Browning Outdoorsman axe

This one is hickory, not plastic. Ive read a decent review but it was in a magazine, whatever that tells you.
 
For $100 there are many more choices around for 'boys axes'. Council Tools, for one, currently makes a similar thing called a Hudson Bay Pattern and no doubt Browning more or less copied it. Unlikely that Browning will put their name on junk though.
I'd be perusing flea markets and fleabay for a used axe myself. I dunno what the value is of vintage Norlund versions but you'd be saving one of these golden oldies from obscurity, and, have quite a bit of money left over.
 
I confess to buying the plastic handle one about a year ago. I'm a sucker for a little bearded axe. I don't remember what I paid but it would have to have been well south of $100. I got it home and Sidehill Gouger's right; the handle is downright bendy. The head was also hung crooked, which, on a synthetic handle especially does not speak well of the quality control. The steel actually seems fairly good at holding an edge but the blade is very thin and I get the feeling if I hit a rock or frozen knot it would chip in a heartbeat. When I first got it home I went to test it out on a 6' alder log and the blade cut deep but stuck in the cut. Pulling it free is when I found how flexible the handle is. The beard and thin blade make it great for fine work like fuzz sticks as you can choke up on the handle and have the beard protecting your knuckles. With a better handle it would probably make a serviceable backpacking axe but then as was already mentioned Council Bad Boy and Hudsons Bay patterns are gonna be of better quality, price, and made in the US instead of Taiwan.

Given the designer I'm gonna guess this axe was made for backpacking and the thin blade would allow for it to stand in for a knife on a number of bushcraft chores. I could see cleaning a fish, scraping a hide, and whittling a wiener stick with it as well as chopping up a little firewood.

On a side note, has anyone ever tried to remove a plastic handle so it can be replaced with a wood one?

Edit: Thin Blade.

 
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I wish SOG made their Backcountry axe with a wooden handle. I really like the look of that one too.

Councils Hudson Bay pattern falls in the same price range as the Browning axe, while the Boys Badaxe is a Velvicut, and much pricier. I Currently own a Les Stroud Bushman axe that I like quite a bit, but was looking to try some others. Particularly something with a thinner edge.

At 55 bucks, this one didn't seem to bad. I might save the dough, and spring for another higher end axe.
 
The handle design seems kinda 'funny lookin' to me. Not wrong necessarily, just kinda funny lookin. I'd be interested in trying it out, but it does seem a bit expensive. I don't feel like I'd use a hollow ground axe enough to justify the price. And if they're still epoxying the eyes I'd pass on it for sure. Not a fan of epoxy.
 
nickzdon said:
The handle design seems kinda 'funny lookin' to me. Not wrong necessarily, just kinda funny lookin. I'd be interested in trying it out, but it does seem a bit expensive. I don't feel like I'd use a hollow ground axe enough to justify the price. And if they're still epoxying the eyes I'd pass on it for sure. Not a fan of epoxy.
Click to expand...

^This. :)
 
Would the Council Tool Boys Axe be an acceptable alternative? 2" longer handle but made here and can be had for under $40.
 
Ceptor, your suggestion would probably be a great solution. I just had a hankerin for the blade shape. It will probably pass.
 
I remember when these first came out. They all had the plastic handles. The reviews were terrible...But it was mostly the plastic handle that dominated the reviews. They bent, flexed and broke.
I don't think anyone ever used them long enough to do a good test of the head. But... Made in Taiwan for $100, I'd pass in a flash.

Tom
 
Taiwan is encouraging. They've really stepped it up there the past decade or so. They're becoming the new Japan. It might be decent steel.
 
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