Suggestions for a tripping axe? I use my axe for splitting and also some chopping, if the chainsaw quits, or if I get it stuck in a tree. Oh ya, has to be good for paddle making too. No machetes or googligolios, just axes please.
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Can the inter-web make me buy a new axe (today)?
- Thread starter memaquay
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I would suggest the Gransfors Bruks Scandinavian forest axe. http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/products/forest-axes/gransfors-scandinavian-forest-axe/
O this one. http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/products/forest-axes/gransfors-small-forest-axe/
And of course there is this that are great study "maintenance" free. Anyway, There is a lot of choices, And there is guys like Liam Hoffman, http://www.hoffmanblacksmithing.com/liam-hoffman2/,
That I hear he makes great axes right here in America!! I could keep going, but the list would be long...
Cheers
O this one. http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/products/forest-axes/gransfors-small-forest-axe/
And of course there is this that are great study "maintenance" free. Anyway, There is a lot of choices, And there is guys like Liam Hoffman, http://www.hoffmanblacksmithing.com/liam-hoffman2/,
That I hear he makes great axes right here in America!! I could keep going, but the list would be long...
Cheers
Hey Mem, once you have your new crooked knife you won't need an axe to get the chainsaw unstuck, just carve a paddle out of the tree and unstick that saw at the same time.
I don't swing axes but I do read about them. Rocky Mountain Bushcraft, which does very thorough field tests and written reviews, calls the Fiskars X7 hatchet a "Gransfors Bruks killer."
They also say the Fiskars X15 Chopping Axe "simply blows away the competition. In fact, nothing in my collection of Swedish, German, American and vintage axes, was able to outchop the X15 for its size. With a lifetime warranty and a price that's generally under $35, you might even say it's unbeatable."
Ray Mears advocated the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe in 2011, and is often credited with accelerating the hype for that small axe. Not too long after that, however, Mears gave his name to a larger Ray Mears Wilderness axe reviewed by Ben Orford. Neither has compared it to the Fiskars.
Virtuovice says, on the basis of his usage and microscope examinations, the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe has too acute an apex angle and too soft a steel, which results in edge rolling under even moderate use, requiring frequent sharpening or even reprofiling.
The Fiskars X15 axe should be considered for top performance at a price lower than a rusty Mora--$37 on Amazon and less on Ebay.
They also say the Fiskars X15 Chopping Axe "simply blows away the competition. In fact, nothing in my collection of Swedish, German, American and vintage axes, was able to outchop the X15 for its size. With a lifetime warranty and a price that's generally under $35, you might even say it's unbeatable."
Ray Mears advocated the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe in 2011, and is often credited with accelerating the hype for that small axe. Not too long after that, however, Mears gave his name to a larger Ray Mears Wilderness axe reviewed by Ben Orford. Neither has compared it to the Fiskars.
Virtuovice says, on the basis of his usage and microscope examinations, the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe has too acute an apex angle and too soft a steel, which results in edge rolling under even moderate use, requiring frequent sharpening or even reprofiling.
The Fiskars X15 axe should be considered for top performance at a price lower than a rusty Mora--$37 on Amazon and less on Ebay.
G
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I keep a Fiskars X7 in the truck toolbox.
Rippy, nice axe buddy ... I sure like mine! Hey great hat on your daughter as well 
I hope you get a lot of use out of that axe.
Bob.
I hope you get a lot of use out of that axe.Bob.
Rippy, nice axe buddy ... I sure like mine! Hey great hat on your daughter as well
Bob.
Love the axe. Sharpened it till it shaved. It didn't take much.
I've been humming and hawing over a new axe for a couple years now. Yeah. It takes me awhile to warm up to the idea of a new piece of gear. Anyway, I think I'll stick with what I've got. A Fiskars hatchet I might use sometimes, and a generic Canadian Tire chopping axe I'll take most every trip. My confidence in this lowly tool was boosted by seeing those two films on the paddle thread. Seeing the Cree hunters and also Angus Baptisite using whatever axes they had at hand, (the Crees used one exactly like mine?!), convinced me what I really need more than a " better axe", is "better skills". I'll only acquire these skills by practise. This is by no means meant to be advice to any of you. This is just my own conclusion I'll apply to myself. I'm not too sure I'll try shaving with it.
(Maybe I could set up my own backcountry barber shop. Shave and a haircut anyone?)
Memaquay, given the type of country you trip in, I'd go with this axe I love the looks of. It's a Hulty 2 3/4 lbs, 27.5".
http://www.workwearcanada.com/produc...m?product=1006
ps I wish those internet stores didn't have such nice photos of their stuff (like axes). Hard to say no to another axe.
(Maybe I could set up my own backcountry barber shop. Shave and a haircut anyone?)
Memaquay, given the type of country you trip in, I'd go with this axe I love the looks of. It's a Hulty 2 3/4 lbs, 27.5".
http://www.workwearcanada.com/produc...m?product=1006
ps I wish those internet stores didn't have such nice photos of their stuff (like axes). Hard to say no to another axe.
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NEW VIPUKIRVES LEVERAXE 2
Heikki the inventer has been busy. Looks like cheaply made stamped steel compared to the original. I personally think the Swedes make a better axe. Mem what do you think? Brad? Anyone?
Heikki the inventer has been busy. Looks like cheaply made stamped steel compared to the original. I personally think the Swedes make a better axe. Mem what do you think? Brad? Anyone?
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Well Memaquay, Sure are a bunch of choices out there. For a sturdy and cheap I'd go with the Husqavarna, I ordered from Balieysonline.com.
Maybe considering your build and muscles, you might want to look at the Biber 2 3/4 pound Forest Axe. It really is a sweetheart. Found on Traditionalwoodworker.com
Before you make a decision, you ought to reconsider that gooogligolios. I don't think they got a fair shake in the evaluations. The only guy I know of who has one let the cutting edge get so blunt that he had better luck chopping with the backside. (not that there was all that much difference between the two)
Now Mem, is it true that Brad has named the moths in his wallet? Maybe, before he spends any money, somebody ought to check to see if the bills have any historical value.
Best Wishes, Rob
Maybe considering your build and muscles, you might want to look at the Biber 2 3/4 pound Forest Axe. It really is a sweetheart. Found on Traditionalwoodworker.com
Before you make a decision, you ought to reconsider that gooogligolios. I don't think they got a fair shake in the evaluations. The only guy I know of who has one let the cutting edge get so blunt that he had better luck chopping with the backside. (not that there was all that much difference between the two)
Now Mem, is it true that Brad has named the moths in his wallet? Maybe, before he spends any money, somebody ought to check to see if the bills have any historical value.
Best Wishes, Rob
You're a peach Rob. I think we might be distantly related. I think Mem and I are brothers by different moms and dads. Sorry Mem, you can pick your friends but you can't pick your relatives. Or,,,,You can pick your friends and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friends nose. Or can you,,hummm, I'll be back. Crazy Dave Ray Bob Stabbyson
Upon checking with my wife I found out that it is impolite to pick your friends nose. So there we have it.
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I wonder if Heikki has seen changes in his business? There's certainly changes in the manufacture of his axe. From forged to stamped heads; maybe that brought the price down? Maybe he's retired from this axe business and left it in another's hands, so to speak. I still think his might be a pretty small niche market sitting squarely between log splitters and traditional axes. Maybe a big enough niche to help him retire in comfort.
Oldie, you crack me up. I'd never thought of naming my moths. Hmm...Murray, Mabel, McMurdo...?
And yes, the paper notes have some historical kind of value. They harken back to the old days of barter. I pass the tattered paper currency to my wife in return for her putting food on the table and keeping bill collectors a safe distance from our door. This system works most days. I try not to pay attention to the funny looking money denominations. Renegotiating with her would never do.
Rippy's place is starting to sound real down home and happy.
Like this place? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jx2jEPvh88
Or maybe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbk81X6WHA4
Oldie, you crack me up. I'd never thought of naming my moths. Hmm...Murray, Mabel, McMurdo...?
And yes, the paper notes have some historical kind of value. They harken back to the old days of barter. I pass the tattered paper currency to my wife in return for her putting food on the table and keeping bill collectors a safe distance from our door. This system works most days. I try not to pay attention to the funny looking money denominations. Renegotiating with her would never do.
Rippy's place is starting to sound real down home and happy.
Like this place? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Jx2jEPvh88
Or maybe? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mbk81X6WHA4
That's my new internet laughing ikon! It's -31 this morning, I've got the wood stove roaring, the old log house is cracking so loud it's scaring the bejesus out of me, but I'm still laughing pretty good at the astute axe observations of the canoetripping crowd.Brad, that is a nice axe, but I won't order anything from Bushcraft again after the unsatisfactory service I received on that rusty swede. Now I'm sure Heikki would have something to say, probably make fun of my fat or something, but I'll just take the insult, the guy has 15 years on me but moves like a butterfly, probably stings like a bee. Plus, he seems to be an expert at separating people from their money, so he doesn't need mine.
Now as to Brad's moth wallets, well, I think that is just a characteristic of the species tripperus canoeists, who are famous for their frugality. My mentor, the fellow who ran the school club before me, was from a genetic offshoot of the tripperus family, known as the skinflintus piker, or in the local vernacular, tighter than a frog's arse. His frugal ways had made him a very rich fellow, but the only new canoe gear he had was the old stuff that I gave him when I bought new stuff. I gave him an old propane burner once. The next year, he called me up and told me it wasn't working. I drove over to his place, and sure enough the propane bottle was empty. He guilted me into buying him another one. Beware the Frogerus Tightarse-erous!
Now, the funny thing was, old frogerous was Dutch. That's pretty close to Sweden, where my rusty knife came from, and Heikki is over there somewhere too. I'm starting to get a bad opinion of those Scandinavian dudes and their 10,000 dollar axes and rusty blades. For Pete's sake, Heikki wants 400 bucks for his space age ugly stick!
I'm going to go to my local hardware store tomorrow and see if they can order me in a long handled Oxhead. Those Germans are nothing but fastidious, and I'm pretty sure they won't sell me a turkey.
Finding an axe that fits your hands, body and style is like finding a good pair of tripping pants, or a pair of good boots - you often have to try several on before you find what's comfortable and what works for you and your tripping environment. Unfortunately that does mean buying a few to try them out, and some get rejected, unless you luck out with the best one for you the very first time. However, used axes make good gifts for folks without means to buy their own, (or who resemble the various species Memaquay identified above), so think of it as a gift shopping exercise for paying it forward someday. Axes are also like buying guns - can't possibly have too many guns, eh Memaquay!
When compared to the cost of petrol to get to and from a canoe trip, or a bushplane flight, buying several axes over several years is very reasonable. I have spent $6000 on bushplane flights for just one arctic canoe trip! I spent over $1000 last summer for flights in and out of WCPP! In context of ingress and egress costs, buying a few axes is statistically insignificant! (like guns Mem, like guns! )
Re re-profiling an edge: I have never seen a new axe that does not need re-profiling with an axe file to get the edge to the way I want it. A proper axe file can rip off serious metal very quickly with good technique, so its not onerous if you get the approximate edge from the factory you like from the get go. If it needs a grinder or belt, well that's basically a one-time profiling exercise. Worth it for such a personal tool to get it just right. I own 3 GB's, none have too soft a steel for me - I like the steel very much.
Re rolled edge: That's very common with GB and Mora knives from the factory. The first GB axe I bought rolled right away. The GB axes are finished with a belt sander as they leave the factory, and that will generate a very fine feathery edge that is too thin for an axe. I cleaned up the edge with my axe file to make a micro bevel of about 2mm and its been superb ever since. My other GB's I re-profiled with the file immeadiately out of the box. Takes about 20 minutes or so, and then de-burring with a stone, no big deal. No bush axe should have a true "razor's edge" that is too thin for an axe edge. Its got to have some significant metal behind it.
(Mora knives are also famous for rolling edges out of the box. Strop the edge to micro convex it (0.5 to 1mm), or tilt up the bevel on a stone to make a micro bevel, and that corrects that problem easily. The micro convex will also hold an edge better. )
P.S. I have had good customer service from Paul at BushcraftCanada.com. Maybe give him a call or try again,and maybe you can patch it up?
When compared to the cost of petrol to get to and from a canoe trip, or a bushplane flight, buying several axes over several years is very reasonable. I have spent $6000 on bushplane flights for just one arctic
canoe trip! I spent over $1000 last summer for flights in and out of WCPP! In context of ingress and egress costs, buying a few axes is statistically insignificant! (like guns Mem, like guns! )Re re-profiling an edge: I have never seen a new axe that does not need re-profiling with an axe file to get the edge to the way I want it. A proper axe file can rip off serious metal very quickly with good technique, so its not onerous if you get the approximate edge from the factory you like from the get go. If it needs a grinder or belt, well that's basically a one-time profiling exercise. Worth it for such a personal tool to get it just right. I own 3 GB's, none have too soft a steel for me - I like the steel very much.
Re rolled edge: That's very common with GB and Mora knives from the factory. The first GB axe I bought rolled right away. The GB axes are finished with a belt sander as they leave the factory, and that will generate a very fine feathery edge that is too thin for an axe. I cleaned up the edge with my axe file to make a micro bevel of about 2mm and its been superb ever since. My other GB's I re-profiled with the file immeadiately out of the box. Takes about 20 minutes or so, and then de-burring with a stone, no big deal. No bush axe should have a true "razor's edge" that is too thin for an axe edge. Its got to have some significant metal behind it.
(Mora knives are also famous for rolling edges out of the box. Strop the edge to micro convex it (0.5 to 1mm), or tilt up the bevel on a stone to make a micro bevel, and that corrects that problem easily. The micro convex will also hold an edge better.
)P.S. I have had good customer service from Paul at BushcraftCanada.com. Maybe give him a call or try again,and maybe you can patch it up?
This is your problem Mem, you're just no good at this inter-web shopping thing. I found Heikki's ugly azz stamped steel spanking stick for $295 USD. You ought to be able to get one cheaper with your loonies, after all they are made of metal. Our dollars, millions more every day, are printed on toilet paper anymore, and I can still buy it cheaper than you. Rippy the inter-web savvy bargan hunter
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