First-time poster here, and decided to finally sign up and quit lurking!

I've decided to treat myself with a Gransfors Bruks axe for a June trip (my third time into the BWCA) and can't decide between the Small Forest Axe at 19" long or the Wildlife Hatchet at 13.5"... I will be using the axe along with a Sven Saw for splitting my firewood, using the method of holding the axe against the wood and hitting them both down at the same time (from a video I found linked from this forum). No swinging as I want to avoid possible accidents.

If that's all I would be using it for, could I get away with the smaller hatchet? Has anyone used both and prefers one over the other?

After a rather thorough search on this very site, I settled on getting the GB Wildlife Hatchet as a Christmas present to myself.

I honestly haven't had much luck with splitting with small axes. They hit a knot and its done. All the videos you see of folks splitting wood cleanly with minor hits must be done with certain species of wood that I never seem to come upon.

The only things that really split wood seem to be large mauls and wedges.

The smallest axe will help you split little stuff to get a fire going when wood is wet ... and that is most likely all you'll need. I think you chose well.

I would go with the longer handle. Much better tool. I purchased a small axe from Wetterlings a year ago. It's got a 15" hickory handle, hand forged blade. After using it on a couple of trips, I wouldn't want a smaller handle. Nice axe and half the price you'll pay for the same GB axe. I highly recommend you look online at the Wetterlings selections too.

Save yourself some dough and get a Husqvarna axe which is made by Wetterlings. My wife has one and I am allowed to borrow it occasionally. It's 26" long and 3#.

I wasn't interested in this product, but on the outside chance someone else is, Estwing makes a tool the size of a hatchet but it has a 4# head shaped like a splitting maul.

Snow and Nealley Hudson Bay

See? Perfect consensus. :)

I guess the best thing to do is go swing a few. You know what level of lumberjacking you want to do with it, which may be a bit different than what other folks have in mind.

if your not going to use this wonderful axe as a real axe,swinging and chopping with it,and just as a splitting wedge i would advise you to save your money and get a low cost hatchet.look for one with a real wedge shape and a thick wide poll.just "thunk" it into the end of the log and have someone you trust beat on the poll to split the wood.if you miss and hit the handle it's no big deal,if you bust the handle on a Gransfors you have screwed up a fine tool.i have that small belt ax and while i split wood with it i don't try and split anything more than a few inches across and less than a foot long.i can get lots of short bits of dry wood which for me is better than a split log.i also use it to cut away branches on the dead fall on the portages.

If it was the video I linked, I was using "The Wetterlings Small Axe is the smallest, lightest and most portable of the Wetterlings Camping/Hunting Axes. It is 10 1/4" overall with a 2 3/4" cutting edge and weighs only 1.5 pounds."
Splitting saw cut birch, about 5 in. diameter.
I don't take anything larger (nor swing it).

butthead

I'd say the smaller one will be plenty for the task at hand. We actually have the smaller mini belt hatchet and even it has done a good job splitting wood in the BW. One of our friends is a master splitter and he's taken apart some decent size logs with it by starting at the outside and take off bits and not just trying to split it all the way through at once.

I use a small hatchet.
To split, I take a very short swing to get the blade just into the wood. Then I take a decent but thin log (so I can hold it like a hammer) and use it to pound the hatchet into log I am splitting.
This has always worked well and is pretty safe.

quote wb4syth: "I use a small hatchet.
To split, I take a very short swing to get the blade just into the wood. Then I take a decent but thin log (so I can hold it like a hammer) and use it to pound the hatchet into log I am splitting.
This has always worked well and is pretty safe.
"

I do it the same way. Sometimes I fashion a "hammer" out of a log to help with this.

Longer handle axes are safer than short handle axes. The head is further from the body so a glancing blow has a less chance of biting you in the leg etc. I wont carry a hatchet. The Snow and Nealley Hudson Bay is 1 3/4 lb head with a 24" handle. One of last of the "Made in America" axe companies. About 1/2 the price of European axes(exchange rates).
High carbon steel, good stuff.
CB

Great Thread! This topic is constantly up for debate among my friends.

I was really tempted to run out and buy a Gransfors as soon as I learned of them. After Base Camping for three days last summer with access to a generic 28" chopping axe I decided I needed one in my toolbox of options. Heavy, but I'm used to double portages, and when processing wood for three days of cooking for four or five people it pays off.

However, I don't see any reason for owning a small axe or hatchet. All the safe methods of chopping with short handle axes seem to possess the same effectiveness/efficiency as batoning with a large knife. Since I'm going to carry a survival knife anyway, I just decided to invest in one that could handle a lot of big tasks. I also prefer to use a light folding saw for breaking down and de-limbing trunks. Safer and more energy efficient, and the saw and knife together weigh as much as a forest axe.

Maybe I'm missing the point of the hatchet, though.

We quit bringing hatchets, just didn't find them useful enough. You can choke up on a 3/4 axe and split the small stuff and it will split anything you would burn in a campfire.

I own both the wildlife and the small forest, and lots of other axes. To answer your question about which to buy for the BWCA.. there is no easy answer! You will hear arguments for axes, and against axes, for small ones and larger ones, etc etc. In the end, it really depends on you as an individual, the type of trip you are taking, and your skill with the tool. Honestly, yes, I think a good sven saw or similar is more important than having an axe in the BWCA. It can do much more, and more safely. BUT.. there have been a few times in my experience where I was damn glad I had an axe. One was after several days of cold rain on a fall trip, and I was having trouble finding dry wood. In this case, I was sure glad I was able to split some wood open, exposing the dry wood in the center. This is hard to do with knife in most cases. Anyway, in a real survival situation, the Small Forest is the ticket. For smaller splitting only chores, the Wildlife Hatchet is great. Or, you could consider some of the Fiskars or Gerber hatchets which are really the best bang for the buck out there. It's all up to you!

I am reading a great book entitled "Hatchet", written by Gary Paulsen to my 10 yo son right now. It's a story about a 13 yo kid who is the sole survivor of a small plane crash in Canada's north woods. His hatchet is the only tool he has with him (the plane and everything in it sunk to the bottom of a lake during the crash). Great story. A hatchet can do more than split wood.

quote mc2mens: "I am reading a great book entitled "Hatchet", written by Gary Paulsen to my 10 yo son right now. It's a story about a 13 yo kid who is the sole survivor of a small plane crash in Canada's north woods. His hatchet is the only tool he has with him (the plane and everything in it sunk to the bottom of a lake during the crash). Great story. A hatchet can do more than split wood."

+1 read this last summer great story for your young 'un!

A hatchet can be a great tool for sure, but honestly I'm surprised at how many bring one to the Bdub. Going on fifteen years now a Gerber folding saw has been all that we have needed for our fire needs.
I realize some sites are pretty well picked through on the smaller stuff, but is an axe really worth the weight and/or danger? What other uses do you find for your axe?
I have a small composite Fiskars that I would consider taking if it was worth the effort.

i really like the estwing axes for the money. you could use the extra money for a new pack.

I agree with the no ax idea. I decent saw is all you really need. I used to carry the axe but got tired of bringing it back home unused.

Snow & Nealley - Superior craftsmanship and Made in the GoshDarn U.S.A.

Snow & Nealley

No Axe? Sounds communist.

I enjoy playing with axes and have a couple laying around here. My 2 cents:

Get the larger axe. Hatchets are fine and work great but can be dangerous. I would go to something in the 24" to 28" range. The longer the axe the safer the axe. As far as brands, nothing made in the USA today is even in the same class as Gransfors Bruk, Hults Bruk, Weterling or Husq. For the money the Husq. is the best value. GB is no doubt the best made of the three but this really has more to do with fit and finish than quality of grind, hardness of the steel or the forging. The new snow and nealy stuff is not in the same class as the Sweedish axes.

My recomendation would be to pick up a quality vintage US made "boys" axe and hang a new handle on it. This way you can save yourself a few bucks. Go to ebay and look at Norlund, Collins Legitimas (my favorite), Kelly perfect, Kelly woodslasher, Kelly Black Raven (the holy grail), Vintage Snow and Nealy or Vintage LL Bean. You should be able to pick up a decent head for 30 to 50 bucks and then clean it up and hang a handle on it. The Norlund, Snow and Nealy, Collins and LL Bean can be found in a Hudson Bay Pattern that works great for general camping.

I have all of the above and would be more than willing to let you try them out if you are in the Metro area.

Get a good axe and take care of it and you can pass it on to your kids.

Google "an axe to grind" for some great info on hanging and taking care of your axe.