Axe question

garry3 said:
That epoxy eyed Swedish stuff from the 60's or 70's are about as bad as any, with over sized eyes to boot on the hatchets. Right in line with Norlund, which most Bushcrafters would probably tell us are the finest ever made.
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Norlund axes were initially designed for the Canadian market and so, unsurprisingly, have the standard Canadian eye, which is larger than the standard American boys' axe/hatchet eye. Oxhead Iltis Canada, Garant, Walters' etc. will be the same. To me the American boys' axe eyes seem weirdly small. Having a larger eye on a light head makes for better geometry in my opinion, and is part of why Canadian patterns like the Spearwell (etc) Slimline, Garant Canadienne, Muller Biber, and Ochsenkopf Iltis Canada are such great little axes to actually use.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Yes, they were an economy brand by Mann mostly sold in country stores in a shrink-wrapped hang packaging. They're basically a hardware store special with glamping glitz sprinkled on for good measure. But that's also kind of where we got the modern Hudson Bay pattern so it's all good in the end I guess. At least it makes it good for flippers who know better.
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Their saddle cruiser is also one of the ver few DB hatchets you can find too, not that they're necessarily the most practical but are definitely quite cool.

The Norlund saddle cruiser was also Collins branded for a very short period and there were some Saddle cruisers made 100 years ago, but the Norlund is the most common and least expensive .( though still overpriced)

The Council tools is bigger, the Moore Maker and identical imports are extremely fat and basically useless, and the Imicasa/ marbles has the right idea but consistency is basically nonexistent.
 
snarkingturtle said:
Norlund axes were initially designed for the Canadian market and so, unsurprisingly, have the standard Canadian eye, which is larger than the standard American boys' axe/hatchet eye. Oxhead Iltis Canada, Garant, Walters' etc. will be the same. To me the American boys' axe eyes seem weirdly small. Having a larger eye on a light head makes for better geometry in my opinion, and is part of why Canadian patterns like the Spearwell (etc) Slimline, Garant Canadienne, Muller Biber, and Ochsenkopf Iltis Canada are such great little axes to actually use.
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Every Norlund I have ever owned had a standard size eye.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Yes, they were an economy brand by Mann mostly sold in country stores in a shrink-wrapped hang packaging. They're basically a hardware store special with glamping glitz sprinkled on for good measure. But that's also kind of where we got the modern Hudson Bay pattern so it's all good in the end I guess. At least it makes it good for flippers who know better.
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How does Norlunds Hudson Bay differ from say the older Collins or TT?
 
garry3 said:
How does Norlunds Hudson Bay differ from say the older Collins or TT?
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I mean...depends on how old you mean by "older". If you mean, say, 1940's and earlier then Collins and TT blow 'em out of the water.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I mean...depends on how old you mean by "older". If you mean, say, 1940's and earlier then Collins and TT blow 'em out of the water.
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I know Welland Vale offered Hudson Bay pattern before merging with Kelly. The question is did TT Canada continue to produce it till ribbed eye HB hit the US market?
 
crbnSteeladdict said:
I know Welland Vale offered Hudson Bay pattern before merging with Kelly. The question is did TT Canada continue to produce it till ribbed eye HB hit the US market?
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I think TT made one with ribbed eyes. It wasn't called a Hudson Bay but it sure looks like one to me. A boys axe size with a little notch looking thing just forward of the eye. I think they called it the Woodsman.
 
I think the ribbed eyes are post 1963 or so maybe right about the time Norlund hit the market.

Is the Woodsman the TT you were thinking of cbnSteeladdict?
 
garry3 said:
I think TT made one with ribbed eyes. It wasn't called a Hudson Bay but it sure looks like one to me. A boys axe size with a little notch looking thing just forward of the eye. I think they called it the Woodsman.
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The Wood Slasher line had a Hudson Bay that had a little notch in front of the eye much like (though not identical to) the original Collins models did. But those were USA made.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
I mean...depends on how old you mean by "older". If you mean, say, 1940's and earlier then Collins and TT blow 'em out of the water.
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Don't forget that some of the Norlund stuff was also made with the Collins name on it.
The Legitimus HB's would definitely be better, but the COLLINS rectangle logo HB's were the same heads.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Don't forget that some of the Norlund stuff was also made with the Collins name on it.
The Legitimus HB's would definitely be better, but the COLLINS rectangle logo HB's were the same heads.
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That's why I said it matters on what's classified as "older". I'd call stuff from that era pretty recent as far as the history of either TT or Collins were concerned. The 1960's onward to the present are a steady descent.
 
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