chop off - S&N vs fiskars

kgd

kgd

Joined
Feb 28, 2007
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Part of my weekend activities, beyond the solo camping was to do a little bit of a chopper review. I just received a modified Snow & Nealley Hudson Bay Camp axe from Brian Andrews last week. The modifed axe has a 1 3/4 lb head and 24 " handle. I compared it to my Fiskars 17" splitting axe with about the same size head.

Here is a size comparison:

fiskarssnsideview.jpg


(note you have to pay extra to get the fly with your S&N)

Okay the S&N is longer by about 5", but the Fiskars is actually slightly heavier. Unfortunately, both these axes overextend my kitchen scale so I couldn't get a direct reading. However, both my wife and I concur that the Fiskars is heavier weight than the S&N.

snprofile.jpg


First off the profiles. The S&N is very sleek, this is part of the modifications that Brian does to them. He flattens out the sides so it forms a smooth ramp from the edge to the pommel.

sn1.jpg


The fiskars, and this is the splitting configuration, has a wedge shaped head. The wedge is designed to aid in the splitting, but it gets in the way when you are chopping deep into the wood.

fiskars1.jpg


Here is the test wood. A big hardwood tree that fell down about a year ago. We had sectioned last month several sections with a chain saw for firewood prep.

snchop2.jpg


First a little bit of splitting. Both the S&N and Fiskars split these large rounds in a single chop. Admittedly, the wood was kind of an easy splitting testing subject. But they both did well.

snchop.jpg


fiskarsprofile.jpg


Now for a little chopping cross grain on the fallen log.

snchop3.jpg


fiskarschop.jpg


Here are the results of the first 10 chops. The fiskars is the wedge to the right. It actually cut a little bit deeper than S&N. However, this was really because I started off with the S&N and I was getting into better form for all my strikes with the Fiskars. Basically the first 2 chops weren't as great as they could have been due to my faulty technique on the S&N. I'd rate the two axes as equal in the first 10 chops.

comparchop10.jpg


more coming...
 
Now for the 2nd set of 10 (20 chops). This time I switched orders. The fiskars first and then the S&N. In the 2nd round the S&N bit deeper and found the hollow part of the log. The fiskars was a bit more shallow. I also started running into some interference with my aiming with the fiskars due to the splitting wedge.

comparchop20.jpg


Finally, the added length of the S&N really started to kick in here. The 23" of the S&N allowed a very comfortable 2 hand grip. The two hand grip on the fiskars was confined and uncomfortable. I managed to get better aim and accuracy with the fiskars by chopping with one hand. However, couple the heavier weight and single hand chopping and you get more rapid fatigue. I could of have chopped at least 4 times longer with the S&N in two handed configuration compared to the fiskars.

In fact, I chose to keep going with the S&N going deep to complete the cut. I couldn't do this with the fiskars. I even tried some of the deep cutting with the fiskars, but again that darn splitting wedge configuration kept getting the way. If my aim wasn't perfectly true the wedge would hit the side and deflect the blade losing precious energy. With the S&N, I could get a true aim and maintain a comfortable two handed power swing. This axe really rocks when you get into the nitty gritty.

snchop4.jpg


Just for giggles, out came the big chopping knives. Here is the RD-9 after 10 chops. Actually quite respectable! It didn't do as well as the axes, but I was pretty impressed with how deep this big blade cut.

rangerchop.jpg


On this big timber, the Koyote leuku just couldn't compete. Earlier I reported how the leuku and RD-9 were pretty close to one another in chopping smaller wood. I gave just a slight edge to the RD-9. On this big stuff however, that extra mass of the RD-9 really kicked in. The big leuku is great at limbing and chopping smaller diameter pieces as well as batoning in big wood. It doesn't cross great chop as effectively on the big stuff as the thicker RD-9.

leukochop.jpg


So to wrap things up. The S&N was the winner in this context. Its winning was not immediately apparent on the first few chops, but as I started to proceed further its quality became more apparent. The balance of this axe is really great. It has a longer length but lighter weight allowing you to chop for a longer duration and with greater two handed comfort. You can go all afternoon with this axe. A longer fiskars might be more comparable in terms of comfort, but it will be even heavier and still produce fatigue faster than the S&N.

I also really liked the modifications Brian performed. This especially true when batoning the axe. I will imagine that if comparing chopping performance on more stringy, tougher to split wood, that the S&N will outperform the fiskars. However, that remains to be empirically tested. The splitting wedge shape of the fiskars also really interfered with deep cuts. I think the whole splitting wedge idea was a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. Well that is what I think.

The RD-9 did better than I thought it would, but as expected it really wasn't a match for chopping performance with the axes. Chopping wood like this with the RD-9 is also very fatiguing. However, it did surprise me in its ability to produce a sizable bite so quickly.
 
Interesting review Ken. :thumbup:


Having spent some time with a S&N modded my Brain, I am not surprised by your conclusions.


Brian does a great job with his axes. :D



PS – Not that his knives are shabby. :rolleyes:





Big Mike

"Scaring the Tree Huggers."

Forest & Stream
 
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Hey k,

Two things:

1. I don't know why I opened this thread, because I don't use axes. I guess it's because your posts are always enjoyable. :thumbup:


2. Was the fly modified by Brian, as well or was it stock?

Doc
 
kgd, nice write up and pictures.

One thing I noticed is that the area you chopped with the S&N is wider then the area you chopped with the fiskers. If you leave more room for the fatter head of the fiskers you might get better results with it. Looks to me that the S&N had more room to get a good angle but the Fiskers didn't.

BTW I do agree I've handled that Fiskers before and it's definantly better at splitting but will do some chopping. Just thinking the test wasn't as fare to the Fiskers as it could have been. Thanks,

Heber
 
Great comparison Ken!

The modded Camp axe is awesome, I am very impressed with mine.

Thanks for all the great pics!
 
wildmanh said:
Just thinking the test wasn't as fare to the Fiskers as it could have been. Thanks,
Click to expand...

No test is ever really fair especially something as subjective as the activities I chose to compare these axes under. I just used the axes and gave you my impressions. I've had the splitting wedge hang up on a lot of things during use in the past and I was trying to relay my annoyance of this feature. It isn't a complete handicap to the fiskars use, just an annoyance. I've used the fiskars for a year and have been pretty happy with it so far. It is still a great little hatchet for its price point. When it gets right down to it, the actual performance between the two axes in terms of depth of chopping were pretty similar. In my limited trials, one could hardly say that the differed that much in terms of penetration into the log over a defined number of chops. No, each chop could not be made identical.

Most of my conclusions were really about the feel and balance of the axes while using them. Here is where the S&N really shined and in part that was because of the longer length of its handle but also because of the better balance of it. It would have been better to have a comparably sized fiskars, but unfortunately I didn't have it. Still, I'm impressed that the S&N is less weight than the shorter Fiskars and that means the longer fiskars would be heavier still. The extra weight of a larger fiskars might lead to better performance, but I rather not carry it in my pack.

Brian Andrews relayed to me some comments to me by pm. Being the gentleman that he is, he didn't want to seem like he was interfering in a conversation about his product. He did raise a good point in his e-mail to me that my notches were far too narrow for a log that size. If I were really trying to cut through the log with efficiency, then I should have a notch that approaches the diameter of the log itself. I think that is good advice and one that I certainly didn't follow in this test.

Doc - the fly is in fact genetically modified by Brian. He needed to do so in order to improve the friction qualities of its foot pads in order for it to better perch on the smoothened surface of his modified axe. He has an interesting fly breeding ground around his shop. The cages have the food surrounded by teflon bulbs to which only the fly with the stickiest feet can climb into. No, he doesn't use a gene gun or anything fancy like that. Just unnatural selection. I believe he charges extra for his modified fly, but I'll admit that he gave this one to me as a free-be because I bought a bunch of other merchandise from him at the same time as the axe.
 
Great review. Thanks for sharing this, in a time when I want a new axe. Of course, I can blame you if I get one now, right?
 
Very nice review, Ken!

You really demonstrate the effectiveness of those modifications.

Thanks, and all the best,

- Mike
 
kgd, thanks for the information. The Fiskers is definantly a splitting tool but it's good to know that it will handle the chopping side of things too. I agree with Brian one should have a wider notch when chopping a log that big. Your tests makes me want to go out and chop something.... :thumbup:

Heber
 
I've seen the Fiskars splitting head on 28" but never 17" handle. Is the head size the same as the 28" spliiter, or the 17" hatchet?
 
mogwai said:
I've seen the Fiskars splitting head on 28" but never 17" handle. Is the head size the same as the 28" spliiter, or the 17" hatchet?
Click to expand...

Actually the 17" encompasses the length of the head. So the handle is really only about 14".
 
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