The Top 5 Worst Axes I Have Ever Used

[@scottharrison5971]

Do you provide a video for thinning a handle?

[@roykremer9357]

I wish that I had your advice before I wasted my hard earned cash on the very mediocre Husqvarna Splitting Maul!.I liked your no-nonsense approach to giving good honest appraisals on the pro's and cons of owning some of these disappointing axes and mauls!.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I have learned the crude looking german mauls work best, the swedish stuff can somtimes be aesthetic but dissapointing in results

[@ChainsawUsers]

I have 30 splitting axes and mauls also the Husqvarna 2.5kg maul and find it works well as to why you don't like ?? I am in Australia and we have the hardest timber in the world so a good splitting axe is a must.

[@Gladius-]

Btw, about the Helko. They use quality grade B steel by german DIN norm for axes. Which is kinda weird for a sports axe. (But to be fair the final quality is more about proper heat treatment, than the alloying )

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I dont know why these helkos and arvikas are marketed as racing axes or sport axes, its a gimmick to sell basically normal axes. Nothing in common with a tuatahi or hardwood racer

[@michaelkearney5562]

I have some vague memory of reading somewhere that the Wetterlings design was specifically meant for splitting birch which is an easy timber to work on. The Husqvarna/Hultafors item that you refer to has the same shape. Can anybody confirm that this is true or not? I completely concur with your comments on the six pound axe. It's great if you are working on easy to split stuff, but if it gets stuck you have to work very hard to free it. The one that I have is now gathering dust.

[@schmiedepeter3881]

Greetings from germany! I agree with you, some new axes are poor performance because of design, especially the thick handles. I have about 25 axes, some are over 100 years old and forged by my grandfather and great-grandfather. These lie ergonomically in the hand and are therefore easy to work with. I have been using Stihl MS 362, oxhead iltis canada axe 0.8kg and a Kennedy yankee axe 2kg for 8 years. God bless you and your family!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I have been using a iltis 800 recently, fantastic axe. do you have any strange german patterns? always interested to see as german axes are my favourites

[@richarddurney6094]

Great honest reveiw, what would you choose for a good axe tempted by the renaldi

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Depends what your intended uses are?

[@richarddurney6094]

@@benscottwoodchopper mainly bucking

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Rinaldi calabria 1.3kg is great

[@jasperruss7569]

I have an old elwell 4, which has been ground so much it is now 3lbs and is a great splitting axe. It's almost like a Maine wedge but not a perfect wedge shape.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

yeah old worn, stubby axes can work great. Personally I like old brades 1561s, wedge profile with convex cheeks that almost never gets stuck when splitting

[@brothersfromotherslb]

Nice video! I’ve been enjoying your content a lot lately. Btw what is a good dedicated splitting axe?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

This head design is great in all woods. www.mueller-hammerwerk.at/de/biber-spaltaxt-0223.html

[@Steve_G88]

And the Gransfors fan boys go crazy!!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

well not only that, i just gave less than glowing review of 4 very popular nordic axes.

[@colenorthway8578]

@Luca honestly same I was a little confused. I feel like if all these scandi axes have similars patterns it must be specific either to their environment or their populace. If the design didn't work for them there wouldn't be such a high demand or so many scandi companies making them. The one critique I have of this video is that the design might work for other people so criticizing the design really only makes sense if its a serious flaw that is glaring. Really the steel quality, the durability and the axe head design itself are what I care about. The handle design I could care less about since I can easily get a new one and fit it.

[@colenorthway8578]

@Luca Yeah i live in south texas where literally the only common wood thats easy to split is ashe juniper (people in texas call it Cedar). Ashe Juniper however produces toxic flames that can actually really damage your lungs so when it comes to wood you can actually burn you go with live oak (a very specific oak only found in south texas) or pecan. Pecan is HELL splitting since you really have to find pieces with no knots and its super dense. Live oak is also pretty bad because its not like red or white oak, this shit is insanely hard..like hickory hard. But live oak burns amazingly well and puts out a crap ton of heat for a really long time. The only wood that is easy to split and burns well is Cypress, the cypress in texas only grows right next to water so you have to be near water to get it and its not as common as the other trees. I got a small forest axe which probably wasn't the best choice. It can to chores, carve, and small chopping tasks, but it really struggles splitting these hard woods. You can hit them as hard as you can but you really need something with more power and a wider head. Wetterlings outdoor axe wouldve been better.

[@colenorthway8578]

@Luca Yes oak and pecan a a bit easier when fresh from what ive experienced, but not by much however. Sometimes if the tree is older the branches on Live Oak can be so dense to where you can't baton a fixed blade more than a few inches due to knots and such. Wedges help a ton. Unless your using a splitting axe, wedges are a must have

[@colenorthway8578]

@Luca Oh wow you are from Austria! Thats interesting! I bet it gets really cold there!

[@chunkylover54]

i thought i just sucked because i could never get that husq to split well. I am glad to know im not the only one.

[@jacksongraydon2503]

Fiskars splitting axe rules

[@ludovicquinonero4356]

Suggestion, the Husq.(Hultrafors propose the same) splitting axe profile his specific to horizontal splitting, on the ground, splinting "in length" if you'll allow me the terme. In this specific use this profile his very efficient .

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I mentioned that it was good for horizontal splitting in a splitting maul review i did. Its kinda pointless though for most modern uses

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

Yeah I would like to sell the 6lber as have had hedgelayers (or masochists) after them but need to get a decent way of packaging them. Ive been practicing a bit of bucking with the Jersey with that longer handle. Think it could still use a bit of Filing but seems to be very functional I gave Tim Springstens technique a go but its still awkward. Would like to sharpen up that Michigan more one day but I like it as a splitting axe.

[@richardsullivan1776]

My neighbor asked me this weekend if I could sharpen his Rockforge 3 1/2 lb yellow fiberglass handled axe from Home Depot. I took out my Nicholson Axe bastard file and put a nice edge on it. He never sharpen it and it had some edge deformation. It took 45 minutes of hand filing to get a nice bevel on each side. The handle was real rubbery. The handle felt like they just infused hard rubber in a hollow tube of yellow fiberglass, is was terrible. I got a log out of the woodpile and it split good, I felt like I was going to break the handle though. My first axe I ever bought had a rough grip yellow fiberglass handle. It made my hands raw and blistered. It lasted ten years before the fiber broke down to thread. I rehung the axe head with I beautiful Links hickory fawn's foot, my favorite no name single bit 3 1/2 lb axe to this very day.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

yes there are sometimes half decent hardware store axes but its a slim chance you get something good.

[@iam-mp1pe]

& this is one of the big reasons why this is a great channel, because he pulls no punches & dose not seem to care to much about the BS. Good on him for that, thats how more people need to be. But especially for these axe companies that charge premium prices but dont do all the things one must get for what they pay. Im sick of this crap man, so people must stop tolerating it, if people did then these companies would know better. I mean its like that with everything these day not just with axes. Take care though brother, well done

[@benscottwoodchopper]

The worst thing is the people who attack anyone who critisises the exensive axes, GB fans are like a cult honestly...

[@iam-mp1pe]

I hear that brother. I remember my first GB an American felling axe, its a nice axe but once I got a few other axes from other companies & gain more experience with other axes I definitely felt I over paid. Not to mention the tuning I did, now one should have to do much tuning if any at all paying what I paid. But again man good on you for not having the herd mentality mindset & being afraid to say anything bad over what others think & say. Shit pisses me off, & its pathetic how influenced people are with that, its no way to live. I cant stress enough how important this is with life in general. But I dont have to tell you that. I just never get tired of seeing people just doing & saying how they feel paying no mind to the bullshit. Take care

[@shannontaylor8897]

I like my true temper Kelly perfect. The phantom bevels look cool and at 3 and a half pound, it's great.

[@noone3734]

My friend got a 3kg Basque and honestly it wasn't wearing me out much, we stopped after maybe 45 mins of chopping, and I think I could've worked with it a while longer. I thought the weight felt great and the chopping performance was better than my 2.25kg Basque. I found this guy that can fell a big Australian tree with a racing axe without taking breaks, and I used his pendulum swinging technique with great success. His channel name is Lumber Jaxe, check it out. I found the pendulum technique made the 3kg less tiring than the 2.25kg; the pendulum didn't work well with the lighter axe. I think I would love a racing axe for processing work. Maybe that is how the old Aussie lumberjacks swung their axes. Anyways, Ben, I hope you give this technique a go, maybe your opinion of heavy axes would change.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Its not so much the wieght, i love my tuatahis and racers, its when you put that head on a 90cm handle that the axe feels very unwieldy. Racers and basques have 75cm and have a completely different feeling. Grab a 90cm 6lb maul and swing it like you are trying to chop down a tree and you will get the feeling of what this big elwells are like!

[@noone3734]

@@benscottwoodchopper My mind wasn't at all on the elwell axe when I wrote my comment. I thought that thing looked unwieldy in the first video I saw you chopping with it; clearly a specialized tool without many other uses. You said the tuatahi was still a heavy axe and tires you out in about two minutes flat. The 3kg basque is quite comparable to a racing axe, and I found it to be less tiring than my 2.25kg when utilizing the pendulum swinging technique I learned from Lumber Jaxe. When I used it with a normal swing, it did tire me out quite fast. I think the pendulum technique makes a heavy axe more efficient than a lighter axe. I was making short work of the tree I was working on and I think I could keep it up for a couple hours at least, and my fitness level is nothing special. Hopefully I'll get another chance soon to use it for a longer duration. I would've went with a 3kg if I had know better; I much prefer it over my 2.25kg.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I know the pendulum swing and have tried it, however i think it is of little use for the majority of work. When cutting low stumps it is impossible. when i see people doing it they are cutting waist height which is good on springboards but not much use for most forestry, leaves a right mess

[@noone3734]

@@benscottwoodchopper I was using it while bucking, but the tree was up off the ground. Maybe it is situationally dependant. I'll try some stuff next time I'm out chopping.

[@vinniesdayoff3968]

Very interesting video Ben. As usual

[@noone3734]

Ben I have a question. Is there any benefit to honing your edge if there is only the teensiest bit of damage; something so small you can only feel it? Can leaving it alone lead to more damage that would have been otherwise avoided had the edge been fixed up? I'm not sure it's worth losing the steel by honing it each time it gets used, even though it's a minuscule amount. By the way, I'm super impressed with the steel and temper on the Jauregi axes.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I would not bother honing your edge for every small chip, when you get multiple yes. I have not seen or heard of any good evidence from reputable people that leaving it causes more damage

[@noone3734]

@@benscottwoodchopper Okay thanks, I'll let it go for a while and see what happens.

[@ozcampnhuntdan7858]

Fantastic discussion, I have the Husqvarna/Hults large splitting axe and so wanted to love it but just can't...it just doesn't work. Much to some purists disgust I now use the Husqvarna s2800 splitter and love it. Your explanations and thoughts are great !

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Thanks! that's my experience also. Just trying to save people from wasting money on poorly performing tools

[@vikac7818]

Im thinking to buy a husqvarna splitting maul , what is your opinion ?

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Get a stihl one instead, sold my busqvarna one

[@vikac7818]

@@benscottwoodchopper Why you sold it ? Which model of stihl? Thanks in advance. Im thinking of husqvarna model

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@vikac7818 it isbt a good splitter in anything but super soft straight wood, and the poll is so tiny it is useless for any wedge driving. The stihl 3kg maul destroys it for sll work

[@vikac7818]

@@benscottwoodchopper could you send a link of that stihl maul ? Thanks in advance.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@vikac7818 m.stihlusa.com/products/hand-tools/axes/prosplitmaul/

[@illskillz05]

What would be your top 5 to recommend for general purpose ?

[@alexanderleischner8069]

I'm allways suspect about the newer shiny Helkos of the Classic Line, because of the in parts Low Budget prices how they are selling here in Germany. And Look how expensive they are sold in the US..

[@Gladius-]

They are the modern version of the "trade axe". ;)

[@ajaxtelamonian5134]

Lol used one of those Draper1.1kilo axes my friend bought and was pleasantly surprised it was pretty thin and at least sharp enough to cut decently and nice bit shape no issues filing the edge which bent rather than chipped but no issue actually cross cutting wood not bad for less than 30 quid tbh and the Bilnas I just bashed the bottom lugs into the handle with another axe xD

[@jeffreyrubish347]

Thanks for the reviews.

[@redcanoe14]

Hey Jeffrey...how are you?

[@jeffreyrubish347]

@@redcanoe14 I'm well. You?

[@MDR-hn2yz]

Anyone have experience with Adler? They look pretty decent but not many reviews.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I had an adler, it was good

[@kylesheridan8835]

I totally agree with you about the finnish axes, very hard to hang and they are very thick.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I was very disapointed when mine didnt justify the cost or hassle

[@kylesheridan8835]

@@benscottwoodchopper yes another big downside is the cost.

[@merlons]

Finnish axes was created for nordic forest - it's work perfect on the frozen (or just hard) wood

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Maybe for frozen wood, i have never cut that, but I have cut plenty of hard beech and oak, a Finnish axe is about the last one I would pick

[@merlons]

​@@benscottwoodchopper The next argument for the Finnish ax is its condition and model. Billnas Bruk has more than 30 different models, I used only 7, 12.2 and 12.3 - in good condition they work like a chisel on wood. They provide very clean and deep cut, huge chips, easily cut a frozen tree and does not hit the palm, because of unique shape and displaced center of weight. Honestly, i think it's a top evolution of axes. In your case - you need just to try, more suitable model for soft wood and type of work.

[@KevinsDisobedience]

You’ve saved me some money then. I was considering the Husqvarna splitting axe. I did, however, finally buy a new Gransfors. I’ll be doing a video soon. Too busy this weekend, but hopefully soon. Great idea for a video. I’m sure you’ll get some more hate for this one too, but tell it like it is-that’s my intent too.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I put up with the fanboys hate to save some good folks some money. What gransfors did you choose? I like their maul but I regularly buy the american felling axe replacement handles to shave down, like clubs

[@KevinsDisobedience]

I follow you because you tell it like it is. Personal preference aside, I find my experience is ver6similar to your conclusions as well, so when I hear you say a splitting axe is no good I’ll take your word for it and save my money. I bought the Scandinavian Forest Axe. I’ll flesh out my reasons in a video, but basically my main gripe with productions axes is with the hang. They’re either not straight or certain to come loose. After being disappointed with my last two purchases, which are both great little axes now, I decided to quit avoiding the one company that is renown for solidly hung axes. I mean they’re so confident in their hangs that they stopped using barrel wedges in their smaller axes, and I believe they are hung by hand, not pressed on. Yes The handles are thick, but the grind is actually pretty close to being dialed in already. Regardless, both things that are easily remedied, the hang is not. We’ll see how it holds up to real use, but on first inspection it looks more solid than any axe Ive ever bought. Look out for the video. I always appreciate your input.

[@oystercovecraftsman9219]

I have a husqvarna splitting axe (not the maul). I don't mind it, its good for splitting small/medium sized wood

[@TreborYagenrok]

Can’t say for certain what my top five would be but number one for me is the Estwing camp axe. With the weird segmented handle you can’t slide your off hand down the handle while swinging, the grip section weights more than the head does and you can’t choke up to use one hand for more control. The bit design sucks at everything. They are just terrible. If I found myself in a situation like the movie cast away I would not toss it in the ocean, but I would keep opening boxes hoping one had a boys axe or just about anything else, even if it was a small forest axe!

[@eduardo_k]

I agree with your opinion on the Estwing. Indestructible, but lousy for any real work. Everyone is different and has different needs. I’m partial to full sized and a boys axes. I’ll swing a big axe and switch to the boys axe so I can have a break.

[@TreborYagenrok]

@@eduardo_k I think the durability aspect of the design is why most people buy the estwing, casual users don't want to mess with replacing a handle so a steel handle that will never break is appealing. While the head can never "work loose" they are far from indestructible though. It can bend quite easy and the have seen photos on the web of the center section rusting in two. If people ask me to recommend and axe I point them towards a Fiskars, the 24" or 28". For splitting which is what 90% of people us an axe for they work great, the estwing not so much. Me personally I like wood handles. My favorite axe is an old Wetterlings 2.75lbs head on a 29" handle. Goes with me every camping trip.

[@Gladius-]

3 ... 2 ... 1 ... take cover!

[@johnmutton799]

The Gransfors bruks handles are crap! The grain orientation is very poor. They are popular for KZbin warriors! Happy new year mate!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I've had a few of their handles to essentially use as blanks to make something nice out of, the grain has always been very good . I don't believe anyone who says they seriously use them though, one of their handles buggered my elbow after 5 minutes of chopping. I challenge anyone to cut for 3 hours with one and tell me they feel fine after. happy new year to you too!

[@Gladius-]

I think you make some good points but I have to disagree on some. The 50 cm handle has it's place. If it doesn't work out for you you should keep in mind that not every person is at your size. Then the Billmäs hang. Finnish axes are known for their ruggedness. I guess it has to do with the long finnish winters, that involve a lot of chopping into frozen wood. I don't own a Billnäs (yet) but if you had a head flying, then there might have been something wrong with your hanging technique. That being said I enjoyed your video as usually. Keep up the great work please!

[@benscottwoodchopper]

With 50cm, in one hand it is almost as awkward as 60cm, but has half the chopping performance of 60 and even my gf who is much shorter hated it. I just dont see why you would choose this size over a 60cm except for pruning. As for the billnas, the eye is the opposite taper to a slip fit axe, i think this is flawed as it naturally wants to fly off. Maybe it was designed to make it easier to drive out broken birch handles in thd field, but for thd moden axeman who can buy brand new hultafors for half the price of a beat up billnas, they are an awful performer

[@Gladius-]

@@benscottwoodchopper I think finnish axes are finnish solutions for finnish problems. And there is no question about it that a 60 cm handle makes a better performer than a 50 cm handle. It's just that when I go on a hike, I preferre my Krumpholz rhineland pattern 50 cm over anything else I have come across so far. That might be because of my personal ergonomics or those of my backpack. Also I love that modern boron alloy with that distinctive "dingggg". Excellent quality.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@Gladius- i agree, the billnas axes, if brand new and unworn, were probably the best axe for the finish context, for this day and age though a big waste of money

[@Gladius-]

@@benscottwoodchopper I don't own one yet, because of the ridiculous price tags.

[@benscottwoodchopper]

@@Gladius- yeah i would pass on them and get sometging different

[@joshsimp1995]

I would like a axe that the norseman used

[@Apalm12]

Buckin used it to split with and it works fine

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Bucking splits extemely easy wood

[@henchman_ben3725]

Great video as always.

[@redcanoe14]

Hello Ben...when you say the 'Worst Axes I Have Ever Used" ...it is important to qualify for what purpose...your testing is for bucking green logs? As much as I am not a fan of the GB SF Axe it has been 'adopted' as a favourite for many highly regarded and well known exponents of bushcraft. For this reason I am sure it completes 'bushcraft/ woodcraft' tasks very efficiently. I think where the SFA will inevitably have 'sub-optimal' performance in bucking up logs, particularly when multi night winter camping, certainly when splitting thicker pieces of wood. Unfortunately the 'one-axe-to-do-it-all' principle is flawed, the Tuatahi axe you have might be deemed as 'the worst bushcraft axe I have ever used'. I still have no definitive idea as to what the larger Elwell 'English Pattern' axes were used for, bit they must have been made in huge volumes over a long period of time. Mauls are a whole other type of animal, I have 5 or 6 old mauls up to 8lbs, at that weight or heavier the key objective is to exert great force on to the end grain of wood and to drive the thick wedge in far enough to separate the fibres. Most mauls have a narrow 'cutting' edge, presumably to enable a maximum concentration of force.. I have never used one of the Swedish mauls you have tested, but I would not be confident in them based on the wood I typically split. My 8lb maul will split almost anything, but at the expense of a lot of my energy. Nowadays I prefer my 3.75 convex profiled old double bit axe, I can get more wood split in less time with less stress on my elbows. The other factor in splitting wood is the skill level and knowledge of the wood you are splitting. Sorry about my avalanche of long comments...but I am a long time axe nut :)

[@benscottwoodchopper]

I try to review axes based off the context they are sold for and not just what I use them for mostly but i think it is sometimes worth mentioning other uses. In the case of the small forest axe to quote directly "The Gränsfors Small Forest Axe has a larger head and a longer handle than the Wildlife Hatchet and therefore provides more chopping power. However, it is still small enough to fit into a rucksack. The Small Forest Axe is excellent for felling trees and limbing." I tested the small forest axe for bucking, felling, limbing, making fires and carving spoons etc in all manner of soft and hardwood, dry and green. Its just an awful compromise. Particularly bucking and felling suffers the most and is very uncomfortable, if not dangerous. I think the main reason why most bushcrafters like it is because it is smaller and fits in a pack better, but this trade off is a bit silly when the performance suffers so greatly. Interestingly ray mears designed a bushcraft axe with slightly longer handle, 60cm, which I think is the bare minimum for a 2 handed axe to be practical. In one hand it is clumsy, and increasing the length slightly doesn't increase that clumsiness significantly from my experience. Its a fun little toy axe to mess around with making feather sticks but if you want to do serious work the extra 10 or 15cm doubles the efficiency. For cutting dead dry wood, basically the only reason to use an axe camping, the geometry and edge profiles on gransfors is poor. The rinaldi american boys axe is the same wieght with a 60cm handle, wider bit, cuts deeper and costs 1/4 of the price. Comparing the 2 makes the gransfors seem very poor in all areas except aesthetics. Here you can see the performance of a rinaldi on some dead standing fir. kzbin.info/www/bejne/r2e1fKSvqMedrsk The trouble with the Swedish mauls is they have a fat edge that bounces off hardwoods, that tapers to a thinner profile meaning when splitting softwood it sometimes doesn't have quite enough wedge to finish off the split cleanly. The large English patterns are for rounding a tree, removing the roots around the stump so you can saw lower to the ground and harvest as much timber as possible. I suppose for this work they may be good, since you are working in short bursts giving you time to recover, though i have seen pictures of them cut down to make the handles shorter kzbin.info/www/bejne/rXmqeaWwm9ZllcU

[@hauki9286]

@@benscottwoodchopper I dont have the small forest axe (too expensive), but i have an old swedish axe with similar proportions. Interestingly it is either Gränsfors bruks or Wetterlings, it was imported with a different name. i have always called it as a bad compromise axe because it doesnt do anything well but it does do it somehow. It is one of my favourite axes for a backpack. I really get it why would you call it bad axe, but i also get it why someone would like it. Also i take you are a rather tall fellow, maybe it is just that why you would need a bit longer handle?

[@markmajors3256]

Who sells the best English garden tools . I like hand tools of all kinds

[@emlillthings7914]

How satisfying it is to return to your vids, find very unusual to come across a broad collection of axes, but it's mostly just a collection, talking about what's bought. Not sure if people who've got little to no experience, might miss a conceptually important facet. I personally dig the detailed deliberation, but a short overview at first, would make it easier for people who'd benefit from the information you've acquired. As in, not this video in particular, but that you (example) use relevant clips like you did in this video, but making a short intro to your channel. I know what I am to expect, but it would be hard for others who got little or (let's be honest, often no clue, to no fault of their own). ,,, which is why I think as little as a 5(+) sec streak of clean strikes, could/would make it clear that you're not just a dude talking, and hoarding, but actually using., ,, you know, a picture/clip says more than a thousand swin-*cough*words

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Yeah I might make a intro, good idea!

[@jamesoleary4742]

Next video... top 5 best axes you've used 👌

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Basically the ones i made a reccomendation video on, ochsenkopf iltis, council tool boys axe, hultafors 1.5kg, all my rinaldi axes, basques etc

[@jamesoleary4742]

@@benscottwoodchopper just got the hultafors 1.5kg, tuning the handle took over 2 hours, turned out well tho. Couldn't believe how good the grind was from the factory, nearly 20 degrees already so won't be too much trouble...looking forward to using it 🌲💪

[@benscottwoodchopper]

Glad you like it, it is one of the best all round axes if you need some extra power, I think you will find it much improved for felling cuts