Cliff Stamp
BANNED
- Joined
- Oct 5, 1998
- Messages
- 17,562
These are sold at Canadian Tire, for $20-$30, they are described as being "weighted for better wood chopping" whatever that means. A shot :
The head weighs 2.5 lbs and the overall weight is 4 lbs. The bit is 4" wide and is 3.5" infront of the handle. The head is perfectly centered on the handle and is very symmetrical.
The edge is flat ground at an impressive 26 (1) degrees per side and is 0.145" thick. This one was heavily used so it was sharpened with a bastard file and then refined with a 200 grit silicon carbide waterstone and then polished with a 600 then 1200 DMT stone and finished on 0.5 micron chromium/aluminum oxide.
First it was given some work felling a few small sticks. The performance was very low due mainly to the very obtuse edge which not only directly reduced performance but also forced a less efficient angle of cut to the wood as it would tend to glance readily at 45 degree swings so it had to be ran much flatter. As an extreme example of relative performance, the following stick took 42 swings :
It was then sectioned right above the stump with a Bruks Wildlife hatchet with 32 swings. Not only was the Bruks actually faster, it took far less effort to swing the hatchet. The Craftsman's swing count was padded due to problems with glancing, but even after this was solved, on another few trees the best it could do was match the chop count of the hatchet and of course the effort was much higher. For limbing the Bruks was much more productive, even with the shorter handle.
Having a look at precision work, it was possible to do tasks like make shavings however it took much more force than with the Bruks due to the heavier edge and the shavings would fracture easily :
Moving on to lighter woods, it was very difficult to cut alders which are fairly springy as the angle of the edge was just far too obtuse. Note the multiple splits in the wood, this same wood is easily cut in just one light chop with a decent long blade :
As a really extreme example of the inability to actually cut wood, the Craftsman was used to point a small hardwood dowel and it took 120 (5) slices. The Bruks hatchet did the same in 24 (1) slices and again took far more effort during a similar amount of cuts.
On light splitting, such as lumber and light woods, the Bruks hatchet went in easier and was far more capable of precision splitting for shaping woods for carving :
Of course on heavier woods the Craftsman pulled ahead.
The edge retention was fairly low, even after the above work which isn't of a significant volume, the edge had still collapsed in several spots even at the extreme angle and was readily reflecting light. Now in general I would repeat this a few times to confirm that, but this isn't my axe, I just cleaned it up for a friend and gave it a light test run. It filed really easy so it isn't surprising that the edge dented/rolled fairly easy.
As with most hardware store axes, with some wood a decent tool can be discovered which is hidden under all that extra steel. First cut the edge angle in half and then add a slightly more obtuse bevel at the very edge which is suited to the local wood type. If so desired, take an angle grinder and hollow out the head directly. However given this extent of work, unless you are a hobbiest, a more suitable axe like the Iltis is likely more sensible.
As bought, this is basically a utility axe for sod work and similar which can also be used for light wood splitting. The description of a wood chopper is only really accurate if the wood is really soft like balsa. It is far too thick even for white pine.
-Cliff
The head weighs 2.5 lbs and the overall weight is 4 lbs. The bit is 4" wide and is 3.5" infront of the handle. The head is perfectly centered on the handle and is very symmetrical.
The edge is flat ground at an impressive 26 (1) degrees per side and is 0.145" thick. This one was heavily used so it was sharpened with a bastard file and then refined with a 200 grit silicon carbide waterstone and then polished with a 600 then 1200 DMT stone and finished on 0.5 micron chromium/aluminum oxide.
First it was given some work felling a few small sticks. The performance was very low due mainly to the very obtuse edge which not only directly reduced performance but also forced a less efficient angle of cut to the wood as it would tend to glance readily at 45 degree swings so it had to be ran much flatter. As an extreme example of relative performance, the following stick took 42 swings :
It was then sectioned right above the stump with a Bruks Wildlife hatchet with 32 swings. Not only was the Bruks actually faster, it took far less effort to swing the hatchet. The Craftsman's swing count was padded due to problems with glancing, but even after this was solved, on another few trees the best it could do was match the chop count of the hatchet and of course the effort was much higher. For limbing the Bruks was much more productive, even with the shorter handle.
Having a look at precision work, it was possible to do tasks like make shavings however it took much more force than with the Bruks due to the heavier edge and the shavings would fracture easily :
Moving on to lighter woods, it was very difficult to cut alders which are fairly springy as the angle of the edge was just far too obtuse. Note the multiple splits in the wood, this same wood is easily cut in just one light chop with a decent long blade :
As a really extreme example of the inability to actually cut wood, the Craftsman was used to point a small hardwood dowel and it took 120 (5) slices. The Bruks hatchet did the same in 24 (1) slices and again took far more effort during a similar amount of cuts.
On light splitting, such as lumber and light woods, the Bruks hatchet went in easier and was far more capable of precision splitting for shaping woods for carving :
Of course on heavier woods the Craftsman pulled ahead.
The edge retention was fairly low, even after the above work which isn't of a significant volume, the edge had still collapsed in several spots even at the extreme angle and was readily reflecting light. Now in general I would repeat this a few times to confirm that, but this isn't my axe, I just cleaned it up for a friend and gave it a light test run. It filed really easy so it isn't surprising that the edge dented/rolled fairly easy.
As with most hardware store axes, with some wood a decent tool can be discovered which is hidden under all that extra steel. First cut the edge angle in half and then add a slightly more obtuse bevel at the very edge which is suited to the local wood type. If so desired, take an angle grinder and hollow out the head directly. However given this extent of work, unless you are a hobbiest, a more suitable axe like the Iltis is likely more sensible.
As bought, this is basically a utility axe for sod work and similar which can also be used for light wood splitting. The description of a wood chopper is only really accurate if the wood is really soft like balsa. It is far too thick even for white pine.
-Cliff