coloradowildman
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 28, 2009
- Messages
- 1,202
Council Tool 26" Hudson Bay Axe- Quality Wilderness axe at a firesale price
Specifications:
- 1.75lb Head
- 26" Hickory Handle
- Weight (without sheath)- 42.6 ounces
- Weight (with factory sheath)- 47.1 ounces
- Unknown High Carbon Tool Steel head, estimated Rockwell Hardness in the low 50s
- Warranty-None (Council does have excellent service though)
- Made in North Carolina, USA
Before I begin the review, a little history on this particular axe
It was originally purchased from online reseller Terra Tech last year for $33.95 plus shipping.Unfortunately, after a couple of weeks of chopping the head started coming loose. To Terra Tech and Council Tool's credit they had me send it back to Council Tool via a prepaid UPS label and Council reseated the head with a traditional wooden wedge and metal pin (these originally come from the factory with an aluminum wedge). It also appears that some sort of glue or epoxy was used to further reinforce the haft\head junction to ensure that it wouldn't come loose again. The axe was then sent back to me free of charge.
Having used the axe agressively since then I'd say they did a great job of securing the head as it hasn't budged since. It also gives the axe a more traditional appearance ala' Gransfors Bruks' style, which I like.
Council Tool axes generally come with excellent profiles but the edges are "utility sharpness", in other words better than a hardware store axe but much duller than a Wetterlings or Gransfors axe. Council Tool has been supplying axes to the US Forest Service for over 80 years, and it is customary there to shape your edge to local conditions (hardwood or softwood, felling or splitting, etc). I was lucky enough to do an internship with the Forest Service several years ago while studying Forestry briefly, and it's a marvel to watch them use their tools! That said, if you want to use a Council Tool axe to it's fullest potential then a bit of file work followed by some sharpening\stropping is in order. Because Council axes already have thin profiles, this is generally pretty easy and 20-30 mins will have it razor sharp. I prefer using a file followed by 100-220-400 grit sandpaper (in that order) on a mousepad followed by stropping on a wide piece of smooth leather with Flexcut Gold stropping compound (my personal choice, though most stropping compounds will work just fine). This produces a hair shaving sharp convex edge as shown here:
A note about the sheath in the photos- Council Tool makes a wonderful leather sheath for the axe as shown here below, but I prefer a traditional sheath like the self-made one above
Moving onto the handle and alignment, the grain direction on the handle is about as good as it gets, and the alignment is also very good
Here's a comparison photo of the Council Hudson Bay Axe next to the Wetterlings Scandinavian Forest Axe with and without sheath:
Comparison of head profiles between the two axes (Wetterlings is on the right)
PERFORMANCE
In testing performance, I did 25 chops into seasoned hardwood obtained from a kind neighbor's yard with both the Wetterlings Scandinavian Forest Axe and the Council Tool Hudson Bay Axe. The Wetterlings had a 5 ounce weight advantage over the Council Tool, but as you can see in the photos, the performance was similar (Council axe chopped on the right):
The Wetterlings heavier weight did feel like it bit just slightly deeper, while the Council Tool's wider cutting edge took larger pieces out. It felt like a toss up in performance here, with no clear winner.
In the wood splitting category, I'd have give the nod to the Council Tool. The Hudson Bay style head just splits better than most because of the extra wide bit and small contact surface once past the main cutting blade. It is an excellent splitter for it's size and weight, though in all fairness the Wetterlings is also a righteous splitter, just not quite to the extent that the Council is.
As for balance, it's not quite as balanced as the Wetterlings, but not enough to have a real effect on most tasks. The lighter weight of the Council is slightly less fatiguing and also makes it more pack friendly, not that the Wetterlings is overtly heavy or anything, but it all adds up as many know.
SUMMARY
For a US made axe that costs under $35 and about 30 mins of spare time I think the axe is a steal. Council Tool axes come highly recommended by US Forest Service axe expert Bernie Weisgerber, author of "An Axe to Grind", who says that Council makes excellent axe steel, which I think speaks for itself.
The problem with the head coming loose is not something I've heard often through the forums, so I assume I got a bad one. The remedy by Council Tool shows their committment to quality and customer service, and the axe has performed without a hitch since.
The steel is slightly softer than the Swedish axes, but not so soft that it won't take and reasonably hold an edge. It also makes the edge more forgiving of knots and the occasional pebble or hidden nail buried in a log. Council Tool is currently working on an upgraded Hudson Bay axe made from 5160 High Carbon Steel that will come razor sharp from the factory according to my sources. Based on the perfomance of this more affordable version I'm really curious to see how the upgraded version turns out.
In closing, I believe this axe would make a great general purpose field axe that's light for it's size yet has enough oomph to split bigger pieces. It has served admirably doing everything from making fuzz sticks, chopping kindling, felling\limbing trees and chopping out roots during winter in sub-alpine forests to free up fatwood stumps. It might not have the pizzazz or refinement of the Swedish choppers, but for the money it's one heck of axe
Last edited:
