Gransfors Bruk Scandinavian forest axe . How’s does the edge hold up in Eastern Hemlock ?
Vložit
- čas přidán 26. 02. 2023
- In this video I am using my gransfors bruk Scandinavian forest axe to complete a one tree challenge. This is the first time I am using this axe in soft wood (eastern hemlock).
The motivation for making today’s video was because of a fellow CZcams channel and friend @urbanlumberjack was experiencing a lot of edge damage on his Scandinavian forest axe. I also had issues with edge damage on mine as well. Gransfors states in the description on this axe that it’s intended to be used in soft wood trees. That said I figured I would try it out since I have only ever used mine in hardwood. Hope you all enjoy the video. Below is a link to a video by @urbanlumberjack where he tests the Rockwell hardness on 3 different gransfors bruk axes. I think it’s an excellent video and I encourage you all to give it a watch. • How hard is Swedish St... - Auta a dopravní prostředky
![3 Great Camping Axes Compared - [Gransfors Bruk]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/yl9WU51-Bko/mqdefault.jpg)
Best axe I own. Just works great and the ergonomics are perfect for my hands
Thank you so much for watching !!! Glad to hear you love your gransfors bruk axe !! They really are awesome axes 👍
I recently posted this at Urban Lumberjack's channel, regarding his problems with his Scandinavian Forest axe:
I had a few questions about the Forest axes, so an experienced grinder (18 years at Gränsfors) called me up. Spoke för over 30 minutes. He had a lot to tell:
57-59 HRC (I was told 56-57 earlier, it was wrong), often 58 HRC. 35 degrees bit ange for SFA and 33-35 for the Scandinavian Forest Axe. But - since the bit is convex it cannot be measured at the edge. It is an approximate angle at the "swell" (correct word?), which I understand as a few mm inside of the edge. At the "curve" of the bit. Approximate angle.
The bit is convex to not be "sucked into" the wood when you cut branches, and to make the edge stronger. He actually said that the bigger angle and not razor sharp edge is supposed to somewhat more bounce back when you are limbing trees, so you can strike again, and not get stuck.
Note this: The forest axes are NOT supposed to be razor sharp, i.e. you are not supposed to be able to cut paper or armhair with it. If you can, the angle may be to low/sharp and the edge too thin = it will fold over easily when you cut branches and trees. SFA is made for limbing branches off trees, and cutting down smaller trees. Scandinavian Forest Axe (or Large Forest Axe, which it is named in Swedish), is made also for cutting down larger trees. Of course cutting in V-angle.
So folding edges may be because of too small an angle and too sharp an edge. Since it is made from carbon steel which is softer, this may occur, hence bigger bit angle, convex bit and not razor sharp.
He also told me that Hults Bruk (Hultafors group) use the same Ovako steel as Gränsfors Bruk, and Wetterlings (who now produce axes for Gränsfors Bruk.)
Cool vid Joey. keep swingin for the fence!.
I have a brand new GBA Scandinavian Forest Axe. Its edge appears to be solid. Mine was made by Oscar Elliason. I do not know anything about him. I am coating the handle with Linsheen, so it is up to my standards. It will have ten thin coats on it before I am through with it. My small Forest axe held up to cutting up some dried oak without a problem. I did sharpen it up, afterwards. It was made by Mithras Blitz. Some pine knots are full of crystallized pine resin, which will wipe out the edge on any axe. I know my GBA axes are hardened better than the edges on my True Temper axes. They ring when you strike them with a ball peen hammer.
Cool vid Joey, good choppin! Noooo, the tripod!
Thank you so much man !! Ahhh the trusty old tripod !! That was its last go around 😂 I’ve repaired that thing a few times, this time it can’t be saved !!
Great work Joe. The show must go on...😅
Absolutely !!! Thank you and thank you so much for watching 👍
Joey, try scheduling your videos so they have time to upload into HD quality. I'm terrible at remembering to do it too lol. Makes a difference view wise if it matters to you. Good to see you out and enjoying the woods! I ended up selling all my GBA's but if they weren't so expensive i'd consider the American felling axe again but on a custom handle.
Thank you so much Owen !! It’s funny you say that, I didn’t realize that was a thing I always thought it was odd that the quality didn’t seem good as soon as I posted it. Thank you !! Ahhh man that’s the goal to get an American felling axe by gransfors. They seem to be out of stock everywhere. I had the opportunity to use someone’s thats local to me and he had it on a 29” handle that was essentially straight with a little curve down before the palm swell. Man I fell in love with the American felling axe it was soooo goood !!! I’ve had a really hard time trying to find one. If you have any leads on any for sale let me know !! Thank you so much for watching and the tip on posting the videos 👍
I’ve said it the before, but the worst thing to split is white pine with limbs that spiral all the way up the tree.
I totally agree !! The hemlock didn’t present itself to be too bad, but yea white pine is a tough one !!
You really have to be precise with that type of wood. Striking it directly in the center vs an inch to one side or the other can be the difference between it popping right in half and kind of starting a split that goes nowhere 😅 A knot can never travel past the middle of the round
Hee-hee. try sweet gum
Tell you what I’m up north we have plenty of white pine and hemlock and it chops like a champ but I also use it regularly on hardwoods and yesterday was chopping dead frozen hardwoods. That’s rough on an edge but I didn’t get any edge damage and was very happy with its work. I did get some chipping when I first got it but sharpened them out and haven’t got anything notable since.
I haven’t had an issue with it, and I’ve taken mine down to a perfectly flat scandi
Hmmm that’s interesting, I wonder if you have an older one. I’ve talked to a few people with “new” GBA forest axes and edge damage seems to be the census, where the “older” ones seem to be holding up no problem. Now the question is at what date are they considered to be the “older” models ?
it’s three years old
Nice video Joey! Here's what the USFS "An Axe to Grind Manual" has to say about hemlock:
"A word should be said about hemlock knots. These knots are very hard, especially on dead limbs. It is sometimes better to break off small limbs with the poll of the ax than to try to chop them. It is easy to take a huge nick out of the ax bit by swinging too hard at right angles to a hemlock limb. This is more likely to happen in cold weather, when the ax is more brittle. In such cases, warm the ax bit before using it on such limbs. If possible, use an ax with a blunter taper than you would for ordinary chopping. As a final precaution, chop lightly at an angle to, or with, the grain, and do not attempt to twist out the chips."
Thank you so much for this piece of information “ literature “ !!! Yeah man hemlocks are no joke !! Probably wouldn’t hurt to bring a second more blunt axe out in the woods while working with soft wood trees specifically hemlock and especially during colder days.
Man, I have missed your videos for months now. I need to go back and catch up.
I'd love to see a video on hear streaming and micro bevels.
Hey Brian welcome back !! I know you said you’ve been busy !! Yeah man I’d be more than happy to make a video on that 🤙 !! Thanks for watching !!!
RIP tripod!
I’ve broken so many of them I’ve lost count 😂
An axeman's tripod leads a dangerous life.
@@MattKeevil 🤣
@@MattKeevil absolutely right 😂
Hahaha yeah man this was the last straw for this poor tripod !! I’ve repaired it few times in the past. 😂
Tripod bushcraft! Good stuff.
Hahaha you know it !! Thanks for watching dude 🤙
Excellent video !
I totally agree with using a secondary edge/ micro bevel on . I generally end up with a 3 mm deep , steeper than 20° secondary edge bevel.
For myself, breaking the bit of a good axe is unexceptable ! Especially with vintage or antique axes.
How much does that axe head weigh ?
Good to see you using real world stances for body position when chopping. Kneeling when falling. I have to choke up on an axe occasionally when falling due to the thickness of the stand or clump of trees. And sometimes when limbing.
Thank you so much Glen !!! I really appreciate it man 🤙. I believe the head weight on this axe is 2lbs. Yeah man I’m a big fan of micro bevels. Micros have saved me quite a few times and didn’t really compromise performance, so that’s a win in my book !! Yeah I totally agree breaking bits new or vintage, if it’s a “quality” axe it’s unacceptable !!! Thanks again for watching and for the awesome comment !!
My Gransfors looked like shit after cutting a couple pieces of pine wood… twice! I sent the first one back and the second did the same thing. They are not what they once were.
Ahh dang sorry to hear that about your axe, that’s a bummer !! I hear from people that have the old gransfors say the was way better back in the day compared to what they’re using now. Have you tried what I did by putting a small micro bevel on the bit. Thanks for watching !!
Axes will often sustain light edge damage from knots, overstrikes and so on. The harder the steel(most Swedes are 57-59 HRC) the more brittle it can be. The trade off, IMO, is that they do tend to hold an edge better than a 53-56 HRC axe, like Council Tool or Helko. You may get edge nicks particularly with splitting large, dry rounds, hard or soft with knots. It is best to split wood when between Green and seasoned in my experience. Newly cut Wood, particularly softwoods can be very 'Green' for about a month in my experience. For anything bigger than camp splitting, I also prefer to use a specialist splitting axe. The edge doesn't need to be as sharp and the shape and weight of the axe does the work for you. In my experience, thin, sharp bits will always nick fairly easily. I wouldn't put any decent forest axe any near proper splitting.
Absolutely I couldn’t have said it better myself !! Yeah it definitely is nice to have the axe hold an edge longer for sure. In the videos just for testing purposes I generally try to do everything with the one axe. When I’m doing actual work for long periods of time off camera I’m out in the woods with at least 3 axes, my main chopping axe, a back up chopping axe, and a designated splitter. Having a designated splitter definitely takes a lot of wear and tear off of your body and your keen chopping axes. Thank you so much for watching and for the awesome comment 🤙
Hey I know that guy! I have an email out to Gransfors about the factory grind. I’ve been hearing people say theirs was set to 25°, I think you mentioned yours was 20°, right? And mine is 15° at the heel and toe and 17 in the center. I’ll report back if they respond.
Great shopping, I have broken both tripods I purchased for my videos, and I’m now back to clamping it on a board or standing it on a log lol.
Thank you so much for watching !! I can’t wait to hear what they reply to you !! Yes mine is 20 degrees… hahaha yeah man I’ve repaired that tripod so many time, this was its last go around 😂
They must have changed something in thier heat treating process because i have cut down american hickory with my forest axe and sustained no major edge damage. Sad to see might have to go else where for quality axes.
Yeah man I’ve done a lot of work with mine and I have seen nearly as much damage as some people. This axe does happen to be one of the older ones though so who knows what the brand new ones are like. Hopefully it was just a fluke on some axes and they fixed the issue because they’re great axes and I’d hate to see a company with so much heritage have issues like that. That being said I’m very pleased with every gransfors bruk axe I own, great quality for sure !! Thank you so much for watching 🤙
Great axe for sure but I'm a council tool kinda guy. I dont think you can gwt mire bang for your buck than the council tool boys axe or if you need a camp axe the council pack axe is amazing.
I would love a GB but just can't justify the cost with how infrequently i actually need an axe at all 😂
Absolutely !!! The council tool boys axe is probably my most used axe out of the collection and I also have the wood craft pack axe as well and I truly believe it’s a top notch axe and out ranks the gransfors bruks in more than one way. Yeah the price of the gransfors axes is crazy high, sometimes you can find them used for a little less but even still they’re very high. Don’t get me wrong they’re beautiful and chop well, but despite its following I beloved council tool has it beat for sure !! Thank you so much for watching 🤙
Hey Joey, love the channel and the videos you do with all those cool axes!
I want to ask your opinion on using axes in the summer vs. in the winter.
Do you think you experience rolling edges, and chipped edges a lot more often in winter?
In my experience, its like night and day. I can use an axe all summer with little edge wear, as opposed to in the winter, a couple weekend outings can seem to do a bit more damage, much more often.
I don't know if its because sometimes I hit ice, or because the axe is more brittle because of the cold.
Would love to hear your experience on this.
Thank you so much and thanks for watching !!!
So yeah funny you bring that up. I absolutely have experienced more damage to my edge while chopping in winter during the colder temps as opposed to chopping in the summer, spring, and fall. So I think there’s a couple things at play here to contribute to more edge damage in winter. 1 being the cold making the metal a bit more fragile especially if you have an axe with a very keen edge. And secondly I think it has a bit to do with the fact that in the colder temps the tires themselves seem to be a bit frozen. What I mean my that is the moisture in the wood is actually frozen make the tree extremely dense and much less forgiving. I try not to chop in such cold temps now unless I absolutely have to. One time I went out chopping and the temp was about 5 degrees Fahrenheit and I literally cracked a big chip out of the bit of one of my favorite axes. Thank you so much again 👍
@@940joey2 wow, sorry to hear a big chip came out of one of your favourites, must've been a real "aw damn" moment.
Thank you for taking the time to reply tho!! really appreciate it, sounds like im not the only one experiencing this chipping issue more often in winter. Good to know im not going nuts or something!
Thanks again
Joey hit the nail square on the head with his comments. I've been chopping hard frozen , all the way to the heart. Aspens and Birch this past month plus. In temps down to around -30°F. Hard frozen , green healthy wood is just HARD.
These species are Very soft in the summer. But for 8 months a year here where I live . It's like chopping oak or some other Hard wood.
Plus, the cold does make steel more brittle.
Scandinavian axes are "cruisers". They are made to be companion axes for loggers with saws and chainsaws to pound wedges, to delimb fallen trees, for blazing to mark which trees are to be taken down and to clear saplings. They aren't made for chopping down trees or splitting firewood.
My GB Scandinavian has split TONS of firewood for several years now. I've even split rather large rounds of seasoned oak and such I swear I didn't think it could handle it, and it did like a champ.
Sure, it's obviously not going to do maul size work but it splits wood far larger than I usually ever really need.
It's a lightsaber through green wood.
Edge has held up great through all that. Head is solid. Around once a year give it a good boiled linseed oil treatment.
It's a little on the heavier side for carrying on your back with other gear in tow, but it's extra weight has been worth the carry IMO. Handle is on the chonky side but I've gotten used to it and it does help with durability (I'm not an expert axeman and still make some clumsy mistakes.)
It's both a great chopper and splitter. Probably best all arounder GB model.
Oh I totally understand that, and I do generally use my scandi for that purpose or just for lighter work in general. I think they’re awesome axes and way beyond capable, but you’re right it kind of does come down to using the right tool for the job. Sometimes I like to push the limits a little bit to see what I can get out of a tool or a machine, and sometimes it back fires 😂… thank you so much for watching !!
@@940joey2 I'm all for knowing the limits of one's tools, but I don't push them personally because I made my living for decades using tools in the field and we couldn't afford to stop working for the day if we broke a tool through misuse. 😁
@@YankeeWoodcraftoh yeah I totally agree, I definitely work really hard for what I have and pretty much grew up with out money and often just worked with what I had so I completely understand that. Also taking the necessary steps and repairs to make what I have last. That said I am very thankful to even own an axe with this price tag, I was fortunate enough to receive it as a gift from a subscriber and I always keep this axe maintained and use it within its limits. Obviously for this video I probably used it outside it’s intended use, but man it did a great job. Normally when I do any medium to big work I use a full size felling axe usually a jersey or Dayton, but I always have this or something like this out with me as a back up or for some good ole fashion fun limbing !! Thank you so much again, I really enjoy hearing what people think and talking views and ideas back and forth !! 👍
Hey I'm looking to buy a homestead/felling axe for under $300 which one would you recommend? Probably 32 inch and 3.5-4lb head. I thought the Montreal/yankee agdor by hults bruk looked good what would you suggest I get?
Hey thank you so much for watching !!! I think the 3.5 lb Montreal from HB is an excellent choice. I actually have one and did a review on it and I have to say it might be one of my “go to” axes at this point, it’s definitely worth buying !! I have a review on it if you want to check it out I believe the title is hults bruk Montreal axe 3.5lb. Thank you so much again for watching and I hope you check the other video out !! In that video if you skip to 8:29 that’s when you start to really see it in action, enjoy !!
@@940joey2 Ok, i watched it great vid! how does it compare to the Granfors Bruk american felling axe and Scandinavian forest axe?
@@sueycuomo8673 awesome !! Thanks for watching, glad you liked it !! I’ll tell you what I just recently got my hands on an American felling axe and I haven’t used it yet and I plan to soon, I’ve just been busy. As far as the Scandinavian forest axe, that’s one of my favorite lighter forest style axes I have it’s excellent !! If you end up getting a big full sized felling axe I would still recommend you get a forest or boys sized axe something 25-28” and around 2-2.25 lb head and I guarantee that will be your most used axe. The Scandinavian forest axe or the Husqvarna multi purpose forest axe are both awesome choices if you want to go with a Swedish axe 👍
@@940joey2 thanks for the wealth of information! Please let Mr know how you like the American felling axe when your done testing it out.
@@sueycuomo8673 you’re welcome !! And keep an eye out because I think I’m going to do a first impressions use video vs the Montreal HB 🤙
are the knots in wood fatwood?
In a way yes, so you’ll actually find good fatwood in the knots of the dead pine. The fatwood itself doesn’t have any knots in it, if that makes sense. Thanks for watching !!
I've used mine on Elm, maple and apple, and so far had edge rolling at heel and toe every time. The material at the toe and heel is so soft, I've already lost about 2mm in a week just from trying to keep an edge on it. I have a machete I bought for £15 that has harder steel at the edge. Very disappointed.
Ahhh dang sorry to hear you’re not having the best luck with you gransfors !! That seems to be a common issue with whatever steel they’re using on their modern day axes. I’ve heard from people that have vintage gransfors axes that the steel is 100X better, I’d love to get my hands on a vintage one. It’s a shame to this kind of issue from a company with so much heritage in the axe community. Thank you so much for watching and for sharing your experience !!
Deje de cortar árboles para prpbr el filo de su hacha. Me indigna su mala cultura de destrucción de la naturaleza
Thank you so much for watching. I didn’t cut down a live healthy tree. Cut down a tree that had fallen and was up rooted from a heavy wind storm.
Couldn't agree more about some "soft" woods being terrible to chop especially when full of knots. The Scandi performed great on that eastern hemlock though, held up nice.
Thank you so much Joey !!! Yeah man I’ve been in some gnarly “softwood” !!! Man this axe performed extremely well, it was truly a pleasure to use !! I really have to get this handle thinned out, I keep putting it off. I truly love using this axe !! Thank you so much again 🤙