First Axe: How'd I Do? (Wetterlings American Forest Axe)

[H0B0]

Hey everyone, I have been lurking around these forums for quite awhile gathering information.
I recently purchased my first felling axe from http://www.rockcreek.com, they were the only distributor in the area that I could inspect before purchasing.
It was between the Wetterlings American Forest Axe, Gransfors Bruks American Felling Axe, and the Council Tools #3.5 Jersey.
I decided to go with the Wetterlings because I could actually inspect the axe and I had a 20% off coupon.

It's a 32" handle with a 3lb head.

Let me know how I did!

 

[dman62]

Looks like you did very well. Get out and chop some wood with her and let us know how you like it!

 

[Square_peg]

You did well. A 3 pound 32" axe is a great general purpose axe. A Wetterlings will have very good steel and likely a good heat treat. The grain alignment in your handle looks very good.

There are critical comments I could make as well if you care to hear them.

 

[H0B0]

Looks like you did very well. Get out and chop some wood with her and let us know how you like it!

You did well. A 3 pound 32" axe is a great general purpose axe. A Wetterlings will have very good steel and likely a good heat treat. The grain alignment in your handle looks very good.

There are critical comments I could make as well if you care to hear them.

Great, I'm glad I was able to pick a good one. Thanks for the response.

 

[bbforstr]

The Wetterlings looks like a very nice axe. I prefer the vintage American axes, but yours looks very nice. The hang of it is a little funky. I would have hung the head a lot closer to the shoulder of the haft. The grain orientation is nearly perfect. It does run out of the haft in a few places, but you definitely have a good useable tool there. Post more info after you've used it a little bit. How well it works is the real proof of the pudding. Nice find.

 

[Steve Tall]

...
It's a 32" handle with a 3lb head...

...

That's a good combination of weight & length that you unfortunately can't get from American axe makers these days (I hope somebody can prove me wrong... but I'm not talking about custom orders from a small forging operation). And it's great that you got to hand select the one you wanted.

While the head geometry (pictured above) is fairly flat, the cheeks are thick enough that they can be filed down somewhat to make them more "convex-sided" (to give more of a "high centerline", as illustrated below), to reduce the potential for sticking (or in other words, for easier releasing).

[Written by Peter Vido]

Keen Kutter with high-centerline "convex-sided" geometry:

Gransfors Bruks with "flat-sided" geometry:

[above photos courtesy of killa_concept]
...

 

[300Six]

There are literally millions of first class domestic-made axes of every stripe out there languishing in basements and garages and can often be had for mere peanuts if you have patience, ask questions and do your homework.
I don't want to begrudge your fine purchase (you bought a lovely implement) but I'd like to put a plug out there, for folks that are keen to use/appreciate an axe, to try to seek out the 'golden oldies'. Hefting one can even become a history lesson! A quality-made axe is not like a chainsaw or a car; it'll easily last you a lifetime, and your grandchildren's.