Looking for a high quality axe

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lRaml

Joined
Nov 22, 2024
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1
Hello,
I am looking for a high quality well made axe. The kind of axe i can tale care of and it will last forever (minus having to change the Handel eventually).
I haven't been considering Gransfors Burk or Adler. I have some gift cards that would allowe me to get either. One of them is Amazon so I could get any other axe on there as well.
I am looking for something that will allow me to fell trees, cut already felled trees, and some light splitting would be nice although I already have a maul so that's not as important.
I will mostly be using it when camping. Being able to perform some bush craft with it as well would be great.
I know this is a tall order, but does anyone have any suggestions?
 
Obviously I'm a big fan of the Forte axe I designed for WOOX, but Brant & Cochran makes some fantastic axes in a size range appropriate for your uses as well. If you're mostly using it for camping then something in a roughly boy's axe size range would work well, and it'll probably mostly be doing splitting and light camp crafting for making useful furniture and implements, but may need to be able to take down smaller trees as well. Something like an Allagash Cruiser is a world-class axe that fits the bill for those purposes.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Obviously I'm a big fan of the Forte axe I designed for WOOX, but Brant & Cochran makes some fantastic axes in a size range appropriate for your uses as well. If you're mostly using it for camping then something in a roughly boy's axe size range would work well, and it'll probably mostly be doing splitting and light camp crafting for making useful furniture and implements, but may need to be able to take down smaller trees as well. Something like an Allagash Cruiser is a world-class axe that fits the bill for those purposes.
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One thing that would be on my list for a more "upscale" axe would be a hardened poll. I'm not aware of too many other axes that offer this. If I ever decide to get such an axe, the WOOX Forte would be it.
 
lRaml said:
Hello,
I am looking for a high quality well made axe. The kind of axe i can tale care of and it will last forever (minus having to change the Handel eventually).
Click to expand...

Any old USA made axe from the 1960s or earlier will fill the bill. You could probably get a TrueTemper woodslasher in excellent shape for a song and dance, and it will last you a lifetime. At local garage and estate sales I usually pick up the woodslashers and other similar old axes for an average of $5 each.
 
knarfeng said:
There's a BF dealer member who sells axes and scythes in addition to knives. I am familiar with his wares and they are always worth what he charges.
FortyTwoBlades FortyTwoBlades

byxco.com

Knives and Tools

Proudly providing a careful curation of timeless tools. Family-founded, employee-owned.
byxco.com byxco.com
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FortyTwoBlades said:
Obviously I'm a big fan of the Forte axe I designed for WOOX
Click to expand...

^^^ both of these statements get a plus 1 from me. I’ve found that axes don’t need to be expensive to be exactly what I need. Council tool makes some great stuff, but if you have a little extra coin, the Woox Forte is a marvelously thoughtful design. I use mine plenty and it’s been outstanding.
 
I carry a Gransfors Bruk Axe with me in the mountains here. It is about as long as my forearm. Excellent tool. I also carry a 17" Sven Saw with me everywhere. Also excellent for a pack. Here the elevation ranges from 8,000 to 12,000 feet so its aspen pinion pine lodgepole pine and shrubs. You might go a different route if your after oak trees 10 feet across.
 
If you are really going to be doing much falling and bucking of trees of any size, get a chainsaw (Stihl is the best). Safer, quicker and wastes a lot less wood when you are bucking.
 
lRaml said:
Hello,
I am looking for a high quality well made axe. The kind of axe i can tale care of and it will last forever (minus having to change the Handel eventually).
I haven't been considering Gransfors Burk or Adler. I have some gift cards that would allowe me to get either. One of them is Amazon so I could get any other axe on there as well.
I am looking for something that will allow me to fell trees, cut already felled trees, and some light splitting would be nice although I already have a maul so that's not as important.
I will mostly be using it when camping. Being able to perform some bush craft with it as well would be great.
I know this is a tall order, but does anyone have any suggestions?
Click to expand...

You are describing multiple axes. Regarding Amazon gift cards, I'd say spend the money on groceries and pantry staples so you can convert those gift cards to dollars where they go farther on axes and hatchets.

The Stihl brand axes and hatchets, if you can find them are relatively cheap and perform like the more expensive German OCHSENKOPF axes I have. The ~$120 version are dead ringers with orange paint and the $35~$45 are solid values as well. The Stihl $35 min-splitter (spaltax in some ads) is awesome for camp chores where splitting is needed on reasonable size campfire stuff and is short enough to pack well and is heavy enough to split pretty hard wood too. The OCHSENKOPF ILTIS is a dream to use for felling 6" and larger trees and cost me ~$120 at the time. Stihl and the Ox versions too me are a little soft which can be good and bad. Good that they don't chip easily with a bad strike or you hit a knot or nail and also are easy to sharpen or tune up in the field with normal stones or files. Bad in the sense I prefer something a bit harder with a longer wearing edge for what I chop down. All said and done though, the ILTIS is the bomb!

Today, I would probably give Adler a spin in a ~20" multi-use axe. Lots of good options there in the ~$80 range with steel that will harden a bit more (C60 vs. C50) and a lower price point than OCHSENKOPF options.

Gransfor Bruk axes are really good within their pattern limits but, you pay for the better finishing on them as well. While I doubt you would be unhappy with buying the "right" axe from them, I would prefer two more optimized axes versus one middle of the road Gransfors option.

Council makes some really average and some really good options. For general utility, their "base" options seen everywhere for ~$60 or so are solid options. The Velvicut are really good too but, I find similar quality in the EU region for less money. Their CAMP options sound like what are looking for.

Wiseman Trading in Alabama carry most of the Stubai Austrian options for a fair price and is worth spending some time on to find a good option for you at differing price points.

All said and done, if Amazon gift cards are a requirement, the Council Tool Camp Axe is likely your best option at ~$180. The Adler ~$80 options are really good too.
 
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If you are going to spend more than $150USD, Lamnia from Finland has treated me well with some Gransfor Bruk axes and a few Hultafors which are solid values and good users. On sale, I have scored some really good deals on Gransfor and Hult Bruk axes. The Casstrom axe accessories are really nice too. The other Swedish axe options seem to come and go over time and across corporate mergers but, my Hult Bruk from them has been a super good user and I have a couple of older Husqvarna options before the merger that came from them as well which have the same forging marks and less hand finishing so were super good options at a bargain price at the time. If you throw items of interest into your wishlist, they will email you when they go on sale. I scored some awesome deals on Casstrom knives that way along with my last Gransfor Bruk and most recent Hulk Bruk purchase.

If you like EU outdoor gear, they are a good source in general. They also have some really good Bushcrafter gear as well.
 
I'm not an axe expert, but I've swung my share over the years. If you're going to put them to work I think you got good advice to check out FortyTwoBlades site, some good value buys on quality axes.

I have a couple of Gransfors Bruk axes in my shed along with a handful of others and they are decent, but for my money you can get better hard working tools. You're paying for some cosmetics and brand name. They came sharp and they take a great edge easily, but they are a little soft in my opinion. I use the hatchet and small forest axe, but gave away my full size Gransfors Bruk axe.
 
If you are shopping for a Gransfor Bruk small camp axe from the US check out some of the Canadian retailers as for some reason they are priced fairly good.
I'm seeing $220 Canadian dollars with the US counterparts at $210 and considering the exchange rate for the currency it might be worthwhile to import it.
 
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