View Full Version : Why Gransfors?
Ray Mears certainly sings the praises of axes in a survival/backwoods situation and Gransfors in particular.
I was wondering how many people own and use a quality axe on a regular basis and if so what do you use it for? I am not talking about chopping wood for the log burner at home, but out in the field so to speak.
Besides the Gransfors, are there any other quality brands available in the UK?
Regards,
Pete
TheViking
13-12-2004, 20:13
I have one with an 800 gram head, but I don't know from which company. It's high carbon and I only use it for abusing itself. :roll: It was free, but it does the job and is a convex grind, so i can't complain. :wink:
jem seeley
13-12-2004, 20:41
Yes, guilty of Gransfors ownership too!! I've got the small forest axe which I think is Ray's fave.As well as for Bushcraft I use it extensively for green woodworking- splitting logs, initial shaping before putting the 'billet' onto the pole-lathe.Gransfors are well respected amongst the green woodworking community. For me it was a quick route to buy new rather than waiting to find a decent unabused second-hand one. There are still a lot of decent old axes around-unfortunately their owners tend to keep a firm grip on them!
I think some of this may have been covered in an earlier thread but I would still prefer to carry a good small axe as I feel they are more suited to a wider range of woodland types than a billhook.
RobertsonPau
13-12-2004, 20:45
I have a Hultafors hand axe, 600gm and 30cm helve, it's really nicely balanced and holds an edge really well. I've used it for carving spoon blanks, trimming branches, and it most recently spent a day pruning my father in laws fruit trees. Five trees non of which had been pruned for ten years, one of the apple trees had a twenty foot by 10 inch 'log' removed from the top. :shock:
The axe was used quite a lot mainly for the practice, and it still shaved hairs off my arm at the end of the day. I don't know if this counts as using it out in the field, but it certainly gets used. I'm desperately trying to find somebody who imports them into the uk, cos I want one of their Hunting Axes :o): . See post elsewhere in this forum. The big advantage for me is that the hand axe cost about £10 to £15 less than the Granfors equivalent. :-P
Paul
Paganwolf
13-12-2004, 20:50
Ive a GB SFA and a Mini ( :?: :lol: ) too and they are a fantastic axe, i have a wetterlings and a roselli both are good but i always reach for my GB, They are well balenced and well constructed, a good quality tool and a user IMO :wink:
I havce a gb and a wetterlings but I am still in swinging in favour of my Leuku - weight for weight it still wins in my book - at present anyway.
Paul,
They are definately imported to the UK as I have seen them for sale at various gamefairs last summer. Unfortuneately I don't remember who had the stand so its not really much use! But hey :?: keep looking!
Another thought, can't you get them through Woodlore?
Regards,
Pete
I have a wetterlings LHA, wow it's such a great tool. There's a review on a popular outdoors site which favoured the wetterlings LHA over the gransfors SFA, I can't remember the name of the site though but it has 'outdoors' in the url and it's very popular i believe.
TheViking
13-12-2004, 21:21
I have a wetterlings LHA, wow it's such a great tool. There's a review on a popular outdoors site which favoured the wetterlings LHA over the gransfors SFA, I can't remember the name of the site though but it has 'outdoors' in the url and it's very popular i believe.
Perhaps it was Outdoors-Magazine (http://www.outdoors-magazine.com)
And the exact article is here (http://www.outdoors-magazine.com/s_article.php?id_article=147) :wink:
Thread title changed to something a little less inflamatory.
Some people have no sense of humor! :o): :o):
What is the use of an axe?
When wood gets frozen an axe doesn´t work. I have a saw in my backpack.
arctic hobo
13-12-2004, 22:21
You're right, but over here not much wood gets frozen :wink:
I have a GB SFA and I love it to bits. I use it on wood... what else would you want it for? :oT: :rolmao:
Some people have no sense of humor! :o): :o):
And that wouldn't be us :wink:
I use a GB SFA. The three things I often carry are a folding saw, my knife and a SFA. The saw is great for......sawing!! I use the axe for all sorts, carving spoons and other utensils to tent pegs, felling, butchering (on rare occasions) preparing firewood, as a hammer and all sorts of other things. That's not to say that I have to have one, it's just a useful tool. The bottom line is that one can do an awful lot with just a good knife, adding a few tools just helps keep the effort down a bit :wink:
I think that with Ray he’s found an axe that he really likes and feels that he can depend on, he also sells them so he’s got two good reasons to push them as the axe to have. Pete, did you get the Woodlore Happy Christmas mailshot? I presume you were prompted in some way
:wink:
Tony,
Although the tittle was a little flippant (never inflamatory! ) , the question was actually genuine and with out any hidden agenda.
Ray seems to like to carry an axe when he is shown up in the Scandinavian countries and he seems to like GB in particular.
So I guess I am wondering has Ray simply popularized the carrying of an axe, or is there a genuine niche for an axe here in the UK???
Incidently, I have a small Swedish axe made by HB..Its only a cheap one, but I only use it to chop morning sticks for the woodburner...
Regards,
Pete
After reading the review I decided I needed to check the balance on my GB and Wetterling. I guess I have to say my results were different.
Wetterling:
http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/images6/wetterling1b.jpg
GB:
http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/images6/gb1b.jpg
To remove any bias I might be introducing by the way I was holding the axes, I placed the axes on a pad.
Wetterling:
http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/images6/wetterling2b.jpg
GB:
http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/images6/gb2c.jpg
Evidently there is some variation among the axes.
Hoodoo,
Do you notice that difference when you use the axes in the field?
Regards,
Pete
Pete, to be honest, no. I'm not that good. :rolmao: I found either one to be pretty handy although the GB has a nicer piece of wood and better finish on the bit "out of the box." The Wetterling required a lot more work to smooth out the edge. The work I did on the GB was minimal. Either one suits me just fine for a nice fall canoe trip. :wave:
Tony,
Although the tittle was a little flippant (never inflamatory! ) , the question was actually genuine and with out any hidden agenda.
as Gransfors Burks is a small family owned company(or at least claim they are).. i think it extreamly unlikely that they have floated on the stock market if that be the case we know Ray Mears does not own shares in the company!
i have a GB wildlife hatchet.. i bought it befor i found BCUK..after reading to works of Ray Mears and Mors Kochanski.. and realising that these were people "in the know" when it came to Bushcraft.. i decided if GB was their choice it was probably a good one.. but how could i be sure lest i tryed it for myself.. so i did.. and i liked!
i dont think ray has popularised the carrying of an axe for bushcraft use.. Mr Kochanski (and many others) went before and also thought it a good bit of kit!
Ray Mears may have popularised the GB axe as the perferd carry, as he selected it as the best and had the celebrity to make his desscion widely known!
im not sure weather us bushcrafters are numerous enough to be called a "genuine niche" but we do need/like to have good axes.. and IMHO and that of others i think.. Gransfors Burks are very good axes.. though there are other very good axes avalible.. i do not think that those of us who like to think we can "think outside the circle" should begrudge the Gransfors Burks craftsmen because their product has been selected by Ray Mears as a favorite!
goodness that came out a bit of a ramble didnt it!
Tomtom,
I have no issues with Ray Mears nor the quality of GB axes, my now deleted tittle was very much tounge in cheek.
While Ray Mears was not the first to cite the importance of an axe, I can't think of too many others that have written so many books or appeared on TV so many times over the last few years. Somehow I will always associate Ray with a GB axe and his woodlore knife, and Lofty Wiseman with a parang (sp?)! I would add that it was a couple of Ray Mears programes from Scandinavia, that have inspired me to want to visit that part of the world.
Regards,
Pete
Pete apologies if i sounded argumentative
on axes, for me.. Mors Kochanski is the associstion.. :mrgreen: :1244:
why bother with an axe in the UK - a decent billhook will do all a small axe will and more.
After all it got 2000 years + of design behind it.
I used t obe mad keen on my SFA until a got a billhook and now the SFA gets very little use - it either a big felling/splitting axe for splitting logs or athe billhook for me.
After all it got 2000 years + of design behind it.
i reckon an axe does too..
its a vaied point.. i have an old bill hook, and i like to use it, but it doesnt have a proper sheath and i dont like to carry around something with such a large cutting edge which is exposed.
each to his own.. eh :wink:
why bother with an axe in the UK - a decent billhook will do all a small axe will and more.
I was waiting for this comment
runaway runaway
Personally I'm a Wetterlings fan. I've got the SHA that Gary sells (he even put my review on his site:oops: ), and I just find that it suits me.
I've tried both brands and the SHA just feels RIGHT. It fits my hand perfectly (and no it was an off the shelf not a custom haft), the action is superb and straight out of the box it was almost dangerously sharp. I took down a tree and limbed it and apart from a little cramping as I hadn't used an axe for a while, I didn't get ANY blisters. And it hardly needed sharpening (well not until I found a piece of gravel in the middle of one of the branches:cry: .
Its horses-for-courses. This horse prefers the Wetterlings for use in the field.
bambodoggy
14-12-2004, 12:10
I'm a bit of a newie to Axe use, I used small hatchets while in the scouts years ago but always prefered the bowsaw (we were only getting firewood).
I have got back into Axe's in the last year or so but I'm not shelling out on a GB axe.....like I'm good enough with one for the make/model to make any difference to me!
I have a wood burning stove so I spend a lot of time log splitting and I think I can safely say that NOTHING will beat my "Stihl Log splitter", which is a cross between a full size axe and a sledge hammer!!!! :o): :o): :o): (but I admit, not the ideal bushcraft tool :wink: )
I have two axes I take out to play with me in the woods, both made by Gerber and both with hollow plastic handles....I'm not going to review then as this isn't the thread for that but I'm coming to love them...they take no end of punishment and require virtually no maintenance at all and they cost about half that of a GB axe. One is camp sized and the other is only just bigger than my hand....they hold an edge and are easy to sharpen.
I'll be bringing them to the Ashdown meet up so any interested can have a play with them..... I'd also be grateful if anybody has a GB that they would let me play with and can show me why I should part with that ammount of cash for it.
I don't do BIG axes....I've got the splitter and a chainsaw and I don't want to carry a full sized axe about anyway....they look scarey and weigh a ton!
what about a GB or Wettlings spliting axe or maul!
Thinking of getting the Wettling's one after Xmas.
bambodoggy
14-12-2004, 13:14
I don't suppose there's much in it....I just like Stihl gear....never ever let me down!
I don't suppose there's much in it....I just like Stihl gear....never ever let me down!Now there's a man who likes to tempt Mistress Fate...:smiley-fa
tenbears10
14-12-2004, 13:51
what about a GB or Wettlings spliting axe or maul!
My brother just got a gransfors large splitting axe and I had a go the other weekend, it is fantastic. It's not like any other axe I've used. The bit goes a couple of cm into the wood and you hear a very satisfying crack and the log is split in two. The axe doesn't get near the block you are chopping on, the job is done long before that.
Having said that the are not much use for anything other than spliting rounds of wood with the grain. If you have a fire at home you should get to use it but they are not for bushcraft. I wouldn't bother with the maul, get a spliting axe and a cheap sledge hammer.
Bill
Remember the safety aspects too - a saw can be learnt and safely used in a few hours a axe can take a life time!
Plus a axe injury in the wilds is a very serious matter - if in doubt leave it out thats why we teach and preach using a baton!!
Remember the safety aspects too - a saw can be learnt and safely used in a few hours a axe can take a life time!
Plus a axe injury in the wilds is a very serious matter - if in doubt leave it out thats why we teach and preach using a baton!!
I totally agree! Axes take a lot of practice to use effectively. Good axemen have spent their lives using an axe. Yet I've read more than a few accounts of experienced outdoorsmen who injured themselves with an axe. However, if you are planning on building a cabin to spend the winter in the wilderness like many trappers do in the northwoods, an axe is essential. Nowadays the chainsaw is more common for the big tasks although because of the problem with hauling gas around, many northwoods travelers are turning away from snowmobiles and chainsaws and are returning to dog sleds and axes.
bambodoggy
14-12-2004, 15:31
Sorry guys, at the risk of heading seriously off thread here....
Ok, I've decided to go out as a non petrol person. I've got my Dog Team and sled and my trusty axe as well as a small folding saw.....
Before I headed out I saw a "pocket Chainsaw" in a camping shop.....should I have bought it?
Have any of you used one? Not the flimsy commando type wire saws but an actual pocket chain saw?
To me a GB axe a very special item, someone has made the axe and then out is signature on it, someone is proud of his workmanship, the axe more or less got a soul. It´s the same with knives, a mora knife is a really good knife but a handmade just got that little extra (a soul).
The "oocket chainsaw" is more or less crap, go for a folding saw instead.
Buckshot
14-12-2004, 17:29
Before I headed out I saw a "pocket Chainsaw" in a camping shop.....should I have bought it?
Have any of you used one? Not the flimsy commando type wire saws but an actual pocket chain saw?
Rich has one, I tried it when we were at the Gathering.
I thought it was pretty good, a bit jumpy though. It cut through wood quite easily, perhaps about the same speed as a sharp bow saw.
I presume it was a sharp pocket saw...
Cheers
Mark
Paganwolf
14-12-2004, 18:09
To me a GB axe a very special item, someone has made the axe and then out is signature on it, someone is proud of his workmanship, the axe more or less got a soul. It´s the same with knives, a mora knife is a really good knife but a handmade just got that little extra (a soul).
The "oocket chainsaw" is more or less crap, go for a folding saw instead.
Totaly agree with you there Viking, You can not beat a hand crafted tool, they have been brought in to being by a craftsman/woman, It has character and a warmth about it that cant be explained, there are too many mass produced items floating about and id wait and save my pennies and buy something with quality which will last you a life time and gain character with age. When i was a blacksmith i inherited my smithing tools from the old smith before me they were built with purpose by someone who new how to use them and did use them they had character as i have said something which seems to be lacking around us now a days, is it a thing of the past now plastic and perspex and mass production has come into play?? :?:
Totaly agree with you there Viking, You can not beat a hand crafted tool, they have been brought in to being by a craftsman/woman, It has character and a warmth about it that cant be explained, there are too many mass produced items floating about and id wait and save my pennies and buy something with quality which will last you a life time and gain character with age. When i was a blacksmith i inherited my smithing tools from the old smith before me they were built with purpose by someone who new how to use them and did use them they had character as i have said something which seems to be lacking around us now a days, is it a thing of the past now plastic and perspex and mass production has come into play?? :?:
Being an artisan by nature I have to agree with both of you, especially as the gents at Wetterlings also sign the heads, in fact my puuku I got from Stuart is also signed. There is nothing to my mind better than buying or receiving a tool or whatever that someone has handcrafted with the love of their art.
But I think that people are starting to go back to wanting REAL things that are not just meant to be used and then thrown away.
From discussions I've had more people are turning back to the old values of quality, value for money, craftsmanship.
In Reading there are a number of new quality furniture shops for example. I've always had this thing for REAL furniture and running my hands over a nice peice of wood as my grandfather was a master carpenter and cabinet maker and its my way of remembering him, and I was surprised to see that they were using REAL wood and actually using REAL joints not cam-loks and metal brackets but actual real dovetails and rabbets. I nearly died of shock!
People seem to be becoming more discerning and less inclined to go for something 'because it was cheap', and seem to be prepared to pay a bit extra for something that won't just last a year, but 10 years or longer, that they can take some pride in owning. I personally think people are getting fed up with disposable trash and want the real thing...
Hello,
Rather than starting a new thread I thought I would highjack this one! =)
Im thinking of buying the small forrest axe, does anyone have a picture of one with the RM logo? (specifically the logo)
Also, they come with warranty, what happens if I give someone the axe? i.e. a present, do I also need to give them the invoice for it for the warranty sticks?
I would also like to bang a logo onto the sheath, emboss if you like. I have a stamp and was thinking of wetting the leather and then leaving the stamp pressed into it, would I get away with that trick?
Chris the Cat
28-09-2010, 21:28
The best axe I own ( and I own a few! ) for general bushcraft use is my hand forged Dave Budd trade axe.
Best splitter for fire wood, large Rosseli.
Love my GB's but in use, so far, it is the above.
My best.
Chris.
iamasmith
28-09-2010, 21:44
I used Axes from being a kid for splitting wood on the farm and camping chores. I didn't own an Axe for quite a while then Gary Mills sold off a load of GB Axes and I was pushed beyond temptation and bought one of the Small Forest Axes.
All I can say is that beyond a doubt I could achieve all the chores that I was set with this Axe and it falls very neatly to hand for primary shaping of wood, getting it down to size and even to pretty close to shape for carving tasks. It's a very useful tool. I don't doubt that many other tools could achieve the same versatility but this is what I have and I've become comfortable and accustomed to it and wouldn't trade it on that basis. I set a lot of store by being familiar with something that works for me.
what about husqvarna axes any comments good or bad ?