I get asked which is the best axe for carving a lot so thought it would be good to make a blog post which I can refer folk back to.
In the world of Bushcraft most folk go for the Gransfors Bruks small forest axe, it is recommended by Ray Mears which no doubt helps it’s popularity. It is like Ray’s bushcraft knife, a bit of a “jack of all trades, master of none” compromise and I personally think there are better options.
Axes always tended to be either designed for use two handed and have long (around 30-33″) handles, or one handed use and have short (around 14-16″) handles. One handed axes are often called hatchets whilst the longer handled axes of various designs were for felling, limbing and splitting. The small forest axe is sort of between these at 19″ so you can just about use it two handed though it never feels right or you can use it one handed but the long handle stops it pivoting nicely when held close to the head and used for the sort of controlled carving that I do a lot of.
If I were to only have one axe (a terrible thought) it would be a Gransfors Bruks Swedish carving axe. This axe was designed by Wille Sundqvist, the Swedish mastercraftsman who first inspired me in my work, and it is specifically designed for one handed carving. It will do everything though. It will fell a tree at a pinch and split it into firewood, but if you do a lot of that I would strongly recommend an axe with a 30-33″ handle. This one excels at carving objects with curved surfaces like spoons. It is also very good at hewing flat surfaces to make beams. Given time and a woodland it would be possible to build a house and it’s contents with this axe.
It has 3 drawbacks, first it is expensive at around £80 (update 2017: around £120, update 2019 around £140). Second, it needs someone with reasonable forearm strength to use it properly and they don’t make a lighter version. And third, whilst Wille designed it to have a slightly longer bevel on the left side to help control carving and they used to come that way, it now comes either completely flat on the left like a side axe or with an even bevel. Out of the two I would favour the even beveled one as the flat sided one tends to dig in a little and be more difficult to carve concave areas. (update 17/5/11, I have been talking with Joakim Nordkvist, Managing Director at Gransfors and it looks like we may get the grind returned to the original, watch this space)
Another axe from the Gransfors stable that I rate highly is the wildlife hatchet, these are quite good value at around £50 (update 2017: less good value now at around £80, update 2019: around £100). The handle is 14″, same as the carving axe but the head is around half the weight at about 1lb. Anyone can use this axe and it is a great axe for carrying in a backpack. Again it would be possible to fell and limb a tree with this axe, though it is best for light carving work such as spoons or tent pegs.
When choosing an axe I suggest you use the heaviest axe you can carve with for 20 minutes without getting at all tired. If you can manage a heavier axe the weight will do the work and you don’t have to swing as much. A lighter axe moves more quickly and lots of small cuts can remove wood just as a few large ones do.
This is sounding a little like an advert for Gransfors Bruks. I do like their axes and the beauty of them is that they come sharp and ready to use and with a sheath to keep them sharp. There are many much cheaper axes that work very well but I have yet to find one that is cheap and comes well sharpened for carving. One of my favourite cheap axes was sold for a while by Argos and reduced for a while to less than £5. I imagine most of these cheap axes are made in China but all that I have tried have been good steel and well tempered. They do all however come very blunt, not just needing a sharpen but some major grinding work to get them working properly. I tend not to recommend them unless you have a power grinder and know how to reprofile one. Searching the web for the best axe deals today this Bahco axe looks about perfect, an 800gm head on a 14″ handle.
Update 17/5/11 I bought a Bahco axe and it was OK but also needed significant work with a file to get the bevels set and a good cutting edge. It is a good head weight and shape for carving but needs some work.
Another axe which looks good value, I have heard good reviews but have not picked one up yet is the husqvarna hatchet. These retail just over £20 but come with sheath and sharp. I have not had one yet to know whether the bevels are good for carving as they come but it sounds a good option.
Update 10/2/13: I have the Husqvarna now and it is a useful general purpose axe but not the best for carving. It came with a rough convex edge so not as blunt as the Bahco but still needs file work to shape the bevels properly before sharpening. It looks quite nice and the handle is much nicer than the Bahco, but it is pretty heavy at 780g compared to 660g for the Gransfors carving axe which many find too heavy.
Another nice option is to look round your local car boot fair and buy an old axe. All our grandparents generation had hand hatchets for splitting kindling. At boot fairs they tend to have loose handles and be completely blunt so need a new handle and a regrind, but it is a joyful job to bring one of these old axes back to life. Here are a few typical ones. And blog posts on making and fitting a new handle here
This is a film of the sort of carving I tend to do with axes, the axe does matter but correct technique is much more important.
EDIT August 2014 4 years have passed since I wrote this article and I have now started to have my own made since I had never found just what I wanted. The head weighs 500g total weight 760g so ideal for carving or as a pack axe. They come razor sharp and with a nice ribbed handle for great grip. Best of all they are half the price of a Gransfors at £39 see all the details in the shop here
A great post. My Father told me there was a right tool for each job, and I have followed that all my life, and have difficulty understanding the modern views on so called bushcraft knives. You to date are the only one other than myself to express this belief.Thank you for sharing.Regards, Le Loup.
I get wound up by these Chinese spammers and have to remove comments regularly but whilst irrelevant to the blog post I quite like this one so I think I'll leave it here.I have no idea what they get out of the spamming though.
LL I think much of the bushcraft ideology is linked to survivalism. "what if I was lost in the jungle with only one tool?" and for that a single big knife that is half way to being an axe or pry-bar is a good way to go. The truth is however that most folk most of the time are just popping out to the woods to do a bit of whittling or have a campfire much as scouts did 30 years ago, and for that tools that are less of a compromise work much better.
Thanks for this post Robin! I sold my car yesterday so will be ordering the Gransfors carving axe today! Daniel 🙂
Very interesting post Robin. I haven't got a GB axe so can't comment on them but I think the value & abilities of the GB axe and Woodlore have been distorted by the TV shows I believe. I cracked briefly once and made a woodlore and can't see what the fuss is all about. What I have got is a Roselli Wildlife axe and I am very happy with it, it really is very good at splitting wood, does not stick in the wood at all, and I have used it for some carving, particularly a couple of paddles, it's easy to hold close to the head and very well balanced. I also got a small hatchet I bought from America, and now I just bought a tomahawk Trail to have a try and see what can be done with them.
Great post. I have an old axe that I'd like to know how to sharpen properly – my father-in-law has a powered grinder. Can anyone recommend a good YouTube video or similar on the best way to sharpen them?Thanks, Martin
Hi Robin, I've just bought a GB carving axe mainly for spoon carving. I'm very pleased with it's readiness to work but agree with you regarding it's flat side. It works as a side axe but is deeply frustrating if used to cut concave curves for spoon handles, it just doesn't want to do it. The fatter bevel on the right of the bit turns the cutting edge into the wood. This tendency to bite deep even needs careful control when used as a side axe. I guess what I'm saying is I'm pretty disappointed with the axe in it's present design. I love the weight and balance but it needs more versatility in the cuts it can make to be useful. So it's back to my side axe for roughing and light kent pattern axe for shaping while i see if the woodsmith's store will do an exchange for a even beveled carving axe. None of the UK suppliers websites show the even beveled option. I hope I'm not stuck with an expensive tool without a use for it.
Gransfors Bruks axes are very expensive in my opinion. I agree that some of the $20 made in China axes are great–especially if you sharpen them. $20 axe + a wet stone == a very good axe.
Great article. Thanks. Pedants Corner: Axes have helves or hafts but not handles. I use the Carving Axe for most work. Even though I have little girl’s hands it works fine.
Maybe we can argue that one over a beer some time Andrew. I find the term helve and haft tend to be used by folk who want to appear knowledgeable. When I worked in forestry 25 years ago we called them handles. my local agricultural merchant sells axe handles, Carters make tens of thousands of axe handles a year and Herb Edlin in his seminal “woodland crafts of Britain uses the terms handle and helve interchangeably. I like to use old words when they are clearly part of the cultural tradition of a craft but here I am writing an article to make the craft accessible to beginners. When folk are learning a new skill if they find they have to learn a new language first it can be off putting.
Hehe, perhaps helve and haft just make it clear it is a handle for a hefty tool for hitting or hacking, like stail makes it clear it is a long handle for a tool such as a rake, or porringer is a local name for a turned wooden eating bowl with a handle.
Levity aside Robin, would you mind sometime expanding on the axe theme with some detail on what makes a good profile for the carving axe? By that I mean the overall cross-section plus the tip to heel profile of the cutting edge plus the shape of the bevels (cross-section again). Peter Follansbee did a couple of excellent blogs on this for hewing ‘hatchets’ although his idea of a hatchet looks bigger than what I’m used to as an axe.
Anyway, it’s good to have that idea that it’s OK to adapt what you have available and get going but it would be nice to know what the optimum axe head might look like before starting to grind.
Cheers
Graeme
Hello, all. Has anyone used an axe or hatchet by Mueller of Austria? There are several available with a weight around 1 lb.
Regards,
Don
I have used the Mueller side axes and they are OK, if you want a side axe. Not worked with other models.
Thanks!
It would be useful if you could write something on sharpening axes for carving. Should the bevel be “sharp” like a Scandi grind knife, or should there still be a slight curve at the edge (as is most common on axes)?
The bevel should be either dead flat scandi grind or some prefer just very slightly convex. It absolutely must not be heavily convex as is common on general purpose axes.
hi robin,thanks for the tutorial,found it very helpfull,just made a new handle for my kubben(wildlife)hatchet more in the style of a carver which is what it gets used for mainly,no more cut knuckles..atb kev
Hi Robin, any experience/opinions of the Roselli small axe? cheers from Oz Trevor
Forgot to say… thanks for the great spoon knife blade… very nice indeed and for a very good price too 🙂
I hope that by this point you have replaced your John Neeman Robin Wood axe. I was wondering, are you still using your Swedish carving axe as much?
What do you think about Wetterlings Axes (that Lie-Nielsen now carries)? I’m leaning towards the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet, but am wondering how it compares with the Wetterling Camp Hatchet and Small Hunting Axe. Thanks!
I visited the wetterlings factory a few months ago and they are well made. In fact the head smith there is the guy who used to be at Granbsfors. I don’t have the particular axes you mention so can’t comment on details. It will also depend on what you want to do with it.
Thanks for writing this Robin. I have been looking for an axe for rounding bowl blanks and was looking at the Gransfors carving axe, however I am left handed. I called my local shop that carries their axes, and was informed that this axe isn’t made with the bevel on the other side. What would you suggest( besides learning to carve right handed:)? Thanks.
I would suggest buying one with the symmetrical bevel through a dealer that stocks the full range or is prepared to order it in.
I thought Gransfors did a left hand version. They did when I bought my right hander as I had to make sure I chose the correct version when ordering. Try the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum Shop. Alternatively I have made both left and right handed small side axes using old Kent Pattern axe heads. They usually have quite flat faces and lend themselves to slow and careful grinding, using a belt linisher as well as some bench grinder and file work, to produce the desired bevels. The ‘flat’ face can have some bevel left on it to suit your work. As long as you avoid overheating the metal you will have much better steel than most modern axes. Add a cranked handle you have worked yourself from good round ash with a natural bend and I am sure you will be pleased with the result.
A postscript to my last comment. Try Greenman Bushcraft who appear to stock a left hander. At least their website shows it as in stock.
Great
Hi Robin, very useful blog article – thanks. Do you know if the original grind of the GB Large Carving Axe is now available, or have they done yet something else? On the GB website, they describe the current asymmetric grind as follows:
“The Large Carving Axe, Grinded left side, has a short bevel face on the right side of the edge, if the axe is held in the right hand with the handle down and head up. The left side of the edge has a longer, slightly concave bevel face, which provides excellent support when carving.”
Which does seem like two bevels…
http://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/products/log-building-and-carpentry-tools/gransfors-large-carving-axe/
They are still coming ground almost like a side axe I would choose the symmetrically ground one.
I am in the market for my first carving axe. I want to make bowls and spoons to start. I am right handed. Price is not an object as it seems most are in the $100-200 range and I’m looking for a tool that will last a lifetime and may even be passed down to one of my sons. I’ve been looking at the Pfeil carving hatchet at $154 and the Gransfors Bruk carving axe model 475. Can someone let me know if they think one of these is better than the other, or am I totally missing the mark and should be looking at another brand/model. Also what curved knife do you recommend? Thanks!
Nathan
Best axe. thanks for Robin. share very exclusive post
R – to each his own, eh? At close to 70 years most of my bushcrafting is now done in my back yard. Mostly I am a carver and knife maker. To date I have reprofiled a number of small axes from a felling head design…to include a beard. Results? Meh. These things need to be engineered from the ground up. My favorite Axe is my Wetterlings Forester’s Fine Axe. A very interesting combination of long and slender, light yet robust and razor honed swinging Swedish steel. It just feels right. I also just now ordered your carving axe. It solved my internal argument between the GB Swedish and Wildlife models. So, we’ll see. Looking forward to it very, very much. God bless you and yours.
Great article Robin,
It’s great to see someone who cares so passionately about the different types of tools he uses.
There are a lot of people out there who just wouldn’t know where to start when choosing tools.
Top man!
Hi. Where can I purchase your £39 carving axe please?
Regards
Neville
in the online shop section of this website