Hatchet Handle Gap (I'm a noob)

M

m0rph

Joined
Feb 17, 2017
Messages
4
Hello everyone. I just received my GFB #413 and I noticed there is a gap between the handle on the bottom side of the hatchet. I was curious if this is a problem or not. I am not sure how tight these are suppose to be. I would appreciate any advice. Thank you.

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Ideally were these things lovingly assembled with no regard to time that gap would not exist.
Axes like that are massproduced. The jobclock does not allow 100% perfection.
Its perfectly functional axe, gap or not.
 
I'm with Goose. For that money make sure it pleases you. If you bought a 20 dollar off Brand it wouldn't be surprising, but that wasn't 20 dollars.
 
As far as usability it is fine. As far as craftsmanship..........this is sub par. All the way around. From the pictures it looks like zero effort was made to cut the ears in. There is a gap, and the handle looks unintentionally "rustic" like the work was done haphazardly. If I had hung this axe I would be embarrassed to show it to others. I would also be the first to point out the flaws in my own workmanship because nobody's perfect, but I am not selling axes at all, let alone at the pricepoint these people are.
 
As a side note, if the ears allow for more contact area and a more "solid" axe head handle connection, then not cutting the ears in and leaving gaps is counterproductive is it not.
 
Thank you everyone for responding. I have contacted the seller to see what I should do next. I really did not expect to have issues with they hatchet since it was so expensive but I guess that is unavoidable. It may be just being super picky but as some of you mentioned at this price point I should try to get the best fit possible.
 
I don't want to seem like a dick, I do more often than not though. These heads are fitted by hand and wedged with a 1tonne press. The likelyness of you getting one to budge on a handle less than a foot long is slim to none. Once your handles dirty and you've put miles on it that gap will go unnoticed. As long as the top of the eye has been filled you're honestly good to go on a hatchet that size. The time spent returning it could be time used to get acquainted with it.
 
They also come with a 20year warranty. Use it and if perhaps it does loosen in the years to come can also return it then. They're not going anywhere anytime soon, have already established them selfs over the past 100+ years.
 
If that were mine and I didn't want to return it for whatever reason and I didn't feel like lowering it I'd mix up some jb weld and carefully " pour " some in that gap till it was full
 
Sharp_Canadian said:
They also come with a 20year warranty. Use it and if perhaps it does loosen in the years to come can also return it then. They're not going anywhere anytime soon, have already established them selfs over the past 100+ years.
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There you go. Use it. If it comes loose then take it back. I'm betting it wont.
 
On the subject of warranties and returns (and not directed specifically at Gransfors), it seems like manufacturers had stricter QA "back in the good old days".
I've heard that nowadays, some manufacturers figure they can save money by relaxing the standards and letting the customers be the QA department (sort of). The cost the company pays for a few returns can be less than the cost of weeding out all the bad product (and potentially bad product). Taken too far, it obviously would hurt the company's reputation.
 
it seems like manufacturers had stricter QA "back in the good old days"..
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Back in the "Good old days".
There were no internet educated otherwise never held an axe before nitpickers to bewilder about the most minor of imperfection.

Axes were purchased & put to work.
 
Pickiness of buyers aside, back in the "good old days", axe makers could have "second quality" (and sometimes "third quality") brands that were sold at lower prices. These days, I suspect that the unusable and exceptionally ugly ones get scrapped and the rest typically get lumped in together. Even from Gransfors, some seemingly "second quality" examples have shown up at this forum, and they were sold as top quality.
 
I don't disagree that it's fine for service more than likley, but when we roll over and just accept sub par finish and are disappointed by that from our most respected makers we loose accountability.
 
Lieblad said:
Back in the "Good old days".
There were no internet educated otherwise never held an axe before nitpickers to bewilder about the most minor of imperfection.

Axes were purchased & put to work.
Click to expand...

With all due repect, I bet each and every one of the fine gentlemen over here has, at least once, used Google to educate themselves on some (for them) random, obscure thing, at some point in their digital life.
 
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