Which Gransfors Bruks is right for me?

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Axeman757

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Aug 8, 2011
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Hello all, new to Bladeforums. Ive been researching axes and I believe I've narrowed it down to wanting to go with a Gransfors Bruks axe. I will be using this axe for general purpose use around the yard, cutting down trees (3-6"),
backpacking/camping (nothing too hardcore or long). I was thinking about getting a Scandinavian Forest Axe to be my go to axe and possibly picking up a Wildlife Hatchet to take camping if I feel the SFA is too much of a pain to strap to my
gear. Would you all recommend that combo for what I want to do or maybe just get a small forest axe and use that for the above uses? Thanks in advance!
 
either way is a sound decision. I just trimmed up branches in my yard with a scandi. Faster and better on the body then a power saw of and type. (axe swinging is good for your back & core muscles, bending over with a saw is not) Scandi is my favorite GB but many other like the Small Forest.
 
I like my Small Forest Axe, and would never part with it.
It is light, short and handy, and seems to bite very deep.

The downside is that it really wants to bury itself in your shin.
If you buy one, prevent this from happening.
 
I just received my GB Wildlife hatchet a couple days ago and I love it!

So much so that I ordered me a Small Forest axe today.
 
Well, a 3/4 axe really is better for working around the yard, in fact, I'd go with a 30" hafted axe for around the yard.

Either the Small forest or Wildlife will serve well on the trail.
 
Thank you all for the replies. Let me pose this question for your recommendation. If you could only choose 1 axe between the Scandinavian Forest Axe and the Small Forest Axe, which would you choose? I'm looking at only getting 1 in the immediate future (others will most likely follow) and want a good all purpose axe. Looking at it from a camping/hunting/hiking perspective and general yard work. What would be the largest diameter tree you could fell with each one? Thanks again in advance!
 
You can fell any size tree with either one. Just the smaller the axe the longer it will take.

With camping/hunting/hiking thrown in, the Small Forest is the way to go. Limbing with it isn't a real problem, and if you really need to fell or buck good sized trees (say 6" or over), use a saw for now.
 
I like the Small Forest, because it lends itself to casual 1-handed chopping. You can choke up on it for the smaller and more precise one handed cutting or chopping tasks.

Or, you can even put two hands on it to do power chopping, popping big chunks of wood out. Think of it like a super powerful large hatchet. Judging by todays woodcutting, it has at least twice the chopping power of a tomahawk of approximately similar weight.

One of these days I'll buy the Scandi Forest Axe, too.
 
If your wanting a general purpose axe. For chopping wood etc with a little backpacking thrown in the Scandinavian forest axe would be the way to go. It is a much safer axe to use and is better suited for most purposes. However it is a bit heavier to pack.

The Small Forest axe is a good bit more packable and lighter but there is a tradeoff in performance.

I picked the Small Forest axe myself due mainly to my need to use it while backpacking.
 
For my preferences the Scandi. but clearly personal preferences vary.

What Erasmus said higher up about Small Forest wanting to bite you in the shin, is worth repeating. I know of a guy who had an ER visit due to that. Not suggesting this be a factor in deciding, just added caution to all.
 
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