Anyone familliar with Eswing?

S

Social cameleon

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Sep 2, 2001
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I like their little hatchets, and can get them in just about any hardware store. Fairly consiatant ballance, but the handles tend to knock off after a while. It's kinda an I beam tang with USMC K-baresque leather washers.
They also make nice hammers, which reminds me, has anybody practiced with hammers as well as axes?
 
I've used both their hammers and hatchets, as well as one nearly full-sized axe. They make a good product for the money. The guys I worked construction with wouldn't use any other brand of framing hammer.
 
I have had the stacked leather handle hatchet and the longer camp axe ("Hudson Bay" size) for many years. They both perform well but not in the same league as www.gransfors.com

The only advantage of the Estwing over the Gransfors Bruks seems to be a little better corrosion resistance. For that reason, I still sometimes take the longer Estwing on wilderness canoe/raft trips. Otherwise, Gransfors all the way.
 
I have used several of the hammers and while they are very popular around here, I have seen multiple faults, bent claws and split heads. However the warrenty is second to none. Both breaks were replaced with a new hammer, no questions asked.

I have also used the axes, a couple of small ones as well as a 3/4 size piece. Neither were in any way impressive. They come with a low performance edge, they are soft nor do the heads come with the correct shape for cutting fresh wood.

A DancesWithKnives noted, the Bruks axes are in a much higher class. Even the Wetterling axes are a league above Estwing.


-Cliff
 
Haven't bought an Estwing axe in many years, since the excellent cruiser axe I used for 20 years in Fairbanks, Alaska has never worn out. It's the model with the integral steel handle and the blue rubberized grip. That axe limbed I don't know how many spruce trees when I was heating with wood at 65 below zero, and always did an outstanding job. The steel was excellent, held an edge well, and had a very superior edge profile to other commercial axes ... easy to sharpen to a shaving edge and was thin enough to penetrate well when cutting heavier stuff. Damn fine axe for the price.
Found out a while back from a retired engineer from Estwing whom I met at a rendezvous that they were using an almost identical vanadium spring steel alloy to that from which I make my tomahawks. This may contribute to the corrosion resistance since it has some chromium in it. The problem is that it is miserable stuff to blue or brown when I am finishing the hawk heads!
Hope this information is of use to you.
Best regards,
TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
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