Axe brand comparison
- Thread starter AJ
- Start date
I have a couple including the Roselli Long Axe, Gransfors Hand Hatchet, a couple Hardcore Hammers hatchets and most recently a Council Tools Velvicut Hudson Bay Axe. Which I suspect would be on a similar plane to their Woodcraft series if not slightly more premium?
Frankly the Council Tool is a bit of a disappointment compared to the others.
It arrived NEW with a buggered handle including a small crack immediately under the head. In addition, there are some depth of finish issues with the handle. It's hung well and there is only minor asymmetry on the head grind and finish. At the end of the day it's just not finished as nice as the others (please note the Council Tool axe described was the first of 2 that I was sent by the retailer I purchased the axe from. I will end up retaining this one and getting a new handle for it.)
I expressed my dissatisfaction with the axe and the retailer was great! They issued me a return label and sent me a replacement immediately...no kidding within hours of my call.
The replacement arrived a few days later.....It was NEW in the box as well. The replacement was significantly worse than the first unit.
Head poll was ground crooked very notably off kilter...almost looked like something I would do...;-)
There was a large bur on the top corner the bit leaving it almost rounded.
The bur was significant and it would have needed a file to fix.
The the grain pattern on the handle had poor orientation for a premium axe.
The handle has been cut crooked in relation to the head when trimmed.
The knob was finished in a very asymmetrical fashion.
And when comparing the 2 identical Council Axes the shoulders were significantly different in length....by inches.
Needless to say I'm not ecstatic on the quality, fit and finish of the Council Tool axes that I have seen to date.
Maybe my expectations were too high.
On the other hand the Roselli was perfect and is is one of my favorites....(I liked it so much I just purchased an extra head and short handle to mount up myself).
The Gransfors was perfect....no issues what so ever.....
Even the 2 Hardcore Hammers units exhibited better quality control than the Council Tools axes.
There you have it...my 2 cents.
Frankly the Council Tool is a bit of a disappointment compared to the others.
It arrived NEW with a buggered handle including a small crack immediately under the head. In addition, there are some depth of finish issues with the handle. It's hung well and there is only minor asymmetry on the head grind and finish. At the end of the day it's just not finished as nice as the others (please note the Council Tool axe described was the first of 2 that I was sent by the retailer I purchased the axe from. I will end up retaining this one and getting a new handle for it.)
I expressed my dissatisfaction with the axe and the retailer was great! They issued me a return label and sent me a replacement immediately...no kidding within hours of my call.
The replacement arrived a few days later.....It was NEW in the box as well. The replacement was significantly worse than the first unit.
Head poll was ground crooked very notably off kilter...almost looked like something I would do...;-)
There was a large bur on the top corner the bit leaving it almost rounded.
The bur was significant and it would have needed a file to fix.
The the grain pattern on the handle had poor orientation for a premium axe.
The handle has been cut crooked in relation to the head when trimmed.
The knob was finished in a very asymmetrical fashion.
And when comparing the 2 identical Council Axes the shoulders were significantly different in length....by inches.
Needless to say I'm not ecstatic on the quality, fit and finish of the Council Tool axes that I have seen to date.
Maybe my expectations were too high.
On the other hand the Roselli was perfect and is is one of my favorites....(I liked it so much I just purchased an extra head and short handle to mount up myself).
The Gransfors was perfect....no issues what so ever.....
Even the 2 Hardcore Hammers units exhibited better quality control than the Council Tools axes.
There you have it...my 2 cents.
I picked up a Council Velvicut and I’ve been pretty happy with it. I’m not particularly well versed in what makes an axe good though, this one just caught my eye. It’s sharp, the wood grain looked good enough to me and and the head seems to be mounted straight.
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- Mar 8, 2008
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Council did recently have sort of a hiccup of sorts due to some handle sourcing supply issues and based on my own experiences as a retailer I received some axes during that period that had handles that never should have made it to retail. During the same period there were a few heads that came through (in the Sport Utility line) that had minor issues with them that they nevertheless shouldn't have had. Council cleared all of the issues for me and I know for a fact that the guys responsible for the production stages in which the errors occurred were notified of the issue and what to do to correct it. I've had no such problems since then. So be aware that there was a brief period of about a month where there were some lemons coming through but it's been corrected at this point (from my experience dealing with cases worth of units, at least.)