Friday, March 22, 2013

Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet

Hey folks, I've got to use my Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet for quite a few different tasks.  So I thought I would share my thoughts on it so far.  First off the quick specs you probably already know:

Length:  13.5in.
Head weight:  1lb.
Edge length:  3in.


This hatchet really is the best hatchet I've used to date.  For a 1lb. head it truly performs above it's size.  Making it an ideal hatchet to carry on outings.  Obviously it's a hatchet so processing a lot of big wood for a keep warm fire in the winter won't be it's strong suit.  But for warmer weather or outings where you won't need to process a lot of big wood this is hard to beat.  The pic above was about a 4" wide dead pine tree.  This hatchet felled it in about 30 seconds.

It is surprisingly good at light splitting tasks.  The thin bit has an abrupt transition to the head and it actually splits nicely.  Processing your wood down is very easy.  Edge retention has been very good.  You can get this shaving sharp and it could easily substitute in some knife cutting tasks.  I find I use this more than my knife.




This hatchet is easy to carve with.  It's light head doesn't wear you out at all.  Here's a roughed out shape of a spoon carving in progress.  


I find this hatchet is the perfect companion with a good woodsaw.



Well this hatchet certainly has lived up to Gransfors Bruks reputation so far.  It really is a finely crafted tool.  I find it performs great and looks great as well.  You can't ask for more.  It's small enough to fit in pretty much any pack and gives you great versatility in the woods.  You can do a lot with a good hatchet if you get the skill down. 



I highly recommend this hatchet.  It's a keeper

Thanks for looking


4 comments:

  1. Very nice- it is hard to find a better combination than a hatchet and a folding saw.

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    1. Thanks Peter, yeah you can process a lot of wood with that setup, plus it's light and carries easy. That's a good combination in the woods.

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  2. Nice hatchet and write-up! I also find that a good one of this size will punch above its weight. I prefer a hatchet to an axe during the warm season, since I don't need to process huge amounts of wood. As you showed, a 4"-dia. tree can easily be taken down with a hatchet of this size, so you can do a good bit of work with one. I've split rounds up to 6" in dia. with a small hatchet. Not ideal, but can be done. :)

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  3. Yes, This is the best hatchet. I also like it very much. Glad to see nice article like this about this hatchet. Thank you.

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