I'm pretty sure the Estwing is the largest all-steel ax. It's a decent idea in a hatchet, and scales up to 'camp ax' size ok, by the time it gets to the biggest one, which I'll call a "Hudson's Bay" size it's not that great. The balance goes to hell from the weight of the too-heavy steel handle. And they do break, definately. So, on a regular ax when the handle breaks you replace it with a new ax handle for $10. When an Estwing breaks you throw it away.
What are axes for? Chopping down trees! Watch some "timber sports". You won't see Estwing or any other weird handled axes. You'll see ash handled axes. Here's a link to
Tuatahi Race Axes. Cool. They have an amazing amount of detail on how their axes can be cast and sharpened.
Here is the link to the Sthil felling ax. I think it's a bit short at 27.5" , but it wins contests.
http://www.stihlusa.com/products/hand-tools/axes/pa100/
A lot of people think the Swedish "Gransfors Bruks" is the best axe made, probably excluding racing axes. Here is the
link.
They have a cool thing they do. They make battle axes. That's a whole different story, one that largely ended in the Viking era. But anyway, they do reproductions. Here is there full
Danish Battle Axe.
The Axe as a weapon has died out except among the US Military elite units, that still have an atavistic attachment to the "tomahawk", now interpreted into something pretty awesome, like
this
OK, so steel handed axes are cool, but the real deal for chopping wood is wood handled, and for fighting, it might be one piece tomahawks, which are slightly different.
