Product Review
Scandinavian Forest Axe
Roland Leong, Managing Editor
Gränsfors Bruks is a family owned Swedish company with 28 employees.
They make axes, forestry tools and wrecking bars. Mr. Kjell-Åke
Sjölund works for Gränsfors Bruks, and he made my axe. I know
this
because his initials, KS, are stamped on the axe head. Mr. Sjölund
initials do not merely indicate that he inspected the axe. He
made my
Scandinavian Forest Axe.
He takes a piece of hot steel, cuts off a piece, moves it about
as the
forging hammers strike the hot metal until the axe head is formed.
He
grinds the axe head, shaping the blade. He tempers and anneals
the
blade to give it the proper balance of hardness and toughness.
After
final sharpening and polishing are done, the hickory handle is
fixed
to the axe head with a combination of wood and steel wedges. He
completes the inspection, rubs the head with protective oil and
puts
on a leather sheath. The final step is to tie on The Axe Book.
The
book is an instruction manual or care book and warranty card.
It is
also a small encyclopedia on the axes and the process of cutting
wood.
The resulting axe is easily distinguishable from a mass produced
axe.
It looks different, it feels different and it smells different.
Think
about the difference between a homemade pie and a frozen pie.
Both the
homemade pie and the axe Mr. Sjölund have little imperfections
or
differences from their mass-produced counterparts.
Your hands are drawn to it. The leather sheath is assembled with
rivets. The hickory handle looks unfinished or it is perhaps just
lightly oiled. The axe head is dark grey steel except at the cutting
edge where it is honed and buffed to a reflective finish. There
on the
cheek (side) of the axe head are the initials of smith who made
the
axe. On my axe, KS. There’s no paint or plastic. Steel, wood,
leather.
I don’t swing an axe often. Heck, I don’t swing an axe at all.
I asked
someone who does. Dick Person used to live in a tipi (tepee) in
the
Yukon. All year round, including the winter. Nowadays he does
some
guiding and some industry shows and I’m not quite sure if he still
lives in tipis anymore, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he did.
I met
him at the Gränsfors Bruks booth at the 2002 SHOT Show. He spoke
to me
at length about his life and how he wouldn’t go out for a day
hike
without a small axe and other essentials in his day pack. He told
me
how to chop wood and to wait until the wood freezes solid before
you
split them. Once they are frozen, the wood splits a lot easier.
He
told me how to bank snow on the sides of a tipi to stay warmer.
He
scoffed at the idea that grizzlies were dangerous. “Don’t bother
them,
they don’t bother you.” Anyway, he advised me that the Scandinavian
Forest Axe was the best all-around axe around. He wouldn’t pack
it for
traveling; he’d take something smaller, but for around his permanent
camp, he’d have the Scandinavian Forest Axe.
I had some of my friends swing the Scandinavian Forest Axe a bit
at
some big pieces of firewood in an attempt to make smaller pieces.
There’s something to swinging a 2 lb axe versus a 5+ lb maul.
Bat
speed. What I mean is you can swing the lighter tool faster and
more
control. One can really crack through wood. What Dick Person suggested
is to take smaller bites about the periphery of a large piece
of
firewood rather than attempt to split it in half with the first
try.
By the way, the axes are made to cut wood, not pound stakes. If
you
use them for pounding, you may damage them. Use the right tool
for the
right job.
So what’ll it be? Homemade or mass-produced? I say homemade and
Gränsfors Bruks.
The Scandinavian Forest Axe retails for $67.00. The web site for
Gränsfors Bruks is: www.gransfors.com.
Gränsfors Bruks
821 W. 5th North St.
Summerville, SC 29483
843-875-0240