| 589 | Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe | 2012-02-29 |
For Christmas, Santa Claus brought my wife, Amy, a Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe. The axe is only slightly bigger than a hatchet, yet it costs about a hundred and twenty dollars. You're kidding, right? Yes, it is did cost six or seven times more than a boy Scout hatchet, but there is also that much difference in the two axes. You get what you pay for ...
A few years back, friends of ours were moving into a new house. They were living out of state and were not going to have time to paint the rooms before moving. We offered to help them. Going to a big hardware store we bought a six pack of cheap brushes and met another friend at the house. We slowly painted the afternoon away without too many mistakes. That evening another friend joined us. Even though we told him that we had everything, he still brought his own rollers, brushes, and buckets.
Looking at his gear, I saw that he had a sticker on a paint brush sleeve for twenty-five dollars. I asked jokingly, 'where do you even go to buy a $25 brush?' Our friend did not say much, he just painted. Four of us were finishing up one last room, the three of us painted one wall, he painted the other three.
Well, we bought good brushes before our next painting effort. We still could not paint nearly as good or as fast as our friend; but the good brushes did help. The same is true of the Gransfors axe, we might not be lumberjacks, but the small axe is a tool, not a toy.
A few Granfors Bruks tips ...
The axe is made in Sweden and has a nineteen inch hickory handle.
It has a two pound head.
The axe comes with an instructional book.
Reading the axe book, it seems that there is more to wood harvesting than whacking at some dead tree with a hatchet.
The book gives suggestions for chopping and splitting techniques and for drying the split wood.
Our Small Forest Axe is either a small axe or a hatchet with a long handle.
The axe feels good to hold. The company makes a throwing axe; but I have not tried to throw this one, yet.
We needed an axe or hatchet to split small pieces of wood into kindling.
The axe is so sharp I think you could shave with it! It really will cut paper thin slices of wood.
It will also cut anything else it touches, including fingers! Please, be careful.
When we replace one of our other axes, it will be with Gransfors Bruks.
Setting the links below, I noticed that the Gransfors Bruks site had a popup window which offered the Axe Book for free! (02/29/12)
If you are looking for a tool to pass on to generations to come, Gransfors Bruks makes it.
Happy chopping trails