Council Tool FSS Axe

C

chad1043

Joined
Sep 30, 2007
Messages
176
I thought I would do a little Preview/Review on this new offering from Council Tool. I have heard a lot about this axe from the past. When I was looking for an axe last year I saw a lot of posts about it, but Council Tool had stopped making it at that time. Since then they have reintroduced it. Since I'm an axe addict I thought I would get one from Curtis at Omahaknife.com. I ordered my Bad Boy's axe from him last year and I really liked the personal touch he adds to the buying experience. He offers a sharpening service which really makes these axe shine. He also offers a hand picking option, which in the pictures you will see really pays off. The handle I got was almost as perfect as you can get.



The Bad Boys Axe I got last year was a splurg. And this FSS is more budget minded. Of course, you lose a little bit of the glimmer and shine of the Velvicut series. It does not come with a sheath or a nicer packaging. The packaging is not really a big deal. And since this is made to be a working axe, or an axe you are just gonna hang in your garage, it really doesn't need a sheath.





When I compare the handles of both axes I come away thinking they are the same exact quality. One has Velvicut Series burned into the handle, the FSS has no marking. Both are beautiful slim hickory. My Gränsfors Bruk Scandi is a lot thicker handled than the FSS axe. Not sure if there is a purpose for the thicker handle, but the FSS handle really is nice in the hand.

 
One thing that I'm not impressed with is their wedge system on this axe. They use the metal wedge like they do on a lot of there axes. Not really sure why they do this, maybe has to do with their production line. This being said, I have never heard anyone complain there head has become loose or fallen off because of this process. I like the more traditional wooden wedge, that is just me.



The head itself is 4140 and has some marking, either from production or from shipping. Either way, does it really matter? Here are some pics of the head



 
Time to take it outside...



Here are some side by sides with my Bad Boys axe and My Scandi...










Chopped some half frozen ash and oak. She did real good. Slicing thru both on the first chop. All in all, I would say if you want an axe that is above the standard, but don't want to pay the top dollar for the Bad Boy. This would be an excellent choice. It runs $60 out the door or $70 for a hand picked one by Curtis at omahaknife.com... Thanks for reading.

 
Thanks for the information. Been looking at this model pretty closely-
 
That wedge may look like metal in the picture, but unfortunately it is plastic, and on mine I do not think it was set properly. when I took my Council tool FSS axe out today for its first moderate use test bucking some logs to get them a proper size to pull out of the woods the head came off on the 4th log, the wedge remained inside the eye.

Rather than complain or contact Omaha Knife or Council tool, I will use the opportunity to learn how to reset the head with new wedges. I am fairly new to the axe world.

Has anyone else had any issue with the head being loose or the wedge being bad? Its seems like a great piece of steel and my handle was very very nice, so hopefully its just a good learning experience but this doesn't seem like a reasonable result to experience on an axes first real day in the woods.
 
DanDanthedirtyoldman said:
That wedge may look like metal in the picture, but unfortunately it is plastic, and on mine I do not think it was set properly. when I took my Council tool FSS axe out today for its first moderate use test bucking some logs to get them a proper size to pull out of the woods the head came off on the 4th log, the wedge remained inside the eye.

Rather than complain or contact Omaha Knife or Council tool, I will use the opportunity to learn how to reset the head with new wedges. I am fairly new to the axe world.

Has anyone else had any issue with the head being loose or the wedge being bad? Its seems like a great piece of steel and my handle was very very nice, so hopefully its just a good learning experience but this doesn't seem like a reasonable result to experience on an axes first real day in the woods.
Click to expand...

My regular CT boys axe has the metal wedge, but with a twist. Need to rewedge with wood as it is going to my son's friend for Xmas, if his family OKs it. It came from a vendor with this "fix":

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/1327833-CT-boys-axe-wedge-something-different

I wouldn't leave either the metal or plastic wedges in place. My comments about the wedge are based on my son's CT HB axe, where the metal wedge slipped fairly quickly. I lowered the head a bit and glued in a wood wedge and its been fine ever since.

The axes and handles themselves are excellent, but the wedges are abysmal. Even Truper uses a better system, ie wood wedge and steel ring.

PS, here's a thread about the problem with the HB's metal wedge.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ol-metal-wedges?highlight=Council+metal+wedge
 
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