Axe

O

Oregon Knife Guy

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Mar 27, 2009
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336
Since there has been a bunch of talk about axes and how useful they are, I figured I should look at another brand of woodsman type axe just to see a comparison of that vs my Fiskars. Do any of you have any experience with Gransfors Burks hunters axe?
http://www.agrussell.com/gr%E4nsfors-bruks-the-hunters-axe/p/GFB-418/
What do you think of them? Are there any others that are better or same quality for cheaper? Just wanted to hear some thoughts. I probably wont be getting one for a few months, but wanting to do some pre-research...
 
As far as production axes go, I doubt you'll find any better than Gransfors. There are several cheaper axes that are very good, however. Snow & Neally and Wetterlings both make excellent axes.

ETA: For not too many more dollars, you can have a custom axe made to your specs by Jason Lonon.
 
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Another good brand of high quality are the Husqvarna axes which are actually made by Hultafors Bruks in Sweden. They are about half the price of a Gransfors. Wetterlings are very nice also and affordable.
 
I am not sure that the hunter's Axe is best for woods work, It has a few features that specialize it for hunting, so that may hamper it's use as a chopping hatchet. But, if you are looking for it to do hunting duty, I am sure it will do great.
 
I'm not sure if they are the type you are looking for, but you might want to check out the Snow and Nealley axes modified by Off The Map Outfitters. I have a Hudson Bay and have been very happy with it.
 
i love my gransfors bruks small forest axe is has preformed great thus far it is also a lot cheaper than the hunters axe in my opion is is the best 19in axe on the market
 
CarpScot said:
I'm not sure if they are the type you are looking for, but you might want to check out the Snow and Nealley axes modified by Off The Map Outfitters. I have a Hudson Bay and have been very happy with it.
Click to expand...

Yeah I like mine too!

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Yea if you are going to get a axe. Get one from off the map outfitters. They are awesome.

Bryan
 
Yeah, as I understand that the Hunter's Axe is specialized with the flay poll for skinning, and the grooves in the handle for traction when it covered in blood.

Sort of a cleaver...

But, if that is a capability you want, I just cannot say a cross thing about GB, everything I have seen has been first rate.

Marion
 
I'd certainyl recommend a GB axe, but the hunter is best suited for... hunting. I like the scandinavian forest axe best. No problem with the smaller ones, but this one packs well and really , really, works like a real axe.
 
Take a look online at Highland Vintage Axe Works (just do a google search). You can't go wrong with an old True Temper or Plum. The fella there is Forest Service, so his turn around is a little slow during the summer, but he's a stand-up guy and cares about a quality product.
 
I am the first to admit, I have an AXE PROBLEM...I currently own about 10, and I am traveling out of state to purchase 6 more on sunday...I have to admit, I have several Granfurs Bruks, and have owned a few Wettelings..I still own thier Felling Axe..its great. But right now, I like finding OLD Axes and refurbing them. I just got 2 Snow and Nealys that are about 80 years old, and after a nice bit of elbow grease...one of them is my best Axe..I buy hand made handles from an old guy (I am not disclosing his wereabouts:D) for $5 and buy the heads for $2-4. You cant beat an Axe for $7!!! I bet this latest SN can out chop any that I own, and thats what it cost!...so I say go to a yard sale, and look for old Axes..to hell with spending hundreds..they cant out perform my $7 Axe. Gene
 
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We had a storm that came through 2 nights ago, and dropped a few limbs in my yard- which gave me an excellent opportunity to compare my 14" Fiskars to a new Gransfors SFA. I limbed and chopped a few cottonwood braches and cedar. I debarked, limbed, chopped with both. I made a walking stick, with a domed top. The obvious advantage being the extra 5 inches or so of handle length on the SFA. What I did notice was the Fiskars geometry was significantly wider than the SFA, which made it feel less precise. After I was done, the SFA could still slice paper easily, while the Fiskars had lost its edge a bit, and would no longer cleanly slice the paper. So, I guess what I take from that is that the steel and hardness is superior on the Gransfors. The feel of oiled hickory is way better than glass filled nylon. So I plan on keeping the Fiskars as a root buster, trash ax, and saving the SFA for the fun stuff. Brian Andrews has a good link on his site comparing Gransfors and Snow & Neally. He basically concludes that the type of wood you plan on working helps determine the shape of the head. S&N being a bit better for harder woods, while the Gransfors is more suited for softer woods.
 
I'm an axe junkie. I own more than a dozen. I even enjoy felling dead standing trees for firewood with an axe. While I buck them into sections mostly with a bow saw, and some times a chain saw, I split them with one of my axes. Last year I did about 10 face cords. So far this year I've done 3 true cords. I own both the Small Forest axe and the Hunter's axe. They both do really well on the Conifers around here. Both of them have the same convex edge geometry. As far as chopping performance goes, I'd say they are equal. The hunter's axe does have the flay pole for skinning; a feature I could care less about. I do however like the handle shape and texturing on the hunter's axe much better, and therefore use it much more. That's just my 2 cents.

Jason

Edited to add: I didn't want to make it sound like I used the samller axes to cut up all of the firewood. I mostly use them when camping. Almost all of the firewood was done with a GB Double Bit Felling axe and GB Splitting Large Maul.
 
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