Buck Camp Axe 757BK

[Ballenxj]

Anybody know where the Buck Camp Axe/Hatchet 757BK is made?
I'm suspecting maybe Sweden by Fiskars, but could be China?
-Bruce

 

[coloradowildman]

I have one and gave it to my stepson. They are made in China (says in the package when you buy one). I bought mine new from Amazon about 18 months ago and it was literally as dull as a butter knife with an incredibly thick edge.

I had to put a huge amount of work into the edge to get it to chop decently, which is sad, because the general design seems good. Fiskars 14" hatchet is a far superior chopper and is made in Finland. Buck should be ashamed for selling an outsourced hatchet with such a deficient profile and edge. Go for the Fiskars or better yet the Gerber version (Sport Axe) because it comes with a sheath, which is super important, otherwise the hatchet will cut through all the stuff in your pack or trunk or cut your stepson!

 

[Ballenxj]

Thanks for the info and advice wildman.
I was looking at the Buck online until I noticed the country of origin was glaringly not present anywhere. This is a typical trick to get an unsuspecting person to buy the product with the assumption that it was U.S. made. :jerkit:
I was also looking at the Fiskars hatchet because I read it is made in Sweden, but you say the Gerber Sportsman is the same hatchet albeit with a sheath? I'm a bit surprised to hear the Fiskars one doesn't have a sheath.
-Bruce

 

[coloradowildman]

Thanks for the info and advice wildman.
I was looking at the Buck online until I noticed the country of origin was glaringly not present anywhere. This is a typical trick to get an unsuspecting person to buy the product with the assumption that it was U.S. made. :jerkit:
I was also looking at the Fiskars hatchet because I read it is made in Sweden, but you say the Gerber Sportsman is the same hatchet albeit with a sheath? I'm a bit surprised to hear the Fiskars one doesn't have a sheath.
-Bruce

Bruce-

Yeah, they use that trick a lot, sadly. Really bad when it's Buck that does it though.

FYI Fiskars\Gerber just came out with a new line of axes\hatchets and they look pretty sweet. The sheath is plastic but looks like it might be improved. The Fiskars are called the X-series and just came out. The Gerber versions are called "II" i.e. "Sport Axe II", etc.

The Fiskars\Gerber axes\hatchets are made in Finland, not Sweden, but that's still a good thing (another Scandinavian country with a great history for making fine knives and axes).

If you get one of the new ones be sure to share you impressions of it here!

Cheers, CW

 

[J Hubbard]

Thanks for the info and advice wildman.
I was looking at the Buck online until I noticed the country of origin was glaringly not present anywhere. This is a typical trick to get an unsuspecting person to buy the product with the assumption that it was U.S. made. :jerkit:
I was also looking at the Fiskars hatchet because I read it is made in Sweden, but you say the Gerber Sportsman is the same hatchet albeit with a sheath? I'm a bit surprised to hear the Fiskars one doesn't have a sheath.
-Bruce

Bruce-

Yeah, they use that trick a lot, sadly. Really bad when it's Buck that does it though.

FYI Fiskars\Gerber just came out with a new line of axes\hatchets and they look pretty sweet. The sheath is plastic but looks like it might be improved. The Fiskars are called the X-series and just came out. The Gerber versions are called "II" i.e. "Sport Axe II", etc.

The Fiskars\Gerber axes\hatchets are made in Finland, not Sweden, but that's still a good thing (another Scandinavian country with a great history for making fine knives and axes).

If you get one of the new ones be sure to share you impressions of it here!

Cheers, CW

This is simply wrong in regards to Buck's product. I do not know what the others do on their website, but on our website (Buck) every product lists either imported or USA made clearly on the 1st page of the product

here is the link for the AXE

http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productID=2952

Colorado, I'll have our engineers look at the edge. In the past once you took off the powder coat it would pass a paper test. We might have slipped some.

Jeff

 

[Ballenxj]

This is simply wrong in regards to Buck's product. I do not know what the others do on their website, but on our website (Buck) every product lists either imported or USA made clearly on the 1st page of the product

here is the link for the AXE

http://www.buckknives.com/index.cfm?event=product.detail&productID=2952

Hi Jeff, My reference was "not" in regards to the Buck website. Sorry you took it that way. I was referring to an online auction which I wont describe further as I'm sure we all know which site that is.
I just typed out a complete set of reasons for not wanting to buy imports from certain countries, but then I realized that I may have gotten a bit too political, so I deleted them before posting.
Now I realize that Buck Knives may feel the need to import knives, hatchets, etc. from those countries and I'm sorry to hear that. I have some Buck USA knives that I cherish. The same goes for Schrade.
I'm also sorry to say that I won't be buying any imported Buck Knives or Hatchets from certain countries if I can help that either.
Meanwhile, please keep our US cutlers employed. I hope you understand my position.
-Bruce

 

[JLKII]

I had to put a huge amount of work into the edge to get it to chop decently/QUOTE]

I got to thinking about this the other day, when I was considering how much I wanted to spend on a new axe. I was considering buying an axe from an American company, knowing it was dull and would take a couple of hours or so to reshape the blade and then sharpen it. Or I could buy an axe from a certain Swedish manufacturer that begins with a "W" and ends with a "etterlings" that would be sharp out of the sheath, and spend a few minutes touching it up before setting off to chop things down and up. Not to mention the work of cleaning the paint off the blade and the varnish off the handle of the American axe and then having to coat with the Tru-oil, as opposed to being able to use Tru-oil on the Swedish axe as it came OOB.

When I considered the cost of the labour (at $20/hr, which is what I value my time at) that I would have to spend in order to use the American axe, its price rapidly climbed until it was very close to that of the Swedish one, and the American axe ultimately ended up not much of a "bargain" at all.

Now if I really enjoyed sharpening an axe, and revelled in doing something that the factory SHOULD HAVE DONE BEFORE THEY LET THE PRODUCT OUT OF THE DOOR, my choice would have been the American product: comments on this forum stated that it was actually a pretty good axe after the initial effort of setting it up. But it seemed a lot of wasted effort for me to do something the maker should have done, so I went with the Swedish product, even though it cost more initially.

Hidden costs: just something to think about when purchasing a product.

 

[coloradowildman]

I had to put a huge amount of work into the edge to get it to chop decently/QUOTE]

I got to thinking about this the other day, when I was considering how much I wanted to spend on a new axe. I was considering buying an axe from an American company, knowing it was dull and would take a couple of hours or so to reshape the blade and then sharpen it. Or I could buy an axe from a certain Swedish manufacturer that begins with a "W" and ends with a "etterlings" that would be sharp out of the sheath, and spend a few minutes touching it up before setting off to chop things down and up. Not to mention the work of cleaning the paint off the blade and the varnish off the handle of the American axe and then having to coat with the Tru-oil, as opposed to being able to use Tru-oil on the Swedish axe as it came OOB.

When I considered the cost of the labour (at $20/hr, which is what I value my time at) that I would have to spend in order to use the American axe, its price rapidly climbed until it was very close to that of the Swedish one, and the American axe ultimately ended up not much of a "bargain" at all.

Now if I really enjoyed sharpening an axe, and revelled in doing something that the factory SHOULD HAVE DONE BEFORE THEY LET THE PRODUCT OUT OF THE DOOR, my choice would have been the American product: comments on this forum stated that it was actually a pretty good axe after the initial effort of setting it up. But it seemed a lot of wasted effort for me to do something the maker should have done, so I went with the Swedish product, even though it cost more initially.

Hidden costs: just something to think about when purchasing a product.

JLKII, I'm assuming you are talking about Council Tool axes, since they are pretty much the only major axe maker left and are frequently discussed here.

First off, if you have one and have experience with it then great, appreciate the comments. If not, then wouldn't you think it would be rather immaterial to discuss the attributes of them without ever having held or used one? Not giving you a hard time but it's hard to pass judgement on things you've never handled or used before

I own three Council Tool axes along with several Wetterlings and a Fiskars, and yes, the Councils will not come shaving sharp. However, they all have excellent thin profiles, similar to Gransfors, and with only a few minutes with a file they will chop great. Their main customers are the US Forest Service and logging companies, and those folks want to sharpen to their axes for the local conditions. The guy from the Forest Service video who wrote the book "An Axe to Grind" actually mentioned Council Tool, old True Tempers, and Gransfors Bruks as the finest axes out there with "good steel". He didn't mention Wetterlings in that sentence, maybe because of QC issues as well? Not sure.

As for the handles, they are not varnished, but lightly waxed ready for Linseed Oil (I've done all three and it was as easy as Wetterlings).

As far as QC, I've have had far less problems with my Council Tool axes than my Wetterlings. The Council axes, contrary to some of the Gransfors' crowds opinions, will easily get hair shaving sharp and the difference in edge holding is not that great (Councils are generally between 53-55 RC at the bit vs 56 to 58 RC for the Gransfors). I've come to appreciate the slightly softer steel because it's very tough and chip resistant compared to the chip-prone Swedish axes.

After using American made and Swedish made axes pretty heavily now for a while, my preference would be for a big axe or 3/4 Boy's Axe to be a US made Council Tool and my hatchet and 19" bushcraft axe to be a Swede, since the harder Swedish steel is nice since the smaller ones are used for finer carving and knife-like duties and the harder steel is good with these types of tasks.

 

[JLKII]

JLKII, I'm assuming you are talking about Council Tool axes, since they are pretty much the only major axe maker left and are frequently discussed here.

First off, if you have one and have experience with it then great, appreciate the comments. If not, then wouldn't you think it would be rather immaterial to discuss the attributes of them without ever having held or used one? Not giving you a hard time but it's hard to pass judgement on things you've never handled or used before

Do you really think that I would criticize a product that I haven't seen or used? Frankly, your assumption, and the fact that it needed writing, is rather offensive.

For the record, I've had four axes from Council Tools: two Hudson's Bay axes with the 26" handles, http://www.counciltool.com/product.asp?pg=product&item=175HB28, and two Boy's axes, http://www.counciltool.com/product.asp?pg=product&item=22BR.

AFAIK, three of these should have never left the factory.

The first Hudson's Bay axe was returned because the blade alignment was so bad that it was an inch to the left of the edge of the handle, and the balance was such that the blade turned to about a 60 degree angle when checked. The first Boy's axe was returned because the grain in the handle was somewhat less than a 45 degree angle.

I received one of each in return. The Hudson's Bay axe shipped back has such poor balance that the blade hangs vertically: I have never seen an axe out of balance so much, and the handle has several areas where the wood has chipped out. The poll is much too light for the blade, and I personally feel that the head needs to be redesigned to allow it to balance better. AFAIK, I wasted my money on it.

The Boy's Axe that was returned is fine but needs an edge on it, currently being about as sharp as a folded newspaper. While the webpage for it claims that it is hand sharpened, I would like to know if the company has ever seen a sharp axe if this is what they consider sharp. As far as your claim that their axes are marketed towards the Forest Service, so that they may put their own edge angles on them, I would think that it would not be hard to identify orders from the Forest Service and ship those without sharpening, while all others produced would be sharpened as they should before being turned loose on the market. The finish on the handle certainly looks like varnish to me and I plan on stripping it off to finish it with Tru-oil, as well as removing the paint on the blade. It has promise as being a very nice axe, once I get it set up, if it works up to as nice an edge as you claim to have gotten. It has a nice heft to it that might make it a better axe that most of the other axes of comparable size from Sweden I have seen.

For the record, the QC on the Wetterlings and Granfor Bruks axes I have seen also leaves a lot to be desired. I've returned one of four Wetterlings (for blade alignment) I've ordered, and, of the eleven GBs I have examined, five or six of them had problems with the blade alignment or grain in the handle.

BTW, there is a good review of the Hudson's Bay axe in this forum, here: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=805032

As an additional note, according to an email I received from their VP, Council Tools is planning on competing in the upscale axe market with a product line called Velvicut. There's some info here http://www.counciltool.com/DisplayCategories.asp?pg=displaycategories&category=77 but the line is not due to be released until April. it will be interesting to see what they come up with, and how it will compare against the products of Wetterlings and Gransfors Bruks in price and quality. I see no reason, if they live up to their advertising, why they cannot product as fine a product, if not better, than the Swedish companies, and I hope that they can. It would be nice to have an alternative axe made in America, and I am looking forward to see it. For one thing, the page lists the weight as 4 lb, which would make it a nice alternative to the 3.5 lb felling axes usually marketed, but it would be nice to see this in other weights, such as 3 lb. Council Tools does produce other models in several weights, and, I think they are the only company that gives their customers such choices. It would also be nice if they would offer straight handles on this line, as there is some opinion that such a handle is more efficient than the curved ones almost universally used on single-poll axes today --- they do offer this option of some of their Dayton models.

But I stand by my original comments about hidden costs: there is a lot of time that I will need to set up the Boy's Axe to the standards that it should have been when shipped that I would not have to put into a Wetterlings or Gransfor Bruks.

I'm not sure what I am going to do with the Hudson's Bay axe; perhaps keep it for cutting rocks or something, but I'll be glad to ship it to you at my cost if you would pay S/H, or want to pick it up since I live over by Denver.

 

[J Hubbard]

Hi Jeff, My reference was "not" in regards to the Buck website. Sorry you took it that way. I was referring to an online auction which I wont describe further as I'm sure we all know which site that is.
I just typed out a complete set of reasons for not wanting to buy imports from certain countries, but then I realized that I may have gotten a bit too political, so I deleted them before posting.
Now I realize that Buck Knives may feel the need to import knives, hatchets, etc. from those countries and I'm sorry to hear that. I have some Buck USA knives that I cherish. The same goes for Schrade.
I'm also sorry to say that I won't be buying any imported Buck Knives or Hatchets from certain countries if I can help that either.
Meanwhile, please keep our US cutlers employed. I hope you understand my position.
-Bruce

Bruce,
Glad it was not our site. I wish others would list it properly. I fully understand your feelings about imports. Buck continues to find ways to minimize our import lines. Recently we brought our Bantam and Metro lines back from China with good success.

Jeff