Choosing a felling axe for backpacking

DeadboxHero said:
Ah but time is money, If someone makes 12 an hour and spends 10 hours refurbishing a vintage axe head then they have already spent more. Not to mention needing to buy a handle and materials to finish it.

Of course a lot of us here enjoy doing that but, hey maybe its better to work overtime or pickup an extra shift at work to buy something ready to go.

also there are some ripoffs with vintage axes with trick photos and also bidding wars which are lame.
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Understood, but I was talking about ready to work models, no rehab needed.
 
Plus a user like the original poster, Aaron, who does trail work will naturally want and need to know how to maintain an axe - he likely already does.
 
Vintage ax heads are really easy to find and quite cheap, if you are looking for a user and not a stamp.
 
Just got some heads off auction site today ,one of them has a Crack in the eye,first time buYing off there what do you fellas do if what you get is not what they said it was
 
Send it back. Or throw it in the recycle bin. Only an uncommon and nice axe is worth having welded.
 
At some point I would like to pick up a vintage axe as a project, but I'm not looking to do so right now. I've got a couple of tomahawks and a bowie knife that are all projects-in-waiting, and I need an axe to use right away. So at this point in time I'm looking to buy a new axe.

The Wetterlings Hudson Bay looks like a nice option, but it's more expensive than I'm interested in spending right now. I've always liked Dayton pattern heads, but I haven't found anything out there that I really like. Based on the recommendation of a couple of other crew leaders and a crosscut saw "guru" I'm really leaning toward the Hultafors Agdor.
 
AaronGP said:
At some point I would like to pick up a vintage axe as a project, but I'm not looking to do so right now. I've got a couple of tomahawks and a bowie knife that are all projects-in-waiting, and I need an axe to use right away. So at this point in time I'm looking to buy a new axe.
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Again, food for thought, you can do a search on the internet and find vintage axes hung and ready to go from non auction sites as well. As a matter of fact one such place has a handful of vintage no stamp boys axes ready to go right now.
AaronGP said:
The Wetterlings Hudson Bay looks like a nice option, but it's more expensive than I'm interested in spending right now. I've always liked Dayton pattern heads, but I haven't found anything out there that I really like. Based on the recommendation of a couple of other crew leaders and a crosscut saw "guru" I'm really leaning toward the Hultafors Agdor.
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The best place to start for tool recommendations is always with the crew that does what you are doing where you are doing it.
Make sure to ask "why?". Shocking how many tools are purchased in a chain reaction in the crew type deal.
 
Just to take a different view of it.... why not plan on a few (used) patterns that you can try out. One thing I've found about axe use and hiking is that everyone is going to have different abilities, stamina, hand/eye coordination, and work preferences. The last thing I would do is purchase a high dollar axe for packing without having packed and used one like it (perhaps you have and I missed that).

Personally, I would pack a full size 3.5# single bit for this. While I would notice the extra length packing it in, I doubt an extra pound or two would make any difference at all, and having the right sized tool would be well worth it. But that is me.

The main thing is to know your own preferences and base your purchasing on those rather than someone else's.
 
DeadboxHero said:
The vintage stuff is at an all time high when it comes to pricing and its a hobby in it self to find the good axes and deals.

Not everyone has the time to do that.

So, Buy New.

I recommend the Council Tool "boys axe" Forest Service edition exclusive from Omaha Knife and tool.

its a 2.25 dayton head with a fiberglass wedge which is better then the aluminum since it can be drilled out better when you need to fix the handle or replace it.

It has the 26" Velvicut Handle which is thinner then the stock handle, less shock to hands and just overall swings better.

The steel is 4140 at 53-54hrc which is on the softer side but is good for the field work you want since it can be fully service, repaired and reprofiled quicky in the field with a singe cut, 8"bastard file and a india stone.

Also, Omaha offers to sharpen it to a mirror finish, half banana grind if you buy a sheath

I really enjoy mine.
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This is a solid recommendation.
 
You opinion may vary but I like the Agdor Montreal pattern. I have that 2-1/2 lb and and the 3-1/2 lb models. They're solid with good wood, fit, finish and head set. Plus they're H-B at a decent price (especially with current $$ exchange). Here's a little better pic.

Agdor%202%201620-3_zpsdcrnd1hm.jpg
 
Ultimately I decided on the Hults Bruk Agdor. Thank you to everyone who chimed in and helped to steer me toward a decision.

IMG_6049_small.jpg
 
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Maple Valley? I was just down that way a few weeks ago, working at Cedar Downs with WTA.
 
I do a lot of trail building too and I don't know one person who uses an axe. It's all chainsaw for both felling and bucking.
 
Danke42 said:
I do a lot of trail building too and I don't know one person who uses an axe. It's all chainsaw for both felling and bucking.
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I guess that depends on who you do trail building with. I've been on a few projects with county employees who were using chainsaws, but most of the work parties I participate in involve only hand tools, including pulaskis, cross cut saws, and sometimes axes. This is especially true when you're working in wilderness areas where motorized tools are prohibited.
 
Volunteer organizations usually don't carry insurance to cover a volunteer using a chainsaw. Volunteers can't even use crosscut saw unless a certified sawyer is overseeing the work - there are dangers. This lead to an amusing situation for me 5 years ago. I was employed by the local DNR and certified to fell with a chainsaw. But if I went out on the weekend as a volunteer I wasn't allowed to run a crosscut by myself because I didn't have crosscut certification.
 
That's too bad. We're a voly organization too but we have a yearly course put on on that will get you a certification to run a saw. The reality is people are going to haul their saws into the woods to cut stuff so they might as well be taught to do it safely. Maybe you can sway your land managers with an argument like that since they're leaning on the free labour of the folks like you to maintain the area.

Now that course doesn't give you a felling terrific. But we have enough folks from the logging industry that when we come across a danger tree they'll drop it and we also have the local RAP attack fire crew who beg for trees to drop as part of their training so as long as the weather is good they won't have fires to fight they come out and build trail.

And of course when summer hits we do switch to no machinery in the woods because of fire risk so there's a push in spring and fall to get this stuff done.

And of course we can't go without pictures. A lot of what we have to deal with is legacy trails that run through we ground. You have to go back every year and fix the tread so now we're getting the trails up and out of the wet. I keep my little Winkler II axe on my belt since it's great for knocking off the odd branch or getting used as a wedge.



Stack of beams



Longline



Leading too





Finished bridge



Second bridge, much higher



Finished product

 
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