Tasmanian Pattern Axe vs Yankee Pattern Axe, Chopping and Discussion

I have been curious about the Tasmanian pattern axe for a long time, they seem to have a big following by collectors, and have often seen them touted as the best axe design in the world. Having finally gotten hold of one I was excited to test it out. Overall impression is the design is more robust than most axes, however performance is reduced as a result. If you have very nasty wood this design is great, but if you don't it is entirely unnecessary and reduces performance. Using a Tasmanian in most woods is kind of like driving a off road vehicle on an F1 racetrack. I would stick to a thinner yankee pattern, cheaper and more available to!

[@vinniesdayoff3968]

If something isn't hung properly you need to compensate. Home truths from Ben Scott :-)

[@Sager-fs9bv]

Tassie axes belong in Australia. I think you should send it back to me.

[@kurts64]

I like this idea, the thinner narrower bit for deadwood and the longer convexed edge for green. Good vid

[@feralgrandad4429]

I've just had an axe arrive from Owen. 4lb GB on a 26 inch Ash handle he made. Your right the hang on it is spot on. Can wait yo try it out.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I am sure it will perform very well

[@TheScrawnyLumberjack]

I love my tassie when it comes to chopping twisted wood. It does a much better job at popping out chips than any other axe I own.

[@silverback4434]

Very beautiful tassie axe head Ben !

[@redcanoe14]

I have used one when I was at Buckin's place on Vancouver Island for splitting large rounds, it was pretty good at that.

[@glenurquhart2300]

Great vid Ben !! Thanks !

[@glenurquhart2300]

One thing I found with my tassies this past winter was their great chip popping abilities wasn't necessary in hard frozen wood. When bucking. And if the axe had a good convex with a high centerline, it was a detriment as it turned my firewood into a Bunch of kindling. Something I had wondered going into the winter was . If I would end up with summer (not frozen wood) axes . And winter (frozen , Hard, solid frozen to the pith) axes. Turns out, I did. My concave and flat cheeked axes do a better job in frozen wood . But stick terribly in warm wood. Where as the Tassies are much much freeer in the cut. And the wood I'm chopping is very soft in the summertime. Rock solid , well , not rock solid. But Real solid in the winter.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Thats my experience also in dead wood. Fat convex cheeked axes for softer green wood and thinner in harder brittle wood that chips easily

[@turtlewolfpack6061]

My favorite 3.5lb axe is the Montreal Pattern. I find them to have good inherent accuracy, a good size poll for driving felling wedges and the bit design makes bucking pretty much natural.

[@MrDesmostylus]

Nice looking tassie. randomly my malbert tassie at 20 degrees preforms better than my 15 degree elwell tassie. Think there is definitely a sweet spot with vintage Tasmanian’s.

[@michaelconstantin2736]

Awesome!

[@jeffreyrubish347]

Looks like springtime. Love those wood slabs flying at the camera: I need 3D glasses!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yeah was a suprisingly nice day, love chopping fresh sycamore

[@redcanoe14]

@@benscottwoodchopper Here we have still 12" snow on the ground here, though is is melting quick during the day, but still -5C at night.

[@bcuz2975]

Nice tool !

[@DozeyDragoN]

Hi, liked this video! But I did not get what Hultafors it was. Name handlelenght and a Yankee-pattern? What weight has the head? I have here a Yankee with 1 1/2 Lb ... Don‘t know what handle-lenght I should take ... (I am only 1,70m tall) ... Any tips? Jan 🌳⛺️🌲

[@benscottwoodchopper]

the hultafors is this one www.knivesandtools.co.uk/en/pt/-hultafors-chopping-axe-1500-gram-hy-10-1-5-sv.htm For a 1.5lb head I would recommend a handle of between 14" and 17" for use as a hatchet. It is a bit light of a head to use as a larger axe

[@redcanoe14]

Ben, is that tree you are bucking green Sycamore?

[@Jesusiskingamen7]

What is the length on that tassi handle and where can I get one?

[@funcounting]

If this is more robust than most axes, which pattern is the most robust? Monster Maul?

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

Looks like the Tassie would fit in the do all category like for an allrounder though the Hultafors also fits but imagine the Tassies better at splitting. Renewable concrete I believe I was looking at something about that also sounds very interesting. Sold an Old 31/2lb Robert Sorby with the Kangaroo to a friend lately. Ive Been playing with a council Jersey lately and like it very well.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yeah i have a council jersey too, would use it more but 36" is a bit long for most of my uses

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

@@benscottwoodchopper Yeah admittedly I want to cut the handle down so its shorter and straight ish but am enjoying it for splitting at the moment but again I have another dedicated axe for that.

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

@@benscottwoodchopper Been filing a 41/2lb spearwell with one of those weird kind of long wedge heads. And Oberg file has been the tool of choice and an old scythe stone theyre pretty aggressive especially with a bit of water on them.

[@beavercreekwoodcraft8134]

Great video! I would like to add, from everything I've seen, it was typical for Finnish men to carry 2 axes with them into the woods along with their wood frame saws. It seems the 12 model, either 12.1 or 12.2, was typically preferred as a felling axe on a shorter handle. Then a Billnäs 7 on a longer handle was used along with the 12, splitting the meter long lengths of birch to be stacked and seasoned. The 12s were in the 3-3.5# range and had a fairly wide bit. The 7s were heavier, about 4# and they had a long and narrow blade, but with a thick wedge profile.

[@anavega9134]

Do you have link to where I can purchase an axe exactly like this? What are the dimensions?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Do you mean the hultafors yankee pattern or the tasmanian? Hultafors 1.5kg chopping axes can be found on various websites, but tasmanian patterns are only on ebay and rare

[@hildolfrdraugadrottin7279]

They are both good looking axes imo. I would rather use the Yankee cause it's more like I'm use to using.

[@elemental4rce]

Might add that the idea of the 26" was to make it more versatile for felling, limbing and bucking as it allows you to build up head speed for those horizontal cuts. It was never meant to be the perfect axe for bucking tbh. Handle shape wise Ideally I'd have had a thicker board to make the handle from but 🤷‍♂️ I still think tasmanians shit on any other pattern but you already know that 😉

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I found it to be reall nice to limb and buck with, nice wide blade. will need to fell more with it though. that sycamore felling cut was outrageously hard, bull of weird grain. tbh every axe I have would have struggled with it. what you really mean is your helko shits on every other pattern, but its not a proper tassie ;)

[@noone3734]

@@benscottwoodchopper what makes his helko so potent?

[@seff2318]

Zaddy’s back! I was sure you were going to comment on how that head weight performs on a short handle. It looks like a really fun axe. What’s your thoughts on that?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Very similar to basque in feel, i like it

[@Jesusiskingamen7]

@@benscottwoodchopper what pants are you wearing here?

[@kenmuggli4613]

Ben, Your comments on chopping Douglas Fir?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

One of the harder softwoods but nothing really changes. Knots can damage the thinner grinds but try to avoid them and use a thicker grind for limbing

[@ovlasburning6605]

Va bene per spaccare legni duri?

[@noone3734]

More efficient patterns for firewood processing, from felling to splitting? Sure that skinny Yankee pattern can cut deeper in dead wood, but how's it split? Tassies are probably close to the top when it comes to processing firewood. The high centerline and all around convexity of these vintage axes is the main thing missing in today's axes. Such a shame. That Tassie is gorgeous too, maybe the best looking one I've ever seen; Owen picked the right handle length. By the way, I'm nine minutes in so maybe splitting is coming up?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

In general though you do not want to use the same axe for splitting because such a fine edge to make it cut well is damaged easily. Even for splitting i prefer a thick Brades yankee pattern or basque, tassies have a flatter centreline in comparison to those. Or a specialised splitting axe is handy. In general though i think tassies are okay, but not my choice for an all round axe

[@noone3734]

@@benscottwoodchopper I understand specialized axes are better at specific work, but my thing with axes is one axe to process trees into firewood. I don't have a ton of experience, but I think a chopping axe edge would be fine for splitting, even if the bevel is thin, as long as the microbevel is stout and slightly convex. When you say the Tassie has a flatter centerline, do you mean that it has less convexity or that the overall wedge is thinner?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Aye the tassies i have seen have less convexity across the cheeks than a basque or the yankee patterns from Brades. A chopping axe edge can be used for splitting but it is significantly less effective, also sticks more. My splitting axes get quite beat up due to the nature of the work, and having a very fragile edge to have to baby just becomes a liability and slows down work due to the care one must take. Besides, if you are talking about an axe as a standalone tool for processing wood, the size of wood you are going to be able to cut and split will be a lot smaller, going over 30cm becomes a bit ludicrous due to the size of notches you need to cut. Most axes can split up to 30cm fairly good

[@Steve_G88]

The heel on my Arvika took a bend when i was bucking an ash tree. Does that mean the heel is too thin?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

What type of ash? I would say it is just a faulty axe

[@elemental4rce]

Arvika control quality is pretty questionable imho.

[@redcanoe14]

@@elemental4rce Yes...the old Arvikas tend to be a lot better.

[@ovlasburning6605]

Dove posso comprarla?

[@rnilazarev2553]

Молодец! 👍👍👍🤝

[@johncorder2912]

Why is the handle so short on the Tasmanian? Also as someone who has been around American axe patterns my whole life that hultafors yankee looks strange to me not quite like any American made axe pattern I’m familiar with any way.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Short handles are much more useful and the hultafors agdor yankee is identical to most yankee patterns except sligthly less edge length

[@ovlasburning6605]

Bei video...ma ci vogliono I sottotitoli...

[@1südtiroltechnik]

Why did americans/tasmanians make axes that throw chips well? Is there a reason that they need to throw chips?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

In larger wood you need axes that throw chips better. In smaller trees i think thinner axes that bite deeper are more effective

[@butchvandyk1051]

Good day hope all is well We here in South Africa don't really have a lot of axes I can get my hands on a wetterlings felling axe 31" I know it is a Swedish company can you help Kind regards

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Wetterlings is a good brand, great steel

[@butchvandyk1051]

@@benscottwoodchopper wow thank you for your quick response I was sent your way by skill cult thank you...regards

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@butchvandyk1051 no worries! Wetterlings just recently was taken over by gransfors bruks so they are getting very expensive, old stock has dried up

[@butchvandyk1051]

@@benscottwoodchopper wow really...I am almost 2m so is a 31" okay I guess? And the one I can get is a SA wetterlings felling axe #124 if that makes any sense. Regards

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@butchvandyk1051 31" is perfect

[@1südtiroltechnik]

03:40 the front fell off

[@deathbyastonishment7930]

I’m from Tasmania, and I agree with you. Unless you need that extra toughness there’s more efficient choices than a Tasmanian pattern axe

[@redcanoe14]

interesting...I have always assumed that there are some very hard, gnarly trees in Tasmania...is that correct.

[@MartyInTheWoods]

🪓 💪 👍 😃

[@Jesusiskingamen7]

Please sell me this tassi I’ll give you 250 today

[@glenurquhart2300]

One thing I found with my tassies this past winter was their great chip popping abilities wasn't necessary in hard frozen wood. When bucking. And if the axe had a good convex with a high centerline, it was a detriment as it turned my firewood into a Bunch of kindling. Something I had wondered going into the winter was . If I would end up with summer (not frozen wood) axes . And winter (frozen , Hard, solid frozen to the pith) axes. Turns out, I did. My concave and flat cheeked axes do a better job in frozen wood . But stick terribly in warm wood. Where as the Tassies are much much freeer in the cut. And the wood I'm chopping is very soft in the summertime. Rock solid , well , not rock solid. But Real solid in the winter.