Woodsman Pal compared to Hawk, Hatchet, Ax and other Choppers.

Morablades

Morablades

Joined
Dec 29, 2007
Messages
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I have had many axes, hatchets and hawks and I have compared them to the Woodsman's Pal. I just wanted to share with you how I ranked these together with the Woodsman's Pal and other heavy duty choppers. I don't have any of my old hatchets and hawks so I had to go by previous experience.

1. Woodsman's Pal along side the Fiskars 14" hatchet (tie for first)
2. CS Trail Hawk along side Saburo of Japan Kopi and the Kershaw Camp Ax along side the Ontario 12" Machete (thick blade version)
3. Gerber Backpax

As I remember I used all of these to chop trees up to 7" in diameter. # 1 being the best for my taste. # 2 all performed the same, but they may not be as accurate because I got rid of them a while ago. # 3 was the worst, because an ax that small just didn't have enough weight behind it. Feel free to add any of your own experiences.
 
Have been thinking about picking up a Woodsmans Pal. Thanks for the review...
 
Do a search for Woodsman Pal if you're interested in buying one. The reviews go both ways. People either love 'em or hate 'em - not a lot of in-between. ;)
 
I've had a Woodsman's Pal for years. It is a fantastic tool for clearing thick brush and small limbs/trees. There's a reason it's been around unchanged for over half a century and been adopted by the U.S. Military.
 
the woodsman's pal I handled in a pass-around was poor. I did not particularly care for the handle(or sheath), and although sturdy in construction, it had the crappiest edge of any blade I have ever seen- no primary grind, and 35-40 degrees per side on the edge. . . and it was only "sharpened" up to about 3/4" from the tip- which was full thickness, blunt and useless.

That, and the hook is stupid. (This also had a useless edge)

So maybe they can be modified extensively to be a good tool.
 
Paddling_man said:
People either love 'em or hate 'em - not a lot of in-between. ;)
Click to expand...

Well, one no vote from Rat.

I've never tried one although I'd really like to. Keep getting hung up on the cost. One day I'll have some money burning a hole in my pocket and get one though...
 
Rat Finkenstein said:
the woodsman's pal I handled in a pass-around was poor. I did not particularly care for the handle(or sheath), and although sturdy in construction, it had the crappiest edge of any blade I have ever seen- no primary grind
Click to expand...

Uh... Yeah... it's a stout machete. Did anyone ever expect it to have anything other than a simple bevel? At 1/8" thick, Rc 47 1075 steel, how much of a primary grind would that blade stock even support for something touted as being a tough chopper?
 
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