Double Bitted Axe Suggestions?

O

OhioCruffler

Joined
Apr 15, 2006
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14
I would like to get a double-bitted axe. I like quality tools, and would rather pay more for a genuine increase in quality, but I do not like paying more for just a name or for some incremental change in quality only a full-time pro would notice or make use of. For instance, I use Stihl saws, not Poulan or Shindaiwa.

I am an experienced user of regular and camp axes, and know how to take care of good equipment.

What would be the "best pick" for a journeyman quality double bit?

Larry
 
I've never used a double bit axe, but I too am looking for a good quality one. Does Wetterling make a model? Or should I stick with a single bit? What does having 2 cutting surfaces offer other than being wicked manly?

My current axe is a hardware store special type deal with a orange fiberglass handle. I feel an upgrade is in order :)
 
i don't own a double bit either, they seem too dangerous and i don't really have enough need for me to warrant learning to use one safely...

but the advantages consist of things like having two cutting edges that can be specialized (one for hardwood and one for soft), being able to use the axe until dull and then just flip it for a fresh edge, having a more balanced blade that can help increase chopping efficiency and aim.
 
siguy said:
you might look into gransfors bruks or iltis oxhead, both make full size double bit axes, and both are known for their good quality.

i know for sure that leevalley carries both;
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=43408&cat=1,41131
Click to expand...

The Bruks axe is designed and built as a throwing axe, not a working axe. That concerns me deeply. Balance and temper, weight, all might be different than it ought for a working axe.

The oxhead is a bit pricey; is it that good? This is where I am thinking I might be paying for a name.

Anyone ever use one of the Snow&Neally axes, or any of their tools?
https://www.mainemilitary.com/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idcategory=129&idproduct=965

It looks pretty good, too.
 
Munnin42 said:
I've never used a double bit axe, but I too am looking for a good quality one. Does Wetterling make a model? Or should I stick with a single bit? What does having 2 cutting surfaces offer other than being wicked manly?

My current axe is a hardware store special type deal with a orange fiberglass handle. I feel an upgrade is in order :)
Click to expand...

Wetterling does not have a double-bit axe in their inventory, at least not in the USA. I have no idea if they make one "over there".

Most doubles have a "rough work/splitting" side and a "sharp-as-hell cutting" side. I have heard of people re-working the rough edge into another sharp edge so they can switch off as needed, mostly for lumberjack competitions.
 
ohiocruffler, i understand your concern about paying for a name, but if the double bits are anything like a single bit felling i have used (and it looks like it is) then you are certainly paying for performance. the one i used was a fantastic cutter, and the only chopper we had between 25 blade and wilderness nuts we had that would put a dent in a large maple log we were playing with (seasoned rock hard).

the snow and nealy axes need edge work (the edge bevels look like they are done on a bench grinder) but apart from that they seem well made and the resident axe nut (brian andrews) really likes his smaller snow and nealy. my local hardware store carries them, yours might too. if you have the chance, try to check them out in person first.
 
OhioCruffler said:
I would like to get a double-bitted axe. I like quality tools, and would rather pay more for a genuine increase in quality, but I do not like paying more for just a name or for some incremental change in quality only a full-time pro would notice or make use of. For instance, I use Stihl saws, not Poulan or Shindaiwa.

I am an experienced user of regular and camp axes, and know how to take care of good equipment.

What would be the "best pick" for a journeyman quality double bit?

Larry
Click to expand...

I frequently see axes at farm auctions. Older, high-quality stuff will sell for $10-15. Sometimes, they need to be rehandled, but not always.
 
"The Bruks axe is designed and built as a throwing axe, not a working axe. That concerns me deeply. Balance and temper, weight, all might be different than it ought for a working axe."

They have a longer one meant for working. I use it and absolutly love it. Seems easy enough to use safely
 
Check eBay and estate sales, yard sales, flea markets, etc for a Sager Chemical Axe. They were made by Warren Axe & Tool Co., Warren, Pa from the turn of the century until after WWII. They are genuine hand forged and differentially tempered. I have one that I got from my great uncle, a Michigan patern. When I got it there was scale and rust all over it but other than that it had seen very, very little usage.. A little TLC, a new handle, and a quality hone and it is the nicest axe I have ever swung. It's over 80 years old and is a great tool still.

The double bit axes on the market today just dont have the right blade geometry. They are usually to fat and the edges are usually profiled with a grinder at some horrid angle. They have too much steel at all the wrong places. A good one should be slender in profile, the cutting bits tapering nicely from the handle and the edges profiled such that they are convex as best as possible. As stated, one side is usually very sharp but slightly stubbier for rough cutting of limbs, etc and the other slender and litterally hair shaving sharp.

I see them regularly on eBay for less than $20..
 
i think a lot of the axe companies don't put much of an edge on their wares simply because folks are chopping different kinds of wood, and might favor different edge geometries, which it behooves them to know how to do as axe-users anyway.

i don't sharpen my hawks that i send out beyond a GP utility edge for that reason, unless requested to do so.

vec
 
The Gransfors Bruks axe is made in both a working and a throwing version.

Snow and Nealy are great axes as well. They are drop or die forged as opposed to hand forged as with the Gransfors Bruks.

The areas where you lose out on the less expensive axes is in the handles, fit of the handle to the head and in how well the head is hung. Many of the commercial axes that you will buy either are hung on bad handles or so badly aligned and hung that the head needs to be mounted on another handle before it is worth using.

I have recieved two axes in this condition from ordering online and won't order another axe unseen unless it is a gransfors or wetterlings due to the fact tht at least they come properly hafted.
 
I've decided to get a S&N double bitter with a Christmas gift card, I'll post my findings in this thread once I get my grubbly little mitts on it. It will be the first axe I'll own that cost more than $12 :D
 
I started with a inexpensive SOG hawk did some VooDoo to it and had a really Badazz wrecking machine that could do the smallest of camp chores with a bit of practice. Then I came across Lee Reeves and saw his Double Bit Axe and now I have one here and one to be completed soon. Somewhere in the middle of that should fit your needs!!!:thumbup:
http://members.tripod.com/ssidders/id121.htmLink to Lee Reeves...

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I made some just to try for a other forum .
I try to do them nessmuk style but I don´t no if I really succeed
Nessmuk2.jpg
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Cegga
 
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