Fiskars XA23

G

Gun Doc

Joined
Oct 9, 2017
Messages
193
The Fiskars XA23 interests me as a long but relatively light brush axe type tool. I'm 6'2", so longer is good. But the usual brush axes, brush hooks, sling blades, Kaiser blades, etc., while plenty long, all seem to weight in at 4-5 pounds. I have tried a few, and they seem to be too heavy, cumbersome, and slow in speed for what I expect to encounter. The Fiskars XA23 is right at 2 pounds, half as light. Since blade speed is important for cutting lighter stuff, it seems to me the Fiskars XA23 should work pretty well. Videos online show it taking out 1-1/2 to 2 inch saplings when necessary, although it is not the tool I would choose if all my cutting were that size. However, apparently they are not easily available in the USA. This brings up two questions:
- Does anyone here have real world experience with this tool, and if so, how do you like it?
- The various online sources I find where I can get one seem to be a bit sketchy as far as delivery and customer service. Does anyone here have real world experience on how to obtain a Fiskars XA23?
Looking forward to and thanking all in advance for any input.
 
crickets . . .
Maybe I put this post in the wrong subforum, but I didn't see a more logical one.
Or maybe no one who has first hand knowledge encountered my initial post.
Anyway, I found that the big river's Germany site will send one to the USA. Cost is about $10 more than the places that seemed sketchy, but I trust the big river more.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it works. Most of the tools I buy, I do enough research beforehand that I tend to like them. But I admit the Nupla Double Edged Bush Hook was a disappointment.
 
Gun Doc said:
crickets . . .
Maybe I put this post in the wrong subforum, but I didn't see a more logical one.
Or maybe no one who has first hand knowledge encountered my initial post.
Anyway, I found that the big river's Germany site will send one to the USA. Cost is about $10 more than the places that seemed sketchy, but I trust the big river more.
I'm looking forward to seeing how it works. Most of the tools I buy, I do enough research beforehand that I tend to like them. But I admit the Nupla Double Edged Bush Hook was a disappointment.
Click to expand...
You're in the right place...
Another place to ask might be in the Wilderness & Survival skills subforum, way down near the bottom.
Fiskars doesn't get a lot of love in the Axe subforum. I think most people here like to restore old axes.

I like 'em well enough; don't own the tool you are interested in.
 
They are pretty common here in Finland in general and called vesuri, as in something that cuts vesakko, light vegetation like willows that grow like wild fire.

I don’t have experience on the specific Fiskars one but I used similar big one when I was younger lad doing random little jobs here and there. Pretty handy things.
 
Classic Billnäs vesuri for two-handed use from 1950s...1960s, predecessor of Fiskars XA23:
Vesuri002.jpg

I used a similar one in my younger days, but these days the smaller Fiskars versions have seen more use. Also, in the Finnish forests the soil is full of stones and haft breakages were common. With the plastic hafted Fiskars this shouldn´t be an issue. I think I´ll have to invest and buy one XA23, just to see what it can do🤔.
 
amunderdog said:
A chopping motion in brush is very inefficient.
That is why many use weight to try and aid efforts.
This may be a better idea?

Spear and Jackson Never Bend Irish Slasher Hook - Ray Grahams DIY Store

This Spear and Jackson Irish Slasher Hook is from the never bend range. Ideal for thinning, trimming and cleaning brush and thickets.
www.raygrahams.com www.raygrahams.com
Insert into the mess and pull.
Click to expand...
Thank you for the reply and link. In my experience, what is needed on light brush is blade speed so that the brush is cut before it can move out of the way. To some extent weight is wasted in light brush. It takes more energy to get a heavier tool moving, and if it is still moving relatively fast after the cut, then that energy is wasted (unless you are chopping something such that the tool can go on to cut another branch or whatever.) I don't know the weight of the tool you linked to, but it looks relatively light and fast to me.
 
veeteetee said:
Classic Billnäs vesuri for two-handed use from 1950s...1960s, predecessor of Fiskars XA23:
Vesuri002.jpg

I used a similar one in my younger days, but these days the smaller Fiskars versions have seen more use. Also, in the Finnish forests the soil is full of stones and haft breakages were common. With the plastic hafted Fiskars this shouldn´t be an issue. I think I´ll have to invest and buy one XA23, just to see what it can do🤔.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. If you do buy one, I would be interested in your opinion.
 
So my Fiskars XA23 arrived while I was out of town. I just spent about thirty minutes with it, and so far I am very pleased. I have a lot of Central Texas cedar trees down from a recent ice event. (Actual plant is Juniperus Ashei.) I was looking for something to trim the thick top growth (now near the ground) out before I started on the thicker parts with an axe, chainsaw, or "Sawsall" with a pruning blade. For this use, the XA23 works very, very well, at least so far. It has good reach, and cuts with very little effort. It even works well one-handed, as a long machete. The hook is sharp and cuts small stuff well with a quick pull or jerk. The hook is also useful for dragging stuff out of the way, much as you would use a hookaroon. Like any edged swinging tool, you damn well better respect it.

A machete works pretty well, but is a bit short, and I wanted to get two hands involved. I had pretty good luck with a Cold Steel All Terrain Chopper, which is a darn useful tool for the price, but I wanted something a bit longer and such that I could place my hands in multiple locations along the handle. Time will tell on the durability of the blade and handle. If it holds up, this tool is a winner in my book. I really wish Fiskars would offer it in North America. If they did, and I found one on sale for a good price, I would snag another to have "just in case." That said, I do believe it is "lifetime warranty", but I don't have any experience with Fiskars' warranty service, not to mention I own a tool "out of the normal distribution area."

If I have any more to report, or if I have trouble with it, I will post more on this thread. Finally, it is made in Finland.

Gun Doc out.
 
For something functionally similar that's a little more North America-accessible, check out the IMACASA 14" "cazanga" machete. The longer versions get longer blades in the distal axis rather than the hook getting longer so you actually want the shortest one they make. When mounted on a pole it makes an excellent light slasher.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
For something functionally similar that's a little more North America-accessible, check out the IMACASA 14" "cazanga" machete. The longer versions get longer blades in the distal axis rather than the hook getting longer so you actually want the shortest one they make. When mounted on a pole it makes an excellent light slasher.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reply. The IMACASA "coa" also looks interesting.

On a related subject, I sure wish you could find the time to make a video of proper brush axe use. I have a double edged one from Nupla that seems about useless. The blade is shaped like a ditch bank blade, but shorter and offset from the handle. Total length is 43 inches and total weight is 4.9 pounds. It wasn't that sharp as purchased, but it is now plenty sharp on all edges. But it doesn't seem to be a very ergonomic tool. It is very difficult to generate enough blade speed for light stuff, so I suppose it needs that "upward cut" against the resistance of the plant in the ground to work well? You have tried to describe that previously here on BladeForums, but a video is worth ten thousand words. When I try to use the tool improperly as an axe against a firm target, it has VERY unpleasant handle shock. I suppose that is due to the fiberglass handle and the blade not being close enough to the center of percussion?
 
Gun Doc said:
So my Fiskars XA23 arrived while I was out of town. I just spent about thirty minutes with it, and so far I am very pleased. I have a lot of Central Texas cedar trees down from a recent ice event. (Actual plant is Juniperus Ashei.) I was looking for something to trim the thick top growth (now near the ground) out before I started on the thicker parts with an axe, chainsaw, or "Sawsall" with a pruning blade. For this use, the XA23 works very, very well, at least so far. It has good reach, and cuts with very little effort. It even works well one-handed, as a long machete. The hook is sharp and cuts small stuff well with a quick pull or jerk. The hook is also useful for dragging stuff out of the way, much as you would use a hookaroon. Like any edged swinging tool, you damn well better respect it.

A machete works pretty well, but is a bit short, and I wanted to get two hands involved. I had pretty good luck with a Cold Steel All Terrain Chopper, which is a darn useful tool for the price, but I wanted something a bit longer and such that I could place my hands in multiple locations along the handle. Time will tell on the durability of the blade and handle. If it holds up, this tool is a winner in my book. I really wish Fiskars would offer it in North America. If they did, and I found one on sale for a good price, I would snag another to have "just in case." That said, I do believe it is "lifetime warranty", but I don't have any experience with Fiskars' warranty service, not to mention I own a tool "out of the normal distribution area."

If I have any more to report, or if I have trouble with it, I will post more on this thread. Finally, it is made in Finland.

Gun Doc out.
Click to expand...
Nice report, glad you like the tool.
 
If you are having difficulty cutting light stuff a Latin American trick is to have a long
stick with a hook to hold in your other hand, it can be used behind what you are cutting to give some resistance & also gather & pull stuff towards you.
The stick's hook is simply a branch junction cut to the required length.
 
I'mSoSharp said:
If you are having difficulty cutting light stuff a Latin American trick is to have a long
stick with a hook to hold in your other hand, it can be used behind what you are cutting to give some resistance & also gather & pull stuff towards you.
The stick's hook is simply a branch junction cut to the required length.
Click to expand...
That won't work with a two-handed tool! Good for use with machetes, though.

Gun Doc said:
Thanks for the reply. The IMACASA "coa" also looks interesting.

On a related subject, I sure wish you could find the time to make a video of proper brush axe use. I have a double edged one from Nupla that seems about useless. The blade is shaped like a ditch bank blade, but shorter and offset from the handle. Total length is 43 inches and total weight is 4.9 pounds. It wasn't that sharp as purchased, but it is now plenty sharp on all edges. But it doesn't seem to be a very ergonomic tool. It is very difficult to generate enough blade speed for light stuff, so I suppose it needs that "upward cut" against the resistance of the plant in the ground to work well? You have tried to describe that previously here on BladeForums, but a video is worth ten thousand words. When I try to use the tool improperly as an axe against a firm target, it has VERY unpleasant handle shock. I suppose that is due to the fiberglass handle and the blade not being close enough to the center of percussion?
Click to expand...

An underhand stroke is used for 99% of all bush hook use, and the hooked side forward. It's sort of an across-and-back motion that slashes, and you use the weight of the tool to your advantage. It's best used on targets too heavy for a bush scythe and too light for a normal axe. Only use the axe side for limbing cuts when clearing trails and the like. It's for small stuff. Nothing you hit with it should be so resistant as for it to be capable of creating significant shock.
 
I absolutely love the fiskars brush axe the smaller version of the tool you are asking about. I think that would be a great tool for what you are thinking. I have not seen it available in a brick and mortar store to get a feel for it. Fiskars runs their steel a bit soft for safety reasons but otherwise all of the tools are of great quality. I have used the brush axe for many hours at a time with no complaints, very handy to pick up things without bending over.
 
thebrain said:
I absolutely love the fiskars brush axe the smaller version of the tool you are asking about. I think that would be a great tool for what you are thinking. I have not seen it available in a brick and mortar store to get a feel for it. Fiskars runs their steel a bit soft for safety reasons but otherwise all of the tools are of great quality. I have used the brush axe for many hours at a time with no complaints, very handy to pick up things without bending over.
Click to expand...
Fiskars does not offer the XA23 in North America, which is why I had to get mine from the German edition of the "big river." It seems many like the tool for working hedgerows. I know we don't have many hedgerows in the US, but I still think the tool would sell very well here.

I am finding the tool is light enough to choke up on when necessary. The long handle, although light, does increase the moment of inertia a bit. So it is not as "lively" as a machete (or the shorter Fiskars tool you use), when you choke up. But it is lively enough, and it is great to be able to quickly switch from short to long, one-handed to two-handed as you work, without having to switch tools. This is especially true if you are on the move, as when clearing a trail. Also, I use all four combinations of short/long, one-handed/two-handed.

One of my "vices" is tools, edged tools especially, so I have many. But from my use so far, this would be a keeper if I "thinned the herd", and one I would recommend.
 
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