Draper 1.25lb Hand Axe with Steel Shaft

[JDandCoke]

Hi. What are your opinions on this axe? Draper 28756 560g 1.25lb Hand Axe with Steel Shaft https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/Power-Hand-T ... ywords=axe
Will it be enough to chop wood and/or cut smaller trees?

[Jamesey1981]

I personally would always go for an axe with a wooden handle, I find it more comfortable and you can replace the handle if you need to.
Not tried that particular axe so I can't comment on it specifically and I don't know what the steel is like.

Husqvarna make some nice ones (I actually think Hults Bruk make them for husqvarna) that are pretty reasonably priced and I would happily recommend if you don't want to spring for something like a gransfors bruks or a wetterlings, they're more expensive than that draper but they will be a much better tool that will last a lifetime if you look after it.

[JDandCoke]

What I don't like with wooden handles is that after some time the metal bit starts falling off the wood and you need to use wedges, and then more wedges, and then even more

[munchh]

i think you need to just get one that the head had been fitted correctly the first time, if its got some sort of resin in the eye its because its got gaps and is not fitted right, a well fitted head will not or should not come loose for a long time?

[JDandCoke]

i think you need to just get one that the head had been fitted correctly the first time, if its got some sort of resin in the eye its because its got gaps and is not fitted right, a well fitted head will not or should not come loose for a long time?

Maybe I have bad experience with poor quality items from the past then? Been using different axes on many occasions and they all had same problem - same as many hammers I had in hands in the past - maybe these were just cheapest in the shop.

[Jamesey1981]

Just bad luck or the owners haven't looked after them I would imagine, a cheap axe is more likely to have a badly fitted head but even top quality ones can suffer from it, there's a YouTuber called wranglerstar and he does a lot of axe reviews, he got sent a ridiculously expensive axe to test and the head was filled with resin and came loose.

I personally have a Gransfors Bruks wildlife hatchet that I love, and a larger husqvarna that's about the size of the Gransfors small forest axe and both have lasted me a long time, the key is to keep the wood around the head nicely oiled so that it doesn't shrink and get loose.

[gamekeeper752]

I've got one of these types and have had it for over ten years, might be longer as theres a piont in everyones life when the other day was 20 years ago

It's OK, but you get what you pay for

I only use it for cutting kindling and its fine, I've never put in on my belt(that's for a knife) but it has gone in the rucksack a few times when Glamping LOL

I have felling axes as well as splitters, and all are wooden handled, and the only thing that's happened is I once missed the cut and broke the head off so off i trot to my seasoned wood store pick up a ash one and carved a new shaft , this is something I was taught by my father along time ago and something my Son practices

I also do not have any axes in false heat IE inside the house as there is no moisture in the air and the shaft shrinks.

I've been known to put the lose item in a bucket of water for a bit to swell the wood,as its mostly the wooden pins that shrink not the handle itself, but as i don't worry about cost of handles I just make one who cares about only getting a few years worth out of it.

and on a final note, I've a spare felling head in my vehicle bug out box which is an old RAF metal chest as if needed i can always cut a new shaft

[ForgeCorvus]

JD: I was going to write a longish reply (read "Rant") about the way a lot of modern tools seem to be assembled.... But Munchh got there first

i think you need to just get one that the head had been fitted correctly the first time, if its got some sort of resin in the eye its because its got gaps and is not fitted right, a well fitted head will not or should not come loose for a long time?

If you want something you can neglect mercilessly between using to break up firewood, this is ideal.
If you want to try axe-crafts then this isn't ideal.

You pick your tools to suit you & your needs

Either way, you will need to sharpen it and that is something I can help you with

[JDandCoke]

So what would you guys suggest as good cheapish axe? I dont need one at the moment, it has to be garden tool/shtf use

[sethorly]

I'm not a big fan of hand axes. I prefer the added utility of axe-machetes. If you're pruning up a tree it's handy to have a blade by the handle.