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I have a need for a hand axe, something for chopping up bits of wood and kindling and would like something that keeps a reasonable edge to it but doesn't cost an absolute fortune. Looking at reviews for a lot of really cheap axes the main problem seems to be that they blunt very quickly.
The maximum I can really stretch to is around £30 so what recommendations would you make?
Re. the edge thing, I can sharpen it and have the facilities to do so but would rather keep the amount of times I need to down to a minimum if at all possible.
Cheers.
Try and stretch to a Fiskas of the appropriate size.
I have Wetterlings, Gransfors Bruk and some other expensive axes - 9 times out of 10 I just grab the Fiskas.
Huskavarna do a nice small hatchet that handles well for about 30 notes. Beyond that id recommend the fiskars too, they are excellent performers and pretty good value
I have one of these
https://www.screwfix.com/p/forge-steel-hickory-axe-32oz-0-9kg-/102kh
It is pretty nice for the money. Not too big or small. It was sharper than i expected from the shop, and took a good edge with only a small amount of work.
Fiskars stuff is good, although I don't have one of their axes.
IIRC some of the husqvarna stuff is made by hultafors so should be good too.
Must resist looking at vintage axes on ebay!
I have one of these: https://www.hultafors.com/products/axes/H0290-hultan-hatchet/160442
It was cheap-ish and is way better than the other axes we have in the house and hence it is the one that is the "inside axe"
Just ensure that it was made by a bloke with a beard, tattoos and a leather apron and you'll be fine...
Fiskars x7 comes and stays so sharp and can be found for £35
Careful with that axe if your name is Eugene as it will take off fingers clean if you're accident prone
I have one of these: https://www.hultafors.com/products/axes/H0290-hultan-hatchet/160442
It was cheap-ish
That one looks nice but is a little bit (i.e. more than 3 times) more than my £30 limit.
Careful with that axe if your name is Eugene as it will take off fingers clean if you’re accident prone
LOL I'm going to have that going round my head all night now
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Fiskars X7 will do you for the rest of time.
I've got the X5 and the X10. If it was only 1, the X7 will do everything an axe that size is destined for, plus more. I've beat mt X5 through logs and it has come through fine, repeatedly.
They come with a very fine wire edge from new. Use it, that fine edge will quickly vanish and then sharpen it yourself. You'll then be good for as long as you want it. They don't stay sharp as long as the expensive axes, but who cares?
Whatever B&Q have in. Seriously.
Another vote for Fiskars
This one looks pretty good for the money, might need the edge touching up a bit, but a Gransförs might be a bit spendy for your needs, frankly. And I really don’t like all in one head/handle or plastic handled ones - with wood it’s cheap and easy, and rather fun, to buy and fit your own.
I bought an Estwing E24a for kindling and the odd log for my pizza oven.
Pretty sure cheaper ones are probably better/ sharper/ more durable (and it's double the budget) but just look at it, it's beautiful.
Anything with an edge will do, but nice things are nice.
No need to be razor sharp, just enough to get into the grain and then it wedges apart.
I use a bill hook as already had it and can probably count the number of times I've sharpened it in 10 years on one hand (with full compliment of fingers).
I have a couple of these Roughnecks
Randomly they're blunt as **** on arrival, I guess there's some country that they sell to that has strict "bladed" rules or something? But they take an edge well and seem to keep it even when being used for root cutting and such, as far as I can judge they're basically good steel. Handles are well shaped, I do like a wooden handle. (Though the kg one is a little bit fat maybe- it kind of feels a bit like they scaled it up from a smaller model rather than designing it from scratch?) and imo they look nice, though I wish the logos would bloody wear off. TBH I use the 600g one for just about everything as I have no arm muscles
Anything. Spend as much on what you are going to sharpen it with as that as just as important if you are going to use it a lot. Whatever fancy ass angles and what not it is set with initially will all be gone after a few sharpens. 600g is nice for small stuff but if you are trying to chop up larger stuff a bit more weight mught be useful
but would rather keep the amount of times I need to down to a minimum if at all possible
a little and often is the watchword here
I'm not an expert but have been using axes daily for what 30 years. If its for splitting you don't want it sharp.
I have a hultafors, but not that fancy one up there, mine was not far off your budget- actually just looked and its £55 now. I paid a bit more for it cos its nice to use and on the odd occasion I need it to cut across rather than split I can sharpen it and it takes an edge well.
Husquvarna one is good for the money and what I would get given your criteria.
Call me old fashioned but I can't abide composite handles, I'm not saying some of them aren't good quality but they are plugly!
I guess for a bit of old-school authenticity, you could find a big chunk of flint, a nice big round pebble, and set about knocking bits off and turning it into a Neolithic hand axe, just for the shits’n’giggles, like. 😁
Call me old fashioned but I can’t abide composite handles, I’m not saying some of them aren’t good quality but they are plugly!
🎯 Wood is just more comfortable, it absorbs shock better than synthetic materials, plus it’s environmentally friendly - there’s plenty more where it came from, and it’s fun to have a go at making your own handles, once you’ve got an axe you’re happy with, hunt down old axe heads at country fairs, traction engine rallies, etc, clean them up and find some nice timber, like ash, willow and set about shaping it to fit the heads. You can reshape the heads as well, if you’ve got a whizz-wheel and a suitable cutting disc. I’ve done both, a few years ago, and both turned out ok, one I got sharp enough to whittle butter knives out of some fallen beech branches.
Quite a nice thing to do, sitting outside on a sunny afternoon.
This is an old Kent style axe I found in the shed. I bought a new haft/handle for it, and drew out an outline of a bearded style head, then set about working on it…
Almost sharp enough to shave your arm with at that point. It’s that shape because it lets you choke it right up behind the cutting edge, so you can put more pressure into the cutting when shaving and shaping wooden items.
Oiling the handle is a good idea too.
I am on the just finding an axe and use it.
B and q, second hand, whatever.
Wouldn't recommend a Kent pattern if it just for splitting. To flat and can really get stuck.
And don't sharpen it. Keep it sharp... Ish, I carve with one you can shave with bit you just want a wedging action for splitting.
Dyna tis example has the head on upside down I think, it looks weird.
+1 for Fiskars here too. The handle is pretty much unbreakable, and the blade is great quality. Have had one for 15 years. Though I guess I am biased as I live in Finland too, Fiskars village is less than an hours drive away 🙂
All our scissors are Fiskars as well.
Get a bustard file and use it to touch up the edge every few uses. It'll only need 30 secs per side
The Kent patterns vary greatly, there were so many companies making them. However if one wants a splitting axe then a steeper less slender angle is much better. You can get a Kent pattern with that sort of blade. A 1.5 to 2.5lb head weight is about right. Forget the rubbish about a splitting axe not needing to be sharp. They work better if they are. I can pick up something suitable at my local weekly market, but then I live a rural life. I loath the plastic handled stuff, they don't absorb sweat. I've cut and split wood as my sole heating for over 45 years... and made my living carving wood.
If it's sharp and sufficiently weighted then the maker doesn't really matter - it will get through a hand no problem
those fishers axes can hardly be beaten for splitting wood. I have a couple, the larger one and it is really efficient at splitting big rounds down into logs. Even splitting massive rounds into quarters to chuck on the trailer to take home. It really takes a beating too. I also have an x11 perhaps, a smaller one about 45-50 cm long that I use to chop logs into kindling size pieces. That's really good value for money and can even split branch wood type logs with a big fast swing! I don't think it will ever wear out!
Forget the rubbish about a splitting axe not needing to be sharp
It doesn't need to be razor sharp though. Like attack it with a file occasionally and it's going to be grand. If the OP is concerned about having to sharpen it and thinks it's should be a mirror it's best they know that's not the case.
The only reason that modded one above is as sharp as it is, is only because I used it for carving. As I found it it would have needed a fair bit of work with a file because it looked like it had been used to split wood which was stood on a paving slab or something, it didn’t have an edge, it had a radius… 😁
Forget the rubbish about a splitting axe not needing to be sharp
Its not really about sharpness, As far as im aware its about shape.
I think "sharp" is meaning different things to different people here? Sharp for an axe isn't like sharp for a knife, generally.
I have a couple of Fiskars axes (actually one is a Gerber that is now a Fiskars) and a couple of Gransfors axes
For any splitting or kindling making I tend to use the Fiskars splitting axe as the head shape makes it easier. They're great value