Fiskars hatchets are crap

I've been using mine for years. The handle has held up well. I heard the new ones are not made in Finland any longer so the quality may have gone down.
 
i know a gent that breaks 3-4 axe handles a year. minimum. he just buys a "barrel" of them, and has them on hand. he doesn't select for grain, straightness, or such. he doesn't set the head in linseed oil. just slaps it on a handle, sets it, and goes to town. his barn has axe head scars from when it flies around ;)

me? only broken one axe in over a decade, and it had hidden dry rotted handle from storage when i bought it. snow and nealley cheerfully replaced it and let me keep the old head. nice. that's a big axe.

for camping, a fiskars brush hook and axe almost always go with me, along with my precious khukris and Becker knives :) sometimes i'll bring a GransforsBruks or Wetterling, or other spiffy tool of the day.

if someone needs to borrow something though, they get a fiskars. mostly because i feel they are bomb proof, and very good for the money, and more importantly, should the worst happen, easier to replace ;)

there should be nearly perfect consistency in a synethic handle vs a carefully hand chosen, applied, and set wood handle. that can takes hours and days, but lasts with care.

no overstrikes please :)


Bladite
 
greens said:
I've been using mine for years. The handle has held up well. I heard the new ones are not made in Finland any longer so the quality may have gone down.
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Not so. Gerber's Gator axe (the ones with the grip texturing and the saw or knife in the handle) are Taiwanese, however, and the quality on those examples is less than stellar IIRC.
 
baldtaco-II said:
Catastrophic failure versus graceful degradation. Reminds me of some advise I was getting on generators – Either I should buy the Honda because they so seldom fail, but when they do it's a PITA, or I should buy a Blah Blah that fails very much more frequently but can be easily controlled for and mended with some rubber bands, string or whatever.

I concluded a different way. I'm using a synthetic hatchet [not Fiskars]. I moved away from wood for several reasons. I've got to admit that some of that was me getting bound up in being reactionary. [I kept finding so much bullshine on hatchets / axes. Mumbles about the days of yore and old ax men. Grandpappy was an ax murderer and swung an ax his whole life but still didn't know it all. That's twaddle. We'd probably consider one so slow to grasp the fork or , the violin bow, or a keyboard as having Special Needs. I'd certainly not expect such a person to be able to learn how to drive a car or fly a plane. Muscle memory and how many variables. I dare say that few of us write excellent copper plate with a dip in quill and nib, but most us can operate a pen well enough. Yeah reactionary; to people that play up the importance of little piles of doo doo to promote themselves to ranks they would otherwise not be entitled]. Seems to to happen a bunch more with traditionalist thinkers and synthetics were a clear two fingers to that.

Further, as a rule I'm keen to move all my gear to synthetics. I like a skew towards tolerating a good amount of amphibious. The knives I use have all moved that way as they give nothing I prize away to simple carbons. In principle, it is extremely desirable to have all my tools low maintenance. A Spyderco Pacific Salt Golok that gave no performance away to the golok I currently use would be a real treat, as would a Pacific Salt Ax. Meantime I'm happy to have forged carbon heads but I'm eager to get on with the new technology bits we can have and swap to higher tech handles.

That said, I've noticed the all up weight of some with synthetic handles being a good bit more than a counterpart in wood with a similarly weighted head. I liked the Nylon Estwing hadndles a lot for toughness / weight in that respect. Although I don't think Estwings are very hard, and are so crap for choking up on the head.

“Heck, if Fiskars starting making them traditionally shaped, with a wood handle through the eye, I would be very interested, Fiskars is a great company.”

Homebase has them here under the Wilkinson Sword name. All the ones I've seen carry dual marks, both Wilkinson and Fiskars on them. handles vary a lot
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Well, now we know where we stand.

And you do a good job of explaining your perspective.

But, we don't share it. : )

Marion
 
Marion David Poff said:
Well, now we know where we stand.

And you do a good job of explaining your perspective.

But, we don't share it. : )

Marion
Click to expand...


I realized that before I wrote it amigo. I want to know what I'm missing. How do you arrive at a different conclusion. I keep coming back to the thing with the generators and the reasoning to not buy the Honda, and I don't get it.

:-)
 
baldtaco-II said:
I realized that before I wrote it amigo. I want to know what I'm missing. How do you arrive at a different conclusion. I keep coming back to the thing with the generators and the reasoning to not buy the Honda, and I don't get it.

:-)
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Alright, let me give it some thought, I will think on your post and mine, and try to see if I can present the assumptions behind my thoughts...

M
 
I had five fiskars. From the small backpack axe to the full size splitter. I sold the small one and the 3/4 after I brought a pair of wetterlings in those sizes.
Do I think the Wett are better than the Fiskars for a non enthusiest NO.
For Joe Bloggs who buys an axe for a one off hack at a tree in his back yard or wants to split some kindling Fiskars are perfect.
I brough the Wetts because I like sharp things.
I will cherish the extra time and effort taken to make them perform to their best. Will I buy a Wett Maul for splitting wood for my wood fire heater no-way. I do a handle on that and guarenteed it will happen first swing as darkness falls and the wood box is empty.
We sell Fiskars at work and have sold several hundred over the last six years and I have had one returned from a split in the very end of the handle.
The only problem I have had with my Fiskars Block splitter is on the 1 in 20 strikes when the head gets stuck in the block and then I hit the poll with my 4lb sledge to bang it through, the poll is peening the face of my sledge.
Do I loan my Fiskars yeah occasionaly with some reservation. Do I loan my Wetts NO. There is one bloke I would loan my Wetts to and he has more manners than to ask.
Carl
 
The Mini Hatchet I mentioned earlier certainly IS made in Finland, and I buy them here in Finland. The other Fiskars axes all have Finland on them, maybe the Gerber variant is Taiwanese? (not that this is bad either)
 
I've posted it before...


8+ years and still not broken :(

Fiskars002.jpg


Darn near worn out. Re profiled. Polished. Rusted. re-polished. spray painted gray at one time to slow the rust. Bit me once. Never pampered. Thrown at the stump a couple dozen times (just because).

cs
 
Well,

I have thought about this a good bit....

And I think my like of traditional axes is simple fact of conservatism. We know how traditional axes work, how to maintain them, how to keep them running at full performance, how to replace a handle if it breaks.

With the modern axe of the design we are considering, I bet no one who has read this thread has the capacity to replace the handle on an axe of this type. I would further posit that no broken Fiskars has ever been 'fixed' by the manufacturer, no new handle has ever been put on an old/used head. So, if I bought one of these axes, I could not put a new handle on it, if it should break, and no one I know could do so. This makes no sense to me.

This also belies an attitude towards consumer goods as disposable items that I disagree with, in principle. When I buy a product, I do my best to buy something that will last, that can be repaired, that will be supported by the manufacturer, that has value, that has been designed to provide years of service. I do my best not to buy products that are disposable and composed of just enough quality to be marketed.

I have no problem with synthetics or new technology/materials, but I don't simply choose them for that reason, I choose them for their value, what they do that a traditional material cannot, or that a traditional material does not do near as well.

My GB American Felling Axe will provide years of service, and I have every faith that with the proper maintenance, that which has been proven for many decades, will work well for me. And, if the handle should fail, I have the capacity, the knowledge, the resources, the material to replace the handle, and continue to get years of good use out of the tool. This reinforces my desire to increase my self-reliance, not to eschew inter-dependance, but to be capable, on my own, if on my own was all I had.

I don't know if that explains it, or bridges the gap, but that is my attempt.

Marion
 
If you really had to I gander you could replace the handle with a bent haft much like an old bronze-age tanged axe.

axe_shafted2.jpg


The biggest advantage that the "modern" style of axe head had was that the piece used for the haft didn't have to be bent. Finding a suitable piece of wood for the handle of a bronze axe is a pain in the butt from what I've heard. :)
 
Marion David Poff said:
Well,

I have thought about this a good bit....

And I think my like of traditional axes is simple fact of conservatism. We know how traditional axes work, how to maintain them, how to keep them running at full performance, how to replace a handle if it breaks.

With the modern axe of the design we are considering, I bet no one who has read this thread has the capacity to replace the handle on an axe of this type. I would further posit that no broken Fiskars has ever been 'fixed' by the manufacturer, no new handle has ever been put on an old/used head. So, if I bought one of these axes, I could not put a new handle on it, if it should break, and no one I know could do so. This makes no sense to me.

This also belies an attitude towards consumer goods as disposable items that I disagree with, in principle. When I buy a product, I do my best to buy something that will last, that can be repaired, that will be supported by the manufacturer, that has value, that has been designed to provide years of service. I do my best not to buy products that are disposable and composed of just enough quality to be marketed.

I have no problem with synthetics or new technology/materials, but I don't simply choose them for that reason, I choose them for their value, what they do that a traditional material cannot, or that a traditional material does not do near as well.

My GB American Felling Axe will provide years of service, and I have every faith that with the proper maintenance, that which has been proven for many decades, will work well for me. And, if the handle should fail, I have the capacity, the knowledge, the resources, the material to replace the handle, and continue to get years of good use out of the tool. This reinforces my desire to increase my self-reliance, not to eschew inter-dependance, but to be capable, on my own, if on my own was all I had.

I don't know if that explains it, or bridges the gap, but that is my attempt.

Marion
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To compare notes then:

We may well have a good degree of overlap on the “consumer goods as disposable items” thing. I have pet peeves with a lot of the disposable crap that turns up in kitchens, whereas I still run things like a pair of good solid Kenwood Chefs that are rather ancient. Same with HI-FI; I'm a person that would open up a transducer and have the crossover apart and all that. Whilst I'm sure that someone down the road looks at my rack of kit and thinks it is excessive compared to his little micro system threaded together with bell wire, that he'll bin off at the first hint of a glitch. I also have a penchant for good shoes. I don't know how I'd devise a line but I know I have two heaps: Gadgets and gizmos , that I usually dislike, and tools, that can usually be serviced to some degree. The “there are no user serviceable parts” thing is grim. I'm of the “let's void the warranty” school.

Although I feel rather strongly about the above I have to be aware of when I'm clinging. To me a great example is tin foil. Here tin foil sometimes gets a bad press. I think it got worse since Ray Mears announced on TV that one of his pet hates was tin foil. Since then all the haters crawled from the woodwork. The line goes something like “tin foil is for amateurs, it's messy and wasteful, and to be pure you have to eat from a fossilized kangaroo scrotum”. If you oil it, wax, it, soak it in lanolin every once in a while and scrape the stains off it will be waterproof and last for years. That I can't get with. Tin foil is just too useful too me in terms of weight, versatility and packed size to maintain my regular position. To me the foil wins on merit. It wins against crudely carved and lumpen wooden hubcap like plates just as much as it wins against Bloggs My First Titanium Picnic set. And I'd like to buy the person that thought up the titanium spork a pint of vomit.

I think the bottom line is I like an eclectic mix of stuff that works no matter whether it old or new. It is merit based. Leather is a great example – unsurpassed for some applications, but rather pitiful for others compared to alternatives. For me, paramount is the meritocracy. By contrast, some seem to put the image they want to convey ahead of all things. It's like an audition for The Village People. One wants to be all builder in his trusty lumberjack outfit, the next wants to be all indian and beaded moccasins, another wants to project the image of the cowboy. In England we have a new Village Person for the 2000s. The Monk with his sack cloth and pubic hair jumper. Kit doesn't warrant consideration regardless of how good it is if it doesn't fit the little image they are trying to project. I can't skate with that. I think that can influence tool selection too, and not just with the mall ninjas. Sometimes the most useful tool is a Stanley knife, but if it doesn't fit in with the sexy ray skin holster Bloggs isn't going to carry it. To me that's arseways round.

Back to axes -

I get where you are coming from with the maintenance thing. I used to own a GB Wildlife. It is the only GB tool I've had. I paid about £40 for it and am fairly sure with proper servicing it would have out lived me. I got lured to modern though by a bunch of things. I've already mentioned my reactionary[ness]. On top of that I was aghast at some of the comments differentiating GB from Wetterlings. I don't see it as a big deal to mod a Wetterlings to be every bit as good as a GB. Then I got to thinking – I can do this to pretty much any ax I want provided there is a fundamentally good tool under the hood. So let's see what happens if I apply some old time care and skill to a good but unsophisticated modern lump. I was delighted by the way that turned out. I was giving away nothing in cutting performance using a modern job. Well, the way I use it I felt nothing was missing anyway. And I'd never have to do anything to it beyond a occasional sharped and wipe over of the head. Appealing.

I totally see where you are coming from with the Fiskars and breaking / binning though. Instinctively that fails because of the “no user serviceable parts” thing. That would be even more pronounced in my case. That Fiskars would at least offer something one could possibly splint as a get you home repair if it cracked. My Faithful has a solid shaft. If it showed any sign of a weak spot I wouldn't hit another thing with it. Comparing my old GB against this one is the most vivid case of graceful degradation as opposed to catastrophic failure. On that, in principle, the risk is very high with the modern one. Yet beyond principle, what if it never breaks. Test – the first thing I did with that ax was a good torture test. Nothing extreme but well beyond what it would get it normal use, and it didn't flinch. Then I pushed it a bit more kinda expecting it to break yet it didn't. I was delighted. It's been on wages ever since.

Therein is how I resolved my “ graceful degradation as opposed to catastrophic failure” quandary. Sooner or later I need to move beyond principle and spare underwear, and spare spare underwear, and a myriad of little kits to tote about all nestling inside each other like Russian dolls, and just push the button and see what happens. At the moment, that little synthetic ax is looking very far from a user consumable. In fact, in my hands it looks like the thing that will maintain its state by far the longest and consume the least.

Anyway, sorry to prattle on. You make an interesting read so I think you deserve some ideas kicked back over. Whether we agree or not is irrelevant.

h3n002380.gif
 
One of the reasons I like to carry a Fiskars into the woods is because it seems like one of the easiest hatchets to replace the head on if the handle ever did break in the field. The head is grooved for the synthetic handle to wrap around it so it looks like you could find a strong branch and split it 8" or so down,put the grooved part of the head in the split about half way down, and tie around the stick above and below the head with some tough cordage. That seems a lot easier than trying to drive out a broken handle from the eye of a conventional axe head and then shaping a stick to tightly fit back into the eye and making a wedge for it, in the field, away from the right tools for the job,which I never seem to be around when they are most needed.
 
baldtaco-II said:
Anyway, sorry to prattle on. You make an interesting read so I think you deserve some ideas kicked back over. Whether we agree or not is irrelevant.
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I am with you on this, earlier I was just trying to show good form, in the "Let's agree to disagree" format. But, after reading your latest post, I think we probably agree about more than might have first thought.

baldtaco-II said:
Although I feel rather strongly about the above I have to be aware of when I'm clinging. To me a great example is tin foil. Here tin foil sometimes gets a bad press. I think it got worse since Ray Mears announced on TV that one of his pet hates was tin foil. Since then all the haters crawled from the woodwork. The line goes something like “tin foil is for amateurs, it's messy and wasteful, and to be pure you have to eat from a fossilized kangaroo scrotum”. If you oil it, wax, it, soak it in lanolin every once in a while and scrape the stains off it will be waterproof and last for years. That I can't get with. Tin foil is just too useful too me in terms of weight, versatility and packed size to maintain my regular position. To me the foil wins on merit. It wins against crudely carved and lumpen wooden hubcap like plates just as much as it wins against Bloggs My First Titanium Picnic set. And I'd like to buy the person that thought up the titanium spork a pint of vomit.
Click to expand...

I agree with you about tin foil. I also think that you are right about the cult of personality that begins around a guy like Ray Mears. Personally, and maybe this is just because he is variety over here, and not always on, but I quite like his thing, I think that he has a real 'everyman' quality. And while I agree with him that it is the height of crap to leave a campsite a mess, tinfoil is being demonized, instead of just being carried to a trash receptacle. As well, his method of using greenery and sticks and such, is not acceptable in many places, so then what, maybe that tinfoil....

baldtaco-II said:
....some seem to put the image they want to convey ahead of all things. It's like an audition for The Village People. One wants to be all builder in his trusty lumberjack outfit, the next wants to be all indian and beaded moccasins, another wants to project the image of the cowboy. In England we have a new Village Person for the 2000s. The Monk with his sack cloth and pubic hair jumper. Kit doesn't warrant consideration regardless of how good it is if it doesn't fit the little image they are trying to project. I can't skate with that. I think that can influence tool selection too, and not just with the mall ninjas. Sometimes the most useful tool is a Stanley knife, but if it doesn't fit in with the sexy ray skin holster Bloggs isn't going to carry it. To me that's arseways round.
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I agree with this intensely. REI carries some of the worst crap, but, because it is gadgety, and 'useful' looking, the yuppie hikers fall all over themselves buying it. Nuts. And the image thing, totally. I think that modern advertising has perverted a normal bad habit of wanting to fit in, and turned it into identity through purchasing. I'm a cowboy! I'm a hot chick! I'm a hiker! I'm a punk!

baldtaco-II said:
I totally see where you are coming from with the Fiskars and breaking / binning though. Instinctively that fails because of the “no user serviceable parts” thing. That would be even more pronounced in my case. That Fiskars would at least offer something one could possibly splint as a get you home repair if it cracked. My Faithful has a solid shaft. If it showed any sign of a weak spot I wouldn't hit another thing with it. Comparing my old GB against this one is the most vivid case of graceful degradation as opposed to catastrophic failure. On that, in principle, the risk is very high with the modern one. Yet beyond principle, what if it never breaks. Test – the first thing I did with that ax was a good torture test. Nothing extreme but well beyond what it would get it normal use, and it didn't flinch. Then I pushed it a bit more kinda expecting it to break yet it didn't. I was delighted. It's been on wages ever since.
Click to expand...

And you have hit the nail on the head, experience, if it is working for you, who can argue. I can't. But, I still don't trust 'em. : )

baldtaco-II said:
Therein is how I resolved my “ graceful degradation as opposed to catastrophic failure” quandary. Sooner or later I need to move beyond principle and spare underwear, and spare spare underwear, and a myriad of little kits to tote about all nestling inside each other like Russian dolls, and just push the button and see what happens. At the moment, that little synthetic ax is looking very far from a user consumable. In fact, in my hands it looks like the thing that will maintain its state by far the longest and consume the least.
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This is a good point. You have it, you take it out, it works. Done, and I understand that.

Marion
 
The handle on my 14" Fiskars shattered the first time I used it. I returned the pieces for a refund.
 
You know my Grandad had the same axe for nearly fifty years of course it did about seven handles in that time along with three new heads.
Carl
 
For the 22 bucks I spent on mine, I am happy. I can loan it, mistreat it, and it still exceeds expectation. Never had an issue, but it doesn't hold an edge like my Gransfors.
 
The Fiskars can stand on it's merits, regardless of the price, IMO. Take a look at this review, and see for yourself. It is a GOOD little axe. http://www.thetopgearpicks.com/Fiskars14.html

As far as the Gransfors, big ups to them as well. Here is a Gransfors SFA review. http://www.thetopgearpicks.com/GBSFA.html

Really, a person could almost disregard price, and decide which would be better for them based on the features. Light weight, scandi ground, utilitarian steel hardness, or wood handled, higher hardness, chopping profile. Even if you disregard price, I don't think that one whose needs were best met by the Fiskars would do well with the GB, or vice versa.
 
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