Best Type of Axe

A sharp one, for starters. Learn how to sharpen whatever you buy and keep it sharp. Dull tools are more dangerous than sharp ones. If you feel like making a project of it, look for a Billnas 12/1 or 12/2 axe head and make a handle for it. This axe was designed early 20th century to do everything as the rural Finns could only afford one axe, and this one does it all. I made my handle from an ash plank from a tree taken down on our property. This is a 12/1 head made in the 1930s and was Finnish military issue.

 

A bow saw

$29 Bahco 10-30-23 30" Ergo Bow Saw for Green Wood

https://www.amazon.com/Bahco-10-30-23-30-Inch-Ergo-Green/dp/B0001IX7TW

Much lighter and much faster than an axe for cross-cutting, e.g. a tree across your line of travel or a branch overhanging the path. If you want something for splitting wood, you can add a smaller axe or for maximum combined utility, a short handle sledge and a splitting wedge. I keep a 30" bow saw in the truck always and add a boy's axe if I'm planning to make firewood.

 

Bow saws are handy. I'm partial to the https://svensaw.com/ mostly cause it collapses down to nothing and I have had it for 50+ years. The shape does limit cut diameter but that can be worked around.


As far as an axe, hand axes are pretty "handy". They can be found along the trail, come in left, right handed along with ambidextrous. They are pocket sized and easily field sharpenable.

Left, right handed and ambidextrous along with an original "multi tool".


Proper fit for each hand.

 

Is it even worth to have an axe? Which one?

Fiskars looks nicer than my Husky
But my Husky isn’t horrible either. It’s at least synthetic so it doesn’t water log like wood

with quick fist double mount (also holds Krazy Beaver shovel) it’s a loose hold that rattled and goofy bike lock.

I want to find a bracket ($50 Smittybilt?) to relocate onto my roof rack
But it would likely be a lot of work to fit that mount properly

which has me wondering why even have an axe.
Because only mounting a shovel to rack and no axe would be way easier.
A shovel is useful. I have used one many times.

axe however I don’t know. #1: never used it.
I imagine it’s useful camping to split wood for fire.
Or split in half a downed tree blocking a trail

However idk how long that takes. If it’s 5hrs of chopping with an axe than obviously a cordless chainsaw is the better solution for that problem, not going through the trouble of mounting an axe to sit around and not be useful

trucks I’ve seen that live in the middle of nowhere, where downed trees are common
They have a holder on the truck to carry a chainsaw

 

Any axe you have is better then all those you don`t have!

A chain saw is even better for that first trip into the camp after snow melt.

The way I see things.

 

I usually carry a nice 2.5lb camp axe with a wooden handle I put on myself. Much cheaper and the wooden handle just feels better than any with fiberglass. Never had to use it for recovery, just for fun.

 

is there any reason to get Fiskars over this 34"
the only issue with this Husky I can think of, besides an ugly logo
is the blade "cover" falls off if you glance at it
if you're driving around in public and that falls off exposing the blade, and exposing it to rust, that's kind of sketch



edit: I see Fiskars has a 28" for $10 more with anti-vibe handle
I believe the Husky is not anti-vibe
that is a good selling point, anti vibe is important
anti vibe hammers for example are the industry standard. I have some and they're worth it

 

Quality of the head is the main reason to get fiskars vs. Husky.
Fiskars is ready to go from the store, husky will need about 45 min worth of sharpening just to cut ok.
If you're OK with the additional $10, it's an exponentially better tool that will outlast the husky indefinitely.

P.S.- The blade cover on the husky is purely for delivery to the store so its covered while at the store. Otherwise it won't stay on.

 

yep
Got the Fiskars
It’s way better in many ways

now to figure out how to mount shovel and axe to right side of roof rack atop door while maintaining clearance

 

I've sheared heads off of Husky axes/hatchets without much effort, and they get loose pretty quickly, hence my vote also goes to Fiskars. Better attachment, stronger/lighter handles, and better quality steel. Can land really good/accurate swings and hard hits for the light weight.

I've beat the dogshit out of my x25, overall taken terrible care of it (left it out in the rain/snow, etc), and all it's needed is surface rust wirebrushed off, a spritz of preserving oil or rustoleum, and a quick resharpening and it's good as new. Holds a sharp edge much better splitting (very) hardwood than most others I've used. That flared splitting head does a fantastic job blasting apart even stubborn knotty logs.

Recently picked up a 14" Gerber hatchet from REI. Gotta say, I was pretty disappointed with how dull the edge was outta the box. It worked okay, but not in keeping with the Gerber name IMO. But it IS very well balanced, light, and handles nice. I've yet to use it after sharpening it myself, so I have no data on how well it keeps its edge yet. Looking forward to testing it out some when I get a chance again.

For folding saws I really like both the 21" Sven Saw as well as the Coghlans variant. The latter isn't quite as low-profile as the Sven when folded, but still slim, assembles easily and there's no wing nut to drop/lose. Both can be a little challenging for larger logs due to their triangular shapes, but not a show-stopper by any means. The pocketknife-style folding saws always feel too awkward to use for me, and hard to get a good rhythm going with any kind of cutting force. And the blades aren't easily sharpenable/replaceable, whereas the others I mentioned use standard bowsaw blades available from any hardware store. Always been a big fan of standard full-size bowsaws as well, if you have the room.

When truck camping/broverlanding, I just toss my Stihl 026 in the bed with quart can of premix and some bar oil. A little overkill but it's what i have, and comes in handy for quick firewood (big logs to later split with X25), or more importantly make quick work of a blowdown blocking the trail.

 

Also, not to thread-jack, but anyone know where I can find a replacement sheath for my x25? The "stock" plastic one is long gone and I'd really like to keep it covered. A universal one is fine, I just can't seem to find just sheaths anywhere anymore. I could swear they used to be standard items in every Home Depot

 

I’ve got a fiskars chopping axe- 28” handle- not wise to go out on infrequently traveled trails in mountains without one, especially the first times up a trail after the snow melts or heavy rain. I’ve been out with several vehicles where we came to a large tree across the trail, 4 guys with axes and some muscle made quick work.

Shovel is a Fiskars ergo I took the handle off and welded a ball at the end for grip if using snow gloves or mittens. I like the shape of the handle and the length is between a long handle and short.

Both are very reasonably priced and built well for the money.

Forest service recommends everyone bring an axe, shovel and water, and certain areas may require it, especially if you’re having a campfire.

I use a leather one, works well

$25 Helko Werk Leather Axe Sheath (Small) - Genuine Leather Sheath for Axes and Hatchets Leather and Axe Cover and Hatchet Cover S121 (Small Brown) S121

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B014JVLHWU?ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

 

Thanks, that’ll do fine. Maybe my google-fu is rusty but I couldn’t search “axe sheath” anywhere without turning up only new axes WITH sheaths, or machetes with sheaths, etc.

Much appreciated!

 

I hunted for a while, had to measure the blade size, yada yada yada, this one works and is secure but pretty easy to take off

 

When I know there's going to be lots of trees I keep the chainsaw handy as well.
But I have beat the crap out of my x25 and it keeps on ticking(just needs a touch up on the blade with a diamond stone).

For hand saws I've switched from the 21" sven saw to a Corona Pruning saw. It comes with a 14" blade, but its replaceable so I upgraded to a 19" blade from silky.
It's not Amazon but I get a lot of replacement blades and small parts from WeSpur it's an arborist supply co. out in WA and have most anything related to cutting/sawing trees you can imagine.

Here's a link to axe sheath
https://www.wesspur.com/SAW636-single-bit-axe-blade-cover

 

What mount is that? Looks sturdy

I can’t seem to find any that would fit a Sherpa rack

 

Homemade mount- I made it so I could remove the axe and shovel separately

 

Fiskars X27 is on sale at Al's for $30. Need to spend $50 for free shipping.

https://www.als.com/fiskar-axe-x27-super-splitter/p?skuId=1354881

 

Wranglerstar on YouTube has good vids about different axes and tools

 

I've had good luck finding high quality sheaths on etsy of all places.

As far as my $0.02, I PREFER to cut with a saw and split with a bushcraft knife/machete. Hatchets and axes are far too dangerous for my very limited amount of regular practice to mess around with while I'm out in the middle of nowhere alone. That being said I keep a fiskars chopping axe in my recovery kit. It and a collapsing bow saw from agawa gear saved my bacon a few years ago. Some day I'll end up buying one of Milwaukee's new top handle battery saws to add to the kit.