Hytest Axe Comparison

In this video I compare the profiles of the vintage Australian Hytest Craftsman and Forester axes models.
These were manufactured in the 1950s by Hytest in Sydney and Melbourne and were high-quality, forged Tasmanian-pattern axes designed for farmers (Craftsman) and professional timber getters (Forester).
I show here the 4.5 and 4 pound Craftsman and Forester axes.

[@benhayes4924]

Thank you for this information, I have been splitting wood with the same family HyTest Craftsman 4 1/2 lb axes my whole life but never knew a thing about them. Great to learn some technical details and also the history of the brand and different models 🙂👍🏻

[@axesofoz717]

My pleasure mate. These are among the best axes ever made!

[@simjai1000]

Thank you so much for making this video. The axes look incredible! Recently was given two of my Great Grandads axe heads, one is a Hytest. The edge he put in it is still super sharp. Please keep making more videos!

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks mate! I will be doing an update to this one soon. Great to have old axes from family members, I have a Cyclone Tassie from my Grandad which I treasure.

[@Murls]

I was wondering what the difference was between the Hytest axes. you have answered it for me in this great video, cheers

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks, glad it was helpful. I am intending to make another updated video on Hytest shortly as well.

[@Murls]

I will be looking forward to that. @@axesofoz717

[@user-oh4bu4ww5h]

great video nice to see someone else who collects these great axes .the kauri are really hard to find over the ditch here in nz.

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks mate. Would like to find a Kauri one day but never seen one.

[@kurts64]

Beaut axes and a good run-thru mate! Gotta love a Hytest! 👍👍🇦🇺🪓

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks Kurt

[@KevinsDisobedience]

I really like that 3rd Forester. Nice shape. I’m also really liking the quality of steel on my Hytest.

[@axesofoz717]

@@KevinsDisobedience The 4lb Hytests are great. Also the handle on that one is an old USA-made Tredway hickory one with the original paint still on it. One of my treasures.

[@KevinsDisobedience]

G’day mate, really cool to see all these right next to each other. Just got my first, and I gotta say I’m really liking what I see.

[@axesofoz717]

Glad to hear mate :)

[@timwatsonphotography]

Very interesting. I learned a lot. Thanks for the video.

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks!

[@MrMisaKulicka]

Thanks for all this info, thats really interesting and helpful 💪🏻

[@axesofoz717]

I'm glad it was helpful. I am going to do a longer update to this video soon. Will have a lot more historical information. Cheers.

[@MrMisaKulicka]

@@axesofoz717 awesome, I'll keep an eye out. I just got my first tassie (Hytest Craftsman) and this video was really useful to learn more about it!

[@Codi_Clapper]

Really nice comparison! Enjoyed the history lesson. Some manly axes you have there😁

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks mate :)

[@peterfletcher8411]

Informative piece. Thankyou.👍

[@axesofoz717]

No worries :)

[@casterman2]

The Forrester 4.5 is a wood bomb!

[@axesofoz717]

Yes it is a beast!

[@gumboot65]

I had a Forester 30+ years ago and I remember it being thick cheeked. I recently got a Forged and a Challenger. Both stamped 4 1/2 lbs . They have both lost quite a bit of weight thru use. My Forged is now 3.8+ lbs and the Challenger is 4.1+ lbs. My Forged is similar thickness to your Craftsman. My Challenger is as thick as your Forester. Very thick. I just got it hung yesterday afternoon. It had harder steel in it than I thought it would. I reprofiled the edge and sharpened it last night and went and fell some small trees and limbed, bucked them . It is really a nice axe IMHO. I am at around a 25° bevel on the edge I can feel the thick bevel limiting it's penetration. But will keep it Thick in hopes it will hold up well in the Cold, 40 below cold.

[@axesofoz717]

My Challenger was around 3.5 pounds I think and thin. Maybe the heavier ones are much thicker, I have not owned a 4.5 pound one yet.

[@gumboot65]

@@axesofoz717 I'm only interested in the 4 1/2 and 5 lb Tassies as 3 1/2 lb may well be the single most popular weight axe in the U.S. and Alaska. And I find that weight too much for the hatchet work. And Too light for the real work. Pro fallers on the west coast of N.A. and the Aussie's and probably Kiwi's all used 4 1/2 lb axes. And the exceptionally strong among them would use 5 pounders. So 2 kg. It is for me.

[@axesofoz717]

@@gumboot65 True, that's why almost all the old axes I see in Australia are 4.5 pounders. Overwhelmingly the most popular weight among the old time axemen here . I have 3 of the 5 pound Hytests and I only use them for splitting-too heavy for me to do much sustained chopping with.

[@gumboot65]

@@axesofoz717 The other part of the full size tassies is, as both these I recently got show. Working an axe for a living ment sharpening them daily. And probably maintaintence reprofiling once a week. It doesn't take too long to turn a 4 1/2 lb axe into a 4 lb axe. Or a 5 lb to a 4 1/2 lb. I really liked the vid. I wish I could load a pic of my 2 here.

[@overnightOCD]

thanks for the vid man.. im just getting it axes

[@axesofoz717]

No worries, enjoy 👍

[@jopsball-turret6969]

Thanks for the great video. I have so many questions now about my collection, lol

[@axesofoz717]

No worries mate. If have any info that is useful I am happy to share it.

[@jopsball-turret6969]

@@axesofoz717 would you consider the paper label hystests to be of lesser quality? Like you were saying in your video. I’ve seen a lot of these on eBay and it’s hard to tell if they are legit, just cuz they have some red or blue paint remnants. Was there other company’s making lower quality tassies?

[@axesofoz717]

@@jopsball-turret6969 After Trojan took over Hytest in the mid 1960s, they kept making Tassie pattern axes. Right now there are some for sale on Australian Ebay...these are usually regarded as being lesser quality than the ones made in the 1950s with the Hytest stamp on them. They are not bad axes by any means but Trojan weren't making axes on the same level as the old Hytests. If you see unmarked Tassies with red, green or blue paint they are likely to be Trojan/Hytest.

[@jopsball-turret6969]

Thanks man, I seen a blue hytest with a Trojan handle go for a couple hundred US on eBay the other day. Shipping is brutal. I beat the snot out of a couple of my old stamped tassies year round. They’re amazing.

[@JamesGroves-vr2xw]

Very informative 🙏🏿🇺🇸🪓

[@axesofoz717]

No worries!

[@Chitching]

Good on ya mate! Good stuff thanks for sharing. Are you down under? I am looking for a good contact to source some Tassies.

[@casterman2]

I’d be interested in learning about handle styles as it relates to Tassies and other Aussie axe patterns. Trying to get my hands on spotted gum here in the states has so far not happened. My mates from down under have told me how hard the trees are there. Keep up the good work!

[@axesofoz717]

No worries :) Many of the higher-end old time axes in Australia had hickory handles made in the USA from what I have seen.

[@gumboot65]

I am also planning on getting Spotted Gum handles for my Tassies. I prefer White Ash to hickory for axe handles. I grew up with white ash handles axes

[@axesofoz717]

@@gumboot65 I'd be interested to hear what you think of spotted gum handles once you try them out. I find them a bit like hickory but maybe a little heavier.

[@jhtsurvival]

@@gumboot65 i just cut a few bilets of Ash about a month ago to make handles! I havent done any Axe handles but ive done a few hatchet and hammer handles so it should be fun. I used Cherry for my hatchets about 4 or 5 years ago and they are still holding up today... Black cherry that is. Its a great wood imo

[@8ttiknio8]

@@axesofoz717 I have made many handles out of spotted gum and other Australian hardwoods. I have found Australian hardwoods make for good handle material.

[@justincheyne1540]

Great video mate, i was given a hytest racer with light rust but not a ding on it. Will you be reviewing these in future?

[@axesofoz717]

Cheers mate, I don't own a Hytest racer yet. If I get one I will do a video on it :)

[@8ttiknio8]

I have a few hundred axes, I have been collecting them for 40 years. I don't know that much about them... I just like them. I have one marked both Hytest and Plumb. I didn't know of the different lines. Lucky I watched this clip as I was going to get rid of one of my Hytests. This clip prompted me to go and look at it... its a 4 pounder..... I guess I will clean it up and keep it.

[@axesofoz717]

Sounds like you have a great collection mate. If you want to get rid of the Plumb Hytest sell it to me 😁

[@8ttiknio8]

@@axesofoz717 When I looked through what I have I realized I had 3 of them... let me know if you really want one.

[@axesofoz717]

@@8ttiknio8 I am interested mate. If you can email me some pictures that would be great. [e-mail]

[@mikewasowski1411]

Great video. I just found an old Fern in my dads stash. Do you know what year they changed from Plumb to Fern and then to Hytest?

[@axesofoz717]

G'day mate. Since I made this video I have been doing a lot more research into Hytest history. The stuff related to "Plumb Australia" is complex. Before they made axes, as W. H. Plumb, they used the Fern stamp on wrenches and other forged tools prior to WW2. Later, on their forged Tassie axes, around WW2, they used "Plumb Australia" and then "Hytest". This change to "Hytest" happened around 1946 after Plumb Lafayette threatened legal action.. At about the time of this change they also resumed using the "Fern" stamp on a secondary line of axes. So most likely your axe would be from around this 1946- period. Hope this helps! It is a complicated history.

[@mikewasowski1411]

@@axesofoz717 awesome thanks for the insight. Much appreciated

[@Chitching]

What is a reasonable price to pay for heads of this quality?

[@v26224]

how does the modern 4.4lb cyclone axe compare with its hytest ancestry.

[@theechoinggreen6175]

The current Cyclone axes have inferior quality steel when compared to the original Hytests, and have flat cheeks rather than convexed cheeks which were designed to prevent sticking in hardwood. The reason for this is that the current ones sold at Bunnings etc are more of a gardening tool, whereas the old Hytests developed out of more professional use such as logging, farming and competitive woodchopping. So I would say that the current production axes are probably okay for light work like basic splitting, chopping up garden waste etc. But they would have problems with edge-holding and sticking when used to chop really dense hardwood such as we have here.

[@outdoors5352]

I have inherited a Hytest Craftsman 4.5 Is there a way of telling what year it was made (or at least the era)? Thanks for your videos 👍

[@axesofoz717]

Cheers! I don't think it's possible to be precise about dating these axes, but if it is stamped and has a square poll, then it is most likely from the 1950s through to sometime in the early 1960s. Trojan took over Hytest in the mid 1960s and changed the stamps, so it would most likely be from the 1950s.

[@outdoors5352]

@@axesofoz717 Much appreciated. It's definitely stamped 'Hytest Craftsman 4.5' and has a square poll. It has the original handle by the looks of it and in great condition. The head came loose/off the other day and needs to be re hung. I wouldn't mind keeping the old handle aside and installing a new one. Is there a brand you would recommend?

[@axesofoz717]

@@outdoors5352 Here in Australia the Kruger handles from Mitre 10 hardware are pretty good.

[@bombsawaylemay770]

I'm curious, was the Z 4lbs Forester a military issued axe?

[@axesofoz717]

Not that I know of. The military Hytests I have seen are usually Craftsman axes which makes sense as they were seen as good all- purpose axes. The Forester was marketed at professional timber cutters. The "Z" stamp was not a military mark. It seems to have been some kind of quality grading, but no one has been able to prove exactly what was meant by it yet. Cheers.

[@bombsawaylemay770]

​@@axesofoz717thanks for the reply. I was bidding on a Z Forester on eBay but got outbid. The axe sold for $300 USD! Like you say in your video, they are not cheap.

[@BCJerbs]

Nice video! I have an axe video that I put out trying to find out what model axe I have and hope you may come over and have a look? It's a Hults Bruk 4 1/2 pounder with a 32inch handle...i think it's other an older Tassie or an Arvika...but it's a beaut of a beast! Thanks so much for sharing your axes! Watching from the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island in Canada! Cheers, Jerbs. 🇭🇲🔥🔪🔥🇨🇦👍🏼

[@axesofoz717]

Thanks mate...your axe looks like an HB American pattern of some sort. I have a few of their Tassie pattern axes. Judging by the red paint on the handle and the deep stamp, I would say its probably one from the 1980s.

[@jeffschroeder9089]

I like the forester

[@axesofoz717]

Great axes.

[@brettbrown9814]

First! Thanks great video!

[@axesofoz717]

No worries :)

[@KevinsDisobedience]

Never found an axe vid without this man’s approval on it. Supports the entire community. Thanks brother, sincerely.

[@ishure8849]

Tom Petit 👍

[@tedmartin5402]

I think it was Peter McLaren who really pushed plumb axes.

[@axesofoz717]

True, also Tom Petit in the early days.

[@ramka1255]

Rìu này một cái bao nhiêu bác

[@rexjames0015]

Was not Plumb Australia it was W.H Plum and did not try to capitalise in the name Plumb USA.

[@axesofoz717]

This was a video done on the spot without preparation, a much more in depth talk on Hytest history will be uploaded soon. Cheers.

[@rexjames0015]

@@axesofoz717 And I correct myself W.H. Plumb. W.H. Plumb was a company involved in making a diverse range of tools. I'm very interested in your work.

[@rhys5567]

Aussie wood is dense, heavy and twisted. Just like me

[@axesofoz717]

😆

[@lukasking2573]

What? The Americans invented the tassie pattern? Are you sure? I bet they don't like to hear that in tasmania .

[@axesofoz717]

Haha yeah it's true. Good old Plumb got there first with the help of an Aussie :)

[@lukasking2573]

@@axesofoz717 so that eventually makes Americans the gods of axes, hands down

[@ishure8849]

It was an Australian design developed in the USA they had electricity 👍🇦🇺.

[@lukasking2573]

@@ishure8849 sounds like a joke

[@ishure8849]

Yes my attempt at humour, I can tell you now the developement of the tassie started in the early 1800s out of necessity 👍.