I think the knob is there for safer one hand use. both of the small axes in the set use the same handle (a plus IMO). Another plus is that the head on the kindling axe is the exact head which is on the Hudson Bay Camp axe so a normal axe handle could be put on it later.

Either way I think I'm going to come out of this with a one hand splitting maul. I like the one Estwing makes. 4lbs and super tough...great for in the car camping box. The axe I have now for camping sucks and all I use it for in a campground is splitting.

Last night I read the first half of Nessmuk's book. He makes several mentions to large axes being very unpractical and also notes that a good hatchet is way better in just about every way for camping and packing around. Makes me want to buy one of those cheap double bit hatchets made by Marble's just to see what they're all about.

UPDATE: I just ordered the Snow & Nealley kindling axe and maul set from Cabela's. On sale for $59 US.

I ALMOST went with the Fiskars but I think I'll be happier with this...and it's cheaper than buying a chopping and splitting version of the Fiskars axes.

After you get some dirt time with these tools, please consider posting a review. Thanks.

Very nice price!! I just ordered a set for myself. One can never have too many toys. Actually I've been noticing lately that I do more splitting of small logs than anything else, so that mini-maul will be a nice thing to carry.

Thanks!

The Canada Post came through and just delivered my axes. 7pm on a Saturday...they must have heard us bad mouthing them



When I got the box I was surprised at how light the box was...somehow I'd imagined the set to be heavier. I immediately laid them out on the floor and compared size and weight to my machete. Pretty comparable and with the simple sheaths on the axes either one would actually take up less space in my pack than the machete due to the bulky sheath on the Gerber.



They aren't really sharp and while I won't be cutting any paper or rope with the edges the way they are, I think they'd split wood pretty well in their current condition. One of my first tasks will be to put a proper edge on them both. I may also sand the handles down and oil the handles the way they should be.

I like the shape of the handles, there's no way they would slip out of my hands unless I were greased down with those thick knobs at the end of the handles. I can choke up on them pretty far and still get my hands around fine with a secure grip. I was a little disappointed about the orientation of the grain. The grain on the maul is almost vertical but grain on the kindling axe is perfectly horizontal.


I'm not sure how long it's going to take me to get out and put them to the test but I'll post a proper review once I have some chopping and splitting time in with them both.

Hi Hacksaw,

Thanks for the photo's of your new tools, they look neat. Could you post a picture with the gaurds off?

I had a full-sized splitting maul that had horizontal grain and was a mixture of sapwood and heartwood like your kindling axe is, the handle did not last long. The first time I "over-extended" when busting a chunk of frozen maple firewood the handle split lengthwise in my hand.

Mike

From their website:




In the set I bought the maul handle is just right. The axe handle's is at about 45 degrees.

I filed the axe edge a bit to improve the edge. Its fairly sharp now - I'm not trying to turn it into a knife edge.

Thanks for saving me the trouble Ken.

One of the things of note which I just noticed how that there's some light in here. Both axes are not perfectly symmetrical. To me that's proof that they were hand forged...I had a tiny bit of doubt since I didn't ever recall their website claiming they were. They're stamped with initials too...a nice touch.

Today I'm going to take the varnish off the heads, sharpen them, and then give them a good dose of Fluid Film.

Hacksaw,

What do you use to sharpen them?

I wish I knew more about axe sharpening techniques. I've found a bit on the web. I can't find ANYTHING about sharpening a maul on the web.

Ken K.

If I need to take off any major metal I'll use a heavy file. For keeping the edge relatively sharp I have an puck shaped axe stone from Gerber. I haven't tried yet but I imagine the heads are very hard so the stone should be as fine as I'll go. The Maul doesn't need to be shaving sharp to do it's job.

for the axe I'll do the same but I'm going to try to put a more refined edge on. I might try running it through my Sharpmaker once I've filed it and gone over it with the coarse stone.