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I love my two Fiskars but picked up a hardly used Wetterlings 5lbs for a tenner
Not a mark on the hickory shaft so a rub down and oil, sand and polish/oil the head then hang it on the garage wall or flog it
It's too good to use and the Fiskars can take so much abuse
Cerys Mathews often goes on about the love of the axe
Got a Oregon splitting axe. The shaft has a few dings from smashing trees over with steel wedges.
I have a gransfors bruks small forest axe.
I picked up some 2 handed fiberglass shafted thing years ago. Did the job, but initially looked like it had been forged by someone who is registered blind, and I needed to reshape it.
Also got some century old hatchet for small kindling splitting duties, and I've an Elwell ex army one, i keep intending to fit a shaft onto. That one is probably the best out the three.
I'd say if you look to pick uup an ex military or such Elwell, you wont find a better axe for the price they are. They're properly forged and lived the type of life intended for them.
'Boutique' brands are sometimes overpriced for what they are.
Would love to share my axe with Cerys...
Another X27 here.
And a dinky little one for kindling, take that camping too.
Got a kindling cracker too. Works *really* well for domestic stuff, without needing to swing an axe round, kids can use it too.
I've a heavy Fiskars splitting maul and a cheap Husqvarna hatchet. I did have it really sharp, but currently it needs resharpening.
Magnusson Hickory Axe and Hatchet (B&Q)
Those x27 take some beating (and abuse). Got one of those and also a lighter husqvarna (gransfors) small splitting axe which is great on easier stuff. Just bought a Thor alpino 8.5t splitter the end of last yr though as I’m not getting any younger and we’re burning so much wood. Makes things sooo easy. Haven’t used the axe since and even kindling is easy with it!
One from B&Q about 15 years ago.
Still working. Used it for splitting logs this very morning.
Screwfix cheapie one. Carbon steel head, hickory handle. Decent weight to it and it's only a Tenner. It chops logs fine.
Some fiberglass handled splitting maul that I bought from a hardware shop nearly twenty years ago is the go to. Someone gave me a nice traditional axe but it never gets used because the maul is so much easier. Also and old wooden handled hand axe that belonged to my Grandad which really needs sharpened.
If it is a big job however an old Massey for me
Just bought a Thor alpino 8.5t splitter the end of last yr though as I’m not getting any younger and we’re burning so much wood. Makes things sooo easy.
Yes we bought a Forest Master FM5 and we don’t even use that much wood - couple of days on it and it does most of what we’ll need for the year.
Very STW reply though, “What axe?” “Buy a three hundred quid machine instead” 🙂
Like the idea of getting a Massey though but I think I’d probably get more actual use out of one of those cheap Chinese earthmovers as the next borderline daft purchase.
Magnusson Hickory Axe and Hatchet (B&Q)
Same here for campfire wood, but usually only use axes for throwing with the Scouts so, Coldsteel Norse hawks and Throwing Angels here!
It depends what mood I'm in.
Depends if I am going for the individual kill or the group massacre
X27 for me too. Just works
Umm, some old hickory handled axe for general use. No idea what brand. Just keep it sharp and it keeps going. A screwfix maul. Horrible thing, but efficient if it really needs to be used. Tends to cause me shoulder injuries if I use it too much. It's just a bit too heavy so prefer the axe. Couple of small hatchets for small splitting. One lost in the shed somewhere and the other on splitting duties and nice and sharp after my son learnt how to sharpen it recently.
Far too many.... but its good to have different weights and grinds for different woods.
Fiskars x17 x27
Cheap fiskars like X 21 and x25 ish
Kelly true temper Jersey pattern 3.5lb
Elwell 2.75lb
Various wetterlings, Grundfors, sandvik
And others... about 4 or 5 I still need to hang, that's a summer job in the garden while kids are playing.... I quite enjoy that now and can do it in an hour or so
Oh yes, I got given an American double bit. No name but a cool thing. It'll be a pig to hang as the eye is somewhat squashed .... but it looks doable.
A dinky little Gransfors thing. Only a foot long but does everything I need it to.
Used to love my Mosers, but couldn't use them on dry tooling so splurged on a pair of Nomics. Really good balance but the shaft and pommel are a bit narrow. Might pad them out a bit with plumbers' tape
Gransfors for show*, Fiskars for dough**.
Plus a kukuri my wife brought me back from Nepal
* and kindling
**and splitting.
I use an axe (and pistol) for the bank or post office.
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Racing axe ?.
I'm a bit unsure about posting such vids with WCA in the thread.
Gransfors hand hatchet (used for whittling)
Robin Wood carving axe
Fiskars X5 (most used and abused for backpack camping)
Fiskars X10 (bought to split a stump)
Old 50s forest axe I found in my girlfriend's dad's garage after he died
Fiskars are great practical things
Gransfors are aesthetic and lovely to use
Couple of Roughnecks- cheapish, well shaped hickory handle, steel seems good. They ship them blunt, which is bloody weird and means that half the reviews are "this is terrible"- I guess there's places you're not allowed to sell sharp tools, or something? But the edge is like 3/4s there so you can put a good edge on it really quickly. And they're cheap enough not to be at all precious about
xl27 is one of the best tools, splits like a demon but also great for shrub root removal and similar tasks that a mattock isnt precise enough for. Its easy to resharpen and not being precious, it gets hammered. Sadly I once forgot to remove its dainty little scabbard and watched it shatter into a thousand shards of orange plastic as I drove it into an elm ring
That plus a good long splitting wedge covers everything unless the hydraulic splitter is in town
Also got a razor sharp Helko Werk for hedge laying and fingertip severing, and an old MOD job that looks rancid but splits kindling like a dream. Could really do with a new handle that one