An AXE (kanucks a little help please)

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So I'm asking this from our neighbors to the North because I feel that this is something that is more critical to their area but I'm open to all advice.:D I'm looking for an axe for general purpose, meaning that it can chop AND split. I want something I can survive with if this were the only tool I had and was wondering what would be a good one. Portability being a factor as well. I'm looking for both the brand AND the weight and length. I'm a city boy that doesn't have much use for an axe but there IS an occasional cord to split or a road to clear when I'm shooting/hiking. I know that axes come in a huge variety so tell me what you would want in such a case. I have a hatchet so I'm not really looking for something THAT portable. What I mean by portable is a pack plus a 2 1/2 pound or a 4 1/2 pound axe. I prefer lighter but if I'm in the far north or dead of winter, should I just go with heavy?
 
gransfor bruks small forest axe is my suggestion...

The small forest axe is practical for splitting small sticks for the fire or cutting small-diameter limbwood for starter fuel in a fireplace. It has a 3-1/4" face, a 1-1/2 lb head, and a 19-1/2" handle.

don't let the description fool you its one helluva axe

combo that with a great fixed blade and your set i believe.

cheers
 
Snow & Nealley makes a great 3/4 size Hudson's Bay ax that evolved in the north. It is only a few ounces heavier that a hatchet but far more versatile IMHO. It would be my choice if I were only allowed one edged tool in the north.
 
Does Jimbo post on this site? Because if he does I think that you'll have your answer (the guy's an axe guru). Check out his site.

PS. the axe stuff is around the middle of the page
 
I just got a Wetterlings Long Hunters Axe as a birthday present, it was from Bens Backwoods. $33 is a great price and it is a very nice axe for the money.
 
If you are hiking then I agree with all the above suggestions (particularly my favourite, the Wetterlings.)

If you are seriously venturing in to deep bush, then I would pack something heavier. My favourite for this has been an Agdor Bruks axe which has about a 2 1/2 pound haed and 24 inch handle. It's a much bigger tool than the hiking axes mentioned above, so you would really need to feel that you were going to be keeping yourself warm and living off this axe to make it worthwhile, but I believe that if you are going to deep in there, you are best off to have a serious axe.

One word of warning with the smaller axes: they are deadly. Do not screw up! Chop in such a way that if you miss, you will not hit yourself. Don't get lazy about this! I did, and had to come down out of the bush and track down a doctor to sort me out after I buried my Wetterlings in my leg. I am an experienced axe user, but I just got tired and sloppy at the end of the day.

With a bigger axe, this is less likely to happen.
 
Not a Canuck, but what misanthropist said. I was disappointed in the 15"-19" hatchets/axes. Too big to work with one hand, too small to get a good swing with two. I favor one end or the other, the middle ground doesn't work for me. An axe is about power and control. Two hands are necessary for that control aspect.

On the short end I really like the GB mini-hatchet (13' OAL IIRC), excellent for hiking. On the other end I'll start with a GB Scandinavian Forest axe and then look at even longer Wetterlings and True Temper. For cutting serious wood I'll take a double bit axe. . . and a saw.
 
From your description, you're looking for a 3/4-axe AKA a Hudson Bay style axe.

Snow & Neally makes an excelletn one, as mentioned. 24" 1.75 pound bit.
Estwing makes a 26" camper's axe, but I think it's a bit lighter and the head is a good feller, but a poor splitter.

If you're willing to spend some $$, the I'd recommend the Gransfors Bruks Scandinavian Forest Axe over the small forest axe. The Scandinavian Forest Axe is 25" long and has a 2 pound head, which gives 6" more leverage, and 1/2 pound more weight. This is probably the best axe for double suty if you're not wanting to carry a full size axe.

If you are willing to carry a full size axe, then what would be best for double duty would be a double bit axe with one side narrow profiled for felling, the other a bit more obtuse for splitting.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
From your description, you're looking for a 3/4-axe AKA a Hudson Bay style axe.

Snow & Neally makes an excelletn one, as mentioned. 24" 1.75 pound bit.
Estwing makes a 26" camper's axe, but I think it's a bit lighter and the head is a good feller, but a poor splitter.

If you're willing to spend some $$, the I'd recommend the Gransfors Bruks Scandinavian Forest Axe over the small forest axe. The Scandinavian Forest Axe is 25" long and has a 2 pound head, which gives 6" more leverage, and 1/2 pound more weight. This is probably the best axe for double suty if you're not wanting to carry a full size axe.

If you are willing to carry a full size axe, then what would be best for double duty would be a double bit axe with one side narrow profiled for felling, the other a bit more obtuse for splitting.
Click to expand...

One word of caution about the double-bits: do not go using them in dense brush! I saw a pretty nasty injury on a guy who got one caught on a springy hazel limb that chucked the axe back into him.
 
No experience with it but I just ordered the A.G. Russell Goose Wing axe which seems to fit the bill for me.
 
Obviously (maybe not), any axe needs room to swing. The smaller the axe the less space required. I think part of the reason the Hudson Bay style axe was so popular is that it strikes a balance between needing a whole lot of space to swing, and being too small to get a lot of work done.

Just to be clear, I wouldn't carry a full size axe unless I was planning to live int he woods and build a cabin or something.

I can't speak to the balance difference betweent he S&N HB and GB Scan FA, but I will say the S&N balances great and is well worth the money. The GB being 1/4 pound heavier and 1" longer, I would suspect it would balance very much the same, but have a marginal advantage due to the added weight.
 
misanthropist said:
One word of warning with the smaller axes: they are deadly. Do not screw up! Chop in such a way that if you miss, you will not hit yourself. Don't get lazy about this! I did, and had to come down out of the bush and track down a doctor to sort me out after I buried my Wetterlings in my leg. I am an experienced axe user, but I just got tired and sloppy at the end of the day.

With a bigger axe, this is less likely to happen.
Click to expand...


The little hatchets are indeed a potentially dangerous tool and you must be paying full attention when you use them.

I was reading about a wilderness area or park somewhere where they are forbidden due to the number of nasty accidents involving them.

In a true backcountry/wilderness setting, I seem to worry most about injuring myself with knife or hatchet and am extremely careful. It would really suck to lop off a finger or two or sever a big artery when you're a hundred miles from help.... :eek:

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
If you want to be able to fell a tree, you need a felling axe. If you want to split wood, a splitting axe is much better than a multipurpose head, and 5 pounds is much better than the usual 3 i/2 pounds. If you are really serious about going out in the cold bush, you need a serious axe, but not something you will be tired to use safely at the end of a hard day. And you will need a saw - a good light portable saw. You may have to fell a tree, saw it into pieces and split it for firewood, even assuming you won't need to create a shelter. Some things are done more efficiently with a saw.nd a great axe A No less than 3 1/2 pounds. If you are very strong, heavier is better for heavy work. But be realistic. Handle length depends on your height and your swing. You have to find that out for yourself. Most handles being used are way too short. AND BE CAREFUL. 100% attention when the axe is unsheathed. A gfew forumites can tell you that a serious cut in the bush can be life and death.
But if handled right, axes are a fixation at least as infectious as knives. I wish more custom makers made them.
I just tried, and bought, a Gransfor Bruks Scandinavian Forest Axe . There are a few first rate commercial makers out there, and G-B is among the best, if not the best. This thing is amazing. The head is forged and cuts and bites incredibly well. It's a bit light for my taste and I could use a longer handle, but that makes it quite good as a lighter, portable all purpose axe. Check out their site for the range of weights and handle lengths they offer. They also have a link to the "axe book" which is a nice axe primer.

If you want something more rugged, or if you're going where replacing the wood handle would be a problem, a one piece or integral stainless metal or fibreglass (yuch) handle axe will work. Gerber still makes a good one, I think

The G-B axes ( I also got a splitting axe) are a joy to use.
 
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