Best Axe size for bushcraft

I heard a bushcraft guy say that a good length is the length from your arm pit to your palm.

^^Like you said though, personal preference.

 

I would be more inclined toward the 16", because it is a bit easier to pack and a bit easier to use for smaller chores.

Good taste in axes, by the way. :thumbup:

 

Yep.. It depends on how much weight you want to haul around, if you want it to fit in your pack, and just how much axe work you need to do.


I have the 10" Wetterlings. It fits inside my day bag, works OK for spliting kindling, great for limbing,and I have chopped up to 4"-5" diameter standing trees with it.

Nice little axe.:thumbup:

 

I would agree with this, or an hatchet if you want to spare room and weight.

 

Wetterlings are good tools.
I also like the Hudson Bay pattern axe heads for light weight and good cutting geometry.
for long carrying I prefer a head weight under 2 pounds and for usefulness, an OAL around 24" give or take a few. (20-27" top to bottom) I also like a little bit of swell or dogleg at the base for grip.

 

The Wilderness and Survival Skills forum is teaming with very knowledgeable wildery people, I'm sure you'd get way more then 30 views in 20 minutes.

That being said, Brian Andrews takes a Snow and Nealy axe and modifies it to make what looks to be a very fine bushcraft axe. About perfect for what I would use it for.

 

I want one of his modified S&N quite badly. He makes a beautiful axe out of them. :thumbup:

 

In this vid Ray Mears discusses axe sizes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tUUctg6dfk

 

I make do with a spiffed up Wetterlingss 12 inch handle ax.

 

I like 19". I have a long torso, so it fits on my packs fine. The extra length makes a huge difference if you need to actually fell a tree.

In the winter, I have no problem taking my 23" axes with me.

 

I'm not into bushcraft nor backpacking, but I've put in my full fair share of time swinging an axe. I'm with 1066Vik. In the long ago, I worked on a back country survey crew clearing sight lines. We used Hudson Bay pattern axes as big enough to do serious work and small enough for belt carry in very rugged terrain. I would not want anything smaller than a 1.75 lb head and a 24" handle in an axe I expected to seriously use, and I'd probably fit it with a fiberglas handle at that. A broken axe handle is not a trivial matter when you are deep in rough country.

 

check out gransfors bruks. :thumbup: