Finally Got a Small Forest Axe...

Guyon

Guyon

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This GB has been on my "to get" list for some time now.

Found a cutlery store in my mall that carries a sizeable line of GB axes (believe it or not), and tonight, I bit the bullet and bought the SFA. Touched up the edge with an Arkansas stone when I got home. It was already sharp; now it's scary sharp. Also rubbed down the axe head with some CLP and cleaned off any residue/oxidation that was on it. Then, I put a couple of coats of paste wax on the head to give the carbon steel a bit of added protection while I'm not using it.

I plan on using it soon though. Have some small logs out back that need splitting, and one day this week, I'll give the axe a test run. Will report back here on performance.

Still don't have the Wildlife Hatchet. Maybe before spring arrives...
 
Not the best splitter but a fantastic all around tool for making shelters, limbing and tree cutting. It will split but it is designed to penetrate.

Now the GB small splitting axe is a wonder and all I use to make kindling.

Once you have bough 1 GB you will be hard pressed not to buy another.
 
Talking of 'tarting' up Axe's, well, Hatchet in this case.

I just got myself a Wetterlings #16 (Middle size) hatchet from my stock :D as a Christmas bonus to myself.

I have been on another forum which is a part of Outdoors Magazine. There are lots of Axe freaks over there and its good to get a broad base of opinion.

I will be soaking the handle for a week or so in Linseed oil (Raw) to hopefully get that lovley GB ochre colour.

Here is the hatchet as new

1w.jpg


Here it is with a #320 head finish & a #120 handle finish. I may go to #600 on the handle and up to #1500 on the head. I sharpened it on a foam pad & paper (SOP for convex) it shaves, albeit poorly but when I take it to over #1000 its going to rock! :D

The linseed oil is due tomorrow, cant wait to see how it turns out.

2w.jpg
 
I like the rough, dark patina finish that comes with a GB. Once you start down the path of polish, you need to take out all the small blemishes and that's a lot of work. I left mine as is, the edge was polished and I didn't need more than that.
 
The forrest is great. Just be careful when putting it back in the sheath. Mine cut right through the day after I bought it. Speaking of sheaths, thet Wetterling has a nice looking one....

Anyway, I love the GB. It has helped start dozens of campfires, and cut plenty of meat. Almost lost it to a Dene hunting guide once, but , luckily paper covers rock, so I got to keep it.

Regards
Jim
 
The Wetterlings sheath is very well made. Its been waxed nicely too.

I'm up to stage 3 now, the Linseed oil came, its had about 3 coatings and warmings with a hair dryer.

I will be painting the head with Hammerite soon too, to hide the pits, dings and folds.
 
Jim Craig said:
Almost lost it to a Dene hunting guide once, but , luckily paper covers rock, so I got to keep it.
Click to expand...
You rock-paper-scissored for a GB? That's got to be a good story.

Temper, that looks like a nice project. Hope to see some pics when you're done.
 
Still on the Linseed oil part of the project, with these temps it may take a while. I am going to Black Hammerite the head from the front of the handle backwards. The handle already looks beautiful with the oil finish, I'm really happy with the progress so far.
 
Guyon,

It is pretty hard to say no to a guy who hunts for almost all his food, and has never seen anything of that quality. He had taken me hunting 200kms from the nearest settlement, and as a group, we knocked down 11 or 12 caribou...
It was a great experience, and it was worth more than the axe. But, it was a gift from my wife (now ex-wife), so we thought that would be fair. He wanted to go two out of three, but I chickened out after the first round. I think I ended up giving him a Grohmann knife that he liked or something like that. To this day, Ronald tells me he plans on stealing my axe. I should probably just go and buy him one, but that would ruin the ongoing joke, I think.

Regards

Jim
I posted some pictures a couple of years ago, but don't know what I've done with them now.
Everyone who hunts should try to spend time in the Northwest Territories, in my opinion. Words cannot describe.

Regards, uh, again.
 
That is a nice looking wetterling, the one I used was really low in finish and a weird mix of the small axes, with aspects of several. I think I'll try the small forest wetterling in the spring. Shipping is killer to here though, it cost me nearly as much as the axe the last time, and GB is available locally.

-Cliff
 
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