I'm up in Snowdonia and recently bought one of these and yeah I agree with your analysis, I thinned the handle sharpened it etc. Having used it for a while it's replaced my council tools hudson bay (2ft handle) as my car axe for storms and storm wood. Solid little axe. Fun watching the axe do well in another part of Wales
Waiting for delivery of a Husqvarna universal axe, it has a Rhineland style head on an Ash handle with the head weighing 1250g. I think the Universal one's are not professional use tools, could be wrong so will have to see what the steel is like. I found two places selling the forest one you have for under £34 so now I'm thinking about getting this one as well. The other option is re shaping a 4.5lb vintage Elwell I bought, cleaned it up and found a half inch fracture running down one side of the eye, it's a Yankee pattern so still a lot of axe to play with and the forest shape will fit ok leaving around 3lb to 3.5lb. Now I see you are a Bushcrafter I have more of your vids to watch.
Thank you for sharing, great review! When new it does have a bit of burr which in turn will roll over if used out of the box. Love your t-shirt, been a fan since the 80´s. Catch ya on the next one.
Hey Rob, nice first use of the axe. Always enjoy your direct feedback on the tools you use. Oh, still really like using the bushtool you sold to me. Always smile when it comes along in the intro. Cheers.
Big cheap chopper. That looks fairly decent. Between you and Scott I'm likely to spend a fortune on things I don't really need but are cool. Great video, cheers.
I'm glad you like your new toy......I look forward to seeing the modified version. Will you be filming the re-sharpening or just the finished product? Cheers
Hello again! You look well! Nice lookin axe as is but Im sure your mods will improve it greatly! Splittin wood is never a chore to me either! Thank You!! Stay Safe Sir!!
The Husqvarna/Hults Bruk axes are not as nice as the Gränsfors Bruks axes, but they are very well made, better than almost any non-Swedish axe, and only require a small amount of work on the edge profile when new, as they simply do not invest the time in finishing the Husqvarna axes that Gränsfors spends, and which is reflected in the price. My Husqvarna 26" forest axe cost less 4 years ago than my Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatchet cost me 18 years ago. If you can afford Gränsfors, buy Gränsfors. If you can't, buy this Husqvarna, spend an hour or two putting a better profile and edge on it, and don't look back. When I got mine, I didn't even bother attempting to use it without first spending two hours putting a good edge on it.
They don't complain the axe handles are thick, for the reason they have small hands to grip them. They complain because an axe handle, should be way thiner, for many other reasons. Reason 1 it has to be flexible and springy (That's where ash is better than the harder Hickory). That way, it absorbs shock from the hits which allows for faster chopping and also you can work way longer, without damaging your tenonts. My grandfathers axes and hatchets, where all super thin from the sides. They almost looked like thin flat boards. You can check old photos on the internet, to see how axes used to be.. Nowdays, they make handles super thick, first because people don't know sh..t about axes, 2nd because it's cheaper and faster to produce etc. You should watch some of your fellow Ben Scott's videos, as he also has to watch your videos, because you know a lot about knives, and he doesn't, as also he is one of the most knowledgable and skilled with the axe RU-vidr out there. His accent is British, so you'll catch more knowledge than me with my poor English! Take care!
its a boy axe , you can chop and buck these tree, then split the wood on the ground by swiging you axe like a golf player,it's so funny and way more faster than the saw/splitin log.. you loose all the power off your swing on these log... and after all off this yes i can tell you these handles are way too tick,its just destroy your arms because it's bring back all the shock , so you thin it down ,,it's night and day difference.. as for the grind. Good vidéo ! cheers !
I'm sure you guys have more experience than I in regards to big axes, but I know my limitations. Swinging that large axe multiple times would tire me out fast => danger ⚠️ I'll use a saw and, if absolutely needed, splitting wedges & a hammer. I'm a desk jockey, not a woodsman. paranoid: yes!
The Husky axes are, IMHO, better than the vaunted Gransfors Bruks because they are a proper axe hardness vs the overhardening that GB does and the steels are exactly the same!!! If I remember right though the steel does not do well with a flint, maybe thats a good test in the future?
Cheers! As a rule, I try not to split any wood that's denser than me, bit thankfully, there's not much petrified wood around here. I'd make a terrible axe reviewer because I always sand the handle and apply linseed oil, re-profile the blade, make a new leather sheath and add a leather shank guard before using it. Peace
Normally I would have atleast sharpene it, decided not to this time. I basically bought the axe just to make a video on it. I didn't need another axe that size.
Nice one Rob👍 the thicker profile reminds me of my Wetterlings Scandinavian axe ( no longer made) which performs similarly. How do you like it compared to your Wetterlings HB ?
I haven't used it enough to make an option on that. They are very different axes. I already prefer it to the GB wilderness axe, that's just an odd tool.
What's wrong with lower range axes , I don't have a rough neck to speak of but a verve and it splits just as well as your new swede axe looking at the video , lower range axes are mainly for splitting with maybe a couple for felling , if you look at different channels doing comparisons with axes you will find a lot of B******T comes with expensive swede axes . Rob .
I'm basically looking at this axe as a cheaper but "just as good option" to far more expensive axes. Needs a bit of work but there nothing wrong with it. Like a mora knife really. I've got nice expensive stuff but if I was starting out on a budget this would certainly do the job.