OK, I am the worst sort of cheapskate...
But, even I admit that the hundred bucks you spend on a Gransfors Bruks is money well spent. We heat with wood only, and have the standard variety of modern and semi-modern mediocre quality axes, as well as a chainsaw. Ordinary, semi-crumby axes even though made very sharp only seem to worry away at the wood, indifferently. The axe seems unconcerned whether it will bite in well, or not. Also, they often have bad harmonics, which means that when you hit wood, the axe either feels "dead" in your hand(True-Temper Jersey axe), or even actively hurts your hand(WalMart fibreglass handled axe). The various Chinese axes are so abominably bad, that they don't even merit a mention, even when extensively reprofiled.
Then we come to the GB. It has a beautiful, lively feel, the felt impact harmonics are excellent, wood handle fits my hand very nicely, and the blade bites deeply into wood and with a will! Handle is absolutely solid in the head, with NO indication of any future looseness. It's gotten to the point where using my other cheap or moderately priced axes is a lousey dissapointment, coupled with huge inefficiency and wasted effort.
We'll be buying the SFA's big brother, shortly. The Scandinavian Forest Axe.
But, even I admit that the hundred bucks you spend on a Gransfors Bruks is money well spent. We heat with wood only, and have the standard variety of modern and semi-modern mediocre quality axes, as well as a chainsaw. Ordinary, semi-crumby axes even though made very sharp only seem to worry away at the wood, indifferently. The axe seems unconcerned whether it will bite in well, or not. Also, they often have bad harmonics, which means that when you hit wood, the axe either feels "dead" in your hand(True-Temper Jersey axe), or even actively hurts your hand(WalMart fibreglass handled axe). The various Chinese axes are so abominably bad, that they don't even merit a mention, even when extensively reprofiled.
Then we come to the GB. It has a beautiful, lively feel, the felt impact harmonics are excellent, wood handle fits my hand very nicely, and the blade bites deeply into wood and with a will! Handle is absolutely solid in the head, with NO indication of any future looseness. It's gotten to the point where using my other cheap or moderately priced axes is a lousey dissapointment, coupled with huge inefficiency and wasted effort.
We'll be buying the SFA's big brother, shortly. The Scandinavian Forest Axe.
