Council tool axes

T

thunderstick

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Jan 15, 2007
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I recently purchased a Hudson Bay axe from Council Tool Company. I thinned the bit to a fine sharp edge and polished it, and refinished the handle. It is "bit-heavy" in balance (vs. the poll) but is balanced with the handle. I think if the bit could be cut down from 4 1/4" to 3 1/2" it might resolve this imbalance (I know an axe should be a little bit vs. poll heavy).

I have not yet put it to work to see how well it cuts and handles. Does anyone have any opinions or experience with their quality of steel and the longevity of the edge? This is a company I have not read about in any independent reviews.
Thanks
 
Here is the link to Council Tool Company Hudson Bay axe I purchased:
http://www.counciltool.com/product.asp?item=17HBS18&ID=30

I was generally pleased with the visibly apparent quality for the price (steel yet to be tested extensively in use). The handle had straight grain hickory in line with the axe bit. I purchased a spare handle and fitted it to an old Collins camp axe head I had from Grandpa (when they made good axes). It fitted up well and had very good grain and clear wood.

The company is old, but I'm not sure how long they have been making axes. Anyway, I would be interested in any reviews of their products based upon field experience.
 
They've been making tools for over a century and supplied axes to the Army during WW2. FWIW
 
"Usually" the low bidder is from a pre-qualified list of vendors who meet the performance criteria set by the military.

Preferably though, I was hoping for respondents with personal experience.
 
Am I to assume by the silence that no one regularly frequenting here has any particular of experience with axes from Council Tool Company?
 
Judging by a quick search of this forum for "council":

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/search.php?searchid=1700634

It looks like this question has come up only a couple times and there wasn't much response to it. Too bad, because now that you've made me aware of them here I'm interested as well, they look like they have good potential. Oh well, someone has to be first...
 
I searched the forum as well and could not come up with much. I thought a subject header might smoke out some information. When I get a chance to use it, I'll post a report.

I began with ordering some handles from their website, then a girl called within 20 minutes of posting the order, to inform me that unfortunately they had to charge a minimum $15 shipping fee--which was worth as much as the merchandise. She did not want me to be upset by this and offered me to back out or up the order. She agreed to add the axe for no additional shipping.

This one experience with customer service was outstanding. So far by visual observation, their products seem to be good value for the dollar.
 
I put the Hudson Bay axe to work today with an old Collins axe from my grandpa. The Collins was fitted with the same handle as the Hudson Bay which is similar to the length of the original handle on it. I cut down two small trees with them in side by side comparisons. The last one was a 4" cedar which I then cut into lengths--alternating between the two axes.

Initially I thought the large bit of the Hudson Bay would lessen penetration. However, on a 4" tree I could see no disadvantage to the wide bit (4 1/4"). I don't know how it would be on a larger tree, though I don't think I would use an 18" axe on a much larger tree, unless by pure necessity.

IMO the Hudson Bay cut better than the traditional Dayton style Collins. This was especially noticeable when using an oblique angle swing. The long thinned bit of the Bay axe really dug in and was not as prone to glancing. The head is a bit heavier than the Collins and certainly more bit heavy. There was no tendency for the poll to roll on a hard angle cut, helped probably by the bit heavy balance of the head.

I choked up on the handle of the Bay axe to shave off twigs and skin the bark. The long wide bit is definitely an advantage for this. This particular Hudson Bay style head seems like a mix between the standard Gransfors Bruks SFA and the Bruks carpenter axe--a compromise design. Perhaps this is why the voyageurs liked this head because of its versatility. I was a bit skeptical at first with such a wide bit that was so front heavy, but now I can see the value of the design, if the small axe is used as a do-it-all type of tool. Obviously this is why the tomahawk style was so popular among the frontiersman who regularly depended on it for a variety of chores.

The steel is also of decent quality (will have to use it longer to know better) as it did not lose any of its edge after the use, not even needing a stropping to bring it back to its original keeness (granted that I did not use for a couple hours at a time yet), which on lesser quality steel does not take real long to lose the keeness of a fresh stropping.

Since it seems as though there is little experience here with the Hudson Bay axes from Council Tool Company, I'll say that from what I have seen to date, I could recommend them as a decent trail/camp axe.
 
The Hudson Bay ax is a great tool and would be my #1 choice for a cutting tool in the wilderness if I couldn't have any other. I have a Snow & Nealley, another long-time maker.:thumbup:
 
I know this thread is a little old but i figured i'd revive it!
:D
I recently bought a Snow & Nealley Penobscot axe from 3Rivers Archery (great axe! :thumbup:).
While looking around for S&N axes on multiple sites i also noticed these Council tool axes.
I've always wanted a full size double bit i was looking at the Snow & Nealley double-bit (very nice) but the Council one is about half the cost of the S & N.
Anybody here have any recent experience with council tool axes, or their double-bit in particular?
Pics would be nice as the pics online are marginal at best!
lol.
 
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