New to axe's

[colt 1911]

Looking for a good hand axe, hoping you guys can advise me. thanks for the help.

[Gareth]

Oooh, there are loads to pick from.  First; what are you planning to do with it?  Take it hiking?  Chop kindling?  Throwing?  etc etc.  Next; what is your budget?  You can spend as much as you like on a custom job, but it's hardly necessary.  Finally, are you happy with a synthetic handle or are you thinking traditional wood?

[colt 1911]

Hiking and wood chopping, kindling, I would spend up to 50.00 bucks.

[Grathr]

If you dont mind a syntetic handle, then I might suggest one of the smaller fiskars axes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YTO7E/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00004SD7B&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0MD3P67XRCKCN5A1KPCS

[colt 1911]

If you dont mind a syntetic handle, then I might suggest one of the smaller fiskars axes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0002YTO7E/ref=pd_lpo_k2_dp_sr_3?pf_rd_p=1278548962&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B00004SD7B&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0MD3P67XRCKCN5A1KPCS

Thanks for the info. looks pretty good, do you have one ?

[AimlessWanderer]

My personal facvourite will cost you more. Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet! Singularly the best axe I could recommend for that job. If you want to do the same tasks on a budget, be prepared to have to sharpen and condition our axe. Many of the cheaper hatchets have a soft zone which needs sharpening away to get to the better steel beneath, and some will also needs the cheeks reshaping in order to work efficiently. A Granny B will run from cold for want of a better expression, but if you want to go for a cheaper axe, you'll be wise to budget in for a decent file and stone for tuning the new toy (you'll need one anyway - but you'll need one SOONER if you're on a budget).

I'd also Google "Old Jimbo" who is a bit of an old hand with axes, and he has some good reading out there on the old Worldwide Wonderbra. If you have any specific questions once you've got something that suits your budget, there's quite a few fellers here at MTo that can give you tips and point you to resources which will help you get the best from it.

Keep us informed matey 

[Grathr]

I have one of their smallest axes, the X5.  I'm very happy with it. I have also used one of the larger ones quite a bit. I was actually surprised at how cheap the fiskars axes are in the US. Here I can buy a wetterlings axe for the price of a fiskars. The wetterlings is better in my opinion, but it cost a lot more than the fiskars in the US.

[Grathr]

And I have to agree with 50ft-trad. The best axe you can get is a Granfors Bruks, but they are not cheap.

[colt 1911]

My personal facvourite will cost you more. Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet! Singularly the best axe I could recommend for that job. If you want to do the same tasks on a budget, be prepared to have to sharpen and condition our axe. Many of the cheaper hatchets have a soft zone which needs sharpening away to get to the better steel beneath, and some will also needs the cheeks reshaping in order to work efficiently. A Granny B will run from cold for want of a better expression, but if you want to go for a cheaper axe, you'll be wise to budget in for a decent file and stone for tuning the new toy (you'll need one anyway - but you'll need one SOONER if you're on a budget).

I'd also Google "Old Jimbo" who is a bit of an old hand with axes, and he has some good reading out there on the old Worldwide Wonderbra. If you have any specific questions once you've got something that suits your budget, there's quite a few fellers here at MTo that can give you tips and point you to resources which will help you get the best from it.

Keep us informed matey 

Thank you so much for the info, I think I will go with the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet, 111.00 amazon.

[Mike, Lord of the Spammers!]

You won't regret it mate, GB's really are THAT good

[AimlessWanderer]

Wise move  You'll love it 

 

[Sparky415]

Hi Colt,
I have a GB Ax and I love it   

But have you thought about buying second hand from a garage sale or flea market? (rust is good)
You might need a few tools to sharpen them but its all good practice
Also for a few bucks you could try out a few different weights/lengths of ax before spending a lot on an ax that might not be idea for your use

Anyway good luck in your search 

[colt 1911]

Hi Colt,
I have a GB Ax and I love it   

But have you thought about buying second hand from a garage sale or flea market? (rust is good)
You might need a few tools to sharpen them but its all good practice
Also for a few bucks you could try out a few different weights/lengths of ax before spending a lot on an ax that might not be idea for your use

Anyway good luck in your search 

That's a great idea, i picked up a long handle ax at the local thrift store. I'll check it out again, thanks for the heads up !

[Sparky415]

Hi Colt,
I have a GB Ax and I love it   

But have you thought about buying second hand from a garage sale or flea market? (rust is good)
You might need a few tools to sharpen them but its all good practice
Also for a few bucks you could try out a few different weights/lengths of ax before spending a lot on an ax that might not be idea for your use

Anyway good luck in your search 

That's a great idea, i picked up a long handle ax at the local thrift store. I'll check it out again, thanks for the heads up !

 

If you can't find anywhere suitable to post pictures of rusty tools there's always room in this thread 

http://forum.multitool.org/index.php/topic,20179.msg646823.html#new