Axe for Hiking

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masiaka

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Oct 31, 2012
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Noob here with a specific question. What is the best felling and/or limbing axe I can take hiking with me for use on hardwood trees? I'm new to axes, hatchets, and tomahawks. I bought a SOG Fasthawk that kinda does what I want and have used it for months while hiking and car camping every weekend but I now want to move up to a more serious, less tacticool tool. The Fasthawk takes a lot of effort and is only useful for smaller limbs (with my level of skill). I bought an Estwing 26" "campers" axe (a boys axe) to begin using when I car camp but I don't want to take it hiking with me and would rather include a smaller kind of axe in my Nessmuk Trio. I'm 5' 7" tall, 175 lb, and in moderately good shape to give you an idea of what I can carry. I want the axe to have a wood haft so that I can replace it on the fly in the event it breaks. I don't care how unlikely breakage is with synthetics or steel. It also doesn't matter to me if this is a modern style tomahawk, a modern hatchet, or a vintage hatchet. Tomahawks may be easier to rehaft on the fly, but I WILL be learning to rehaft whatever I buy before I trust it with my life so do suggest any hatchets or American style axes that fit what I'm asking for. Again, felling is a priority over splitting so I'd like it to have a narrow profile. A hardened hammer poll is a must since I use metal tent stakes. As of right now my budget is very limited so I'd appreciate budget friendly options but I won't give you a hard limit. If the only axe that will work is $1,000,000 I'd like to know so I can start saving now. I'm willing to put in the work to make a production axe into what I'm asking for if it isn't something that's being produced, but my tool skills aren't great either and would need pretty good instructions on how to grind a blade without ruining the temper.

TL: DR What's got a thin head? I want the closest thing to an Estwing campers axe head with an ~16"-20" wood handle and I'm okay with a fixer upper.
 
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I would let you have my refurbished Norlund for the bargain price of $750,000.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1002768-Norlund-purpleheart-haft-(WIP)
I don't know how it would do felling hardwoods but the head looks alot like that Estwing and I put an 18" haft on it. Would probably work nicely with a straight tomahawk style haft too.

Edit: Don't think I would use the poll to drive home metal stakes though. That might be a deal breaker? You could make some nice wood stakes from that hardwood with it though.
 
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That Purple Heart makes a gorgeous haft! Okay, now I know that Norlund made axes similar in shape to Estwing's current axes. Metal stake driving isn't a deal breaker, I can use alternatives. I'll keep an eye out on eBay and in flea markets. As soon as I read "clean deep cuts" in the other thread I was satisfied that it'll do fine for light felling duty. That, a gransfors bruks small forest axe, and a rifleman's 'hawk are on my possibles list so far.

I've already selected the general size of axe I want, haft in between a boys axe and a hatchet so that I can use either 1 or 2 hands and can carry it in my pack. Head can be anywhere from just under a pound to 1.75 pounds as long as I get the assurance it'll cut well or can be made to cut well with so light modification, and it doesn't matter to me how the axe is hafted, American style or tomahawk style. What I'm looking for are brands that have a profile similar to what I described.
 
I got a Council Tool Velvicut Hudson Bay recently. It's hafted very well, perfect grain alignment. The handle is about 22.5" long, with a nice swell at the end. I could swing it one or two handed with no problems. The HB design has a smaller contact area between the head and haft, but lots of edge. I just haven't had a chance to use it yet, but it seems very promising, compared to what I can find at hardware stores. The edge is pretty good, it could use a little bit of thinning, but not much.
Look around at flea markets, yard sales, estate sales, and internet auction sites and you can find a great deal on a more vintage piece.
 
That does sound more my speed. What are the characteristics of the Hudson Bay pattern?
 
There decent choppers. I mainly use mine just for splitting kindling for the wood stove. There pretty popular.
 
Did some more research and found wood trekker's side by side of the gb Scandinavian forest axe and the velvicut hb axe. I like the concave cheeks on the gb more, but not enough to justify the price difference. Of the difference between the velvicut and normal council tool axes is mostly fit and finish then I'm going with either a normal 18" Hudson Bay or whatever good looking vintage axe head I can find at the flea market.
 
I like my Wetterlings ... I think it is the "large hunting axe"? It really should be a large hatchet -- it is not an axe, but really a hatchet with a longer handle. The longer handle doesn't add much weight, but it makes it a much, much better chopper than a shorter handled hatchet. It does a great job chopping through logs and splitting wood given its size and weight. I have beat on many logs with it over the last two years or so and it still feels as solid as the day I bought it.
 
The wetterling is the exact size I'm looking for and has great reviews. I'm just not keen on the price, because I'm on a college budget. Not when the council tools Hudson Bay is half the price and nearly as well reviewed (again, assuming the difference with velvicut is only fit and finish). If I'm wrong about the velvicut then a wetterling may be in my future.
 
Check out Husqvarna, which may be cheaper. I have heard they are made in the same factory as the Wetterlings and are nearly on par. But I don't see an equivalent to the large hunting axe -- only a smaller handled hatchet.
 
I have a cold steel riflemans hawk and it is incredible what I can do with it! holds up really well! good bang for you buck as far as I am concerned. bought mine on ebay for 30 or 40 dollars and have put it through hell, still looks new!
 
The Velvicut Hudson Bay is better steel, better heat treat, better haft and fit/finish. It's a big difference from what I have been able to tell and in my contact with Council on the Hudson Bay Velvicut which I just finally ordered after much deliberation and eeking it out of a very thin budget. The Velvicut is 5160 steel hardened to higher RC (hardness). I have heard GREAT reports on the standard Council Tool Hudson Bay as unquestionably a bargain of an axe but it uses a different cheaper steel. I have read reports of people being pleasantly surprised at getting very nice hickory on a standard line axe as well. I don't know if this helps at all.

edited to add: I am pretty sure the Velvicut is hardened a little more. I know the acceptable RC range in their standard line is looser and when I called Council to talk about their heat treat on the Velvicut they said that these axes definitely receive more care and the average RC they achieve is VERY consistent at 53 - 54. I told them I thought that was a little soft but the rep said they feel VERY confident in their axe performing well and enduring even in hardwoods in freezing temperatures. They said, the head in guaranteed for life and they assured me it was a rock solid performer. They won me over.
 
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Husqvarna ended their contract with Wetterlings, their axes are now being made by Hultafors/Hults Bruks. Still really good for the money. You're right that they don't make an intermediate size between the boys axe and the hatchet. I was considering trying to rehaft a hatchet head on a longer handle but decided against it. It would teach me hafting, but 1.25 lb is too light for that. The hatchet is a tempting deal, though I'm still leaning to longer.

The rifleman's is making a strong case right now. It's a budget beast!

Dunner, thanks! You've laid to rest most of my doubts. Very informative post. :) I'm beginning to wonder if the 1.75 lb head weight is accurate. Anyone measured theirs to see?
 
yeah, the non-velvicut line is likely to arrive with an edge requiring a fair bit of tuning, as with most non-premium axes. If that doesn't bother you, go for it.

The wetterlings sounds expensive, but think of what you'd pay for a medium-production forged knife and suddenly it looks like a steal. I have full-production Ka-bar made Beckers costing ~$80 and they're made en mass, not forged one at a time. Premium axes are a steal. Now I'm buying quality used ones at flea-market prices and re-hafing them, but if you want a tool you can be proud of and depend on that's ready to go out fo the box, buy the wetterlings.

-Daizee
 
masiaka said:
The rifleman's is making a strong case right now. It's a budget beast!

Dunner, thanks! You've laid to rest most of my doubts. Very informative post. :) I'm beginning to wonder if the 1.75 lb head weight is accurate. Anyone measured theirs to see?
Click to expand...

It's also budget construction and budget balance. AWESOME for throwing, tho. :D

I put a 1.75lb head on a 28" boys axe handle and it's great. A bit long to fit fully inside a pack, but it's surprisingly capable. I'd attack anything 3" or less with it without concern. Bigger than that becomes quite a bit of work. It also splits nicely.
 
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