The Cegga/Red axe review (Part 1)

[Joff]

I am one of the lucky 10 to get a first production Cegga axe. Needless to say I was excited to get my grubby mitts on the said axe as soon as possible. The only problem was, it turned up on Monday after I had already set off to London for 3 days work. Frustration to say the least.

Anyway, today I did a little comparison between the Cegga and my GB Wildlife hatchet. Part 2 will be a more practical comparison between the two axes (hopefully this weekend).
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/ceggaGB.jpg
The Cegga is on the left and the GB on the right.

As you can see there is a bit of a difference in size and structure (sorry don't know how to do a table):
Overall length C 38cm GB 34.5
Edge C 7cm GB 8cm
Shoulder width C 5 cm GB 4 cm
Edge to Poll C 13.5 cm GB 13
Throat C 3.5 cm GB 3 cm
Belly C 4 cm GB 3.5 cm
Weight C 650g GB 610g

Overall the Cegga is a little heavier and a little larger than the GB. This is not a problem however. It's all in the detail.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/GB-detail.jpg
The GB (above) is a lot rougher in its finish than the Cegga (below).
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/cegga-close.jpg
Even down to the lanyard hole being less finished in the GB (below)
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/GBlanyard.jpg
than the Cegga
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/Ceggalanyard.jpg
The next 2 pictures just show a bit more detail of the two axes side by side with the Cegga being on the left of the photo in both cases.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/CeggaGB-poll.jpg
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/ceggaGBclose.jpg
Interestingly the grain of the handle has quite a different orientation between the two. The Cegga (left) has a much better 'vertical' grain than the GB which slopes at approximately 45 degrees.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/CeggaGBknob.jpg
When viewed from above both axes have a very similar profile thogh the Cegga (top one in photo) is less concave than the GB.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/CeggaGB-top-profile.jpg
The last detail I have a photo for at the moment is the mask provided by Cegga. It is a lovely piece of work in soft leather. It took me a few seconds to work out how to use it though. Cegga's is below in this picture.
http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s62/Joff_photos/GBCegga-mask.jpg
On the other side of Cegga's mask there is a loop of leather which can be used to feed a belt through. I haven't tried it yet (that is for Part 2 :) ) but I can see that it might be awkward to offer up the axe into the mask once it is on a belt but I will give it a go later.

I have not had a chance to use it at all so far but my overall impression is of a superbly crafted piece of work. The finish is so much better than my GB, the handle is more comfortable and the balance in my opinion is far superior to the GB. This is of course all subjective. Out of the box the Cegga was hair poppingly sharp though I do remember the GB being pretty damned sharp when it arrived too. The balance point of the GB is approximately 7cm down the handle from the eye and for the Cegga it is about 9cm. This is due to greater weight in the handle. This does not seem to have any impact on the ease of use or balance of either axe when used full choked (by that I mean gripped just below the head).

I am overjoyed to have this axe as it appears to be of high quality workmanship, well made and well finished. Thank you Cegga for producing such a fine piece of work and thank you British Red for helping develop this fantastic axe and allowing us mere mortals a chance to have one. Both of you :You_Rock_

PS I hope to do Part 2 early next week!

[British Red]

Thats a great review - thanks Joff..I'll be delighted to read your part 2 review!

Red

[Snufkin]

Nice review. Seeing them side by side I got a little confused. When did they change the design of the wildlife hatchet? Mine is 10 years old now and has been brilliant but it looks more like Ceggas axe than the new GB.

[oetzi]

Whow, what a tool!!!
Finally an axe where the maker cared for details like a vertical grain :You_Rock_ :You_Rock_
Snufkin, I am not that sure when I bought my old-style hatchet, but I think they changed the design about four to five years ago. The new ones are about 1" shorter and carry 50-60gr less. Balance tested a la Kochansky they come out worse than my old one. The blade is a 2-3mm thinner, but has a longer edge. I will make and post a pic comparing the two, if you want.

[Snufkin]

Whow, what a tool!!!
Finally an axe where the maker cared for details like a vertical grain :You_Rock_ :You_Rock_
Snufkin, I am not that sure when I bought my old-style hatchet, but I think they changed the design about four to five years ago. The new ones are about 1" shorter and carry 50-60gr less. Balance tested a la Kochansky they come out worse than my old one. The blade is a 2-3mm thinner, but has a longer edge. I will make and post a pic comparing the two, if you want.
It'd be interesting to see a side by side pic.

[oetzi]

Here they are:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/Axes/11-1.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/Axes/11-2.jpg

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/Axes/11.jpg

[British Red]

This is really fascinating - I certainly prefer the old Wildlife Hatchet design to the newer one. There is something "toylike" about the new helve and I think it could make for a sore hand after not much work

Great to see the piccs though!

Cegga is discussing thinning the profile of ours just a touch on the next run - what do you think?

Red

[oetzi]

Actually, I do prefer not too thin blades on an edge ever since I got my Roselli and found out that a concave edge has its merits, too.
My modified Fiskars is a good compromise:
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a273/Supercorsa/Misc/12-05-009.jpg

[leon-1]

The Fiskars are good axes, even if they take a little time to get used to. I have a Norlund that is very nice (sorry no pics at the moment) and outchops things a lot larger than it is, normally I wouldn't know about them, but I have Mors to thank for the axe I have at the moment.

I think I can say thanks to a legend for that, Mors you're a star.

I have a number of axes, GB hunters was my normal preference, that has been replaced by a better tool IMO. Many people that know me may be a little surprised to hear me say that as I love the Hunters to bits.

[British Red]

Damn I would love to get your opinion on Ceggas work Leon. I may be down your way in a couple of months visiting Pioneer. If I am, I'll drop mine off for a review

Red

[Dougster]

I'll be a mile or two from Leon in a few weeks I'm sure. I'll take it down and pm before hand if it'll help. Then any q's can be answered with Reds visit later.

Be a good excuse for a walk too Leon.

Richard

[Dougster]

Cegga is discussing thinning the profile of ours just a touch on the next run - what do you think?

Red

Good idea for my part.

[Joff]

BR

I can see the advantage of having a slightly thinner profile but if you start off with a thicker profile then people have the choice of thinning it for themselves or leaving it alone.

Just my tuppence worth!

Joff