Went out to our property this week and had fun clearing brush, chopping vines, splitting wood, and building a HUGE bonfire. All were well fed with multiple smores.

These are the tools I took with me. I think I could live out in the wild and build my own cabin with the following. Note that I had a band-saw with me too. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

that is some fun stuff.

Here's the inventory:
- Strider SnG
- Camp Tramp
- Battle Rat
- Condor Bolo Machete
- Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe
- Wetterlings Felling Axe
- Ace Hardware Band Saw

If I were mobile I would be very well served with just the SnG, the Battle Rat, the Machete and the small forest axe. I would keep a Vic Swiss Spirit in my pocket too.

Good looking axes, VoxHog. Mine are just hardware store models, but once reprofiled (yes I do that to axes, too), they chop well. I need to get some better ones like yours.

Although they're different sizes, which may limit comparisons, how about a few words about the differences in GB and Wetterlings. Based on what I was able to find online, I went with a set of Wetterlings (a 13H Wildlife Axe, a 20H Large Hunting Axe, and a 32H American Felling Axe) -- their overall quality was rated as similar (with the edge going to GB according to most), but I paid less for all 3 than I would have for for just a GB Felling Axe.

I remember when I reprofiled my Tru-temper Home Depot double edged after watching a lumberjack competition last year. It took a while to get that smooth convex flow from the center to the zero edge like those guys had theirs but once I did (being careful not to heat the metal) it totally blew my mind how much better it bit into even the hardest wood and I haven't had one deflection since.
It took all day to do it but it was more than worth it. She'll drop a 16" diameter oak in a couple of minutes.

That Wetterlings looks like a nice one. I want to grab up a few really nice work axes one of these days but am hard pressed to cough up $70.00 + for one right now.

I would agree that the Gransfors Bruks has the edge but the price delta is huge. For the money you did well with the Wetterlings trio. I decided to pay a bit more for the SFA to have best of breed but didn't think it made any sense to fork over the extra money for the bigger Felling Axe. I'm very happy with both.

IIRC, Wetterlings has been bought out by GB. I still want a couple of them.

I read that the guy who owns Gransfors Bruks bought Wetterlings, but the two are still separate companies. The story is that under new management the quality of Wetterlings axes is improving.

If that is true it’s probably a good time to buy Wetterlings; the quality is going up but the prices still haven’t.

Nice set of "tools" you have there! <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/thumbup.gif" alt="" />

You pretty much have to do that with any store-brand axe I've ever seen. I'm not sure why axes come with such ridiculously obtuse edges.

So maybe Jerry used to be in the axe business? It all makes sense now <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />