Wetterlings quality degradation

HI guys!

I thought about getting a Wetterlings axe. They are told to have great quality. But after seeing this in pics of Turbo4x4 I don´t wanna get one any longer. My 90 years old hand forged axe by my great grand dad has no such breaks and stuff at the head.

IMG_0960.jpg


I prefer Ochsenkopf axes. Okay, the are not handforged but they have a great quality. I like them... (sorry OT)

Kind regards
 
HandAxeProMan and Turbo4x4: you are welcome. I am not in any way an axe expert, I am just sharing my limited experience.

Turbo4x4: I don’t think your axes without the lanyard holes are seconds. I just did a Google image search for “Wetterling axes” and quite a few hits were images of axes without holes in their handle. Actually one of those images was a carpenter axe:

http://www.hand-tools.com/product-detail.php?prodnum=BRK-SAW31

Compared to that axe, yours IMHO is nicer. Even though your axe is less finished, it has a better shaped/forged head and a nicer handle.
The nice finish on many axes might hide a forging flaw or inconsistency. Your carpenter is very well shaped, all the cosmetic blemishes it might have are negligible compared to the well formed head. It is easy to file and sand a head, it is difficult to shape it properly in the first place. Also, I am pretty sure your Wetterlings are expertly heat treated. You can buy a nice looking smooth & shiny Chinese, or even some contemporary American axes, but I bet that your Wetterlings will easily both outperform and outlast them.

We might speculate that Wetterlings is getting away with the hole on some of its newer axes; as to why, I won’t even try to speculate.

Humppa: please, don’t dismiss yet the possibility to get a Wetterlings. You might ask a dealer to hand pick a “perfect” one for you. Wetterlings axes were always known to have a much less uniform appearance than the GB ones. I think, they are more consistent now than they were in the past.
 
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Littleknife, many thanks for Your opinion!
As I wrote above, I work for the other axes, and was just surprised, that a carpenter from Wetterlings very different from my other axes.
It should be aesthetically delectations, is not it? ))

Humppa, I like Ochsenkopf too, I have in my collection one- competition racing 32" handle. It's pretty!
I think to buy old Ochsenkopf head for restoring.
 
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Turbo4x4: since these axes did not meet your overall expectations and they clearly bother you a lot, no amount of opinions to the contrary would make you happy.

At this point I would suggest you return the axes you are not happy with for a refund or an exchange.
I am sorry for your bad experience.
 
littleknife: I read your post very clearly and thought about it :) Maybe I´ll give Wetterling a chance. Here in Germany they are also called to be very good tools. I was just a little surprised seeing Turbo4x4´s pics, they frightened me really.

@turbo4x4: Ochsenkopf make great tools. I have used a pretty old one and a also a pretty new one. The quality doesn´t seem to have changed during the decades.

The pic I´ve posted is a handforged axe I found in my great-grandpa´s workingshag and fixed it up.

Kind regards
 
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