Quintessential Axe Question-

T

triggahappy

Joined
Jul 12, 2011
Messages
135
Hey guys,

I know this has been asked about a million times, the great Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe vs. Wetterlings Large Hunters Axe debate, but I'd like to throw another axe into the mix, the Council Velvicut Hudson Bay. Which of these three takes the cake for you? Goods and bads of both? I hope to soon-ish be in the market for a higher end axe and the Hudson Bay caught my eye recently since I love my norlund hatchet. What are your opinions?

Thanks,
Chris
 
You might look into a Husqvarna multi purpose forest axe... I have one and really like it. dont have a GB or wetterlings to compare against personally but having inspected a few I would say the quality is on par with slightly less finnishing work. also reputed to be made by hultafors... can be found around 60ish$

Edit: I understand this wasnt an answer to your question but I don't have any of those and this works for me so just wanted to put it out there. sorry if I derailed at all.
 
I've got a Husqvarna carpenters axe that I really enjoy, they make a great axe for the money, no doubt about that, I was just looking for a step up! No harm done, with the derailing!
 
Well, here's my two cents, though to head off repeating the discussion here you should check out the Hudsons Bay pattern thread as well; I also love using the pattern (and I also have a little Norlund) so when I decided to pony up for a "higher end" axe I bought a Velvicut from my local loggers supply. Now, I will hasten to point out that this decision was entirely due to personal preference regarding the head pattern and not on any deficiencies in the other available axes in that price range. Any of the axes you've mentioned are well made, quality tools built with quality materials. Your only real question might just be the same as mine; which "style" do you prefer?
 
triggahappy said:
Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe vs. Wetterlings Large Hunters Axe debate...(vs.) Council Velvicut Hudson Bay
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I was recently looking for a nice little axe as a present for a good friend. Seeing the prices of the Granfors Bruks axes in the Lee Valley catalogue was enough to put me off them. :eek: Quite by chance I discovered my local wholesale sports store carries Wetterlings. Since I've heard they've merged with Granfors Bruks I gave them a good look-over. The smallish axe (about the size and weight of a boy's axe) was about $90 and the edge -- although intended to be beveled -- looked more like a broadaxe toward the toe of the blade and suddenly the opposite bevel made an appearance about two-thirds of the way down toward the heel.

The actual edge on the Wetterlings was diagonal across the head. The sheath retaining strap was too short to wrap around the back of the handle and snap. So I hung it back up and looked over the hatchets, of which they had five for $80 each. Sheaths all nice. All of the blades looked poorly ground to me: rounded on the toe in one, blunt heel in another, wire edges folded over the blade, poor quality of trademark stampings, poor hafting. Looked like a bunch of "Friday" axes.

These were the first Wetterlings I've ever seen close up, but I'd been led to believe they were at least equal to GB in quality, fit and finish. I hope what I was seeing was the result of a contract for a batch of axes sold to a discount chain -- I would have expected them to maybe be sold off as seconds if Wetterlings did that instead of recycling the steel.

So I checked out Council as I've been impressed favourably with the common run of their axes I've handled. Since the person who's getting the axe will use it, I steered away from the Hudson's Bay pattern due to head-loosening concerns. Ordered a Bad Axe Boy's Axe, so we'll see. Yes, it was more expensive than the Wetterlings. On the other hand, Ms. Margo Council is an absolutely charming woman on the phone and I would do just about anything to hear that laugh.

As I said, "We'll see" but what looked best to me was Council's claim to have made the blade a little cheekier like older blades. At the close of my conversation with Ms. Council I asked if I could put in a special request: Would they consider making a nice double-bit Velvicut with phantom bevels, in something other than a Michigan pattern? Evidently their "Skunk Works" is working on just that, but it's just a rumour at this point. :D
 
Margo Council is really wonderful, isn't she! It's always nice to feel really good about where your hard earned money goes.

I would hypothesize that the Bad Axe Boy's Axe will chop circles around the velvicut HB based on my experience with other axes. I haven't used those exact axes, but I feel that's a pretty good guess.
 
Never played with a Wetterlings. I do have a Council Jersey pattern that I love but even though the price is scary once you hold and use a GBA there's no turning back. I've restored a double bit worker and a forest axe and just recently purchased a large splitting axe and I love them all!
 
moose11872 said:
Never played with a Wetterlings. I do have a Council Jersey pattern that I love but even though the price is scary once you hold and use a GBA there's no turning back. I've restored a double bit worker and a forest axe and just recently purchased a large splitting axe and I love them all!
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I doesn't sound like you are comparing apples to apples at all.
 
moose11872 said:
What can I say....I'm biased
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I get that; I'm biased too. I should have elaborated. You are comparing a GB (apparently both vintage and modern) to a Council standard line Jersey pattern axe. They are entirely different price points.

It is difficult to compare vintage pieces anyway, but I'll throw in. There are many American and Canadian vintage axes in standard product lines that were manufactured to a much finer standard in appearance than vintage GB's. Vintage GB's tend to have very coarse grinding marks and forging marks. Plumb is a great example. I've seen vintage Plumbs that are so finely finished, that no modern manufacturer could touch them. The steel quality of some vintage Plumbs that I've had is absolutely top shelf as well.
 
M3mphis said:
It is difficult to compare vintage pieces anyway, but I'll throw in. There are many American and Canadian vintage axes in standard product lines that were manufactured to a much finer standard in appearance than vintage GB's. Vintage GB's tend to have very coarse grinding marks and forging marks. Plumb is a great example. I've seen vintage Plumbs that are so finely finished, that no modern manufacturer could touch them. The steel quality of some vintage Plumbs that I've had is absolutely top shelf as well.
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Thank you for putting in a plug for long-defunct Canuck axe makers (and there weren't very many!). And the amazing part is that most n. American classics have cultivated no fashion or desirability cachet and consequently have low resale value! Knowledge and patience while perusing garage sales and flea markets ought to yield the exact size/shape and weight you're looking for. You can then bank the rest or go out and splurge on something else.
 
Skiv said:
As I said, "We'll see" but what looked best to me was Council's claim to have made the blade a little cheekier like older blades.
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The thicker cheeks and hand sharpening to a gauge sound like real winners for the Council Bad Boy's Axe. I'd really like to check one out.



M3mphis said:
There are many American and Canadian vintage axes in standard product lines that were manufactured to a much finer standard in appearance than vintage GB's. Vintage GB's tend to have very coarse grinding marks and forging marks. Plumb is a great example. I've seen vintage Plumbs that are so finely finished, that no modern manufacturer could touch them. The steel quality of some vintage Plumbs that I've had is absolutely top shelf as well.
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2nd this on vintage Plumbs. The fit and finish of those axes is second to none. Eyes perfectly centered in head. Bits perfectly aligned to the eye. The whole package built with very accurate bilateral symmetry. Some other top shelf vintage axes met that standard. But I've just seen an awful lot of Plumbs that have impressed me.
 
moose11872 said:
but even though the price is scary once you hold and use a GBA there's no turning back.
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I've got a GBA in the "stable" -- but to be clear, it's a hatchet of older vintage and still had a smudge of blue paint on it when I bought it for $2.00 at the Re-Store. It's excellent quality steel, relatively thicker in the cheeks than new GBA manufacture, and much more "North American" in pattern. We use it almost every day for knocking up kindling.

I appreciate fine quality and like most of us can usually justify buying another axe for one reason or another. There's something comforting about having a lot of hand tools around and knowing how to use them. Probably won't keep me alive after the Zombie Apocalypse but at least I don't have to quit workin' when the lights go out or the gas tank gets empty.

Point being: we're "axeheads" and we're a pretty small segment of the market. I suspect if it wasn't for our kind of folks, there'd be even fewer quality axe makers out there. I could use a modern Garant "Canada" axe, but knowing what I do it would surely frustrate the crap out of me.
 
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