Is this worth getting? https://www.smkw.com/marbles-outdoor-axe-20-in-handle

I have seen some good reviews on them. They are not a stainless steel.  I think Wranglerstar did a review. I would bet it's decent. I think they are made by Condor for Marbles but I'm not sure. Condor rocks!

Great....now I want one! Lol!

ETA: I tried to add one to my cart to see shipping but it wouldn't let me.

Liking this thread OP.  Will post up my 2 Wetterlings when I get a chance.

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My newest pickup, a condor michigan axe. 1.5 pound head, and came with a 26" handle, although it was advertised as being 18, i think. I chopped it down to 19". Still have to do some edge work, and hope i don't screw it up.

It's like a saddle axe now. Condor makes great stuff. I am looking forward to your observations after using it. I wonder if the cheeks are thick like my Greenland Pattern axe?

They don't seem overly thick to me, but I'm definitely a newbie in the axe world.  A saddle axe was definitely what I was going for!

I'll try to get some better photos of the head later today for you.

Nessmuk really liked what he called the "double barrel axe".

One side sharpened for green soft wood, the other for harder/more seasoned wood.

I prefer a pole but, each style has its benefits.

He also listed "deer bones" among the uses for the thicker-edged side of his pocket axe.  I've been re-reading his book, as well as Kephart's.  Great information in those old tomes.

Had Kephart's Camp Cookery out last night.

I think, in a lot of ways, the old ways are best. I've read and have both Nessmuk and Kephart's woodcraft/camping books and thoroughly enjoy them.

Also would recommend Foxfire 1-3 at least.

There's another Kephart book he wrote about living in Appalachia. Can't remember the exact title but I'm sure it'd come up on google. It wasn't as much about info as just entertainment.

Our Southern Highlanders is an excellent book. Highly recommend it.

I just put together what I believe will be my last axe in the 20" range. It is a 1.75 lb Philadelphia Tool Company head on a 20" Wetterlings handle. The whole package ended up 19.5" long and 2 lbs 7 oz.




It came out looking and feeling pretty awesome. I'd love to take it for a test run tomorrow, but I'm not sure my wife would let me. I've been away for the last 5 days.

3 of the 5 Short Pack Axes (20") I posted about in this thread have the Wetterlings handles. The handle has a more european type palm swell. The handle swells front to back but it is exactly the same width top to bottom. The two 20" Hults Bruk axes have more traditional American swell. It starts to thicken about 3" from the end and the less abrupt swell front to back.

Both types of handles feel good in the hand. I don't really have a preference. I don't find myself really adjusting to them. It just comes naturally.


I am not sure if I will try a 2.25 lb boy's axe head on a 20" handle. I have 1.25, 1.35, 1.5, 1.75, and 2 lb heads on 19.5 to 20.5" handles. I don't see what an extra .25 lbs will give me on such a short handle, so I will need some convincing to put one that heavy together.

I do have a 2.25 lb head I'm going to put on a 24" handle. I have to order the handle so it will take a week or so to get it. It won't be together until next week or the week after.

Is this worth saving?  I can't find any markings on it.

If it's cheap it's worth a try. How much does it weigh? Length?

It's free to me.  About 3.25lbs and 28"  overall.

Is it a big deal if the head is a few degrees off center? I had to remove a fair amount of material from the new handle.

Also, anyone know if any manufacturers that only stamped "U.S.A." on the left side along the poll?

I actually have a few very nice axe heads with a slight twist in the bit and they chop fine.

Pictured are always helpful.

Do you apply anything to the finish post BLO? The hickory seems kinda not grippy. I rubbed a wax candle into my hammer and I wasn't impressed.

The shape is what makes it stay in your hand. I keep my handles smooth as silk to avoid blisters as it works around in your hand. Believe it or not, wet handles are grippier with BLO than dry ones. I rework the handle shape to avoid the need for more grippiness.

Bat, have you ever made a video or guide to how you sharpen on your grinder?  I have a 1x40 and a 2x40 grinder, but I still need to find a beater project on to use as a test subject.

I don't think I would like being in a video. Too fugly. I use the slack of belt and regulate the basic edge shape with more or less pressure. Too much pressure and angle will make a heavy convex. Light pressure and flatter hold will yield a shallow convex.

THAT'S why I've never run into you at any of the local gun shows.  I was always looking for a Tom Selleck look-alike.

I just put together the heavy weight of all my 24" pack axes. I bought a 2.25 lb head off Ebay for under $20. I ordered a 24" Beavertooth Hudson Bay handle directly from Beavertooth for about $18 shipped.

The handle was an almost perfect fit in the eye. It only took a few minutes to get it seated right.



The handle comes very thick with a long thick palm swell and huge shoulders by the head. It took a lot of grinding to get the handle thinned out right. I gave it a much shorter, fatter palm swell that feels just right.

Then I roasted it and rubbed in one coat of provincial stain while it was still warm. The heat opens the grain big time.



One coat of BLO.



I wish I knew the maker. It had some remnants of blue paint that is very Wetterlings like. It very well could be Swedish. I don't know of any American companies that used light blue paint.

This boy's axe turned out beautifully. I'm stoked.

I swung this boy's axe hard and fast into an 8" diameter Locust tree.  It took 2 minutes to take it down popping big chips. Once I reached just over half way through it only took 3 chops to the back cut to fell it.

It cut deep. The blade showed zero damage and was still shaving sharp after. The axe handle is thick but comfortable. The palm swell is solid and positive. The surface is smooth and grippy.

Limbing was wicked. It took off 2" branches with single smooth blows. It looked like they were cut with a razor.

This will definitely be one of my favorites among many. Definitely not "the" axe, but one of the greats.



The Locust on the left is the tree I took down. You can see how the back cut looks like a smooth single cut.

Now that there are no fun flea markets to buy axes and other fun stuff I have been spending time improving axes I have.

This axe started its life with me as an Ebay purchase. 1.5 lb and a possible True Temper. It turned out to have great steel.



I turned it into this.



I had used a recycled handle and it ended up without a proper palm swell. I just wasn't happy with it at all.

I met an Amish handle maker last weekend and he gave me one of his beautiful handles. 18" and one of the nicest I've ever seen. I hope to be able to help him get them to market somehow.

This was the result.



18.5", 1 lb 12.5 oz over all with its 1.5 lb head. It's graceful and beautiful and feels wonderful in the hand.

I just took another picture of my 18" to 20" short pack axe collection. I don't see myself expanding this part of my collection other that to add a SFA or something similar. I set them up the same way I list them, handle length, then over all weight with the head weight listed last.



left to right

Cold Steel Axe gang      20.5",   2lb - 1.2oz, 1.5 lb head   (original)
Hults Bruk                      20.25", 2lb - 4.2oz, 1.5 lb head (cut down beaver tooth)
Hults Bruk                      20.25", 1lb-15.5oz, 1.25 lb head (cut down beaver tooth)
Evansville Tool              19.5" ,  2lb - 11.5oz, 2 lb head (Wetterlings)
Philadelphia                   19.5",  2 lb - 7.4oz, 1.75 lb head (Wetterlings)
Wetterlings                     19.5",  2 lb             , 1.35 lb head (Wetterlings)
Unmarked TT                 18.5", 1 lb - 12.5oz, 1.5 lb head  (Amish handle)
Craftsman                       18"   , 1 lb - 15.5oz, 1.25 lb head (House Handle)
Council Tool                   17"   , 2 lb - 8.5oz,    2 lb head (original)

I thought it would be fun to put the Cold Steel Axe gang hatchet in the list since it is in the same size range. It's actually a viable axe. A bit odd but still fun! As you can see from the list of the handles, only two of these axes have original handles. The Council Tool Hudson Bay is a bit short at 17", but it made the cut because of shear weight. It's a short beast!

Axes in this size range are actually not that easy to buy. There are several carpenters axes from Husky, Condor, and Hults Bruk. The Hults Bruk Aneby, Salen, the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest axe, and the Wetterlings Outdoor axe #118 are all in this size range.

That is why so many of these are put together by me. The market is ripe for a company to fill this niche with a inexpensive quality axe in the 20" range. 1.5 to 1.75 lb range. Nice thin handle.

Awesome thread, just looked through the whole thing a read a bunch. I've posted pics of my finished ones in your other thread so not going to spam them here.



Cruisers are hard to find because they are popularly snatched up for bushcrafting pack axes. The one on the left is a Plumb in the 2-2.5# range that has been at the top of my list to fix. A 28" handle would be standard. The Auto-O-Graf next to it shows what happens when someone misuses the thin side

doulbed

I found another axe to play with on Ebay. Swedish Hults Bruk hatchets are not exactly rare on Ebay, but they go for a lot of money when they do show up they actually bring a lot of money. It's not uncommon for a 1 1/4 lb heads to bring $40 and the 1 1/2 lb heads bring closer to $50.

This one was a "buy it now" for $20 and $10 shipping. It was up for a few days before I just decided to buy it.




There are a few reasons I really like these heads. They are not stamped Hults Bruk, but I know for sure where they came from. The steel is top notch. The heads are nice and thin and pretty long for the weight. This one is 5.812" long. They have larger eyes than most hatchet heads so the handle should be stronger if done well.

The bit is flatter than most vintage heads. This is not necessarily a good or bad thing. Lots of folks like the higher centerline for wedging apart wood during splitting. I haven't had too much trouble with splitting small rounds and the thin bit bites deep when chopping.

The handle is very thin. Much thinner than I expected for a birch handle. They don't have hickory in Sweden so the current handle materials are brought in from the US and then sent back mounted in axes. It might end up on a nice 16" to 18" hickory handle later. For now I'll play with it as is. The handle length is 15" over all.

Nice work Batman!  Are you going to blue it?

Nah.....I'll just leave it alone. If I pull the handle then I'll polish it up nice and blue it. It's too hard to get to everything right with the handle.

Thanks for this awesome thread Batman! I've learned a lot and have been inspired to fix up this old axe that I acquired a few years ago. Do you know anything about Valley axes? It says "VALLEY AXE -112" and has no other markings. The handle is 15", the head is 5.5" long, 2 1/8" tall where the handle attaches and 3.5" tall at the blade. I don't have a way of measuring the weight besides getting on the bathroom scale with it and subtracting my weight. I think the handle may need replaced because it is missing a chunk of wood where it is attached. Maybe a slightly longer one would be good.

That looks like a great little axe. I would sand up the handle and treat with several coats of boiled linseed oil. Remember to wipe off the excess after 5 to 10 minutes.

I posted this in the other thread in GD, but I felt my further questions are probably better off over here...

I have this hatchet...
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I'm definitely wanting to rehang it since it seems to have moved, although its not loose at all.

I don't have an accurate way to weigh the thing. I believe that this is a True Temper Woodsman. Regardless, I think I want to try an 18" or 20" handle. I'm local to TN Hickory and could pop down there one day, but they don't list anything that short on their website (unless I just missed it). 

I like the Wetterlings 20" that batman posted, is this the same handle and would it work (or be made to work)? https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/replacement-axe-handles/new-2-W-Axe-24H?node=4210

I don't think that is the same handle.  I'll have to find the part number later. I think it might have been for #118.

I bought this axe head on Ebay for $13. There was no visible markings other than a very faint 1 1/2 lb under the poll. So far the consensus is that this head was made in China. I bought it because of how wonderfully thin the bit is at the edge along with the nice over all wedge shape. I've really never seen another head like it.




This axe head may be Chinese, but the steel was hard as woodpecker lips! It took some time to grind the profile, which didn't extend up the bit much because of how thin the edge of this axe is. The formation of the burr was just right so I'm pretty sure that it hard enough to keep an edge. I'll know more once I try it out. It is extremely sharp. It's so sharp that it will grab and cut hair on my leg without touching the skin. 


The handle is a cut down Beavertooth I wasn't happy with. I cut the palm swell down too much. Today I thinned it out a bunch more to give a wider palm swell and then I cleaned up the radius a bit. Now it feels much better. I'm happy enough with it to keep it. It comes in right at 17" now, firmly in the pack axe range. I toasted and stained it before I drove it home. I only have one coat of blo on it so far.


The fit of the handle is not perfect. There is a small 1/4" wide, paper thin gap at the bottom of the head in center of the back. It's tight rest of the way around so it should be fine. The fit was so tight that I couldn't drive in the steel wedge with my ball pein hammer. I had to grab my drilling hammer to get it to drive in. It's tight! It's not going anywhere. 


   

1 lb 15.7 oz over all and 17" long, with a 1.5 lb head.

Batmanacw what kind of abrasive pads do you recommend for obtaining the finish that you get on these?

I used a random orbital sanded starting at 80 grit down to 1000 grit and lots of patience. I use up a disk each side so it gets a bit pricey if you don't work for an abrasives company.

I just took her out for a spin just an hour ago. What went well and what didn't, you ask?


This axe is way too small for the 10" diameter locust tree I just chopped down. It must have taken me 10 minutes to get through what would have taken only a few minutes with a more substantial axe. It did get through it though. With a longer handle it would have been easier to generate more head speed and get deeper up cuts and bigger chips in general. The handle was just too short for felling such a large tree. More weight would have been a marginal improvement, but a full boy's axe would have mauled that tree down in no time flat. 





The hang is rock solid. No movement and it felt great on impact. 


The reused handle could use a bit bigger palm swell for the bigger work, but it did just fine for limbing so it will stay because this is not a felling axe. 


The steel is awesome. No way to get around it. It was still barely shaving after I finished chopping the tree down and limbing it all the way to the top. It would pop hairs a bit, but most people would give their left nut to have an axe that sharp. It was still sharp enough to use to slice open deer skin easily.  After about 1 minute of ceramics and a strop and now it will dry shave clean the way I like it. This is a huge win for this project!


This axe was like waving a magic wand when limbing. 1.5" thick green branches were just smoothly swept away with a clean blow. It would cut half way through a 3" branch with one blow. The second blow would create a notch half way through. The third would part it clean along the line of the first blow to make a smooth angled cut that looked like one big slice. The branch to the right above the big branch was one of these.


The axe was very easy to use two handed for limbing the part of the tree up off the ground. It was more controllable, especially with my tired right arm. It was like using a laser! 


This picture is of a 4" branch that took 5 swings. You can see the first, the second was on the other side of the notch, then you can see the third, then the fourth was on the other side, then you can see the 5th. I like this picture because it was a very efficient cut. Most of the other cuts in the picture were one or two blows. 





This little hatchet is a huge home run even if it is a Chinese head. I could not possible be more pleased with how it worked. It looks great and feels good to use as long as I don't tackle such a big darn tree! 

When I clicked, I knew this thread would be full of awesome.  My maul, and hand axe are pretty unremarkable.

It starts with the first axe.....

I finally got a chance to swing the Wetterlings on the Hults Bruk handle shown above. I know it's been months since I put it together, but I've built a lot of axes since then.....

I had dropped a 10" Locust tree in my back yard last week and I wanted to buck it to length with several different axes so I could get a chance to use as many as I could. Today was the day to get this little beauty out and put it to work.

This is what I my first swing looked like. This was a nice smooth swing and not a lot of force at all.



That branch is about 6" thick and I'm almost 1/3 of the way through in one swing. I didn't count the swings but I would guess it was around 10. I took the other branch off too. You can see how deep the cuts were.



1.5 lbs on a 24" handle with an over all weight of 2 lb 5 oz. It feels as light as it sounds but it cuts like a much bigger axe. It limbs like a dream. 1.5" thick branches come off with single smooth strokes.

I have to say that 1.5 lbs on 24" might be my favorite combination.

ETA: I did have a very, very slight edge roll about 1/4" wide. I did my normal sub 1 minute sharpening job I always use after I profile the edge and it completely removed it without trouble.

I have to say.. I'm not a fan of the 16" handle. It feels a little unstable one handed. Maybe the bit is too heavy

On which axe?

Unknown weight/unknown manufacturer "USA" hatchet found in a boy scout sheath.

You might drop down to 14" for one handed use or bump it up to 18"-20" to get a second hand on the handle.

I use 20" one handed all the time with no issue.

I've been looking for a nice 2 1/2 lb axe head for a few weeks. It seems that they go for pretty big money on Ebay and I've never seen one in the wild. I finally decided I would have to pay to play and found a really nice one on ebay for the second highest price I've ever paid for a used axe head.


I paid $40 for this Americanax head. It's in really nice condition with only a bit of cleaning up to do around the pole. The over all shape of the head and the high centerline combined with the very graceful lines makes this one of the prettiest heads I've bought so far. There will be no polishing or bluing on this one. It's perfect just the way it is. I can't wait to see it in person. The company was bought in 1921 by Kelly so it must be atleast that old.





Now I just have to decide what handle I want to put it on. I was thinking about a nice Link boy's axe handle I have ready to go, but I could easily put it on one of the 24" Beavertooth handles I have coming. I might try to shorten the boys axe handle a bit and end up around 26". I haven't decided yet!

That is very elegant. I like the way they pinched the cheek in to the sides. Looking forward to see the product.

I just got it the 2 1/2 head. It's awesome. I am extremely pleased. I was very careful to do as little restoration as possible.




It fit a boys axe handle very well. I shaped the handle a bit and gave it a more positive stop on the palm swell. Roasted and stained in this picture.



I felt it definitely needed a wedge so I cut this down to 3/4" long.