Hatchet or axe help

[EsotericEpsilon]

Hello CGers,
I am currently searching for a gift for a close friend of mine. He is an outdoors person with a descent gun and knife collection, and thought it'd be great to add a hatchet or axe to his collection. Anything he buys, he gets with the intent to use it as it was designed. There will be no babying of this hatchet or axe, so it needs to withstand moderate to heavy use.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

[NYT]

there is really only one option here, you can of course go more expensive or less expensive, different manufacturer, etc but this is the grand daddy company who build hatchets and axes for life:

https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/

imo, the best all around gift for someone who will use it in multiple venues is the outdoor axe: https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/pro...s-outdoor-axe/

i also have the hand hatchet: https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/pro...-hand-hatchet/

and i have the Scandinavian forest axe: https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/pro...an-forest-axe/

i dont use the big ones much as i have chainsaws but i use the hand hatchet and outdoor axe all the time.

you can find them on amazon but they come with an additional price by the reseller, just make sure when you order one, you ask prior if theyre in stock. this particular axe sells out quickly and they are hand made in sweden.

[DolphinFan]

My axe is A Kerahaw, forged single piece camping axe.
My hatchet is a SOG military tomahawk.
I also have long and small Gerber machetes.
All so what they are supposed to w

[dizzyblonde]

Gransfors Bruks. He'll love you for that. They're obscenely nice.

[G-forceJunkie]

I've been happy with my Husqvarna 26” multi-purpose axe for general campsite use. Under $100 last I checked and a decent swedish steel forged head. You really need to decide what the inteded use is, a felling axe is much different from a splitting axe, etc.

[PaperTarget]

Originally Posted by G-forceJunkie

I've been happy with my Husqvarna 26” multi-purpose axe for general campsite use. Under $100 last I checked and a decent swedish steel forged head. You really need to decide what the inteded use is, a felling axe is much different from a splitting axe, etc.

Does he prefer Glocks or Colt Pythons?

Husqvarna is a good value compared to Gransfors Bruks.

[Bastard]

build it - well not from scratch obviously... unless of course you have a forge, wait you don't have a forge I could use do you?

if he is the outdoors man that you say he is, he already has one so why not get him something with a bit more meaning to it - you can pick up an older Hudson Bay style or any other style head off of ebay from a classic manufacture and restore it yourself... just a thought

[madjack956]

I have a Gransfors Bruk hatchet. Nicest I've ever owned.

[Hoologan]

For the lower budget, I’ve been very happy with the Cold Steel Trailboss I picked up for about $25 on Amazon. It’s a helluva deal.

[pacrat]

My personal fave for general outdoors hatchet work is an Estwing.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/Estwing-E24...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Definitely passed the test of time. In my case, 50+ years. You can lose one. But you can't break one, EVER.

Whereas one miscalculated overstrike with a wood handle. And you are hachetless in the blink of a eye.

One single drawback is the leather handle. Easily remedied by a once a year or so. Scuffing with some 40 or 60 grit garnet paper. Sweat and friction over time makes the handle a bit "slick".

Also comes in a nylon handle model.

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Estwing-...B&gclsrc=aw.ds

Which I do not care for, because of the "underturned" face angle. A 90* face to handle angle is much more efficient. And delivers more force per blow, than a strike angle where the head is "over the hand" at strike point.

[NapalmCheese]

As cool as the Gransfors are....

I'll take an American made Council Tool. Hudson Bay or Boy's Axe for all around woods use (for an axe). A hatchet for something that /might/ get used while camping.

All in all I don't use axes that much while camping so don't carry either. If I do carry an axe it's a boy's axe sized Fiskars left to me by a deceased friend.

[Epaphroditus]

18" Estwing rubber grip. Very practical. We heat our home with wood fire. Split a lot of wood.

[BigPimping]

You can't go wrong with the Sog military tomahawk

[Ragemachine]

"Hardcore Hammers" makes axes and hatchets. I bought a hatchet for my dad a few years ago and he loves it!

[hermosabeach]

Each has a place

A good double head is great for trees and splitting wood.

A hatchet is easy to pack if you are going someplace where there is wood and you need to make kindling


I had a hatchet as a kid... since I got my first axe, I have never used the hatchet again.


I would play 20 questions with your friend. Tell them that you are considering a camp axe or hatchet.

Ask them for their advice.

What do they have?
What have they considered?
How would they use one be the other?

They will share with you what they want.

[EsotericEpsilon]

Thanks for the help guys. Hope everyone's pet turkey funeral was well attended and went well past 10 pm.
You guys weren't kidding about Gransfors Bruk. They look great but almost everywhere is backordered or price bumped.
As for his intended use, it'll be more for general outdoors like driving stakes and making kindling. Easy to carry in his backpack.
I'll probably start with a hatchet and maybe next year get him an axe if he doesn't get one himself.
I've been looking at vintage hatchets and hatchet heads to make a custom hatchet as suggested by Bastard.
Maybe a restored vintage Plumb boy scouts hatchet or Fuller's camping hatchet.

[Bastard]

Originally Posted by EsotericEpsilon

Thanks for the help guys. Hope everyone's pet turkey funeral was well attended and went well past 10 pm.
You guys weren't kidding about Gransfors Bruk. They look great but almost everywhere is backordered or price bumped.
As for his intended use, it'll be more for general outdoors like driving stakes and making kindling. Easy to carry in his backpack.
I'll probably start with a hatchet and maybe next year get him an axe if he doesn't get one himself.
I've been looking at vintage hatchets and hatchet heads to make a custom hatchet as suggested by Bastard.
Maybe a restored vintage Plumb boy scouts hatchet or Fuller's camping hatchet.

I have a vintage Collins boy scout hatchet sitting right next to me that I haven't gotten around to working on just yet, I think I paid maybe $25 for it... a little bit of elbow grease and a new handle from House Handles and this thing will be a great little axe, light weight & will have character unlike anything that you can buy off the shelf. just be warned that the rabbit hole of looking for & restoring old axes is a deep one... luckily not too expensive though unless you start looking at some of the Swedish makers

[MongooseV8]

Council Tool without question.

The newer gransforbruk are too clunky and poorly fit for the cost.

Council Tool makes the best working axes and they are made in the USA still. I have a pretty extensive axe collection and grab the Council Tool axes more than my fancy ones.

Here are a few I would recommend as I own them and have used them on real trees outside. 😎

https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/coll...-axe-28-handle

https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/coll...cts/flying-fox

https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/coll...-tool-pack-axe

[jonnyt16]

Originally Posted by EsotericEpsilon

Hello CGers,
I am currently searching for a gift for a close friend of mine. He is an outdoors person with a descent gun and knife collection, and thought it'd be great to add a hatchet or axe to his collection. Anything he buys, he gets with the intent to use it as it was designed. There will be no babying of this hatchet or axe, so it needs to withstand moderate to heavy use.
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

This thread might give you some ideas: http://calguns.net/calgunforum/showthread.php?t=1087526

Originally Posted by MongooseV8

Council Tool without question.

The newer gransforbruk are too clunky and poorly fit for the cost.

Council Tool makes the best working axes and they are made in the USA still. I have a pretty extensive axe collection and grab the Council Tool axes more than my fancy ones.

Here are a few I would recommend as I own them and have used them on real trees outside. ��

https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/coll...-axe-28-handle

https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/coll...cts/flying-fox

https://whiskeyrivertrading.com/coll...-tool-pack-axe

Whiskey River Trading has access to Council Tool's Forest Service Spec axe right now. Its basically an upgraded Boy's Axe but apparently they don't produce them too often anymore so I'm thinking of jumping on it.

I too have kinda moved away from the Swedish designs. I sold my Wetterlings Bushman and I'm thinking of selling off the Scandinavian Forest Axe as well. My 24" Velvicut Hudson Bay lives in my truck and is with me on pretty much every camping trip.

[Sutcliffe]

As mentioned Cold Steel makes a whole line of inexpensive Hawks that are ridiculously easy to modify into something very personalized.

Around the inter webs look for ‘Cold Steel Trailhawk modding’.

Hawks are more of a general purpose tool than a hatchet and are lighter weight.

[jonnyt16]

Originally Posted by Sutcliffe

Hawks are more of a general purpose tool than a hatchet and are lighter weight.

I have to disagree. I think hatchets and small axes are far more versatile. You will have a much easier time chopping, limbing, and splitting with a hatchet than you will with a tomahawk. You also get a squared off poll which I find a lot more useful and practical than a spike which seems to come with most hawks.

Lastly, I've always trusted the way hatchets/axes are hafted far more than just the friction fit of a tomahawk. All this is just my opinion though. I don't backpack anymore but I still do a lot of camping and I've always had a hatchet or a small axe with me. I would never even consider trading it for a tomahawk to be honest.

[CVShooter]

Narrow it down a little more by intended use. Is this for around the house? Camp? Backpacking?

For backpacking around here (Sierras and coastal areas), nothing seems more like dead weight than a hatchet. I've never needed one. Car camping, on the other hand, it's almost a necessity.

[Misterclick]

Don’t ever bring an axe to a chainsaw fight. Lol!

[MongooseV8]

Please post a video of you building a campfire without any matches using your chainsaw.

Make sure you count your fingers afterward lol =)

[crufflers]

Hults Bruk since 1697

http://hultsbruk1697.se/

[Den60]

Originally Posted by dizzyblonde

Gransfors Bruks. He'll love you for that. They're obscenely nice.

Do they make one for the zombie apocalypse?

Nice site, makes me want to get one and I don't camp.

[Bastard]

Originally Posted by MongooseV8

Please post a video of you building a campfire without any matches using your chainsaw.

Make sure you count your fingers afterward lol =)

I would probably start by using some of the gas in the chainsaw and then finding some sort of spark, I mean if only there was a plug for it that made one...

[Misterclick]

^ work smarter not harder!