Gransfors Bruks axe metal quality

R

Ripshin Lumberjack

Joined
Sep 17, 2014
Messages
120
Hi

Sometime in the very recent past Gransfors Bruk posted on their web site the type of metal used in their axes. The metal is recycled metal(surprise)! It is
a 1055 type of metal that is hardened at 1508 degrees farenhiet and tempered at 385 degrees farenhiet for one hour in an oven. The HRC is 57-58.

Well........So much for all this talk about superior Swedish steel. This is only an opinion. I believe that the axes are properly heat treated and very nicely ground
to proper thickness of the cheek and cutting edge. I believe this is how all axes should be made.

It will be interesting to know the opinion of others on this matter.

ripshin lumberjack
 
A good steel choice is only half the battle, you can have stellar steel be poorly HT'd (as is the case with some blems I've seen from GB, SAW, HB, etc) and have a failure, or breakage. IMO I think that the HT process is one of the most important ones, I mean look at the Hacha Artesana axes, they've only got 45 points of carbon (I believe) yet it holds an edge as well as any of my vintage axes forged from higher carbon steels.
 
Rinaldi axes also use a (proprietary) steel with 0.55% carbon at 58 RC yet, despite their thin bits, I've never seen one chip--only roll. Whether this is a function of their steel (which has added silicon and manganese) or their heat treatment is unknown, though.
 
Thats nice to know. GB is doing the right thing using recycled steel.
If they did not, guys would have only to satisfiy themself endeless blabbering into minuta details of GB manufacture because nobody would be able to afford one.
 
I'm curious to know how you get a supply of a specific type of recycled metal, maybe made from railroad track?
 
That's interesting about recycled steel but I never thought there could be a difference between properly cast steel from recycled steel or virgin materials. Handles are important in an axe. Gransfors Bruks puts high quality, well-designed handles on their axes IMO.
 
Beachlogger said:
I'm curious to know how you get a supply of a specific type of recycled metal, maybe made from railroad track?
Click to expand...

Recycling at a steelmill can take in everything steel & sometimes lot of cast iron too.
Melted together, a sample then analyized. From there, adding varying amounts of alloy ingredients to attain whatever the final product is supposed to be.

If the recycling Mill has an abundance of a known alloy such as rail, they will favor using that if its properties are already "close enough" to the desired finished product. None the less, every batch is sampled & alloys adjusted if needed.
 
The information believe it or not has been on their site for years, at least most of it. I think the myth of mystical steel properties is just that, a myth. There are plenty of myths out there just the same. Apparently a lot of folks believe Norlund axes were manufactured in Sweden as an example.

My personal experience with GB steel was that it was spot on. It was right on par with a typical vintage American axe. Not too hard not to soft. The edge rolled rather than chipped. It was easy to sharpen, and took a keen edge. I certainly have axes with much harder steel, and some with softer steel as well. For the hardness that they aim for the steel makes sense since a higher carbon steel wouldn't earn them much in terms of performance. They make well made functional axes, nothing magical about them. That said the quantity is good and the price reasonable IMO. I'll add that I personally feel their handles have much room for improvement, at least on their American patterns.
 
Thats far from being surprising or news, they always said so on their website, its part of their "green" phylosophy, in some case, recycled steel could cost more than "virgin" steel, so i dont see the point in mentioning it, other than to appear "green", but meh.
 
Remzy said:
Thats far from being surprising or news, they always said so on their website, its part of their "green" phylosophy, in some case, recycled steel could cost more than "virgin" steel, so i dont see the point in mentioning it, other than to appear "green", but meh.
Click to expand...

It's sort of like how bottled water companies will tout how their new bottle design is "green" because it uses 30% less plastic when the real reason they made the change is that the re-engineered bottles cost less. :D

Something like 80% of all steel in circulation is recycled. There's not a lot of virgin steel around.
 
I like my Gransfors 'outdoor axe' a lot, but the edge *has* chipped on me a few times. Not sure if the heat treat on mine was a bit off, or I'm just doing something wrong, but yeah —*just sayin'.
 
Agreed--most of the mystique with GFB is attention to detail, not superiority of material. Also, I have come to realize that they suit the tasks most people do these days better than most vintage axes which were aimed at logging industry or users who heated homes completely with wood. That said, the swedish axes are toys in size and weight, and not up to real tasks for any extended use, so I'll stick to full sized axes when doing most stuff.
 
BG_Farmer said:
Agreed--most of the mystique with GFB is attention to detail, not superiority of material. Also, I have come to realize that they suit the tasks most people do these days better than most vintage axes which were aimed at logging industry or users who heated homes completely with wood. That said, the swedish axes are toys in size and weight, and not up to real tasks for any extended use, so I'll stick to full sized axes when doing most stuff.
Click to expand...

Agree, except that they are toys? Not really sure what you mean, the American felling axe is not a full sized axe?
 
I can tell pretty easily that my CT standard line HB needs sharpened a little more often than my old axes if I want it "sharp", but it stays sufficiently sharp for splitting wood and virtually every task it was intended for. GBs are the same way. I am always entertained when Americans in particular are surprised to find out that a company finds ways to market a money saving move as something positive or valuable to the consumer. The current green trend is a convenient marketing ploy and Americans are drinking the shit out of that cool aid. GB axes do what they do, the marketing has been very successful, some people are enjoying the cool aid, others aren't. Nothing shocking.
 
South, I'm not real sure where you stand on this. You have one and use it and see a little difference. Is it the marketing ploy that you find distasteful? DM
 
David Martin said:
South, I'm not real sure where you stand on this. You have one and use it and see a little difference. Is it the marketing ploy that you find distasteful? DM
Click to expand...

I think I just stand in the middle - I think I might have sounded more harsh than I really feel about it. Some people are under the impression that a GB axe is the greatest axe ever made. They will tell you all about edge holding and quality and hand forging. Then you have the other end of the spectrum who feel they are poor tools because they know that in reality they don't exactly live up to the fantasy some people have of them. I don't think they are expensive in today's market and I don't think GB goes to great lengths to market them as something they necessarily aren't. I just don't have any false expectations. I didn't pay for either of mine and I probably wouldn't have bought one myself, however, my opinion is that they are in fact good tools and fairly priced. Are people able to get similar tools of a similar origin for less money right now? Yup. So I'm not going to call them a bargain. I find with a lot of these sorts of things, the middle is really where the truth is. Certain consumers have created the fantasy, not GB - and I will say those people do aggravate me. So turns out the steel isn't really all that special (I think this has all been discussed before or at least my impression has been that the steel is something like 1055) but I don't see that as a reason to swing to the opposite far end of the spectrum. I personally think the wildlife hatchet is a slick little carving hatchet. In today's market, if a guy just wants to go out and purchase one quality tool that he knows will work, a GB is among the best choices. Is it the best axe ever made? No. Is it a high quality tool available off the shelf today? Yes. I do also personally feel that there is some value to the way they are made. The value I see is, a regular person gets to go to work producing a product that he can be proud of. And this is where the marketing piece comes in. Compared to corporations who produce absolutely nothing, are filled with nothing more than marketers who spend their days trying to dream up ways to sell products with no concern for their quality or usefulness, GB does a terrific job. Compared to that, I'd call GB honest about their products. And, I can even live with the cool aid drinkers because for the most part the product is consumer driven and successful for it and to me that's how it should work.
 
Ahhhh, "The Riddle of Steel".

Like many things, an Axe is the sum of all it's parts. The steel, Haft, Heat-Treat, stress-relief, and of course the Craftsman who's attention to detail crafts the final product. IMHO, G-B has all of these elements in balance and the result is an excellent tool. I have several 'custom-made' Axes that use different steel formulations, but the common thread for all Axes is a compromise of hardness vs toughness. An Axe, by it's very nature requires a 'tough edge' to perform the tasks suited to it. Whereas, a knife is hardened for slicing, cutting and edge retention.

I have two Axes that use the ancient technique of splitting a mild steel (ductile) head and inserting a high-carbon tool steel bit(~HRC 59-60). In ancient times this was done because 'good hardened steel' was in short supply. These perform very well. Similar to differential Heat-treating done on knife blades. Both of these Axes take a keen edge and hold the edge noticeable longer than my other Axes.

SJ
 
cityofthesouth said:
I think I just stand in the middle - I think I might have sounded more harsh than I really feel about it. Some people are under the impression that a GB axe is the greatest axe ever made. They will tell you all about edge holding and quality and hand forging. Then you have the other end of the spectrum who feel they are poor tools because they know that in reality they don't exactly live up to the fantasy some people have of them. I don't think they are expensive in today's market and I don't think GB goes to great lengths to market them as something they necessarily aren't. I just don't have any false expectations. I didn't pay for either of mine and I probably wouldn't have bought one myself, however, my opinion is that they are in fact good tools and fairly priced. Are people able to get similar tools of a similar origin for less money right now? Yup. So I'm not going to call them a bargain. I find with a lot of these sorts of things, the middle is really where the truth is. Certain consumers have created the fantasy, not GB - and I will say those people do aggravate me. So turns out the steel isn't really all that special (I think this has all been discussed before or at least my impression has been that the steel is something like 1055) but I don't see that as a reason to swing to the opposite far end of the spectrum. I personally think the wildlife hatchet is a slick little carving hatchet. In today's market, if a guy just wants to go out and purchase one quality tool that he knows will work, a GB is among the best choices. Is it the best axe ever made? No. Is it a high quality tool available off the shelf today? Yes. I do also personally feel that there is some value to the way they are made. The value I see is, a regular person gets to go to work producing a product that he can be proud of. And this is where the marketing piece comes in. Compared to corporations who produce absolutely nothing, are filled with nothing more than marketers who spend their days trying to dream up ways to sell products with no concern for their quality or usefulness, GB does a terrific job. Compared to that, I'd call GB honest about their products. And, I can even live with the cool aid drinkers because for the most part the product is consumer driven and successful for it and to me that's how it should work.
Click to expand...

Pretty much my thoughts as well. A quality company producing a quality product, and worthy of praise for doing so, but a certain number of their fans put them up on a pedestal a bit much.
 
South, boy I got my monies worth out of that question. Thanks for taking the time to give us your thoughts. I have considered one of GB hatchets but they sell for 95$ here. I liked their shape and handle. I held back because of the price, when my U.S. made Estwing could be had for 60$. I do have a GB forest axe that I picked up at a yard sale. Which I plan on putting a new haft on as soon as I clean up the head. So, I can proceed with confidence. DM
 
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