Council Tool Velvicut 4 lb Dayton Axe Prototype First Look

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rg598

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As you know, Council Tool will be releasing a new line of axes called Velvicut. They intend for some of the models within that line to be aimed directly at the bushcraft community, and it appears that down the line there is Hudson Bay axe and a double bit cruiser axe in the works. The first one to be released in the line however is the 4lb Dayton axe, designed to commemorate the 125th anniversary of the company. I was given the opportunity to test and give feedback on a prototype of this axe, and I want to give you guys a look here as well. Of course there will be changes in the final product, and I’ll try to specify what I’m told those changes will be.

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Specifications:
Manufacturer: Council Tool Co. Inc.
Axe Head Weight: 4 lb
Axe Length: 35 inches
Axe Head Material: 5160 Differentially tempered steel
Handle Material: Hickory
Cost: $170.00

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The Velvicut axes will not be cheap. This one certainly isn’t. It is intended to be a top of the line production axe, and to go head to head with Gransfors Bruks. In that respect, the price is reasonable (a comparable Gransfors Bruks American Felling Axe sells for about $200.00). To compete at that price level however, the axe has to meet some very high standards.

Here I will compare the Council Tool Velvicut 4lb Dayton Axe to the Gransfors Bruks American Felling Axe. You can see the two of them here.

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The handle of the Velvicut axe is hickory, and has the familiar Council Tool design. I found it to be very comfortable, as I generally tend to like their handle designs. The grain alignment on this one was not good, certainly not top of the line good. I was assured by Council Tool that they had a problem with this particular batch of handles, and that the handles used on the final product would be of much higher grade.

The head of the Velvicut axe is attached to the handle using a method identical to that used by Gransfors Bruks, utilizing a wooden wedge and a metal pin. The attachment was very secure.

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The design of the head is beautiful. It reminds me of a vintage Kelly Flint Edge head. All the lines are clean, proportional and well aligned. The overall shape is exactly what I like to see in an axe (I am partial to the Dayton pattern). The cheeks are thin and transition smoothly into the eye. They also have a feature which is common on vintage axes, but is rare to see today-the cheeks are tapered towards the top and bottom of the head. This is a design feature used to minimize binding of the head. The smooth and continuous lines of the head, combined with the tapering of the cheeks, makes this axe great for both chopping and splitting. The head is made of high grade 5160 steel, and as with the other Council Tool axes it is differentially tempered. It will also be tempered harder than the regular line, coming in at about 52-56 HRC.

I found the edge of the axe to be thicker than I like. It wasn’t too thick, but was not as thin as that of the Gransfors Bruks American Felling Axe. Council Tool assures me that on the final product the edge will be significantly thinned out. As it came, it was sharp and very durable, but on a high performance axe, I like to see a thinner edge.

The balance of the Council Tool Velvicut 4lb Dayton axe is good. It is not perfect, as you see the bit hanging somewhat low when the axe is balanced. The balance seems comparable to that of the Gransfors Bruks American Felling Axe.

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The axe comes with a leather sheath. I am told they are still finishing up the design, so there isn’t much I can say about what the final product will be.

Overall, I have high hopes for the final product. Obviously this was never intended to be an axe that you carry in you pack, but if the design and quality characteristics of the final product are up to par, I would be very excited to see some of the other models that will be released in the line. What you see above is just the prototype, so we still have to wait and see what the final product looks like. This particular axe should be released sometime in April.

Ross
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/
 
It's good to see Council step up their game. 5160 is a great steel for axes. What is the handle finish going to be on this line of axes?
 
That is a great looking Axe head! I look forward to seeing a Production model.

Do you have any information on the other Axes that will be coming out? I'm most curious about the Hudson bay. Thanks!
 
The handle is lightly waxed. It could use some more oil and wax.

The models that will be coming out are the Hudson Bay axe, a broad axe, a double bit cruiser axe, and possibly a hatchet. The Hudson Bay axe will be the first to come out. They were thinking of making the poll heavier on it, which I would love.
 
looking forward to the hudson bay.
i have to say as of now i would still purchase the GB over the CT. it is a nice axe, no question about it.! i simply like the style of the GB better. that's all. just my opinion...
 
I would ask a couple questions about this axe :

In reference to the handle, esp the end, where the CT is a smooth one angle and the GB is a double angle knob, is this just a matter of personal preference or does one handle end better suited for this application?

On the axe head, in the eye where the handle is secured, I see the metal wedge, which I always thought was a no-no, especially in a handle with the side to side grain pattern of the CT, this make the handle more prone to splitting. Is this true, or again just a personal preference issue?

With the thickness of the axe head being an issue, is the thicker axe head in this instance actually better? If you look at the size, with the thicker head it would have a little more "meat" if you would get into chopping wood of any kind of decent size, thus an advantage over the GB? Or once again, just a matter of personal preference?

Just some questions that popped up. Looks like an awesome product overall, and I hope it does well.

Thanks.
 
Grain alignment looks pretty random. I know that at some point GB had pretty random grains but it seems to have gotten less common. Maybe they took community advice into account, anyway think people should check that for any axe beyond $100 if not less.

Regarding the bit, it is less "hollow" than on GB which is good for splitting. GBs are good for chopping but a bit annoying for splitting.

Also if they want to appeal to the bushcraft community they should offer a lighter axe. A full size 4lbs headed axe is good for backyard or full time forestry work but for bushcraft/camping it is quite overkill. Think the best compromise lies is somewhere near the GB SF/Scandinavian: overall axe weight around 1kg (2lbs), length 50-60cm (about 2 feet). That format kicks much better than an hatchet will remaining much more packable. That's about what M.Kochanski recommand: length about hand to armpit.
 
It is hard to hang or reset the head with a handle end (fawns foot) in that shape. The pointy end needs to be cut flat. I would have thought that the head would be seated further down on the handle.
 
Loosearrow said:
It is hard to hang or reset the head with a handle end (fawns foot) in that shape. The pointy end needs to be cut flat.
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I think the "pointy" end generally allows little better prehension. That said I still prefer sawn off end for the reason you cite.
 
A few things from the above comments:

As far as the shape of the fawns foot, it’s not an issue as I am not the one hanging the axe. I have no idea how they do it at the factory, but once the head is on the handle, it doesn’t matter to me how hard it was for them to put it on. Other than that, it is just an issue of which look you like. If for some reason you need to reset this very same handle, and don’t have the means to secure it, just cut off a quarter of an inch from bottom to give yourself a platform with which to work.

With respect to the thickness of the head, the head is not actually thicker, just the bit. I like the overall shape of the CT axe better because it has smoother lines. The bit is thicker than that of the GB, which decreases its chopping ability. Again, I am told by CT that in the final version the edge will be significantly thinned out.

This axe was not actually intended for the bushcraft community. It will be released as a commemoration of the company’s 125th anniversary. The next axe in the line will be the Hudson Bay axe, which will be designed with the bushcraft community in mind.

As far as using a metal wedge in addition to a wooden one to secure the head, it is a fairly common practice, and is clearly used by GB. If the head is properly fitted, there will be no splitting problems regardless of the grain. Like I said in my post, the grain of this particular handle is not good, but I am assured by CT that the handles on the final product will be of higher grade.

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/
 
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