Looking for my first axe.

W

withoutink

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Sep 16, 2013
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13
Hey guys. I'm looking to buy my first axe, this axe will be used mostly to split cord wood, some limbing and some chopping. I know axes don't always do both things well, but I'm looking for something can manage both.

As far as splitting, most of this will be done on cord/fire wood that is either semi split, or still in small manageable sized logs. I'm NOT looking to split rounds or huge logs with it. I will use it also to split down pieces to kindling.

I'm not looking for a huge axe to fell trees.

Limbing and chopping duties would be mostly small stuff, where I don't need to break out a chainsaw. Again, these duties would be far less than what I will need to do with splitting.

I was looking at Grandfors, Wetterlings or a vintage axe.

I've looked at

GB - Small forest axe
GB - Scandinavian forest axe
GB - Small splitting axe (I know this would just serve as a splitting axe, if it makes more sense to get this I would)

Wetterlings 121
Wetterlings 118


Thoughts on what might serve me well? I'd like a tool that can be passed down to my son one day, without breaking the bank.
 
The GB Small Forest Axe will do all of this very well - and more. On the other hand, you could get in the game and find yourself a nice old 2.5 lb. head, dress it up nicely and fit a 19" handle on it. You'll feel good about your new axe because you built it yourself, and you'll have a new, fascinating hobby.
 
I think a vintage boys ax with a high centerline would work best for your described uses. I've never handled a GB but I do own an ax with what appears to be a similar profile. It's not near as good of a splitter as my other axes with high centerlines.
 
Boys axe or bigger for what you're describing. I have an SFA, and I wouldn't want to split more than kindling with it. I split a little wood every day, all winter to heat the house and it would be a long winter if all I had where hatchet weight heads. Plus, when I think of limbing, I think of whole trees that were just cut - if that's what you're doing, you'll very much appreciate 28" or longer handle unless you like working stooped over all day. My inseam is 30" and so I like 30" handles. That lets me work at my feet without stooping too much. A 3lb axe is a light duty do-all axe IMO. Add weight depending how how HD your splitting is. I think the 3-1/2lb axe is the ubiquitous axe head weight now because it strikes a good balance for general purpose work.
 
I want to qualify my statements after reading the frustrated posts of Old Axeman the other day--I am no axe expert. That being said I would not recommend either the GB small forest axe or the GB Scandinavian axe. You mentioned that you are buying an axe to primarily split cord wood. When splitting wood, short axes are more dangerous than longer axes since the arc of your axe swing, using a short axe, goes directly into your shins/ankles. Imagine you are a clock, with the center of the clock as your hands gripping the axe. You raise the axe to twelve (or approximately whatever power you need) then swing downward, the axe passes the "three" hour and finishes at the sixth hour. The sixth hour is also where youre toes and shins are. Thus the shorter your axe, the higher up ones body the axe's arc will finish, raising the potential for accidents. Longer handles push the arc away from your body and generally require less muscle when swinging due to the increased potential energy of a heavier and longer object--thus allowing more control and lessening erratic swinging. Generally, splitting axes should not be less than 30 inches.

Additionally, though GB are beautifully and wonderfully made axes they are very different from high-end American axes. Swedish axes tend to have a hollow or flat cheek and a steep chisel grind making it ideal for cutting through soft woods like pine and spruce (both of which are abundant here in Maine). Because of the hollowness of their cheeks Swedish axes are not good at cutting hardwoods since the bit gets stuck in the wood, acting more like a nail pounded into wood than a chopping tool. American axes have convex cheeks which "push away" the wood grain, splitting the wood open, giving them the geometric advantage. All in all, it sounds from your description that a GB would not be a good choice for the jobs you are doing. You could buy a GB splitting axe but they are so expensive that I think it is unnecessary, both because you mentioned you don't want to spent a tremendous amount and because it would be best to have an axe that you can learn on that you're not constantly worried about. Because of all this I would recommend either a vintage axe, which, if it needs restoration, is a very fun project, or a Husqvarna splitting axe which is fairly inexpensive, hand-forged, and made of Swedish steel. As I said earlier I am no expert but hopefully some of this helps.
Jonathan
 
Yep, Just get you a vintage hatchet, boys axe and a full size axe between three and three and three and half pounds and don't look back. You can get all three for about half what a GB will cost you and they will perform very well.
 
JonathanCharles said:
I want to qualify my statements after reading the frustrated posts of Old Axeman the other day--I am no axe expert. That being said I would not recommend either the GB small forest axe or the GB Scandinavian axe. You mentioned that you are buying an axe to primarily split cord wood. When splitting wood, short axes are more dangerous than longer axes since the arc of your axe swing, using a short axe, goes directly into your shins/ankles. Imagine you are a clock, with the center of the clock as your hands gripping the axe. You raise the axe to twelve (or approximately whatever power you need) then swing downward, the axe passes the "three" hour and finishes at the sixth hour. The sixth hour is also where youre toes and shins are. Thus the shorter your axe, the higher up ones body the axe's arc will finish, raising the potential for accidents. Longer handles push the arc away from your body and generally require less muscle when swinging due to the increased potential energy of a heavier and longer object--thus allowing more control and lessening erratic swinging. Generally, splitting axes should not be less than 30 inches.

Additionally, though GB are beautifully and wonderfully made axes they are very different from high-end American axes. Swedish axes tend to have a hollow or flat cheek and a steep chisel grind making it ideal for cutting through soft woods like pine and spruce (both of which are abundant here in Maine). Because of the hollowness of their cheeks Swedish axes are not good at cutting hardwoods since the bit gets stuck in the wood, acting more like a nail pounded into wood than a chopping tool. American axes have convex cheeks which "push away" the wood grain, splitting the wood open, giving them the geometric advantage. All in all, it sounds from your description that a GB would not be a good choice for the jobs you are doing. You could buy a GB splitting axe but they are so expensive that I think it is unnecessary, both because you mentioned you don't want to spent a tremendous amount and because it would be best to have an axe that you can learn on that you're not constantly worried about. Because of all this I would recommend either a vintage axe, which, if it needs restoration, is a very fun project, or a Husqvarna splitting axe which is fairly inexpensive, hand-forged, and made of Swedish steel. As I said earlier I am no expert but hopefully some of this helps.
Jonathan
Click to expand...

Yes, location is key. Since you're in a hardwood area (I think) you should probably go with a vintage American 3/4 axe. The Gransfors Scandinavian will definitely do a good job of limbing and splitting kindling, but on cutting hardwood it will fall short. It's a limbing and crafting axe, better for soft woods like pine, fir, birch, aspen, and alder.

Probably 2.25 to 2.5 pounds. And you can get a 3 pound axe pretty cheap if you want to cut anything bigger.
 
Check out the Council Tool FSS boy axe 2015 Exclusive. It has 4140 steel and a Velvicut slim handle. My all time favorite for $60






Also learn safe axe use.

I put the beard of a 23" handle axe into my shin back in 2013 because of careless attention to leaning safe techniques

Mors kochanski has some great videos.
 
Usually you can pick up old axes anywhere between twenty-five cents to five dollars at second-hand sales and shops. Go buy one of them and start using it. Chances are since you do not seem to need it for anything serious whatever you find laying around cheaply will probably do the job.
 
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