• Happy Thanksgiving to all of you! I hope that you all have something to be grateful for this year and for many years to come

  • The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
    Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/

  • America has reached 250 years, and I am grateful to be here, in the best country in the world. Thank every one of you who helps make this country a better place, those who have gone before and risked it all, and those who've paid the ultimate price to make the United States what we are today.

    Happy Birthday America! Let Freedom Ring for all time!

Good Camp Axe

B

bitter1

Joined
Mar 3, 2008
Messages
1,071
This is my first post here in the axe forum and just got back from camping and want a good camp axe to round out my camping gear I was looking at the Cold Steel axes but you guys know more about axes and hatchets than I do. So any suggestions would be great.

Thank you
 
bitter1. Have Steve at Coal Creek Forge make ya one! He does great work and his prices are very reasonable.
 
Oh and does Steve at Coal Creek Forge have a website or somewhere I can see his design's.
 
Gransfors Bruks makes some great axes.The price might be closer to a 100 bucks though.
 
The Cold Steel Rifleman's Hawk will be a lot of fun, but not as useful around camp as a true hatchet. I may have gotten one of the finest ones ever, but others have gotten Rifleman's Hawks that needed work, so that is something to think about as well. Unless you're buying with the intention of modifying (look in the stickies section for all you'll ever want to know about modding these hawks... plus it's just good fun for a pittance of $$$).

I have poo-poo'd the Gerber/Fiskars hatchets, but they are handy in camp, again, for just a few $.

Wetterling's will get you a really nice hatchet for $45-60, depending on the model and the store. You will be very happy. I have about one of each model, and I can honestly say they are worth the $. I bought mine mostly to support the industry, but I would not hesitate to take them to the woods.

Buuuuuuuuuut...

If you've got $80-120 (or even $150 if you can't wait for a deal), depending on the model that suits your fancy, you simply cannot beat the Gransfors Bruks. I have a SFA and a Wildlife, and I can honestly say that these are Porsches and Ferraris compared to the very nice Fords and Chevys out there. If you intend on using a hatchet as a hatchet, and often, you will thank yourself every time you take one of these to the woods. The difference between $50 and $100, over 15-30 years is what, ten cents to a dollar for each camping trip? But your personal happiness that you did so well as to get the GB will significantly eclipse any thoughts of savings you might have had otherwise. The balance and feel are simply unparallelled.
 
I will second Gransfors Bruks. While never owning on, they are some dead sexy tools.

I bought an Estwing no1 and it is pretty good, though the edge wasn't all that great. Fiskars and Gerbers, which I believe are one in the same since Fiskars owns Gerber. Their axes/hatchets have some really nice heads on them. Seem to come sharp too. Only real advice I can offer is make sure you have a decent sized handle. Long handle=short work and a short handle=alcoholism.
 
I will third GB's axes if you do not mind the weight / car camping etc - otherwise a poll hawk from one of the custom makers here would serve you well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top