View Full Version : A different axe
Just saw this on ebay and wondered if anyone had any experience with or thoughts on it. Nice to see something abit different.
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/New-Portuguese-Bushcraft-Light-weight-Felling-Axe_W0QQitemZ200313059794QQcmd ZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_G ardenEquipment_HandTools_SM?ha sh=item200313059794&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1121%7C66%3A2%7 C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318
Looks interesting, though 'm not sure I believe in a 24" "felling" axe. The angle of the head looks different and would be interesting to try out.
Look at the last pic though, it hasn't been hafted properly. There are no wedges. It's been mounted like a mallet.
I might buy one if it was a tenner and rehang it, but £30 is too much for what's on offer IMHO.
Looks interesting, though 'm not sure I believe in a 24" "felling" axe. The angle of the head looks different and would be interesting to try out.
Look at the last pic though, it hasn't been hafted properly. There are no wedges. It's been mounted like a mallet.
I might buy one if it was a tenner and rehang it, but £30 is too much for what's on offer IMHO.
I don't think it needs a wedge, the handle looks like it is tapered and the head has a friction fit, similar to this kind of axe:
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/browseproducts/Gransfors-Bruks-French-Trade-Axe.HTML
Heath
Yeah I guess you're right. That way of doing it does look like there's a risk of it loosening and then dropping down the handle though.
Yeah I guess you're right. That way of doing it does look like there's a risk of it loosening and then dropping down the handle though.
You might be surprised, I have a coldsteel norsehawk with a similar setup (it has a grub screw but I've used it without) I think the idea is that it makes the handle easier to replace in the event of a break (someone please correct me on this)
Heath
mr dazzler
24-02-2009, 13:47
that tapered attachment works well enough on pick axe's, froes, mattocks etc. I have one of those french carpenters claw hammers (big 1 1/2 pound framing hammers much like roman ones) which also make use of the tapered connection, mine has never failed, yet its still a doddle to knock it back out if needs be. And it is easier to create a usable replacement handle on site if it breaks, rather than mess around fettling and fitting one in the normal way. This particular axe looks sort of romanesque. But the edge seems very slanted compared to the line of the handle.
littlebiglane
24-02-2009, 15:16
Yes...the axe is a knock-fit. Quite normal. A bit like this, more modern take:
http://www.workshopheaven.com/eStore/media/images/product_xlarge/BAHFEL.jpg
or this
http://www.workshopheaven.com/eStore/media/images/product_xlarge/BAHHATCH.jpg
With these I would be tempted to buy and rehandle in wood....
i like the idea of the knock-fit but there is no way you could split wood with that blade profile
pete
With the design of that axe head, I believe the top portion of the blade would be taking 90% of the blows with normal swings. I'd rather have the the chopping be distributed a bit more evenly down the blade.
It's not a bad price, though. The length of the handle makes it more of a limbing / general-purpose axe rather than a felling axe, but I'm sure it'd work just fine for chopping down trees. Let us know how it works if you get one.
Hedgehog
25-02-2009, 18:01
Very interesting, I like to read a review of this in use.
Looks like it may be a rather nice carver.
Not too sure about the angle of the blade in relation to the handle, like the rest though there is only one way to know how it handles.
Very interesting, I like to read a review of this in use.
Looks like it may be a rather nice carver.
Yeah, you're probably right on that, Hedgehog. If I personally had one I'd shorten the handle and hone it to a razor edge, then it'd be a pretty good carver probably. Good call.
Boston973
26-02-2009, 12:00
I use a cold steel trail hawk and found it can look just as classy but still do the job i have come to expect from it.
I removed the srew in the side and took off the handle. Then i soaked it in nail polish remover for an hour and stipped of the black coating on the axe head. Next I added gorrila glue to the inside of the eye and srew and hammered it securely onto the handle using a rubber mallet. Next i stained and sealed the handle.
End result is an awsome little axe that looks like an old style hawk. I was considering adding a forced pantina to the head to give it an even more rustic look. Plus i get bored.
Any way the reasone for my post is that my father uses a very similar axe and he loves the design. He is also very into black powder shooting and such with traditional gear and all that so for him it was form as well as function.