Wetterlings vs Gransfors Bruk

Gransfors is generally regarded as slightly superior at this time. But with a user name like yours why not step up to a better axe and buy an American made Council Tool Velvicut?
 
Gransfors is regarded to be a little higher quality. As for that being true, I don't know. I'm happy with my Gransfors.
 
Wetterlings of course.
Their CEO is very attractive Swedish woman. What we all know and agree trumps all other engineering attributes of a companies product.

Its a freaking axe company...!
 
Square_peg said:
Gransfors owns Wetterlings.
Click to expand...

That is a bit of a misleading statement, they are both owned by the same people but that doesn't mean Gransfors owns Wetterlings. The factory management and their processes could be slightly different between the factories though allowing for some differences in the axes they produce. In all likelihood the axes they produce are very similar in quality.
 
Square_peg said:
Gransfors is generally regarded as slightly superior at this time. But with a user name like yours why not step up to a better axe and buy an American made Council Tool Velvicut?
Click to expand...

I was going to buy a Velvicut, but in looking at the reviews on Amazon, it appears the heat treat is not very good -- at least in cold weather, where the edge chips or rolls. Does anyone know how to explain the bad reviews?
 
Twindog said:
I was going to buy a Velvicut, but in looking at the reviews on Amazon, it appears the heat treat is not very good -- at least in cold weather, where the edge chips or rolls. Does anyone know how to explain the bad reviews?
Click to expand...

Are you talking about the velvicut Hudson Bay? That one has a couple of complaints on amazon regarding cold weather use, but seems like centered on deformation of the heel, which is very thin on HBs. I suspect some frozen wood caused the problem? We have seen GFBs chip and crack under the same circumstances, which is the alternative.

I couldn't find similar complaints about the velvicut boys axe or the felling axe.
 
BG_Farmer said:
Are you talking about the velvicut Hudson Bay? That one has a couple of complaints on amazon regarding cold weather use, but seems like centered on deformation of the heel, which is very thin on HBs. I suspect some frozen wood caused the problem? We have seen GFBs chip and crack under the same circumstances, which is the alternative.

I couldn't find similar complaints about the velvicut boys axe or the felling axe.
Click to expand...

You're right, BG, it's mostly the Hudson Bay axe. But some of those comments gave me pause, especially when there are not many comments to begin with.

Hudson Bay axe

verified purchase
I took this out for a winter camping trip in December of 2014 in NW Iowa upon trying to split its first piece of wood the edge on the beard of the axe started to maar and deform.

Verified purchase
On my first axe the heel completely rolled over to the point where the heel was facing the toe! I called Baileys Outdoor Equipment, which i bought it from and they replaced it. Don't expect Council to help you out either. The replacement came and when I took it out it was working well until over this weekend the almost 1/2" long piece of the blade chipped off by the eye.


Verified purchase
The head shows ripples on both sides from grinding / sharpening. The head is canted forward. Poorly finished / made and poorly assembled.

Verified purchase
Bit is more triangular in shape versus the smooth curve shown in the picture. The head shows ripples on both sides from grinding / sharpening. The head is canted forward. Poorly finished / made and poorly assembled.


Velvicut boys axe

Non-verified purchase
First, the head is non-symmetric. I can't even tell what profile they were trying for as one side is almost a flat bevel and the other is rather concave. Maybe it shifted in the forge, but the head should have been rejected.

Second, and most problematic is the head is very poorly hung. At this price level, there's no excuse for the head not being perfectly aligned. It's the first thing I check on an axe and this one is way off. It's probably the terrible forging job that threw the eye out of alignment.
 
Last edited:
Just to play devil's advocate, people usually only review when there's a problem it seems, and I've seen a number of times people posting bad reviews for items, but I then realize they didn't even have the exact item. Some of these might be for standard CT axes, as some folks may have no idea there's a difference between the Velvicuts and the standard line. Just something to consider.
 
Get the standard Council Tools version as long as you don't mind stripping the paint off. There is no advantage to 5160 over 1060 for this application and especially not at the low hardnesses that the Velvicut is run. If you were so minded it would be relatively easy to re-heat treat the basic version and end up with something superior (slightly) to the Velvicut.

I would suggest getting a vintage US-made axe for even less money, but buying antiques won't "Make America Great Again" :D
 
"I would suggest getting a vintage US-made axe for even less money, but buying antiques won't "Make America Great Again"
a true statement.
 
So, if we get back to the original question, if you line up the two, overall, they are both fine axes, and really boils down to slight personal preferences. Neither one will give you an outstanding significant edge over the other when it comes the uses of an axe.
 
Operator1975 said:
So, if we get back to the original question, if you line up the two, overall, they are both fine axes, and really boils down to slight personal preferences. Neither one will give you an outstanding significant edge over the other when it comes the uses of an axe.
Click to expand...
How about the "fit and finish"? All the reviews say the fit and finish is better without expounding upon it. Does anybody have some close-up photos (since a picture says a thousand words)?
 
Buy American.

Check out Hoffman Blacksmithing. Liam makes amazing products with lifetime warranties.
 
I remember going to a big box store up here in central Canada about 3-4 ? 4-5? years ago. There were about 6-7 medium sized Wetterlings axes left and every one of them was disgusting. Head angles cockeyed so obviously that no one would buy them. Gaps, splintered wood. It looked like a drunken monkey slammed them together. Perhaps disgruntled uncaring workers just before the buy out ? Since then I have seen basically zero difference in fit and finish between the Wett. and G.B.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top