Norlund axe? Axe suggestions in general

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bmilla35

Joined
Aug 29, 2007
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Hey folks! The axe at my farm(not sure what kind it is, but will find out this weekend maybe) is getting pretty beat up(head is about to fall out) and I was thinking about getting a new axe when i found one in my basement. It said Genuine Norlund, a brand I wasnt really familiar with so I was wondering if you fine people have any input. Thanks.
P.s. I still might get another axe so suggestions are welcome. And i would mainly be using it for splitting wood. I stumpled across this while looking at them...looks kinda fishy to me http://www.chopperaxe.com/whatis.htm
 
Nothing wrong with most of the old Norlund's. They are still very common and reasonably priced. I found this old Norlund hatchet head in my shed some time back. Polished the head up, installed a new handle, a little sharpening, good as new.

Other than some of my old and very well made axe's; I prefer the Gransfors Bruks, Snow & Nealley, Wetterlings, and Ox-Head. Of these, if considering a good chopping or splitting axe, I would go with the Ox-Head. And yes, I do a LOT of chopping/splitting in my own private mountain forest or I might be a bit more cautious about making a recommendation between these fine companies. Ox-Head works great for me. Not familiar with the "Chopper Axe". Interesting, however. :)
crookedknifenorland1mk0.jpg
 
Well I guess the idea would work in theory. If they have been able to make it work in the real world, I have no idea.
 
bmilla35 said:
I stumpled across this while looking at them...looks kinda fishy to me
Click to expand...

My father-in-law lent me something just like that once after I broke my maul handle - don't waste your money on one. Get a good maul and/or a real splitting axe, and a pair of wedges, and you'll be much better off imo.

Be sure to restore that Norlund, those old axes are well worth the trouble. :)
 
I was looking at Fiskars...they seemed to be pretty reasonably priced. But i read several complaints about their handles being to short?
 
bmilla35 said:
I was looking at Fiskars...they seemed to be pretty reasonably priced. But i read several complaints about their handles being to short?
Click to expand...
Fiskars are great, best bang for the buck!
You can get Fiskars up to (at least)28 inches overall in length.
Personally I wouldn't go with one shorter than 14 inches.
I have a Gerber (Fiskars) Packaxe which is about 9 inches long, way too short to be useful.I keep it in my toolbox.
I have two 14 inch Fiskars which are excellent backpack hatchets.
And i have a 28 incher as well, haven't used it yet though.

If you like traditional wood handles try Wetterlings, they are reasonably priced.
 
Yeah I cant spend a lot of money...I am going to be a sophomore in college so there isnt much money to spend
 
I would say splitting wood...definitely. Our current splitter was some homemade one my Pap made...the head is a triangle, with no curve in it at all and it probablly weighs close to 20 pounds(its solid steel)
 
Fiskars has a chopping axe & a splitting axe - both are usually under $50, and usually available at Sears
 
A typical hardware store splitting maul should run around $25-$30 and will do the job. Unglamorous, but if money's tight so what, they work. You'll need to thin the edge down some to get the most from it, they usually come WAY to thick, even for a maul.

Whatever you decide, don't get anything too light. Within reason, weight is your friend when splitting.
 
well do you think it would be worth it to just spend a little bit more money for a Fiskars splitting axe? i found the super splitting axe on amazon for 32.02...almost seems to cheap
 
well here is what i decided to get...it seems to be the top of the line that fiskar made. ill try and get pics whenever i get it from what i was using before and after
 
bmilla35 said:
P.s. I still might get another axe so suggestions are welcome. And i would mainly be using it for splitting wood. I stumpled across this while looking at them...looks kinda fishy to me http://www.chopperaxe.com/whatis.htm
Click to expand...

A friend bought one of those a number of years back when I lived up in MN. I tried it a few times and it really blew! If you're splitting frozen hardwoods, it jars your arms when the cam thingies engage. If you're splitting softer wood, they tended to get stuck and/or gummed up with splinters.

A good maul, an axe and a wedge or two are all I've ever needed and I'm sure I've split hundreds of cords of wood in my lifetime.

J-
 
Ya I figured it was junk HomeBru...but I am glad someone here actually got to use it and confirmed it(not that I planned on buying it anyways, especially since I already bought one). Thanks though
 
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