Council Tool Flying Fox Woodsman Hatchet 22 in. Straight Handle, thought?

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Plainsman

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I just ran across the Council Tool Flying Fox Woodsman Hatchet 22 in. with Straight Handle. Looks like it would be an ideal woodsbumming light ax.

Anybody have one? What are your experiences with it?

Thanks!
 
The Flying Fox is a quality axe head. That aside, I'm always leery of axes in the 20"-24" length. They are the perfect length for striking your shins.

With a 17"-19" handle the Flying Fox makes a great house axe, a heavy kindling hatchet. With a 24"-28" handle it makes a light and handy boys axe. I think you'd be impressed with it as a light woods axe with 26"-28" curved haft.
 
The current offering is with a less than 16” handle. Seems ideal for a kindling and camp axe where you won’t take overhead swings.
 
With literally any shorter axe or hatchet you should be mindful of your technique so as not to strike yourself, so the "striking your shins" concern is really a non-issue vs. other axes. Just don't break the horizontal plane and you're good.

The Flying Fox is great in both lengths, and I have my personal one on a 22" curved handle.
 
i was given one with a straight handle by the designer himself, and i have to say the 22" is a good length. what you'll find with the handles that are between hatchet length and boys axe length is theyll be too long to use one handed, yet too short to use two handed. this is firmly in the "good for 2 hands" category.
in my experience with mine, its a good set up
 
Saws work great for cutting big pieces into splitting size pieces. Then I usually split with chopping tools while on my knees for safety these days. I am not splitting enough wood to heat a house.

Also, swinging a huge sharp chunk of steel into myself does not excite me.
 
it's not quite as likely as you may think. generally with those axes, it's not very often that you'll be in a position to make swings that put your legs in danger. its like 42 states, as long as you dont swing towards your legs without something substantial between you and the axe, its very safe. it's just a possibility that it could happen while being careless simply due to the length, like hitting your hand with a hatchet or handsaw
 
If you simply follow basic safety protocol you're not ever going to get hurt with a shorter axe. The important thing is simply to remember to follow those safety protocols! And like I mentioned, it's not a threat unique to the Flying Fox--any axe short enough in length to hit you instead of the ground first when swung below a horizontal plane poses that risk, and the same goes for other commonly swung tools like machetes. Just think before you swing. Every stroke with an axe should ALWAYS include thinking through how the axe will likely travel if it glances or misses its mark, and your approach to the cut adapted to avoid self-injury if that occurs.
 
FWIW the Kephart reproduction axe from Wolf Valley Forge has a 12” handle. I have one on order.
 
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phantomknives said:
it's not quite as likely as you may think. generally with those axes, it's not very often that you'll be in a position to make swings that put your legs in danger. its like 42 states, as long as you dont swing towards your legs without something substantial between you and the axe, its very safe. it's just a possibility that it could happen while being careless simply due to the length, like hitting your hand with a hatchet or handsaw
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The problem arises when a new axe user who doesn't know the rules uses one of these short axes. My comments are for that potential user. There are a lot of lurkers here who are seeking advise on axes. They need to be made aware of the dangers.
 
I am not extremely tall, but I can hit myself in the (lower part of the) shin even with a 28” boy’s axe or a shorter 30” full length axe, if I am careless. A 36” axe would be safe if I were swinging it towards myself.

I have a 22” Flying Fox and I think it’s better balanced than the 15-16” version, which has the same head.
People carry 22” Cold Steel hawks as outdoor tools. Compared to those the 22” Flying Fox is a much better tool, but would be relatively poor weapon.

What I learned over the years is that nothing can replace personal experience regarding what’s comfortable for someone.
That is why forums rarely help in this regard, because we all have different physical traits, strength and personal preferences.
What forums definitely do help with is to point out new (to someone) things, user and safety advice, performance reviews (strength and weaknesses of a product, features, durability etc.), comparisons and recommendations.

So to answer your question, I personally like the 22” Flying Fox hatchet and think that with the hardened poll and a heavier head it would be a better, more versatile outdoors tool for non winter camping than a typical 16” hatchet or even the 18” GB Small Forest Axe.
On the downside, it will be also heavier and longer, while lacking the advantage of a longer axe.
It feels definitely “substantial”, both to carry and to swing.
 
littleknife said:
So to answer your question, I personally like the 22” Flying Fox hatchet and think that with the hardened poll and a heavier head it would be a better, more versatile outdoors tool for non winter camping than a typical 16” hatchet or even the 18” GB Small Forest Axe.
On the downside, it will be also heavier and longer, while lacking the advantage of a longer axe.
It feels definitely “substantial”, both to carry and to swing.
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Good post all around.

For me, when I get to 22" it's something that will be attached to the outside of my pack not stuffed inside. At that point I'll carry the weight of an extra 6" of haft for the extra power it brings.
 
Hmmm, interesting.. I have hatchets at 13-18" and axes 25"-31" , but nothing between 18" - 25". might have to try that length sometime. I'm guessing with that length handle you can use 2 hands but you can't acutally swing it with a typical sliding hand chopping motion. seems like both hands would have to remain stationary one on top of the other. not enough room to get your guiding hand to slide down the handle. My 25" axe seems about the minimum length to get a good swing going.
 
FLINT77 said:
Hmmm, interesting.. I have hatchets at 13-18" and axes 25"-31" , but nothing between 18" - 25". might have to try that length sometime. I'm guessing with that length handle you can use 2 hands but you can't acutally swing it with a typical sliding hand chopping motion. seems like both hands would have to remain stationary one on top of the other. not enough room to get your guiding hand to slide down the handle. My 25" axe seems about the minimum length to get a good swing going.
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You’re not wrong- it takes a little getting used to, but up to 19 inches I can use it one handed or club-style with two hands. 24 inches I can choke up on the swing, it’s just a shorter slide.
 
For me the 22” handle is still a one handed length for the reason FLINT77 mentioned above. It requires more strength to hold it than a shorter hatchet, but proportionally less strength to have the same strike achieved than a shorter hatchet.
 
dogstar said:
This is a good discussion. We are talking sensibly about ax safety, not making exaggerations about how "axes are too dangerous."
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Very true- the only time I had a close call was just stupidly swinging when I was very tired, cold (wearing bulky gloves), and very careless swinging into an ice covered downed tree blocking a trail. I have to remind myself to slow down and be safe versus taking short-cuts (no pun intended) at times. No fault of the axe- just me.
 
marchone said:
The current offering is with a less than 16” handle. Seems ideal for a kindling and camp axe where you won’t take overhead swings.
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I have the Fiskars hatchet; about 14” I think. I wouldn’t want anything less than 19”.

I’m really happy with the performance and design of that little Fiskars, I would something classier for my small forest axe. Old school construction, but no worries about cheap steel or the head coming loose.
 
I have the 22” one in my wish list. Birthday is coming up and my daughters (11 & 17) might get it for me.

I’m thinking: should I just ask my wife to coordinate the GB 19” and I’ll make up the difference to have a higher quality axe?

How much better is the GB going to be?

How would I tell, other than the handle shape?
 
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