That is exactly why many ax manufactures can sell such junk....most people do not know what the tool is capable of if set up and used properly.
Old Jimbo has a number of articles that cover ax work.
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/axes.htmlThe Forest Service files that Jimbo links to are essential reading.
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/aatg.htmlOthers...
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/hatchets2.htmlhttp://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/hatchets3.htmlhttp://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/hatchets4.htmlhttp://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/tinyhatchets.htmlhttp://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/gransfors.htmlhttp://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/aas.htmlJust tour around Old Jimbo's site for more articles of interest
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/An excellent ax book is Dudley Cook's, "The Ax Book" or "Keeping Warm with an Ax"
I have a review of these books here:
http://outdoors-magazine.com/spip.php?article259A well tuned ax is an excellent tool....off the shelf axes, particularily hardware store goods require a load of work to tune. GB's as long as they have a good helve require a minimum of tuning. That is why they are worth every penny.