Having Trouble Grabbing My Boys Axe

[.30WCF]

I gather a lot of fire wood and do a little bushcraft work. I have the GB SFA that I love to use for kindling and carving, and like it for most limbing while cutting firewood for the wood shed. It is my go to for clearing shooting lanes in the woods for deer hunting.
I also have the Husqvarna Multipurpose Axe which is essentially a boxes axe as it is a lighter head with about a 25" or so handle. Most recently, I have been trying to make myself use a Council Tool Boys Axe. They are both nice tools, but I don't really see their benefit over the SFA. May be I'm just not using them right. I haven't found their nitch yet. Some heavier limbing tasks is the only place I see a real use so far, but I usually keep the limbs for firewood down to about the size where the boys axe would come into play. I limb twigs with the SFA and cut the rest with a saw.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hacked]

So first thing I would like to point out is there are different strokes for different folks. I set up an axe very similar in size to a Small Forest Axe. I personally found it to be too short for my uses. I ended up setting up another with a substantially longer handle and for my uses I love it so far. I set it up as an axe to take to camp for use chopping and splitting. Personally I don't like using manual saw to process wood. Point being my experience is different from your own and there is nothing wrong with that.

19" Handle, too short for my liking.

25" handle, a happy accident that I really enjoy. Next to it is a boys axe for prospective. You can see it's basically just a further scaled down axe, a 1/2 axe so to speak.

I should add that for other uses I perfer short handles, primarily carving. The above axes are for different uses though.

If you are only using an axe for smaller lighter work than I agree a smaller lighter axe makes sense. For me a boys axe is a nice size for sectioning up wood for my firepit at home. Since I don't heat my house with wood I don't need to process a lot and so doing it with only an axe is manageable. A boys axe is great for two hand use where you are chopping and splitting, but in place of a hand axe chocking up on it I find it to be more fatiguing due to the weight. So perhaps if you really just want a reason to use it try using it for some of the work where you would normally pull out the saw, maul, or wedge and sledge. But if you simply just don't enjoy using the tool then it is what it is.

 

[.30WCF]

I want to like it. Like you said its tiresome when choking up on it. I just don't think I've found My groove with it. I'm going to keep using it to limb with. To be honest I haven't done a ton of limbing with it yet. Most camping I just process small wood. If a limb is big enough to look like a pain to break down I just burn it in the middle and push it in as I need more fuel.

 

[Hacked]

Most camping I just process small wood. If a limb is big enough to look like a pain to break down I just burn it in the middle and push it in as I need more fuel.

Couldn't agree more with this, generally that's the case for me as well. I just like axes so I made one that I can take if I want to. It also works well for use at home in the same role as your SFA I assume.

 

[Park Swan]

I love my GB Scandi forest axe, it's basically a 3/4 axe. Any smaller work and I want to use a hawk or hatchet. Any bigger I'll go straight up to a felling axe. I don't see why a council boy's axe would be great for limbing, I like the Scandi forest axe for limbing because of the thin bit. Just my opinions of course.

 

[Park Swan]

A bit off topic, but the handle on that Mann is just perfect :thumbup:

 

[Hickory n steel]

I don't know if I'd replace a boys axe with a pack axe or vise versa, a boys axe could probably replace a full sized axe for a lot of people.

For limbing I think length helps, but I'd rather have a pack sized axe ( ie vintage hatchet head on a 20" handle ) just because limbs are smaller than 2lb or more is needed for.

 

[300Six]

I understand, perfectly. Wonderful that you've got a lovely selection to choose from. In a similar vein I stopped bringing an axe (in my case a 2 1/4 lb Oxhead Iltis Canadian) along on canoe-in camping excursions because a Swede saw and a Pulaski proved to be infinitely more useful. Whereas I wouldn't dare aim a shaving-sharp boy's axe (they call these 'pulpwood axes' in Canada) at a root near the ground, Pulaskis thrive on this abuse plus they'll split campfire wood with the best of them no matter how many roots, rocks, stumps or terrain levelling they've encountered along the way.

 

[.30WCF]

Not much difference in thickness from a Swedish style and the Council for the purposes of limbing. May be the handle feels too dainty, may be I just need time with it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hacked]

Definitely not dianty, still looks a bit on the thick side if you ask me. The whole point of using Hickory is that it is a strong springy wood that works well for absorbing shock given its been thinned out properly. I'd be willing to bet that you have an old ball peen hammer laying around with a proper handle on it. Take a look at the handle close to the head of the hammer and see how thin it is compared to your Council. Since it was made to strike metal it's vital that it have some give to relieve the stress on the user. Same with your axe, it has a longer handle for use with two hands and it was made to chop and split. Trust me when you feel how much that handle absorbs compared to thicker ones found on most axes you will be thankful.

 

[300Six]

Ergonomics becomes a very subjective thing even when you think you're comparing apples to apples. These days a handle can make a whale of a difference. New purchasers can't even fathom what it would have been like to wield a thin straight-grained professionally-crafted haft. You're well beyond that but experience is calling the shots.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Not much difference in thickness from a Swedish style and the Council for the purposes of limbing. May be the handle feels too dainty, may be I just need time with it.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Wow ! I'm Used to hearing how thin the GB axes are, but with that side by side comparison with that council really shows how average they really . ( sure the quality is good, just not magical )

 

[.30WCF]

I agree, and I'm no expert. I mostly split logs cut with a chainsaw and limb down to anything the size of my wrist to burn. A lot of deer hunting so there is some shooting lane and trail maintinence. Camping and what goes with that. I guess I got it thinking it would be a crossover bushcraft/camp/limbing axe. It's too short to feel good about standing and splitting with. Too heavy headed and thin handled to do the crafting/camping other than basic firewood collection. It's not quite right for clearing brush and shooting lanes, especially overhead. I realize they are like wrenches, one wrench doesn't fit all bolts and an adjustable sucks at most everything.

I don't think it's going to break so much as the swell may be too small. When I swing it much more than what is required for limbing the swell feels too deep in my hand as if it might slip through. If I squeeze more it gets a hot spot. Bushcraft and carving, the head is too big with too thin of a handle to get a good purchase on and keep it from spinning or shifting in my hand. Splitting kindling, the extra length is in the way.

I want to like it. I really do. It's not a bushcrafting axe. Limbing is fine. Felling small trees is what I need to work on. I really think it's just something I need to get used too using and find which bolts this wrench fits.

 

[.30WCF]

Wow ! I'm Used to hearing how thin the GB axes are, but with that side by side comparison with that council really shows how average they really . ( sure the quality is good, just not magical )

That's the husquvarna multipurpose axe. It was a closer comparison in overall weight and length.

 

[cityofthesouth]

For what you're describing I think the SFA is a great tool. You've got the right tool for the job, nothing wrong with discovering that there is no compelling reason for change. A Boy's axe is a bigger tool for bigger jobs, and that's really all there is to it IMO. It's not a bushcrafting tool at all. But it is a very handy all 'round axe for axe work - medium duty splitting, limbing, brush clearing.

 

[.30WCF]

Wow ! I'm Used to hearing how thin the GB axes are, but with that side by side comparison with that council really shows how average they really . ( sure the quality is good, just not magical )

Just a few more with the GB SFA added in.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Hacked]

Just a few more with the GB SFA added in.

To me the top one in this photo appears to have the best profile, and bottom the least desirable. Not a huge difference between the top two though. YMMV.

 

[.30WCF]

To me the top one in this photo appears to have the best profile, and bottom the least desirable. Not a huge difference between the top two though. YMMV.

That would be the Council on top, Husquvarna, the SFA.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Just a few more with the GB SFA added in.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The GB on the bottom looks like it might he better for choking up on and using for knife tasks, but other than that it looks like it would stick a lit more.
It's definitely thinner, but it's still not as drastic as I expected.

 

[.30WCF]

What surprised me was how thin the Council was. Most axes and hatchets aren't that thin.