Velvicut Felling Axe help

T

TheyCallMeEric

Joined
Nov 9, 2013
Messages
9
Hi everyone, new to these boards. I have been chopping a bunch of fallen trees up in my backyard and the axe I have (a super dull Servess brand) has flaking paint and a head that keeps coming loose. Anyways, I wanted something nice, just for the heck of it really. I mainly bought this for exercise and because I think chopping is more fun than a chainsaw. I went with the velvicut because I wanted something that was good right out of the box. I liked the 4# head compared to the Gransfor's since I like the tool doing a lot of the work.

Anyways, I bought this from Amazon the other day since the shipping was about $20 cheaper than council tool's website, it just came in today.

I'm looking for advice mainly.. is this a good axe? I have been reading all about this and that, but holding it my hands I still don't know. I feel like I have a pretty good eye for detail, so here are the things I would think are "off" in terms of cosmetics. I just want to make sure the axe looks good fundamentally. And if it does, do I need anything other than boiled linseed oil / some wax for the head to keep it good? What do you recommend for a sharpener?

1. Not too sharp - I don't think I've ever owned anything 'razor' sharp, but this one doesn't do very well cutting paper. It does cut it, but it's a rough cut. Even so, I bought it to chop wood, not make origami.
2. The butt of the handle is definitely lopsided. Luckily the fat part rests in the palm of my left hand. This whole area is not symmetrical in the least, I believe it may have been carved by someone with one eye. You can clearly see how far off center it is in the picture looking straight down the axe.
3. Some decent dings on the handle, see the bottom especially. Don't know if this was from the amazon seller or came from council like this. Either way, work tool.. not a huge deal.
4. It looks like the edge points to the 'left' when looking at it from the top, edge away from you. The top bevels aren't even though, so I can't tell if this is an illusion. Looking at the head from the bottom it looks symmetrical.
5. When balanced it looks like if you drew a line from the edge straight back to the poll, the head would be about at a 30 degree angle to the surface it's on.

Again, I don't really know what I am talking about here. But for a $185 axe (after shipping) I want to make sure it's solid. Anyways, please let me know what you think! I appreciate any help.

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Looks within what could be considered the "historic norm" to me.
 
Thanks FortyTwoBlades, would you consider this "historic norm" to be worth $180? If I could get the same thing for a lot less money I wouldn't have a problem returning it. It also looks like the metal wedge is quite far from the center from many other axe pictures I've been looking at, which I'm not sure if that matters.
 
I feel like you are way over analyzing the thing. It's an axe. Once you cover it with dirt, pitch, sweat, maybe some manure for good measure - you'll never think about such tiny cosmetic things again.

Is it worth $180? Only you can answer that one.
 
The metal wedge looks ok to me. There is more "meat" in the eye there, so more hickory on either side of the wedge making it less prone to damage anything. The haft itself is not what I would want for a nearly $200 axe. My $40 Council HB axe has a nicer haft. That said, the curve is probably from drying and not improper manufacture and it doesn't look so far off that it will make working with the axe unpleasant. The dings on the bottom are probably caused by whatever they use to hold the blank when it's being made, but that's just a guess. Speaking on a personal level, the edge seems fine to me. You'll have to sharpen it sooner or later anyway, might as well be now.
 
To address your questions:

1. While it would be nice to have it arrive razor sharp, it is an axe and its going to get dull if you use it. Maybe you could practice sharpening on your old axe and then touch up your new axe.
2. Overall the haft looks acceptable to me. As for the uneven palm swell, a few minutes with a rasp and some sand paper and you can customize it to fit your hand.
3. These just look like production marks to me. Most wood tool handles I have seen have some type of mark on the bottom.
4. Could be hung slightly off center.
5. My heavier chopping axes are all bit heavy when balanced like that too.

I always feel that if you are going to use an axe you should learn to sharpen it and how to modify or replace a wooden haft. No matter how much the axe cost; inevitably it will get dull, have the head come loose or have the haft break.

That said it is your money and if you aren't happy and don't want to work on it, send it back. Maybe find somewhere to buy one in person so you can pick the best one they have.
 
The marks on the end of the handle look like where the staples would go in order to hang the haft on the wall at a hardware store, etc.

The axe won't come razor sharp. Thats just not how Council does it.

The wedge in the eye can be placed middle, forward, or backwards depending on where the most need is for the wedge.

I would get that thing out in the woods and start chopping away then you can tell us if it was worth the $$$ or not.
 
The price is within historical boundaries as well if adjusted for inflation. I would say (judging from the pictures) that the price is fair for the piece. An axe is a difficult thing to make flawlessly, and the question is not usually one of if there ARE flaws in the final piece, but WHAT flaws they are and if they are significant enough as to affect performance negatively. It doesn't seem to me that performance will suffer as a result of the minor blemishes that your example displays. All of the important performance indicators check out from what I can see.
 
I don't see anything I'd fret over. Get out and use it. As others have said. It won't stay perfect. You paid for a high end piece of steel shaped well and quality handle that should last. It looks like you got that from here. Congrats on the axe!
 
Awhile ago I put a Council Tool Dayton up against a Kelly Perfect Michigan...It was a draw. You have an axe that will give you a lifetime of use. Enjoy it.
I have always enjoyed using premium tools when I can.

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Tom
 
Perfect, thanks everyone. That's exactly what I wanted to hear. I'll pick up some boiled linseed oil and one of those puck sharpeners probably. I'll use some more heavy duty tools on the old axe (it is pretty beat) and work on sharpening that as suggested. I guess it shows my love and hate of the internet, you read about this and that down to the tiniest details when in reality it doesn't matter. I'll definitely be testing it out tomorrow!

And that is a very pretty old axe, Tom. I have a feeling this won't be the last axe that I end up buying haha.
 
You're fussing way too much. You know what you really need? A Mercedes chainsaw with a full warranty and a 100% maintenance contract. If I had taken delivery of that particular axe no one would have ever heard from me again.
 
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