How to assess a good axe

golok

golok

Joined
Oct 20, 2000
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Recently, I acquired an Estwing sportsman axe. I thought it looked wonderful and felt great in my hands. It is also well made. But then, I am new to the world of axes, so my personal opinion is not backed up by experience.

How do I know whether an axe is worth its weight in gold? In other words, what do I look for if I am looking for a good axe?

By the way, has anybody got any opinion on the sportsman axe which I am now in the possession of? :)

I have heard about the Grunfors Bruks but that's another story.
 
dude i have that exact same axe. i bought it (the model e24) because it seemed like the best and toughest mini-axe for carrying around in the bush. i especially like the fact that it's made of 1 piece of steel all-over. it's really strong, it will never fail you, it can be sharpened razor-sharp (mine shaves hair of my arm...) and it can be easily carried with the included belt-'pouch'. about the carrying: you can just hang it on your belt, but that gets annoying because it dangles and sometimes blocks your movement. hint: instead of putting the pants-belt around your waist > put the belt around your shoulder, diagonally down to your opposite waist. (like how women wear their shoulder-bags). position the pouch near your chest on the belt and you can wear the axe on your chest. (experiment for best comfort).

some cons of the axe:

- thinning out the edge to a razor-sharp convex finish leaves the far top and bottom of the edge more prone to chipping (kind of reminds me of cpm440v steel............)

- the laminated leather-rings handle-version looks coolest, and i prefer it, but the transparent coating chips off easily thus leaving the leather vulnerable to moisture.

- the 'pouch' should have been designed the other way around. drawing and holstering the axe is a pain (*%&$%#$^!!). also, the leather pouch smells really bad, a burnt leather smell, too much. i washed it about 5 times to get rid of the smell, but now my pouch is 'bleached' and less flexible than it initially was, and it still smells.

some pros of the axe:

- the most beautiful hand-axe i've ever seen.

- the strongest lightweight sportsman axe ever! 1-piece contruction, full-tang, all steel.

- good grip, good weight, good results (i chopped down a 1-ft thick tree within 2 minutes!)

- very fair price

- estwing is a grade-A brand with good quality and service

btw: there's also the slightly smaller and lighter e14-version. check it out, i'm thinking of buying that one too to compare with the e24.

dennis
 
golok :

In other words, what do I look for if I am looking for a good axe?
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-solid and aligned head handle attachment
-quality handle, free of defects, good grain (if wood)
-proper geometry for type of wood
-if forged the head should be free of cracks and heavy folds
-quality steel which is hard and still tough

The axe should also come fully sharpened ready to use NIB, the head if forged should not be painted or excessively sanded (which is akin to airbrushing a photo). The handle should be free of any sticky covering.

Balance is a trick issue to assess, it should be head centered, which means if you turn it upside down it should hang with the head perpendicular to the handle, but the balance point out on the handle, or "heft" of the axe depends on the user. If you are very strong then you will feel more comfortable with a heavier axe.

Jim Astons webpages are well worth reading, lots of information on axes (and lots of other sharp instruments).


By the way, has anybody got any opinion on the sportsman axe
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Estwing is to axes what Ontario is to knives.

-Cliff
 
Dennis, thanks for your learned views on the Estwing axe.

Cliff, as usual your opinion is illuminating and definitely informative. Gracias. :)
 
Originally posted by Cliff Stamp

Estwing is to axes what Ontario is to knives.
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like Ontario? so what do you mean.....good or bad? (personally i regard Ontario as a cheap crap brand.....:-))

i'd say more something like "Estwing is to axes what Al Mar is to knives".....
 
Dennis, yes that is pretty much what I meant. Estwing has the same problems as Ontario such as low QC and nonfunctional design aspects, some so poor they are a mockery of actual intended use.

For example large Estwing "axes" actually don't allow traditional axe swings and have to be used like hammers. All Estwing "axes" have necks which are very uncomfortable to choke up on severely limiting their use.

The best use for those axes is on very quick and dirty use such as cutting sod, hacking through shingles or breaking apart or tearing down construction. Here generally brute force is used so you don't need the balance and grace of a Gransfors Bruks product, just something that can in general take a decent pounding.

There is a real difference in this line and a quality forged axe with a hickory handle, I would encourage anyone to try one out, once you do I would be surprised if you would even call the Estwing an axe anymore.

-Cliff
 
As far as your Estwing goes I have owned on for a while the easiest way to keep an edge on any heavy tool blade is to form a micro edge they are shorter tuffer and hold their edge longer ihave uded them for years since I got the tip and keep an edge on all f my traditional woodworking tools including my bench axes(carpenters side axe. I find the big bonus with estwing is as a camping axe you don't have to worry about the handle on an over swing being of good steel solid steel it take the kicking.
It is very tuff to find a good wooden handeled axe without paying top dollar like in GBs the grain must run the length of the handle without exiting to the side an the company must use a tught grained wood no oak or ash handles.

Have fun you axe will be around long enough to hand down.
Abe
 
The large Estwing axes are so poor that the slighest attempt to use them "in the cut" to pry will bend the blade badly. I discovered this the hard way when a Scout borrowed an Estwing someone had purchased for me as a gift (Bless her heart.).

I find the smaller Estwings jarring to use and the handle/head geometry just seems wrong for me. I have a different hand axe (seems quite old and marked only "cast steel") that is all steel, and it seems to work much better for me, as does a Stanley "Steelmaster" with a tubular steel handle. Nothing, however, matches my Norlund or Granfors Bruks axes.
 
I have norland and am dealing in GBs but again as I said before they are a differrent class of axe and for the prices I find in the lower ranges more success in longevity usually come out of all steel axes in the lower price ranges.
Allot of the lower price axes while using wood aren't selective in handle woods.

Can
 
Thomas Linton :

The large Estwing axes are so poor that the slighest attempt to use them "in the cut" to pry will bend the blade badly.
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They also bind readily which tends to make you want to pry with them, this is more than a little frustrating on anything other than clear pine. I bent one significantly the first time using it. I had little use for it after that, the head was also dead soft.

-Cliff
 
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