I know they are not what they used to be. They are utility hardware store axes, but are they ok if you work with them. I have no problem putting in the sweat equity, and right now the cash flow is limited. I would love to bridge myself to a good felling axe by starting off inexpensive.
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New Collins Axes
- Thread starter Smash05
- Start date
are you asking a question or telling us you plan on getting one?
i started with the modern collins stuff, they have become the modern "hardware store axes". edge retention isn't great, and i don't like the handles. if you find one that is evenly forged/ground you can work a pretty good edge onto it, and it will perform for you.
i have since moved on to wetterlings and snow & nealley. they aren't signifigantly more $$, but much better quality. they still need a little work, but they are much better ground.
i started with the modern collins stuff, they have become the modern "hardware store axes". edge retention isn't great, and i don't like the handles. if you find one that is evenly forged/ground you can work a pretty good edge onto it, and it will perform for you.
i have since moved on to wetterlings and snow & nealley. they aren't signifigantly more $$, but much better quality. they still need a little work, but they are much better ground.
I may have been a bit confusing in how I came across. I am basically asking a question. Right now, I am hatchet heavy as it were, I have a fiskars, a good hand forged pole hawk, and a Cold Steel Rifleman. I want a good 28-36 inch chopping axe. If I could drop the money on a Wetterlings or Snow and Neally right now I would, I just don't have the money. If I could find the 28 inch Fiskars Chopping Axe, I would probably be plenty happy with it - prices have seemed to be in the 30 dollar range for them. Just trying to keep things on the cheaper side. I am also thinking that it would be a good project to keep me busy while I try to get employed again. Thanks for the response, if I end up with one that really needs work, I'll probably send it your way siguy
- Joined
- May 5, 2006
- Messages
- 1,265
I got one of these:
http://store.colemans.com/cart/axe-36-in-handle-p-263.html?currency=USD
the grain of the handle was totally wrong on the one i received - i'm going to re-handle when i find the time. you might get lucky and get one with good grain but you take your chances not picking it out yourself. the head was hung dead-on straight on the one I received - unlike the Wetterlings felling axe I have which is slightly off.
i think barco makes good tools and the price is right.
http://store.colemans.com/cart/axe-36-in-handle-p-263.html?currency=USD
the grain of the handle was totally wrong on the one i received - i'm going to re-handle when i find the time. you might get lucky and get one with good grain but you take your chances not picking it out yourself. the head was hung dead-on straight on the one I received - unlike the Wetterlings felling axe I have which is slightly off.
i think barco makes good tools and the price is right.
I was noticing while searching for the origin of government issued axes that there are quite a few companies that have made axes in the US over the years. 99% of them are what I would call utility grade. But that is what you get. Having to work with something is not the worst thing in the world. I have heard the praises of Cold Steel Tomahawks sung far and wide, and I have yet to handle, buy, or see one that didn't require a little work to get it right. The why of the praise is the price point, and I think if you are willing to work on a particular tool, the knowledge gained from that work far out weighs buying an out of the box beauty. Don't get me wrong - I love the high quality as well, its just these days, with finances the way they are, time is a more plentiful commodity than cash.
When I had more time than money, I bought quite a few axes and hatchets at used tool swaps and flea markets. There's lots of old iron out there, and most of it will need a good sharpening and maybe a new handle, but you'll have a good tool when you are done
- Joined
- Jan 28, 2006
- Messages
- 7,035
I bought a Collins Jersey pattern axe from the hardware store. It's one of their "hand forged" ones with an unpainted head. I found one where the grain in the haft was lined up with the bit. It was typical hardware store sharp -- not, with a very heavy burr to one side. Sharpened it with a file and a coarse/fine puck. Suck rips through trees like there's no tomorrow. My first swing sunk about 6" into an old pine tree's trunk. After felling, I bucked the tree with the axe, and at 14" in diameter, I got through in about 12 swings.
Can't attest to edge retention or lack thereof, because I hit a couple nails in the tree (idiot I bought the property from had strung a line of barbed wire between trees and it had snapped some time back and I didn't see the nails. The axe chopped through the nails, but buggered the edge good.
I recommend the "hand forged" series over the regular ones, they seem to be *good* tools. Balance isn't bad. If you're just getting into an aspect of axecraft (like felling) or just want a beater axe (I bought this one primarily for rooting -- I'd get upset if I struck a rock, or nails, with my Snow & Neallys, with this one, I don't care, just file the ede back down and get back to work), I recommend you get a cheap axe first anyway. Work with it, and if you liek the activity, you can move up to a better tool.
Can't attest to edge retention or lack thereof, because I hit a couple nails in the tree (idiot I bought the property from had strung a line of barbed wire between trees and it had snapped some time back and I didn't see the nails. The axe chopped through the nails, but buggered the edge good.
I recommend the "hand forged" series over the regular ones, they seem to be *good* tools. Balance isn't bad. If you're just getting into an aspect of axecraft (like felling) or just want a beater axe (I bought this one primarily for rooting -- I'd get upset if I struck a rock, or nails, with my Snow & Neallys, with this one, I don't care, just file the ede back down and get back to work), I recommend you get a cheap axe first anyway. Work with it, and if you liek the activity, you can move up to a better tool.
It's about having it around. My area missed a major ice storm by a few miles last time around. Knowing that lots of fallen trees could potentially hamper movement in an emergency, I want something a little bigger than my Fort Turner hawk or Fiskars 14inch hatchet. I know in my mind that these two tools will do in a pinch but having the larger axe seems practical. I'm still not decided yet. Still trying to get back on the employment rolls, that would solve the issue right there!