. I am amazed at how well it cuts. It cuts really deep on each blow. It seems to be all it's cracked up to be.

What about a felling axe? Anyone have an opinion on what is good? I wonder if the Gransfors Bruk American Felling Axe would be good for this? Or do you think something cheaper is just as good? (BTW, a Fiskars hatchet gets great reviews, and costs a fraction of what a Gransfors Bruks does.)

I have two needs. First is I have a lot of dead hardwoods on my property due to drought a few years ago. Many are pretty rotten. I wonder what would be good to chop them down? Second, I have a lot of thinning to do of undesirable hardwoods. Such as sweetgum that need to be thinned around more desirable trees. These are growing, green trees.

Of course, I could use a chainsaw, but chopping is good exercise. If it wears me out too much, back to the chainsaw, lol. I saw a thread on another forum about using a crosscut saw, and I could do that, but also wondering about just using an axe.

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Best felling ax? A good chainsaw.
Best splitting ax? Fiskars x27

neverbilly said:

I recently bit the bullet and bought a Gransfors Bruk Wildlife hatchet because I needed a hatchet. I am amazed at how well it cuts. It cuts really deep on each blow. It seems to be all it's cracked up to be.

What about a felling axe? Anyone have an opinion on what is good? I wonder if the Gransfors Bruk American Felling Axe would be good for this? Or do you think something cheaper is just as good? (BTW, a Fiskars hatchet gets great reviews, and costs a fraction of what a Gransfors Bruks does.)

I have two needs. First is I have a lot of dead hardwoods on my property due to drought a few years ago. Many are pretty rotten. I wonder what would be good to chop them down? Second, I have a lot of thinning to do of undesirable hardwoods. Such as sweetgum that need to be thinned around more desirable trees. These are growing, green trees.

Of course, I could use a chainsaw, but chopping is good exercise. If it wears me out too much, back to the chainsaw, lol. I saw a thread on another forum about using a crosscut saw, and I could do that, but also wondering about just using an axe.

Click to expand...

I believe strongly in the Fiskars X15. I have multiple ones and use them often.

Situations where this axe shines over a saw:

-Any time I need to clear the road of anything under 10 inches in diameter. By the time you pull the saw out, gas it up, oil it, check the chain tension, and start it, the tree can be more quickly cleared with an axe.
-Any time you need to keep an axe in a vehicle. It comes in right around two feet long which makes it both portable and effective.
-Freeing a slightly stuck saw. Once again, it is much easier to carry into the woods and use it to take some quick chips out of a tree to free up a saw. Best part is, if you make contact with your saw bar, it isn't going to cause damage like hitting it with another saw would.
-Good price and lifetime warranty.
-Nearly indestructible

That all being said, the days of felling large trees with axes is thankfully in the past and should stay there.

I'm a fan of the Fiskars x27. Never really thought I'd buy one but I caved to the overwhelmingly positive reviews you'll read about them pretty much everywhere, and now I see why. For the money, you can't really go wrong.

Of course after typing this I realize you wouldn't be using an x27 for felling...still, I'd say it's worth looking into a felling axe by Fiskars.

You're right on the money with a Gransfors. It's the kind of ax you can treasure for a lifetime; and if you are the type that appreciates old world technology that still works better than most modern inventions, these tools work their way into your heart. Of course there are other axes for less money that will do the job well; even brilliantly in some cases so I have nothing negative to say about them. It's just that Gransfors have a special quality that is hard to quantify. (But still, I wouldn't hesitate to use a good chainsaw when it is better suited for the task!)

The novelty and nostalgia of using a felling axe will soon wear off during the first tree you fell.
. . . yeah use a chain saw.

I can't seem to get a good look at said GB hatchet in action lol. I sure would love to try the splitting maul.

A great ax is only as good as your ability to sharpen it. From a metallurgical point of view hand forged or drop forged can end up at the same potential quality. It really comes down to how well the owner protects it and how well they can sharpen it. A great ax that is dull, left out to rust, or used to chop out roots is not going to work any better than a cheap harbor freight ax. The local trail crews in NH actually need to use axes in federally designed wilderness areas as no power tools are allowed. I believe they use off the shelf Council Tools. They take very good care of their axes and make sure they are sharp and sharpened correctly. Sure super high end axes are out there and are high quality but most of the price is just markup to make them wanted. Of course if you have money to burn and want something to hang up on the wall these are really nice https://www.lie-nielsen.com/nodes/4085/wetterlings-axes

One of sorriest sights to see is someone using a grinder to sharpen any tools especially an ax. It may end up with a pretty edge but odds are the blades edge is ruined. I actually have a 50 year old electric wet grinder that works well for the initial clean up of a edge.. Its slow but doesn't heat the edge. I do have hand stones to finish the edge but in no way am I an expert. Its quite impressive to see a good working axman knock out a log, the chips are big and they go quick. I expect exhibition ax folks have a far different method of sharpening as they are usually one and done, I expect the edges they sharpen in wouldn't last long out on the trail.

By the way, here is pretty darn good primer on Axes

https://www.fs.fed.us/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf99232823/pdf99232823Pdpi300.pdf

Blazing said:

I can't seem to get a good look at said GB hatchet in action lol. I sure would love to try the splitting maul.

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That's the one I have (and love!)

I have seen several high end axes on line and most of them are out of my budget. To paraphrase my Dad a bit, the best axe will be the one you use...I have a couple of Trupers my brother got for me at Lowe's. They are a decent axe for the money & I used them for quite a while. Still use the 8# maul on larger splits.
I inflamed my elbow, had tons of wood to split, and got myself a Fiskars. It has become my go to axe. I have since bought a Fiskars hatchet, which is also a nice little axe to use.
Bottom line...if it is in your tool shed collecting dust, it's the wrong one.
Just my thoughts...