Length considerations for a canoe axe: function and safety

[Glenn MacGrady]

I'm sticking by a long handled axe (32 inches or more) for splitting. . . . I have split five full cords a year using an axe. there's no way you will get through that tap splitting, you have to use full-on swings, and when you get good, you can move pretty darn fast through a bunch of wood.

Memaquay, with all due respect, you have to identify with my situation not yours. I won't split five cords of wood the rest of my life. The only splitting I will do will be to quarter 4"-8" logs for campfires for one person (me) at most 20 times a year. That's it. Nothing else.

I don't plan on vertical free swing splitting against a chopping block while standing. If I free swing while standing, it will be side splitting against a guard log anvil. I will most likely tap split on a rock or do small arc side splitting on a chopping block from my knees.

Hi Glenn, I bought that Wetterlings Forester's axe, did a review of it with pictures. Note the photo with the axe head on my hand, I wear size medium gloves. Since I did that write up I've used it a good bit more and like it better than I did.
It's my "almost axe" almost an axe and almost an hatchet.

OM, where is your review? It's of the Wetterlings Forester's Fine Axe?

What I like about the concept of the FFA is that the head is about the same size and weight as that of a heavier hatchet head and the head on the Gransfors Bruk Small Forest Axe. It also has a slim handle. I may need no more weight than a hatchet head for my small log chopping and splitting, but I don't like the small arc of a hatchet. It makes me feel cramped. I figure with the Wetterlings FFA I could sort of choke up if I wanted to use it like a hatchet, but I could get a nice two handed swing with a light head when I get more skilled.

Force = mass x velocity. So even though the FFA head doesn't have much mass, it can be swung (with experience) faster than a heavy axe. So they say. Plus, it's sort of shaped like a carpenter's axe with a hammer heel and a big cutout under the head for fine control work. And it's not much heavier to carry than a GB SFA. Here's the FFA pictured with the fuller sized (26") Forest axes from Wetterlings and GB plus a shorter Wetterlings Bushman that I don't care for.

 

[Canotrouge]

Look like a great little axe. My next axe(I'm kind of an axe junky) will be a carpenter axe, from whom... I don't know yet, maybe some north american black smith...

 

[memaquay]

Ha ha, well Glenn, I was thinking if I could get you to buy something that was totally useless for you, we'd call it even. Just kidd'n. No, really, just kidd'n. I will admit to using the short handled oxhead for the last few years on my own trips, but I feel pretty at home with an axe. I don't want to dampen your consumer fever, but realistically, you don't need an axe. You haven't needed one yet. It will look good on display with the gun you don't use though. When I used to travel solo trying to break speed records, I left my axe at home, and I survived. Take the axe money and spend it on a kobo or some other electronic reading device. It will give you hours of tripping pleasure when you want to loaf around the campsite, avoiding making a fire.

Seriously though, if I was tripping in a area where fire woods wasn't readily available, or fires were discouraged, and ports weren't a concern, I would be taking one of Mike's waxy fire burners. Those things are the coolest thing since sliced bread! One touch of a lighter, and instant campfire!

 

[oldie moldy]

The one bad thing I forgot about that little forest axe is the handle, it's a nice enough handle but you'll never find a replacement one anywhere near close. As soon as I realized how much smaller and delicate it was I contacted the Wetterlings people via. e-mail, asking who carried replacement handles. Never heard back from them.
That was some time ago, maybe I ought to try again.
I wonder if some of these companies know how often bothersome e-mails get deleted

Canotrouge, I got a Husqavarna carpenter's axe and put it on a regular 26 3/8" axe handle. The write up on that is over on the DIY section of the site. Now, I like all my axes but that one is special. The head is 2.2 pounds which I'm ok with, look at the nice poll to hammer with and the extended side cheek pieces which provide plenty of friction surface to help hold the head onto the handle. It chops like a dream but tends to get stuck splitting because the blade is relatively thin. I don't find that a problem because as soon as I get a crack started I'll make some wedges from the firewood and split it that way.
It's a hoot to compare prices between Husqavarna and Wetterling for the two carpenter axes.
I've compared the two axe heads; the little Wetterlings forest axe and the Husqavarna carpenters axe and the quality of workmanship sure looks equal.

Glenn, Did you get a chance to check out the Husqavarna traditional (multi-purpose) axe? It's got a 26" handle and weights 2.87 pounds which ought to put the head at just about 2 pounds. Price $ 70.00 nice little sheath.
That's the one I'd pick out of all the offerings. Lots of places carry Husqavarna tools, if one was close to you, nothing beats handling a tool to see how it works for you!

Best Wishes, Rob

 

[Boatman53]

Don't know where you live Rob but you can get handles here it looks like.
https://www.lie-nielsen.com/nodes/4170/green-woodworking-tools/2?uri=

 

[oldie moldy]

Thanks for the tip Boatman. It's a little hard to tell in the photo but that handle is reduced down in size to the point to where even a normal small axe handle would need to be cut down or draw knifed a bunch to get it to look like the old one.
What really ought to happen is the manufacturer to provide the proper handle. If mine ever breaks I doubt I'll go to the trouble to repair it unless I can get the right handle. Probably the Wetterlings people are wanting to sell a whole new axe.

Good luck with the storm, I'll be thinking about all of you.

Rob

 

[Canotrouge]

Interesting how those Husky axes look like Wetterlings, especially the splitting axes... I wonder if they are made by them?? I also heard that Gränsfors and Wetterling are now the same company, but didn't verify that. An other axe company is Hultafors they are supposed to be really good axes to!!

 

[Alan Gage]

Re: handles

At least with my Gransfors Scandanavian Forest Axe I was able to get a replacement handle. There's an old hardware store in Minneapolis, the name of which escapes me at the moment, that sells and repairs Gransfors axes. I took it there when I broke the handle and they replaced it for me. Identical to the one that came with the axe and it looks perfect.

I'd ask some of the retailers that sell your axe, perhaps they know where repairs can be made or parts purchased.

Alan

 

[Boatman53]

Rob those are Wetterling handles! Back up one page from there to view the axe complete.
Jim

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Interesting how those Husky axes look like Wetterlings, especially the splitting axes... I wonder if they are made by them?? I also heard that Gränsfors and Wetterling are now the same company, but didn't verify that. An other axe company is Hultafors they are supposed to be really good axes to!!

From the history page on the Wetterlings site:

"In 2007, Gabriel Brånby, who, from 1985 to 2009, owned and managed Gränsfors Bruks AB, purchased Wetterling’s axe forge. He sold the latter in 2009 to Adam and Daniel Brånby, two of his four children. During the period 2009-2013, Julia Kalthoff has been responsible and CEO at Wetterling’s. She has after this period a leave of absence for university study. The business owner is the CEO.

"9 people currently work at Wetterling’s."

Here's the youthful former recent CEO, Julia Kalthoff.

I don't mean to be unfair, but I've been reading a lot and there are many reports of quality problems with Wetterlings on internet forums and blogs. See, for example these reviews and exchanges with Julia Kalthoff : http://rockymountainbushcraft.blogspot.com/2013/02/les-stroud-bushman-axe.html

I've read the Husqvarna used to be made by Wetterlings but is now made by Hultafors.

 

[Canotrouge]

Thank you Glenn, really informative. I own a few small wetterlings axe and I'm really happy with them. Now a day, it is so hard to know exactly what is going on with one company or an other, that I don't know if some one can fully trust one more than an other...

 

[Rippy]

Don't buy a hatchet, it would defeat the whole purpose. Sort of like having a Googligolio with a short blade. I used a 11 1/2" handled hatchet for years and ironically the best way I found to split with it was to batton it. Any large knife would have worked better for limbing. The only thing nice about it was that it fit in my day pack. Just this winter I stepped up to a 26" forest axe, with which I have no personal experience at all, so I'm here to tell you that you should get one too. So either batton your googliogoogly or get a freak'n axe already. 99% of the tripping we get done is all in our heads anyway so what difference does it make. Heck, just prop a piece of wood up against a tree and charge it with your Sarissa. Or not. Dave

 

[oldie moldy]

Well Boatman! Dog my cats, it looks like that's the right handle!! Thanks for keeping at me until I got the point. Curious about the name of the whole axe; "Cruising Axe" never saw it called that before and then when we get down to just the handle it's called "Broad Axe 20 inches". I went and measured my Wetterlings Fine Forest Axe and it's handle is 23 1/2 inches.
As beautiful as that young lady is, if that's the companies idea of quality control I think I can understand where some of the problems reported by Glenn, came from.

I guess I'll be ordering a handle, it will be really interesting to see what comes in the mail.

Thanks again for the lead, and I promise not to blame you if the postman drops off a large package from Wetterlings containing a pink bathtub.

Rob

 

[Robin]

(Off topic alert-not exactly what the OP asked for)

I carry a Snow and Nealley 1 & 3/4 lb 24" (IIRC about the weight and length), it's an old one, quality steel and it has served me well. I use a bigger ax when working in the woods cutting firewood, but only to assist my chainsaw and I use a gas powered log splitter. When I used to split wood by hand, I used a heavy maul to get through the hardwood firewood.

If I lost my S&N canoe ax and needed to replace it, I would go with one of these two axes below. For the little use I need from an ax this size, I can't justify the price of those $125 plus axes. I use my ax alot on a canoe trip, and I guess I spend about 20-25 days canoe camping each year, but I would feel confident carrying a less exspensive ax.
You get what you pay for, and no doubt these two axes below will have soft steel and imperfect grain handles, but in my fixed income world every dollar counts and I have to weigh every canoe gear purchase carefully. I would rather carry one of these than nothing, and touching up a soft steeled ax around the campfire with a file is a pretty good way to spend the evening on the trail.

All I'm saying here is if you have read this thread and got the impression you have to have an exspensive ax to go canoe camping, I would say I would consider a cheaper ax if that's what your budget demands. You just won't be able to mention it in canoe ax threads.

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p...33085&shop=1&gclid=CIaVrOOatMMCFcECaQod2FcAog


http://store.peaveymfg.com/cart/category/2022/Hudson_Bay_Axe/1/

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

Don't buy a hatchet, it would defeat the whole purpose. . . . Just this winter I stepped up to a 26" forest axe, with which I have no personal experience at all, so I'm here to tell you that you should get one too. So either batton your googliogoogly or get a freak'n axe already.

That's the way I'm feeling, psychologically and aesthetically.

I can baton quartered logs, if necessary, with a knife. I want a real axe, a two-handed axe. I may not need it, I may not use it, but that's what I want. But not a heavy sucker. I'm too old.

I think it's an accurate assessment that a hatchet meets my modest need. However, I just don't like them. They remind me of Cub Scouts. I also sort of buy the argument that they can be slightly more dangerous than a full or 3/4 axe. Also, screw Old Jimbo's advice to get a full size axe for safety reasons. Safety isn't my primary concern. Safety is a learned skill.

The more I think, the more I'm focused on the 24"-28" range. Of course, I've always been much better at thinking than actually doing.

If I lost my S&N canoe ax and needed to replace it, I would go with one of these two axes below.

http://www.forestry-suppliers.com/p...33085&shop=1&gclid=CIaVrOOatMMCFcECaQod2FcAog


http://store.peaveymfg.com/cart/category/2022/Hudson_Bay_Axe/1/

Robin, I think you're response is spot on the length topic. The first link is to a 24" S&N axe, which is what you have now. The second link takes me to a Peavey page showing an 18" axe and a 28" axe with what looks like the same 1.75 pound head. Which of the Peavey's would you prefer as an experienced user?

And, BTW, if there were an original Chestnut Canoe Company Axe, we all know someone who might spend $125 in gas just to buy it and restore it. Hobbies are not necessarily controlled by logic or wallets.

 

[Guest]

Sort of like having a Googligolio with a short blade.

OK, I’m stumped. Even Google is stumped:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Googligolio

Is that a real word or thing, of some kind of snipe hunt ?

 

[Glenn MacGrady]

OK, I’m stumped. Even Google is stumped:

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=Googligolio

Is that a real word or thing, of some kind of snipe hunt ?

I assume the maker of Deep South Knives is referring to the one I have, which is from even deeper south . . . the home of the best blades: El Salvador.

 

[Bearleealive]

I love my Granfors Bruks Small Splitting Axe for canoe tripping. Rarely do I need an axe for much more than splitting anyway, and the 23 1/2" handle, with a 2 lb head, will split just about any round thrown at it. I also have the GB Splitting Maul, which stays in the shed by the woodpile, but boy does it split nice. My brother has the GB Large Splitting Axe. A nice size for taking with you camping from a vehicle.

Some, like Hoop, alluded to proper splitting stance and form, and doing so will ensure that any length of handle is safe to split with. I have trained many a small kid in the proper technique, which I learned from a family friend as a little kid. To explain for me seems really basic, as once the handle comes from overhead and is parallel with the earth, it should stay parallel all the way through the wood, as all you have to do is drop your butt by bending your knees as the axe comes down. If you do this, it is impossible to hit yourself.

Not only is this the safe way to do it, it is also the most effective, as all the force is going straight down through the wood, whereas if the axe is coming down at an angle to the earth, some of the force is wasted, going to the side.

I still remember back to being a 16 year old 160 lb kid, going to the Calgary Stampede for the first time with my girlfriend, and ringing the bell with the big hammer every try. A couple burly biker types were crying fowl, saying it was rigged, because their awkward, inefficient, round-house swings did not ring the bell every time. I tried to show them how, but they just would not listen.

 

[Robin]

Robin,... The second link takes me to a Peavey page showing an 18" axe and a 28" axe with what looks like the same 1.75 pound head. Which of the Peavey's would you prefer as an experienced user?

And, BTW, if there were an original Chestnut Canoe Company Axe, we all know someone who might spend $125 in gas just to buy it and restore it. Hobbies are not necessarily controlled by logic or wallets.

I would go with the 28" ax, 18" is too short for my comfort level. I would probably combine a visit to my daughter and Peavey as they are both in Maine. I would like to hold the 1.75 pound ax with the 28" first, and also buy a pole off them for canoe poling. Someone here mentioned them for pole sources so I ordered their catalog, the cover is going on my shop wall and the poles are very reasonable.

Yes, I would chuck the budget for a Chestnut ax, I drove to Nova Scotia for two Chestnut canoes, one of which I paid too much for, but love is blind.

 

[Seeker]

No Title

Glenn, more like these.... Hudson Bay Norlunds, lighter than the full sized heads... that has it's disadvantages though.

The first pics are, top to bottom, a 24" Norlund Hudson Bay (2.5lbs), a 19" Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe (about a 1.5 lb head), and a Vaughn mini-hatchet (12oz total, including handle).

The second pic is a Norlund tomahawk hatchet with a roughly 14" handle right after I re-hafted it. I have since spend a great deal of time thinning it on a sander, working with it, sanding it again, and working with it again... It's still not quite perfect, but the handle I have now is much thinner and trim-looking than the clunky one in this picture. When it's done, I will scorch it for a little color, burn some markings into the handle, and treat it to a boiled linseed oil bath a few times.