Disappointed!!!

baldtaco-II said:
I'm reminded of one of Horn Dog's postings elsewhere. He took a Swamp Rat [or Scrapyard] offering to a belt and pushed it further than I suspect most would. Some may have considered it damaged. I thought of it as a marked improvement in cutting performance that I would do on purpose.
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Yeah theres nothing wrong with modding, changing something to make it work better for you is definitely an improvement!
It is yours after all so why not put your mark on it?
I used to avoid modding, wanted to keep everything in mint condition.
But i've given up on that whole mindset.
Really I buy production knives that are made by the thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) i'm never going to be able to sell my collection some day and buy a tropical island, lol.
Sure collecting by itself is fun but when you are afraid to use a knife/axe/whatever it kinda takes the fun out of it.
Really half the fun is in the actual use of the tool.
And modding in itself is like another fun sub-hobby of knife collecting.
So I've got no qualms about personalising/customizing/ modding something to suit me.
:D

(no offense to any of the "safe-queen" style collectors out there, if thats your thing then more power to you)
 
hollowdweller said:
Yes and Yes. Of course the wood that broke the first was really unique as far as being tough. I'm not sure I have run into anything as rough with the replacement.
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That's good to hear.
A picture is worth a thousand words...photo like that could build an internet legend about bad axes.
Good to see GB took care of you.
I'm sure Fiskars will take care of the OP as well.
tholiver said:
Yeah theres nothing wrong with modding, changing something to make it work better for you is definitely an improvement!
It is yours after all so why not put your mark on it?
I used to avoid modding, wanted to keep everything in mint condition.
But i've given up on that whole mindset.
Really I buy production knives that are made by the thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) i'm never going to be able to sell my collection some day and buy a tropical island, lol.
Sure collecting by itself is fun but when you are afraid to use a knife/axe/whatever it kinda takes the fun out of it.
Really half the fun is in the actual use of the tool.
And modding in itself is like another fun sub-hobby of knife collecting.
So I've got no qualms about personalising/customizing/ modding something to suit me.
:D

(no offense to any of the "safe-queen" style collectors out there, if thats your thing then more power to you)
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Hey, ya gotta make it yours :D
 
Elen said:
And that's why you have to test before considering them field ready. Take a look at Himalyan Imports khukuris, for example. In their forum, they seriously advocate testing a khukuri (in numerous ways such as prying and hammering with their spines) before considering it ready for field use where it must not fail. Of course, even the heaviest test won't make it 100 % impossible that the tool will fail on the field, but that is the nature of life - uncertain. I don't know of any manufacturer of any item that has never let out a defective item on to the market.
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True, and excellent advice. Thanks.

tholiver said:
I love my Estwing Campers Axe as much as my Fiskars but i think anything can break under the right circumstances.
I think this is definitely a case of an individual flawed Fiskars.
Really manufacturing defects do occur in the mass production of anything. there will always be the odd dud.
Show me more instances of Fiskars breaking and i'll start to worry and i'll hold my Fiskars in reserve.
If i was doing any major expeditions or really long trips i'd be tempted to carry a regular wooden handle axe instead of the Fiskars or the Estwings simply because you can in a pinch make a new handle for it.
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Very good points, and thanks, also. I've had several Fiskars hatchets, saws, and scissors over the years and always considered them to be high quality. Hopefully Morablade's hatchet was just an "odd dud", as you said.

I once replaced a wood hatchet handle and it was a BEAR to remove. I doubt if I could have done it at all in the wilderness, without the tools and resources I had at home. I don't know much about tomahawks but maybe they would be better in the wilderness than an axe, since it it looks like their handles are much easier to replace. I sometimes carry a big chopping knife that can also be used for more delicate chores such as food prep.
 
Mtn Hawk said:
True, and excellent advice. Thanks.


Very good points, and thanks, also. I've had several Fiskars hatchets, saws, and scissors over the years and always considered them to be high quality. Hopefully Morablade's hatchet was just an "odd dud", as you said.

I once replaced a wood hatchet handle and it was a BEAR to remove. I doubt if I could have done it at all in the wilderness, without the tools and resources I had at home. I don't know much about tomahawks but maybe they would be better in the wilderness than an axe, since it it looks like their handles are much easier to replace. I sometimes carry a big chopping knife that can also be used for more delicate chores such as food prep.
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Yeah it can be a pain to replace a handle. i've done two axe rehandling jobs. One of them was a small hatchet that had the the remnants of the old handle (maybe 3 inches long) stuck firmly in the eyehole.
I had to drill many holes in it length-wise, then i tapped it out with a hammer.
In the field that would be even more difficult. One way i think you could do it is to put small hot coals on the top of the wood in the eyehole and blow on it so that it burns the wood away. Very slow of course but it should work. I've seen a few videos of people making dugout canoes and wooden bowls using hot coals to burn away wood in a similar fashion.
I've even read of people putting the axe head in the fire to burn away the remaining wood!
:eek:
Either way you could mess up the metal of the axe by overheating it. But if you were desperate and many miles from home you could probably burn the wood away, make and attach a new handle so at least it would be usable enough to get you home.
Of course i haven't tried these methods so i'm only relating what i've seen or read so caveat emptor!

:)

Someone posted a thread here (or in the Axe/tomahawk forum) on improvised axe handle replacement, but i can't find it.
The bladeforums revived search function has gone back to its old wonky ways.
But heres the Klippe Wiki link-
http://wiki.funditor.org/
scroll down to and click on the "make an axe handle" article.
 
I think I would put my money on the Fiskars for ease of rehandling. While this is all conjecture, I expect it would be considerably easier to inlet a piece of wood for the bit, then wrap w/ wet leather, than to make a moderately functional traditional handle. While a standard handle could be made, I doubt it would be any more functional unless a huge amount of time was spent on it's construction.
 
Any Cal. said:
I think I would put my money on the Fiskars for ease of rehandling. While this is all conjecture, I expect it would be considerably easier to inlet a piece of wood for the bit, then wrap w/ wet leather, than to make a moderately functional traditional handle. While a standard handle could be made, I doubt it would be any more functional unless a huge amount of time was spent on it's construction.
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I'm not sure if one would necessarily be easier than the other, but I've had similar thoughts about re-handling a Fiskars. If the Fiskars head is shaped how I think it is under the plastic this would be very feasible. The thing I really wonder about is how difficult it would be to get the head completely free from the plastic. I suspect that it may be rather tough to do. Hopefully Morablades will be able to give us a report on the subject soon.
 
Salamander42 said:
I'm not sure if one would necessarily be easier than the other, but I've had similar thoughts about re-handling a Fiskars. If the Fiskars head is shaped how I think it is under the plastic this would be very feasible. The thing I really wonder about is how difficult it would be to get the head completely free from the plastic. I suspect that it may be rather tough to do. Hopefully Morablades will be able to give us a report on the subject soon.
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I'm working on it now guys. Pics soon:thumbup::thumbup::thumbup:
 
I'll also be looking forward to Morablades report and pics. If it doesn't look like the Fiskars handle can be replaced in the wilderness, then I might buy this Cold Steel tomahawk, or something similar.

http://www.coldsteel.com/trailhawk.html

I've never owned a tomahawk, and don't know much about the pros and cons of them, compared to hatchets. But if a tomahawk handle can be replaced, or replaced much easier, than a hatchet then that's a very strong selling point, IMO.

Although I'm sorry about Morablades broken hatchet, I'm glad this thread came up as it got me thinking more seriously about what I'd do if mine broke in the wilderness. As some of you said, probably nothing should be considered "unbreakable" and it's very wise to have a solid "Plan B" if something does break, especially in the wilderness where warranty replacements and tools are scarce.

tholiver-- My experience replacing a wood hatchet handle is similar to yours. The wood seemed like it was part of the metal.

Your burning coal idea is the best wilderness method I can come up with, also, although I have the same reservation you do, that the high temp. would negatively affect the blade, maybe even enough to make it chip, or even shatter, on impact.

Thanks for the link! Good article. I wasn't aware of this website but it looks like it will be a very good resource. If you ever run across the other thread about improvised axe handle replacement I'd appreciate you sending it along.
 
Looks like I'm going to have to take this thing to work Monday and take the pics while deconstructing this thing in the shop. I need the better tools. I did hit the handle with a hammer to see how much force it would take to break. Four hard full force hits finally made a dent and then another three to make a break. Then I had to work the other side which took just as many hits to completely break the handle off. The bulk of the plastic is on the front of the handle. Which makes sense as to why they're so damn tough.
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Wow! Nice pics so far on the Fiskars Morablades! If those go up on youtube I bet the Fiskars NA rep will contact you within the day!
 
After reading what was required to fully break the handle, I'm wondering if you could have actually used the thing for a good while longer just as it was. Yes, your hatchet was clearly damaged, but it seems like you may have still been able to rely on it in an emergency. Who know how long it may have lasted?
 
Scott Ridgeway said:
After reading what was required to fully break the handle, I'm wondering if you could have actually used the thing for a good while longer just as it was. Yes, your hatchet was clearly damaged, but it seems like you may have still been able to rely on it in an emergency. Who know how long it may have lasted?
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I thought about that too as I pounded the hell out of it. LOL. No doubt about it these things are tough. But this is interesting to find out how much it could take and how it's built.
 
baldtaco-II said:
Sounds like the niche for one of those wire-saws. Get the one hole going and then thread it through.
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Thats a good idea!
:thumbup:
I never even though of that....d'oh!
I could have even put a loose thin coping saw blade through the hole, then attached the blade to the saws u shaped frame/handle and then sawed away.
I'll try that the next time i have to remove the remnants of a handle from an axe head.
 
Morablades you still might want to email Fiskars.
Maybe give them the link to this thread.
Their response to this would give us an idea of how good their customer service is.
This would also be good info for them, you never know they might mod/improve the design because of your input. That would help all of us in the long run.
And at the very least they might send you a new Axe!
:)
 
Spending $20 doesn't sound like too much to satisfy your curiosity. I'm interested in seeing the pics myself.
 
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