Gransfors bruks steel???

K

kissmyaxe

Joined
Dec 2, 2012
Messages
8
Couldn't find anything on it so I was wondering if anyone knows what steel gransfors bruks uses for their axes.
 
Thanks everyone and yes I agree there axes are great I just got a wildlife hatchet can't wait to test it out! There axes are just beautiful
 
It was just curiosity that drove me to think what type of steel it was because its some amazing stuff
 
It's OK to question the quality of any product on this forum. We have no sacred cows here. For comparison's sake U.S. Forest Service Specs require a minimum .72 carbon content instead of just .55. The knifeheads here can debate how much difference that makes. For sure .55 carbon is plenty to reach an RC hardness in the mid-50's, ideal for an axe. But a higher carbon content might give a tool more toughness and wear resistance even when hardened to the same RC value.
 
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No, mid fifties is ideal hardness. I think you can get 1055 into the low to mid sixties RC value.
 
Ive seen the specs on the steel..Cigga another very good axe maker who use to come here often posted them once..He uses the same steel..Itsa very slightly modified carbon steel(around 1055)..Gransfors lists a Rc of about 57 for their axes..Which is about right condidering how low they temper them.There was a rumor going around for a while that they were made from L6 which is pure crazy..Gransfors lists their heat treat as a water quench which would be instant death for real L6..
 
Liam Ryan said:
My files barely touch the edge, you say mid fifties is the max hardness?
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My experience is much like yours. GB's seem to be much harder and hold a edge longer than my vintage stuff. I have been meaning to Rockwell test some of my vintage axes just have not got around to it. Maybe this winter.
 
garry3 said:
My experience is much like yours. GB's seem to be much harder and hold a edge longer than my vintage stuff. I have been meaning to Rockwell test some of my vintage axes just have not got around to it. Maybe this winter.
Click to expand...

Cough cough LIES cough cough
 
Operator1975 said:
Cough cough LIES cough cough
Click to expand...

Hope you got that frog out of your throat Mike :rolleyes:. This calls for some side by side chopping. And some Rockwell testing for sure.
Do you think that the vintage steel is in the upper 50's for rockwell hardness? Don't get me wrong, I also am a big fan of old steel. The old stuff is good and the design is great for throwing a chip with the high center lines. If I am going to do some real chopping with a full size axe it will be a vintage one. But if I am going to use a hatchet it could just as well be a GB. I think GB's steel is great.
One problem I might have with side by side comparisons is I no longer own any GB full size axes or any Chemical hatchets. And the Sagers are as good as it gets right?
 
garry3 said:
Hope you got that frog out of your throat Mike :rolleyes:. This calls for some side by side chopping. And some Rockwell testing for sure.
Do you think that the vintage steel is in the upper 50's for rockwell hardness? Don't get me wrong, I also am a big fan of old steel. The old stuff is good and the design is great for throwing a chip with the high center lines. If I am going to do some real chopping with a full size axe it will be a vintage one. But if I am going to use a hatchet it could just as well be a GB. I think GB's steel is great.
One problem I might have with side by side comparisons is I no longer own any GB full size axes or any Chemical hatchets. And the Sagers are as good as it gets right?
Click to expand...

Garry3 -

I appreciate the feedback and questions on the subject. All I can provide is this -

I once owned a GB SFA, GB American Feller, and a GB wildlife Hatchet - and sold all 3. Reasons being the following -

They were nice, I wont lie. Handles, little booklet that came with them, etc. Edges when I got them were sharp as holy cow.

That being said I used em. Fell, chopped, bucked, limbed, threw them into my tractor bucket, on the ground, aka everyday use. Thats when I didnt really like them, almost too specialized, too functional(if that makes sense), too pretty. The feller wasnt a true feller, the SFA was in between a young boys axe and a womens axe, and the wildlife hatchet while sharp as hell was just akward.

That being said I sold all 3 and began using a Flint Edge Michigan pattern on 30 inch handle and a old old Warren on a 30 inch handle as well.

So, what does any of this have to do with gransfors bruks steel?

Few things.

Too thin overall. I can see their products being a nice add on for the camper, but thats about it.

Hand forged. No it isn't

Booklet. My favorite part of love and hate. It is good overall. Booklets only came about on the axe scene when life did not make the axe a necessary component of life - hence the instruction manual was born.

Sheath - gravy, all things considered.

Anytime we want some side by side choppin felling etc - My old Warren 3 lb dayton, C Hammond hatchet, and Collins boys axe will whoop any other modern day manufacturer. The Black Donald likes to get action as well and have never disappointed. And please dont bring the old Flint Edge SB into this, it is itching to go to town and burn it down, so to speak.

And yes, Sagers is about as good as it gets.

I respect new axes from other countries. I just don't use them. They don't compare. I would like to think that someone else should get the frog in the throat from them buying a swedish axe, and not supporting the manufacturing base here in the USA. And I will never support that. One reason I bailed on the Les Stroud axe review.
 
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Operator1975 said:
So, what does any of this have to do with gransfors bruks steel?

Few things.

Too thin overall. I can see their products being a nice add on for the camper, but thats about it.
Click to expand...

But there is another market for skinny-cheeked axes, bushcrafting. A thin axe works just fine for carving poles an stakes and such. And there's a lot of folks who have come into the axe world with learning bushcrafting as their main goal. They're not using their axe for felling, chopping and splitting, the traditional uses of North American axes.

Plus there's the 'I don't know how to sharpen an axe' crowd. They want something shaving sharp off the shelf. Never mind what happens once they dull it. There's a big market for what GB sells and they are meeting the needs of that market well, hence their success.

You and I know that a boy's axe can do the bushcrafting along with the felling, chopping and splitting that a thin-cheeked axe has more difficulty with. But most folks don't know that. And most folks can't sharpen a vintage axe. So there are markets for both.

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215135-Penny.gif
 
Operator1975 said:
Garry3 -

I appreciate the feedback and questions on the subject. All I can provide is this -

I once owned a GB SFA, GB American Feller, and a GB wildlife Hatchet - and sold all 3. Reasons being the following -

They were nice, I wont lie. Handles, little booklet that came with them, etc. Edges when I got them were sharp as holy cow.

That being said I used em. Fell, chopped, bucked, limbed, threw them into my tractor bucket, on the ground, aka everyday use. Thats when I didnt really like them, almost too specialized, too functional(if that makes sense), too pretty. The feller wasnt a true feller, the SFA was in between a young boys axe and a womens axe, and the wildlife hatchet while sharp as hell was just akward.

That being said I sold all 3 and began using a Flint Edge Michigan pattern on 30 inch handle and a old old Warren on a 30 inch handle as well.

So, what does any of this have to do with gransfors bruks steel?

Few things.

Too thin overall. I can see their products being a nice add on for the camper, but thats about it.

Hand forged. No it isn't

Booklet. My favorite part of love and hate. It is good overall. Booklets only came about on the axe scene when life did not make the axe a necessary component of life - hence the instruction manual was born.

Sheath - gravy, all things considered.

Anytime we want some side by side choppin felling etc - My old Warren 3 lb dayton, C Hammond hatchet, and Collins boys axe will whoop any other modern day manufacturer. The Black Donald likes to get action as well and have never disappointed. And please dont bring the old Flint Edge SB into this, it is itching to go to town and burn it down, so to speak.

And yes, Sagers is about as good as it gets.

I respect new axes from other countries. I just don't use them. They don't compare. I would like to think that someone else should get the frog in the throat from them buying a swedish axe, and not supporting the manufacturing base here in the USA. And I will never support that. One reason I bailed on the Les Stroud axe review.
Click to expand...

Ok, I can buy all of that. And there is a reason I just own there hatchets. It has its place, but like you said (and Square peg) it is very specialized.

I do love to swing my GB Hunters axe. Great balance and just a pleasure to use. I may take it out to cut saplings or small trees for making Bows. And also use it to rough them out. Again a specialized task.
I hope I didn't offend you. I do respect your knowlege and appreciate you shareing it here on these forums.
 
Gransfors Bruks gives their heat treatment information, including a quench in cold running water and tempering to result in a
Rc hardness of 57:

"After the forging and the first step of
sharpening the edge, the lower part of the
axe head, the blade, is tempered by war-
ming it to 820°C followed by a quick coo-
ling in cold running water. Then the axe
head is annealed: kept for 60 minutes in
an oven that is 195°C. This relieves the
stress in the steel, built up by the forging
and tempering processes and gives the bit
the desired hardness and toughness. The
hardness of the bit is measured, 57 Rock-
well C..."

from "The Axe Book" (booklet) published by Gransfors Bruks
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:MT4YKQUoa1wJ:www.grandforest.us/TheAxeBook.pdf+gransfors+testing&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESgrRd3CxU9KopZnx9DtMZ3oMuGOB0dN3Cb2BjOLWY2Y24Qkv1Bs01of2aUozCctyXUKbA_GZ_xpx94YUuSKlmVOSKDp4kuIIUYbFm5J7EZ6UOlqWC_-S75YyXfF6ZwiKCbtETIu&sig=AHIEtbR25OErBwjEnW3ZoGNpGlPz7UhKOw
 
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