Snow & Nealy axes, what can you tell me???

brewcitymike

brewcitymike

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Aug 26, 2011
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I'm looking into getting a Snow and Nealy Hudson bay axe but I'm new to axes and not familiar with the brand. I'm gonna do a bit of research online but I'd like to hear from you axe guys most of all. How do they feel, do they last, your experiences with the, and so on.
 
Apparently Snow and Nealeys have been made in China for a few years now, if that's important to you. I'd go with the Council Tools Hudson's Bay myself.
 
Snow & Nealleys axe heads are forged in China and "finished" in Maine. I have a newer S&N double bit - it's not my favorite axe (it was really hard to profile and sharpen) but it's a user. You probably could find an older S&N or other hudson bay on ebay.

This Snow & Neally is my favorite. The old ones are quality.



If buying new, I would also recommend Council over S&N.
 
What Porch and Cooper said, a Council will last you a lot longer. The newer S&N's have a ton of cosmetic issues, and then serious issues like alignment, grind, handle grain, tempering, etique. You'd have to hand pick one to make sure you don't get a dud. And I'm not sure what you plan on using the axe for, but if its a ton of chopping steer away from the Hudsons. Due to the small amount of eye surface area, they don't stay tight too long.


Hey Cooper, should we fill this thread with pics of older S&N's? :)
 
Fill 'er up wit some pics. A little axe porn never hurt anyone:D Well the Council Velvicut Hudson is top of my list but I thought I would try a less expensive brand first to see how I like the feeling of that style, cuz I love the look of it:) Like I said I'm new to the world of quality axes(another money consuming "hobby"...thanks alot BF;)),but I don't have any super hard use planned for them anytime soon. I live in the middle of the innercity so there is much felling to do around here and these days, even getaways are few and far between but I like to plan ahead. One day I'll start hitting the woods regularly again and I want to accumulate a good amount of toys..I mean tools for those occasions. A good axe collection is something thats been on my mind for about 2 years now but I was too focused on refining my knife collection to side bar the idea. Now I have seriously shrunken my knife collection by selling all the 'beginner crap' but I'm happy with what I have left so I feel I can alternate purchases now between knives and axes/hawks.

So what about the other brands like Kelly, Plumb, Collins? I even noticed a couple Husqvarna axes that look pretty nice. Aside from the Council I think I'm gonna start on the less pricey side of the spectrum just as I did w/ knives cuz I can always slim down the herd later on. I'm looking at several Condors, an Estwing and maybe a Cold Steel Trail boss, though I really want to hear more about that one. No one really mentions it.
 
We have an fairly new S&N Hudson at work. I've used it a few times. It's a nice axe. Handy size, good feel and generally well made. I did some trail clearing with it one day. It was very usable with the factory edge. It cut half a dozen 5" hardwood limbs lickety-split.

Now for the bad news, after just that use I could already see almost a 1/16" of movement of the head along the haft. I'm a big guy and I was swinging it close to full power. As Crazyotter noted a Hudson's Bay isn't the best design for heavy chopping because of the short eye. But it's fine for light to medium chopping. An HB is very good for bushcraft as the head design allows you to choke up further on the axe for detailed work. If you want one axe to be both a medium chopper and a crafter then an HB is a good choice. I haven't had a chance to put a file to that axe yet so I can't tell you anything about its hardness.
 
Well my main uses of the axes will be camping and bushcraft but I do want to get a couple nice chopping axes too.
 
How long have the S&N's been made in China? I have a 3.5 pound single bit that I bought over 20 years ago but it isn't stamped with any country of origin. As I remember it had a metalic sticker on the head when it was new but that is long gone.
 
Sidehill Gouger said:
How long have the S&N's been made in China? I have a 3.5 pound single bit that I bought over 20 years ago but it isn't stamped with any country of origin. As I remember it had a metalic sticker on the head when it was new but that is long gone.
Click to expand...

Somebody in 2010 said S&N told him they'd been making the heads in China for 7 years and finishing them in Maine. So say 2003. 2000 to be safe and easy to remember.
 
My S&N Hudson Bay is about 20years old, dang I remember buying it just yesterday...good trapping, bush/field craft, traveling axe, for heavy work get a heavier axe,,,,,,also I most likely would not buy a new S&N as noted quality problems....the Council Tools HB looks like a good one and I've read a few good reviews....
 
See I'm mainly interested in the Council Velvicut HB cuz it has the 5160 head, but the price range between the Velvicut and the regular HB is pretty significant-around $80. But I suck at sharpening so having a steel I'm familiar with is a big plus in my book. The more and more I poke around Council axes in general are becoming very appealing. They seem to get great reviews its just that they seem to be a 'background' brand. People who know them love them, but it's not nearly as many people as I thought based on some of the reviews I've read. I thought they were like the American Wetterlings or something, but they seem to have more of a cult following,lol. I know Steven Dick wrote about them twice in Tactical Knives and given that he's an ex-forester and knows his axes, it was him that got me interested in Council, first with the Boys' axe and more recently the Velvicut models. So based on what I'm hearing from you guys, any recently mad S&N isn't worth buying but an old used on should be okay. How old of one should I look for if I should decide to get on in the future??
 
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