Who uses the Gerber Back Paxe?

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RickJ

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Mar 2, 2003
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I hope I said that right, it is the one with the really short handle!
 
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RickJ said:
I hope I said that right, it is the one with the really short handle!
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I think you mean Gerber pack axe :D

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I had one I would not recommend one. They are too small to really chop too unbalanced and have a terrible grind. Your money would be better spent on a larger axe if you want sheer chopping prowes or a higher quality hatchet for an all arounder
 
i have one, its ok, and im a Gerber fan. however, the handle is too short. for the money, get a Buck hatchet, the handle is still hollow and light-weight, but its longer and more comfortable. i gave my son one and it works great. ------ Eric
 
I had one, it was okay for what it was. The head is awfully big (same as on their larger hatchets) for that size handle. It was great for using to shape wood, not so good to break logs up.

Somebody stole the thing while I was camping, I was sad for a month till I got a Wetterlings. That was quite nice, but eventually I graduated to Gransfors Bruks and I have never been happier that somebody stole something of mine. I'm not trying to get you to buy a $90 hatchet over a $25 one, but their are big differences. On the other hand, I have a 16" Fiskars (same as Gerber) hatchet that is great with that head. I think it's only a few ounces heavier...
 
My son has one. It's not too good at chopping but does well at processing kindling. Very much a niche tool...too heavy to do small chores and not enough leverage to do big chores. It takes a lot of re-profiling to get anywhere near what the mini Granfors axe is and it still isn't as handy for intricate wood chores.

ROCK6
 
I bought one a long time ago and never used it. Too short to chop with. I guess it would work as a batoning device it you took the time to sharpen it.
 
I would go with the Sport Axe instead. It has pretty much the same head and is of similar weight, but the handle is longer. Have found mine very useful, when I need to travel light.
 
I have one and think it is a piece of crap. With some heavy modification to the edge it might be better.
 
I was gifted one and I will say using it is one fine way to loose a couple of fingers or chop a knee! :thumbdn:
 
Shotgun said:
Mwahahahahaha...come to the dark side and get a GB mini. The best "back paxe"<--:rolleyes: you could ever buy. It's only money right?:D
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Quoted for truth! ^^
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Gransfors Mini Belt Hatchet

"It's small, light and perfectly balanced. It can sharpen a pencil, slice a tomato paper thin, and shave the print right off this page. It will frizz sticks for tinder; cut fine kindling and split small logs. It will fillet a fish, skin a moose, tenderize a steak, turn your pancakes, spread jam and peanut butter; pound tent stakes and chop vegetables. And it will ride as lightly on your hip as the average hunting knife."

-Cliff Jacobson, Tactical Knives
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I was going to buy a Gerber hatchet, but kept coming across references to the GB Mini, and after reading multiple owners reports, reviews and watching vids' of these lovely hatchets over a period of months, I bought one.

To say that I'm pleased with it would be an understatement, and I recently bought a GB Wildlife Hatchet for my birthday.

I look at it like this, if the Hatchet costs $160 and has a 20 year warranty, that means it costs you $8 a year for the warranty period, and you can be certain that if cared for, it'll last a lot longer than that, thereby costing even less!

For me, the financial outlay is far outweighed by the pleasure of owning and using these beautifully crafted tools.
 
I think you all talked me out of it, I have the Gerber sport axe and it works pretty good, so I will stick with that for the time being.
 
TTT said:
I was gifted one and I will say using it is one fine way to loose a couple of fingers or chop a knee! :thumbdn:
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My brother in law was using mine the year before it was stolen and cut through his jeans, skin, meat, until the tendons in his thigh conveniently stopped the thing! He had to have layered stitches and the pants were ruined!

It's so short that you are still at risk of an underchop even while you're kneeling. I only bring my Small Forest Axe hiking because it is long enough to chop with and hit dirt if you underchop.
 
It's really more of a splitting wedge with a handle if you ask me. If there ever was a tool meant to be batoned it's that little thing. Would probably work well at shaping a handle on a large chunk of wood for use as a heavy mallet to then drive the head through wood.
 
michaelmcgo said:
My brother in law was using mine the year before it was stolen and cut through his jeans, skin, meat, until the tendons in his thigh conveniently stopped the thing! He had to have layered stitches and the pants were ruined!

It's so short that you are still at risk of an underchop even while you're kneeling. I only bring my Small Forest Axe hiking because it is long enough to chop with and hit dirt if you underchop.
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No offense to you guys and I've never actually used this tool in particular but isn't it the technique that makes it dangerous? If you're using a hatchet like an axe you're in for it. You should use axes and hatchets a little differently. In fact, I think 3/4 axes are the most dangerous for me because I tend to feel like using IT as a full size axe because it's relatively the same size. YMMV
 
ROCK6 said:
My son has one. It's not too good at chopping but does well at processing kindling. Very much a niche tool...too heavy to do small chores and not enough leverage to do big chores. It takes a lot of re-profiling to get anywhere near what the mini Granfors axe is and it still isn't as handy for intricate wood chores.

ROCK6
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No matter how much you reprofile, you'll never get rid of that plastic wrapping around the head. And, that means you'll never get a axe that is great at splitting wood.
 
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