The Basque Bomber vs. Stihl Pro Universal Forestry Axe vs The Finnish Flyer. Frozen wood is proving to be an excellent test of steel quality and temper.
My 4# 45 year old TruTemper Axe has a 31.5 does leg handle in it. It will cut and has served me well for almost fifty years. I hung a new handle in it last year, hickory of course. This was after I had it welded. I had run over it with my tractor and cracked it through the eye. I had it MIG welded and it has worked perfectly, since. I also restored the red paint on the head, just like it was when I bought it, new, in 1971.
You already know my answer haha. I still retain that even though the handle was “tenuous when wet” it gives great control and is remarkably comfortable despite the lack of a palm swell. The head is in a league of its own. Can you believe that’s just 1045 quenched in water?? Best production axe money can buy in this day and age. If we’re talking about merits of overall design the bilnas and the oschenkopf don’t hold a candle. Breaking the handle on either of those is going to be a chore to replace no matter how you look at it and the basque handle design/fit is less likely to fail compared to ANY other configuration. I wish it could’ve been tested earlier without the current conditions.. OH WELL. Great video as usual! You’re always improving!
Nice to see the differences at work on frozen wood. Couple of tips for rigging out / de-limbing. Suggest work and cut in the direction of growth, usual to work up the length of the tree from butt. Try to cut on the opposite side with the trunk between you so you're cutting with physical protection inbetween. If you don't bother to swop sides of the trunk always cut outside your body line and away from your body. It's possible to cut with a backhand action.. I appreciate here you've been working up in the crown so bit more fiddly. Love what you're doing, an inspired idea and hugely entertaining / interesting. All the best.
Hey Sisyphus, long post (sorry but couldn’t find an email). I discovered your Chanel over Christmas and have subsequently gone through you’re entire catalogue. I did notice one thing during your Axe Arena series Group H regarding your Bilnas 3lb Collared Axe with 26” handle. I have seen these patterns before and couldn’t understand why they were so popular. They look cool, but the narrow head means they should penetrate quite a ways in and likely get stuck (not a great quality for chopping). Also, the collar is by low enough to really protect from and over strike. Furthermore, the head angles down towards the handle, in essence shortening the overall length from the grip to the impact point, thus negating the power of the axe by an inch or two. As you had mentioned in another video, this equates to quite a big power difference. However, I think I see what this axe was really designed for: it’s not a chopper per say, but an axe/froe hybrid. The think, narrow blade penetrates deeper than a broad axe, and the elongated collar creates enough distributed surface area to pry the handle laterally, thus cracking out much larger chunks. (please reference this video: ruclips.net/video/wDtPsl7EwYM/видео.html). At first I could t see why this would be better than chopping with a big head, but it dawned on me, this is a variation on your Axiom that the right handle to make a small extra big. In this video, the acts being used is rather small, though that doesn’t seem to matter.In fact the smaller, LIGHTER axe means that the user can be significantly more accurate and fatigue far slower. Also, by reducing The number of chops made (and supplementing them with a prying motion) the total energy expended seems drastically reduced. This may, in fact, be an extremely efficient axe if one utilizes this technique. If not in time, then certainly in weight and calories (i.e., a perfect, light, all around bushcraft axe). Granted, this design comes from the land of evergreens, so it may not fair as well on a hardwood, but I know I would be certainly interested to see you test out your Bilnas again with this modified technique. Thank you for your time, and keep up the axe science videos!
That was almost to hard to choose. I'm gonna have to give it to the basque bomber, that thing was cutting very well. Shame about the handles having to be so slender. But with that downside comes benefits of quickly rehafting
Try to get more used to the Basque and you'll enjoy it better. A litte point about the test. At 13:00 you start swinging the axes two times each in the same zone, in the first blow you pop up some wood and you test the next axes in the already popped up wood. Be aware of it, swinging against pop up wood makes the axe you are using perform sensibly worse than swinging it to non poped up wood.
Eskerrik asko hiri Lane! I have some opinion based in old school axemen education, internet information and practice, but I'm far from being any kind of master. Go on and continue working with axes! Videos like yours make navigating through internet a pleasant experience
Dude you literally have me in stitches 😂 “vampire” I vote basque! I don’t like using gloves with axe work, just find it less grippy and less control. Do you just wear them because of the cold?
That Stihl axe is beautiful but probably useless in the woods. . I would not trust that Basque axe. I want my axe heads to be fervently mated to the handle and I do not like stainless steel in a knife or an axe. Stainless is just to soft, as compared to high carbon steel. Of the three I would probably like the Stihl the best
The Stihl is a beefy boi for sure. I would not pick it for a camping trip lol The Basques make a really surprising axe though! It's a chopper. Short, sharp and devastating.
Non of these axes are stainless steel. I visited the Basque axemaker a few months ago and talked with him about his steels and I from the Rheinland and have never seen an Ochsenkopf axe made from stainless steel and I'm not sure if stainless steel was already invented when the finish axe was forged. All the best to you from the nice Rheinland, Maximilian.
Re: the Basque axe. Not sure what the actual weight is but your info is incorrect. 675 grams is aprox 1 1/2 lbs. Which is it? 3 1/2 lbs or 1 1/2lbs. I suspect the former 3 1/2 lbs or there about. 454 grams equals 1 lb.
My 4# 45 year old TruTemper Axe has a 31.5 does leg handle in it. It will cut and has served me well for almost fifty years. I hung a new handle in it last year, hickory of course. This was after I had it welded. I had run over it with my tractor and cracked it through the eye. I had it MIG welded and it has worked perfectly, since. I also restored the red paint on the head, just like it was when I bought it, new, in 1971.
You already know my answer haha. I still retain that even though the handle was “tenuous when wet” it gives great control and is remarkably comfortable despite the lack of a palm swell. The head is in a league of its own. Can you believe that’s just 1045 quenched in water?? Best production axe money can buy in this day and age. If we’re talking about merits of overall design the bilnas and the oschenkopf don’t hold a candle. Breaking the handle on either of those is going to be a chore to replace no matter how you look at it and the basque handle design/fit is less likely to fail compared to ANY other configuration. I wish it could’ve been tested earlier without the current conditions.. OH WELL. Great video as usual! You’re always improving!
A vote for the Basques 🗳
Nice to see the differences at work on frozen wood. Couple of tips for rigging out / de-limbing. Suggest work and cut in the direction of growth, usual to work up the length of the tree from butt. Try to cut on the opposite side with the trunk between you so you're cutting with physical protection inbetween. If you don't bother to swop sides of the trunk always cut outside your body line and away from your body. It's possible to cut with a backhand action.. I appreciate here you've been working up in the crown so bit more fiddly. Love what you're doing, an inspired idea and hugely entertaining / interesting. All the best.
Keep up the great vids!!
Ochsenkopf is good when ground, I sold my finn, that should tell you everything. Basque outclasses everything so easily its not even funny
A vote for the Basques 🗳
I vote Basque
Hey Sisyphus, long post (sorry but couldn’t find an email). I discovered your Chanel over Christmas and have subsequently gone through you’re entire catalogue. I did notice one thing during your Axe Arena series Group H regarding your Bilnas 3lb Collared Axe with 26” handle. I have seen these patterns before and couldn’t understand why they were so popular.
They look cool, but the narrow head means they should penetrate quite a ways in and likely get stuck (not a great quality for chopping). Also, the collar is by low enough to really protect from and over strike. Furthermore, the head angles down towards the handle, in essence shortening the overall length from the grip to the impact point, thus negating the power of the axe by an inch or two. As you had mentioned in another video, this equates to quite a big power difference. However, I think I see what this axe was really designed for: it’s not a chopper per say, but an axe/froe hybrid. The think, narrow blade penetrates deeper than a broad axe, and the elongated collar creates enough distributed surface area to pry the handle laterally, thus cracking out much larger chunks. (please reference this video: ruclips.net/video/wDtPsl7EwYM/видео.html).
At first I could t see why this would be better than chopping with a big head, but it dawned on me, this is a variation on your Axiom that the right handle to make a small extra big. In this video, the acts being used is rather small, though that doesn’t seem to matter.In fact the smaller, LIGHTER axe means that the user can be significantly more accurate and fatigue far slower. Also, by reducing The number of chops made (and supplementing them with a prying motion) the total energy expended seems drastically reduced. This may, in fact, be an extremely efficient axe if one utilizes this technique. If not in time, then certainly in weight and calories (i.e., a perfect, light, all around bushcraft axe). Granted, this design comes from the land of evergreens, so it may not fair as well on a hardwood, but I know I would be certainly interested to see you test out your Bilnas again with this modified technique. Thank you for your time, and keep up the axe science videos!
Glad we got some more Danger Zone!
Oh and 1 for the Basque
A vote for the Basques 🗳
That was almost to hard to choose. I'm gonna have to give it to the basque bomber, that thing was cutting very well. Shame about the handles having to be so slender. But with that downside comes benefits of quickly rehafting
A vote for the Basques 🗳
Try to get more used to the Basque and you'll enjoy it better. A litte point about the test. At 13:00 you start swinging the axes two times each in the same zone, in the first blow you pop up some wood and you test the next axes in the already popped up wood. Be aware of it, swinging against pop up wood makes the axe you are using perform sensibly worse than swinging it to non poped up wood.
Vote for the Basque
To anyone fortunate enough to read this comment, @@jonugalde1275 is THE MASTER. Eskerrik ask!
Eskerrik asko hiri Lane! I have some opinion based in old school axemen education, internet information and practice, but I'm far from being any kind of master.
Go on and continue working with axes! Videos like yours make navigating through internet a pleasant experience
I was a cubmaster for about 60 days..... until I was annihilated by the politics ....
No Silver Beaver for you! ;) lol
Did you mean 1675 grams for the head?
Which one?
You should try hitting with the heel of the bit and see how well it cuts
Dude you literally have me in stitches 😂 “vampire” I vote basque!
I don’t like using gloves with axe work, just find it less grippy and less control. Do you just wear them because of the cold?
A vote for the Basques 🗳 I just like wearing gloves. And yes, I'd freeze my ass off in the snow without them lol
The basque look like a clear winner 🤩🤩🤓🤓
Does anyone know the name of the song that starts at 12:26?
That Aspen bucksplits real well. Shame to just V notch buck it
Have to go with the Finn. The handles on the others, I believe, would be uncomfortable to use.
A vote for the Finn 🗳
Stihl in my opinion, cut the best along with the Basque a close second.
That Stihl axe is beautiful but probably useless in the woods. . I would not trust that Basque axe. I want my axe heads to be fervently mated to the handle and I do not like stainless steel in a knife or an axe. Stainless is just to soft, as compared to high carbon steel. Of the three I would probably like the Stihl the best
The Stihl is a beefy boi for sure. I would not pick it for a camping trip lol The Basques make a really surprising axe though! It's a chopper. Short, sharp and devastating.
That Basque blade is not from stainless steel, is from carbon steel.
Non of these axes are stainless steel. I visited the Basque axemaker a few months ago and talked with him about his steels and I from the Rheinland and have never seen an Ochsenkopf axe made from stainless steel and I'm not sure if stainless steel was already invented when the finish axe was forged. All the best to you from the nice Rheinland, Maximilian.
Re: the Basque axe. Not sure what the actual weight is but your info is incorrect. 675 grams is aprox 1 1/2 lbs. Which is it? 3 1/2 lbs or 1 1/2lbs. I suspect the former 3 1/2 lbs or there about. 454 grams equals 1 lb.
I can not be fair... but the aizkora (axe in euskera) gets my point... also the finish one is great.
18° is pushing it. I wouldn't go no lower than 20°
I think the Head of the Basque is 1675g. i have to get one!
Great handle on the Finn but the Baskaxe wins the prize.
Basques for the win.
A vote for the Basques 🗳
basque bomber
A vote for the Basques 🗳