I bought the Fiskars. It’s a great axe for the money. My factory edge was very sharp. Great chopper. I also have the x27 splitter. Another great tool from Fiskars.
Since not all your axes were from the factory, you should have sharpened them all prior to testing. Even if they were all new out of the box though, I still would say to sharpen them since one reason the cost is different between them is the level to which the manufacturers finish them; such as a higher cost company will put the edge on, whereas the cheaper company with ship the axe without a good edge to save cost leaving the customer to fine tune it. As a reviewer you should strive to to conduct comparisons more accurately. If you say, well I'm just a guy on RUclips, then I say... well what are you doing on RUclips making videos if you don't care about the quality of your content?
that CS isnt really intended for wood I.M.O. I think it was meant more as a murder weapon. That narrow angle on it would sever limbs like nobodies business.
I may have missed it but did you sharpen the CS axe? I love the CS tomahawks and use them a lot but all of the CS choppers Ive seen were blunt from the factory. The Fiskars I know and love although the X15 is not as well balanced as the newer black handle 28" Chop Axe. The newer Fiskars black handle axes and hatchets heads only have cheap black paint however, not the grey teflon of the older X series. You are correct that the hafts are not a pleasure to use or look at as strong as they are. My classic axes like my old Hults Bruks 3.5lb Montreal Pattern is much more fun.
@@BushcraftSisyphus the HB was a rusty rescue found grown into a tree by a friend of mine who gifted me the head. I have to admit though, as far as a pure function axe goes the Fiskars might be impossible to beat. They are softer than most Swede axes and certainly softer than my Walters axe but the Walters is a step above any other axe Ive ever used.
@@BushcraftSisyphus if you ever get to grab a Walters do it! Ive no doubt about the Arvika but the next axe I get is actually likely to be Spanish. I do agree about plastic vs wood though, I just saved an old fire axe out of a school bus and managed to keep the haft. Also I seroiusly despise the solid fiberglass garbage on any budget tool.
I agree the trail boss is a good axe. It feels like a real axe. I have both it and the Fiskars axe. I also have a half a dozen vintage True Temper axes that I have had for 40 years. I use the Fiskars axe to cut roots on oak stumps that I do not want to use my good axes on, I will not say the Fiskars is a POS. It is just not my kind of axe and I only use it when I do not care what it hits. I used the trail boss last weekend when I cut down a 24 inch maple tree. It did not cut down the maple but it was a big help cutting it down and up. I cut it down with my husky 455 Rancher but there were times when I needed an axe and the trail boss worked perfectly.
My trail boss was about the same. Handle is really round on it though. I thinned the handle, dropped the head a couple inches on the shoulder (The barrel wedges were really in there!) And I made the top flat like a Hudson Bay axe. The temper was actually soft in the area I cut off so I pretty much had to.
I've noticed that the tempering and heat treat isn't very consistent with Cold Steel tools. I've owned most of their machetes and five of their axes/tomahawks. Their machetes are especially bad sometimes. So soft you can't use them without rolling the edge on a couple of them. Some are only soft in a few places and others are great. Their axes are a little softer than most of my axes which I actually like. But they actually hold their edges pretty well and are easy to sharpen. I cut mostly oak and hickory and sometimes it's dead and hard. I've taken big chunks out of several of my full sized axes over the years but have yet to have my Cold Steel axes fail like that. I really like my trail bosses performance, it chops really well for a little axe imo. I hope you do some more big axe arena comparisons. Those are awesome videos!
We had the same problem with African-made CS machetes over 15 years ago. Tried to sharpen them, tried to use them: edge rolled right over. Worthless. I have no idea what happened to them and I don't care. Now my CS knives: Oh Boy! Are they sharp. My Recon Tanto in Sam Mai is so sharp, I'm almost afraid to be in the same room with it!!!
I have a Fiskars x25, done about 100 hours on it so far, I hate the handle too, what I most hate about it is that it works so good so I can't really justify spending more money on something else. Gives a blister on pinky finger if I haven't used it in a while though. I think I might buy an x15 now.
Very glad I saw this one and that you gave the handle measurement of the trail boss. In the UK it comes with a shorted handle 23inch not the 28 mentioned. Which is ultimately why I got another longer handled axe
Fiskars says arm length determines chopping axe length. Generally if you are under 6’ you use the 23”. Six foot and over use the 28”. I have the 23 1/2” because I got a great deal on it. No regrets.
Thanks for the Video!! But Why did you compare your personal well sharpened axe to the other 2 factory edges? everyone knows a factory edge in all but the most expensive axes is usually garbage. I always expect to sharpen an axe when i buy it.
@@BushcraftSisyphus I can understand that ... i did not down vote your video ... I clicked like ... but glad you are always looking to improve - we should all do that! :)
I bought the Fiskars. It’s a great axe for the money. My factory edge was very sharp. Great chopper. I also have the x27 splitter. Another great tool from Fiskars.
Since not all your axes were from the factory, you should have sharpened them all prior to testing. Even if they were all new out of the box though, I still would say to sharpen them since one reason the cost is different between them is the level to which the manufacturers finish them; such as a higher cost company will put the edge on, whereas the cheaper company with ship the axe without a good edge to save cost leaving the customer to fine tune it. As a reviewer you should strive to to conduct comparisons more accurately. If you say, well I'm just a guy on RUclips, then I say... well what are you doing on RUclips making videos if you don't care about the quality of your content?
that CS isnt really intended for wood I.M.O. I think it was meant more as a murder weapon. That narrow angle on it would sever limbs like nobodies business.
I think you're on to something.
I can attest to the hard work that trail boss is able to put in.
My edge on my trail boss hold s up great, get 2 or 3 uses out of it before a little tune up
I'm going to give it another go here shortly with some other camp axes.
The fiskars hatchet is better than the trailboss
I might have to post a video of a CS Trail Boss with proper sharpened bit and removal of the rust preventative film.
DO IT!
I may have missed it but did you sharpen the CS axe? I love the CS tomahawks and use them a lot but all of the CS choppers Ive seen were blunt from the factory. The Fiskars I know and love although the X15 is not as well balanced as the newer black handle 28" Chop Axe. The newer Fiskars black handle axes and hatchets heads only have cheap black paint however, not the grey teflon of the older X series. You are correct that the hafts are not a pleasure to use or look at as strong as they are. My classic axes like my old Hults Bruks 3.5lb Montreal Pattern is much more fun.
No, I just started using it out of the box. You're right, it is blunt. And it just kept getting blunter lol Great choice with the HB.
@@BushcraftSisyphus the HB was a rusty rescue found grown into a tree by a friend of mine who gifted me the head. I have to admit though, as far as a pure function axe goes the Fiskars might be impossible to beat. They are softer than most Swede axes and certainly softer than my Walters axe but the Walters is a step above any other axe Ive ever used.
Sure! But plastic lol (I'm old school that way). Bite the bullet and get an Arvika 5-star. Outstanding steel.
@@BushcraftSisyphus if you ever get to grab a Walters do it! Ive no doubt about the Arvika but the next axe I get is actually likely to be Spanish. I do agree about plastic vs wood though, I just saved an old fire axe out of a school bus and managed to keep the haft. Also I seroiusly despise the solid fiberglass garbage on any budget tool.
Bonjour So which one is the best ?
The cold steel isn't a heavy duty axe, it's for light duty axe and is great for throwing
HB going to win against Cold Steel ever time.
What brand is the axe you have leather on?
Thomas Viklund cold steal?
karada giden balik not fiskars or cold steel the third one
Great video very informative
I agree the trail boss is a good axe. It feels like a real axe. I have both it and the Fiskars axe. I also have a half a dozen vintage True Temper axes that I have had for 40 years. I use the Fiskars axe to cut roots on oak stumps that I do not want to use my good axes on, I will not say the Fiskars is a POS. It is just not my kind of axe and I only use it when I do not care what it hits. I used the trail boss last weekend when I cut down a 24 inch maple tree. It did not cut down the maple but it was a big help cutting it down and up. I cut it down with my husky 455 Rancher but there were times when I needed an axe and the trail boss worked perfectly.
Lots of people love their Fiskars lol Especially the splitters.
My trail boss was about the same. Handle is really round on it though. I thinned the handle, dropped the head a couple inches on the shoulder (The barrel wedges were really in there!) And I made the top flat like a Hudson Bay axe. The temper was actually soft in the area I cut off so I pretty much had to.
I've actually reshot a new updated version of the match-up. I just need to edit it all together.
I've noticed that the tempering and heat treat isn't very consistent with Cold Steel tools. I've owned most of their machetes and five of their axes/tomahawks. Their machetes are especially bad sometimes. So soft you can't use them without rolling the edge on a couple of them. Some are only soft in a few places and others are great.
Their axes are a little softer than most of my axes which I actually like. But they actually hold their edges pretty well and are easy to sharpen. I cut mostly oak and hickory and sometimes it's dead and hard. I've taken big chunks out of several of my full sized axes over the years but have yet to have my Cold Steel axes fail like that. I really like my trail bosses performance, it chops really well for a little axe imo. I hope you do some more big axe arena comparisons. Those are awesome videos!
We had the same problem with African-made CS machetes over 15 years ago. Tried to sharpen them, tried to use them: edge rolled right over. Worthless. I have no idea what happened to them and I don't care. Now my CS knives: Oh Boy! Are they sharp. My Recon Tanto in Sam Mai is so sharp, I'm almost afraid to be in the same room with it!!!
There is no factory edge on the cold steel. You have to sharpen it before use. I payed 24 bucks for mine. It’s a good axe at twice the price.
I have a Fiskars x25, done about 100 hours on it so far, I hate the handle too, what I most hate about it is that it works so good so I can't really justify spending more money on something else. Gives a blister on pinky finger if I haven't used it in a while though. I think I might buy an x15 now.
¨I´m very easily distracted¨ Lol!! I´m too. Very interesting and fun to see. Subbed!
God Bless.
These are the 2 if the 3 axes I'm debating on buying...the third is the Husqvarna. Great video and please keep em comming. Subbed!
Same here man, i think I'm gonna go with this one. Anotger cool axe to check out is the Condor Cloudburst. It's the same price as a Husqvarna
1055 isn’t a great axe steel. Hence you constantly need to dress the edge.
I have this trail boss axe and can tell you that you don't have to constantly dress the edge up!!!
Fiskars are great axes
Very entertaining!
👍
I could tell he swung harder with the fiskars he wanted it to win
The cold steel does not come with an edge. He never sharpened it so what’s his point?
Very glad I saw this one and that you gave the handle measurement of the trail boss. In the UK it comes with a shorted handle 23inch not the 28 mentioned. Which is ultimately why I got another longer handled axe
Fiskars says arm length determines chopping axe length. Generally if you are under 6’ you use the 23”. Six foot and over use the 28”.
I have the 23 1/2” because I got a great deal on it. No regrets.
Thanks for the Video!! But Why did you compare your personal well sharpened axe to the other 2 factory edges? everyone knows a factory edge in all but the most expensive axes is usually garbage. I always expect to sharpen an axe when i buy it.
I wish i could do this video again and change many things lol Believe me.
@@BushcraftSisyphus I can understand that ... i did not down vote your video ... I clicked like ... but glad you are always looking to improve - we should all do that! :)
Fistarse