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|This Page: Hand
Forged Axes| | Ancient
North European Axes|
 An
Axe Becomes as Good as Its Smith
Gränsfors Bruks axes are forged by very professional
smiths. At
Gränsfors Bruks, the forging craft is allowed to take
its time. The smiths do not work by the piece.
They take care and do the right forging from the beginning.
There is no need to stone or grind or smooth or paint the
axes in order to hide or eliminate imperfections in the forging.
A
smith at Gränsfors Bruks has nothing to hide and he is
proud of his professional standards. When he is satisfied
with his work and has accepted his axe, he marks the head
with his initials beside the company's crown label. The
Axe Book contains 36 pages of information on axes and
comes with every purchase of an axe. |
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Wildlife Hatchet - A small, light axe which can be easily carried,
masked with its leather sheath, inside your pack or on your
belt. Even with a small axe you canmanage much: cut branches
in the back-yard or chop andsplit sticks for a camp fire.
This little hatchet awakes in many of us memories and dreams
of exciting  camps
and adventures. The hatchet has a 3" face and a 14"
hickory handle and the head weighs 1 lb. It comes with a grain-leather
sheath. |
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 Hunter’s
Axe - Specially made for hunters. The Poll is forged thinner
than normal and gently rounded and burnished to a Flay Poll
to be used when skinning an animal. Besides that the axe is
good for chopping, in wood as well as meat and bones. The grip
of the handle has circular grooves which gives a steady grip
even  if
your hands are wet or sticky. This axe has received, as the
first and only axe in Sweden, a design award from The Swedish
Society of Crafts and Design. The axe has a 3-1/4" face
and a 19" hickory handle and the head weighs 1-1/2 lb.
It comes with a grain-leather sheath.
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 Small
Forest Axe
Same size as the Hunters Axe but a more traditional pattern
and poll. The blade is thin. The handle is long enough to allow
powerful chopping but not too long so it will fit into a rucksack,
the back of a car or a boat. Practical for splitting small  sticks
for the fire or cutting small-diameter limbwood for starter
fuel in a fireplace. The axe has a 3-1/4" face and a
19" hickory handle and the head weighs 1-1/2 lb. It comes
with a grain-leather sheath.
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Scandinavian
Forest Axe
A profesional axe for those who want to limb a felled tree in
a traditional way. Forged to a thin, curved bit and sharpened
to make it suitable for cutting branches
in fresh, resinous wood, spruce or pine. The long handle gives
extra strength and power to the cut. The axe has a 3-1/2"
face and a 25" hickory handle and the head weighs 2 lb.
It comes with a grain-leather sheath.
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 Small
Splitting Axe with Collar Guard
Can be managed with one hand. Forged and ground to a concave,
quite thin blade at the bit. This design helps the axe to go
fast into the wood - and then split efficiently when the thicker
part hits and pushes apart the wood. The poll of this axe, like
the poll on most axes, is not designed for pounding on a wedge.
The axe has a 2-1/2" face, 20" hickory handle and
the head weighs 2 lb. The 20” hickory handle has circular
grooves at the grip and steel collar near the head. It comes
with a grain-leather sheath.
 Large
Splitting Axe with Collar Guard
Designed for splitting chunks of wood, "rounds". The
axe head is quite heavy with forged cheeks on both sides of
the blade, "splitting wedge shaped crests" which power
apart the grain of the wood. A Splitting Axe does not just have
to slice into the wood –the thick axe blade pushes apart
the wood. The poll of this axe, like the poll on most axes,
is definitely not designed for heavy pounding on a wedge. The
axe has a 3" face and a 27" hickory handle and the
head weighs 3-1/2 lb. |
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 Splitting
Maul with Collar Guard
Designed for splitting apart large chunks of wood, "rounds".
The Maul’s head is heavier and the cheek flare far wider
behind the cutting edge compared with the Splitting Axes.
The poll is designed for pounding on a splitting wedge. The
axe has a 2-1/2" face and a 31" hickory handle and
the head weighs 5-1/2 lb. 
Forged steel wedge. Twisted for maximum splitting. The poll
has ground edges. The wedge has a 1-3/4" face, weighs
4 lb.
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Throwing Axe & Working/Felling Axe
Different models of double-bit axes have been popular in the
US since the last quarter of the 19th century because of its
balanced feel and versatility. Typically, one blade was sharpened
to a finely honed, narrow “felling edge”, while the
second blade was ground slightly blunter, and used for knots
and cutting near the ground where a finely sharpened blade was
more likely to be damaged. Today the double-bit axe is used
as a Working/Felling Axe or as a Throwing Axe for timber sports.
The head weighs 3 lb. and the face of the bits are about
6”. The Throwing Axe has a 29” straight hickory handle
and the Working/Felling Axe has a 35” straight hickory
handle with swell-knob. They come with two grain-leather sheaths.
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Carpenter’s Axe
These axes have a straight edge and thin blade with low angle
of the bevel face, suited for work in dry wood. The forged inward
curve from the heel to the lip of the
head allows your hand to grip almost straight above the center
of the edge. This, and the long straight cutting edge, gives
rigidity, stability, and control when cutting. Functions like
a good heavy knife. The axe poll is ground and can be used as
a hammer. The head weighs 1-1/2 lb and has a 3-1/2"
face. The axe has an 18" hickory handle and a grain-leather
sheath.
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 Swedish
Carving Axe
A chop axe for hewing bowls and other wooden objects, artistic
wood carving and architectural work. The characteristic curved
shape of the cutting edge, carried well
above the head’s eye, the position of the edge in proportion
to the handle, therather thick bit and the big angle of the
wide beveled face makes the axe a good carving tool. You "cut
on the beveled face" with curved movements. This new axe
pattern was developed by Wille Sundqvist, master craftsman and
author of Swedish Carving Techniques in cooperation with craftsman
adviser Onni Linnanheimo. The handle is "rugged" to
give a good grip. The axe has a 4-1/3" face and a 14"
hickory handle and the head weighs 2 lb. It comes with a grain-leather
sheath.
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 Swedish
Broad Axe
The pattern of the Broad Axe and the handle is based on old
Swedish logging techniques for squaring logs and structural
timbers of all kinds. Has sufficient space between the "blade’s
beard" and the handle for the user’s fingers. Beveled
on two sides (double beveled) or on one side, left or
right. The eye (and the direction of the handle) may be straight
or sideways angled, right or left, to protect
the knuckles. 
One
side beveled, left side, normally goes with an eye angled
sideways to the right. If you want deeper visible cuts when
squaring logs, you may even have a broad axe, double beveled,
with the blade bent and the eye angled sideways to the right
or to the left. The broad axe has a 7" face and a
20" hickory handle and the head weighs 3 lb. It comes
with a grain-leather sheath. |
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Swedish
Broad Axe, Straight (model 1900)
#4801 Doube-Sided Sharpened
#4802 Reverse Scissors Sharpened, Bevel on Left
#4803 Reverse Scissors Sharpened, Bevel on Right |
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Swedish
Broad Axe, Left-Angled
(model 1900)
#4811 Doube-Sided Sharpened
#4812 Reverse Scissors Sharpened, Bevel on Left
#4813 Reverse Scissors Sharpened, Bevel on Right |
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Swedish
Broad Axe, Right-Angled
(model 1900)
#4821 Doube-Sided Sharpened
#4822 Reverse Scissors Sharpened, Bevel on Left
#4823 Reverse Scissors Sharpened, Bevel on Right |
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The Wrecking Bar with 20-year guarantee! The TOVE-wreckingbar is made of specially alloyed spring steel. The overall bar is tempered for extra strength.
Sizes:
* TOVE-Wreckingbar 11'' 0.4 kg/ 0.9 lbs
* TOVE-Wreckingbar 20'' 0.9 kg/ 2.0 lbs
* TOVE-Wreckingbar 25'' 1.4 kg/ 3.1 lbs
* TOVE-Wreckingbar 28'' 1.8 kg/ 4.0 lbs
* TOVE-Wreckingbar 36'' 2.5 kg/ 5.5 lbs
The
key characteristics are:
- Extreme
strength in relation to their length and low weight. In
tests performed by the National Swedish Institute for Materials
Testing, the wrecking bars were found to withstand extreme
strain without yielding.
- The
chisel end and the nail claw end are both sharpened so the
edges can easily be wedged behind ledges, planks, mouldings,
etc.
- Both
the chisel end and the nail claw end are designed with a
broad surface to provide minimal damage and marring to the
working head.
- The
nail claw has a precision angled V-slot design to allow
nails to be pulled regardless of the size of the head.
- Lifetime
Guarantee.
- Manufactured
since 1942.
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AXE SHARPENING TOOLS
Axe Sharpening File
If the blade has been heavily damaged, start with the Axe File. Clear the blade of dirt and resin before you start, otherwise the edge can get filled in and the “bite” will be lost.
Filing your axe:
To ease filling, tie down or use one of your feet to hold the axe against a stable surface. Place something under the blade for stability and to get the right angle. Hold
the handle of the file with one hand and use the fingers of your other hand to apply pressure against the backside of the file. File away from yourself, in the direction of the blade, lifting up the file when returning to the beginning of the stroke. Avoid filing back and forth as this fills the file ridges with metal shavings and dulls the file.
If the file gets full of metal shavings, clean it with a wire brush. Try to preserve the axe’s original bit shape by filing equally on both sides along the length of the entire bit. To remove smaller dings and restore the edge from normal use and get the right sharpening on the blade after filing, use a Gransfors Axe Stone or Axe Diamond.
Axe Sharpening Diamond
Sharpening your axe:
Make sure the axe blade is free of dirt and resin before you begin, otherwise the area sharpened will be filled in and the “bite” will be lost. In case of smaller dings or normal wear the coarse side of the Axe Diamond should be used. Use the Axe Diamond dry with light pressure, working in a circular motion towards or away from the edge until an even surface is achieved. Good results can also be achieved by using the Axe Diamond in long edge-wise strokes. During sharpening, metal shavings should periodically be removed from the Axe Diamond by blowing, brushing or tapping on the file. Lastly, by using the fine side of the Axe Diamond the proper edge can be achieved. Change sides and sharpening angles often until the edge has a smooth and even surface. If the edge becomes too thin and fragile you can work against the bit, using a circular motion. This will help achieve a wider cutting angle and stronger edge. The Axe Diamond should be cleaned with warm water and mild detergent.
Axe Sharpening Stone
Sharpening your axe:
Make sure the axe blade is free of dirt and resin before you begin. Otherwise, the area sharpened will be filled in and the “bite” will be lost. In case of smaller dings or normal wear the coarse side of the Axe Stone should be used. The stone is normally used wet, but can also be used dry. Using light pressure, work in circular motions toward or away from the edge. The Axe Stone should be rotated occasionally to ensure even wear. Metal shavings should be cleared from the stone by blowing on it, brushing, or rinsing it off with running water. Finally, with the help of the fine side of the Axe Stone the proper edge can be restored. Change sides and sharpening angles often until the edge has a smooth and even surface. If the edge becomes too thin and fragile, you can work against the bit using a circular motion. This will help achieve a wider cutting angle and stronger edge. When finished, rinse the Axe Stone with water and dry with a soft rag.
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Leather Sheath - All Sizes
Hickory Handle - All Sizes
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Page: Hand Forged
Axes| |Ancient
North European Axes| |
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