Axe wanted

[Woz]

Hi mates!

I need an axe, a hatchet for garden and trekking duty. So, no hard work, just medium duty like making firewood.

My favorites so far are a Gränfors Bruks hatchet from Sweden, handforged, Hickory handle, very sharp, 70 Euro,
an Estwing steel axe, steel and leather handle, 80 Euro, a Fiskars or a Wetterlings from Sweden, Oak handle, 60 Euro.

I even had a look on the CS Trail Hawk, but I suppose it is inferior to the axes in my selection based on reviews on the web.

Can anyone here recommend a GOOD, reliable medium duty hatchet that is AVAILABLE in the EU?

Thanks!
Woz

[jzmtl]

I'm surprised by how little the price difference between gransfors and the other two. Over here the fiskars is around $40, estwing is $60, whereas gransfors is two or three times that. (are we talking about axe or the smaller 14"-ish hatchet, if it's hatchet price is even lower). I don't have one but would go with gransfors given how little the price difference is, it's almost always regarded as the premium choice.

p.s. wetterling is owned by gransfors, think of it like a cheaper but cruder version of gransfors.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

Got to be Gränfors Bruks 

[AimlessWanderer]

Granny B all the way!! I have two of their axes, and .... WOW!! I reckon you need to be looking at their Wildlife Hatchet 

I have also considered trying a Roselli small axe - kind of like a bearded axe. Aparantly these are very good for splitting, but surprisingly considering blade shape the edge profile isn't great for cross grain cutting or choking up on for detailed tasks such as carving etc. Nothing a little filework wouldn't fix though. If you fancy being the guinea pig on a Roselli make sure we get a detailed review 

However, if you are buying anything other than Granny B, I would try before you buy if possible. I don't mean hacking chunks out of the sales display but just look for the usual stuff. Is blade inline with centre of handle, is grain straight, that kind of thing. I bought a Vaughan Mini via mail order once which was horrendous. Looking down the handle from the head, the toe was about 5mm off centre, but the bit was also misaligned putting the heel about 8mm off. The grind was uneven, and the head was glued to the sheath down one side. I sent it back to the dealer (large UK company) with a full description of how dangerous it was, especially to novice users along with some sketches of what to look for in axe selection. They actually hand picked me a replacement based on my instructions, which turned out not too bad at all. Still needed a little reprofiling though but the basic structure was there.

[Gareth]

The Gransfors is an excellent choice, you really can't go wrong with them.  While I like Estwing's hammers very much I just think the hatchets look odd.