Bought a Gränsfors Small Forest Axe - Questions on quality

S

Sabin

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Aug 30, 2014
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Hi guys,

I recently bought a Gränsfors Small Forest Axe after reading up on it. It's my first axe, and I like it's size a lot (can be used with one hand or two.) When I got it, a few things stood out. First the finish of the axe looked pretty weathered, but I take it that's normal. Second, at the top of handle where the wedge is, the wood is chipped. Same thing at the bottle of the head, but less so. Third, the handle could use a sanding. I know it's an easy fix, but all of these are pointing me towards wondering if I got an axe that's not up to par with what you'd expect from Gränsfors (perhaps an axe that was returned after being treated bad.)

When I was doing my research, I remember people touting Gränsfors' quality and craftsmanship, and I just wasn't very impressed when I received it. Is this just me being an axe noob, or should I have expected a better end product? Also, is the chipping by the wedge something to be worried about?

Here are some shots of the axe: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74792317@N02/sets/72157649243642636/

Thank you!
Sabin
 
I'm not seeing anything out of the ordinary. The as forged finish is what they are known for. The handle areas you point out are just from driving the head on and pounding the wedge home and are perfectly normal imho.
 
Looks pretty darn close to the Scandinavian I got. Put some Tung or BLO on it and you're good to go. I really enjoy the rawness of GB's ax heads
 
Looks good to me! Gransfors goes for a forged look and I'm not sure if you want a polished, super sanded haft.... I like a little grip
 
Thanks guys! As for the haft, I don't want it slippery-smooth, but it was giving me splinters. That didn't worry me much, it was just all of those things combine.

Anyway, thanks again for the quick responses!
 
If you paid the money for a Gransfors you should expect an axe made of the finest unobtanium in all the Virgo Supercluster. It should be flawless in every way. The unobtanium bit should easily chop granite boulders without rolling or chipping. The unobtanium haft shouldn't transmit any vibrations to your hands at all while simultaneously being completely indestructible.

If your axe is anything less than that then you totally got screewwwwed.



Translation: People think GB means perfection. Perfection doesn't exist. If you like it - great. If you don't - sorry.
 
I similarly just bought a GB small forest axe and did note the top of the handle which is penetrated through the eye has damage on the front-top of the handle. It looks like it was attempted to be repaired in some fashion. It doesn't affect the use of the axe in any way - I think what you're paying for is the quality forged axe bit - the handle will eventually fail and it is pretty easy to replace them. I wouldn't sweat it unless the head is somehow loose or not inserted in a straight orientation.

I chopped through a fair amount of material and only experienced some folding of the edge where I hit a knot on dried almond wood - very hard, dense stuff.

I don't think axes (by any high end manufacturer) have the same fit and finish as a high-end Japanese forged kitchen knife, for example - but it does work beautifully.

One last thing - where did you buy it from? I forgot to mention I bought mine online - so didn't have the luxury of looking through several of them on a shelf to find the one I liked the best. That's the problem with buying online...but these axes are not the easiest to find online, so when I saw one at the MSR price I bought it.


Sabin said:
Hi guys,

I recently bought a Gränsfors Small Forest Axe after reading up on it. It's my first axe, and I like it's size a lot (can be used with one hand or two.) When I got it, a few things stood out. First the finish of the axe looked pretty weathered, but I take it that's normal. Second, at the top of handle where the wedge is, the wood is chipped. Same thing at the bottle of the head, but less so. Third, the handle could use a sanding. I know it's an easy fix, but all of these are pointing me towards wondering if I got an axe that's not up to par with what you'd expect from Gränsfors (perhaps an axe that was returned after being treated bad.)

When I was doing my research, I remember people touting Gränsfors' quality and craftsmanship, and I just wasn't very impressed when I received it. Is this just me being an axe noob, or should I have expected a better end product? Also, is the chipping by the wedge something to be worried about?

Here are some shots of the axe: https://www.flickr.com/photos/74792317@N02/sets/72157649243642636/

Thank you!
Sabin
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
Looks great to me. A touch of sandpaper and a little oil on the handle and you're good to go.
 
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