Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet 13.50 Inch, Axe, 415

This is an awesome and beautiful hatchet. The handle is a great piece of wood - the wood grain is perfectly straight, looks like it was oiled once or twice, and the actual edge is outstanding - smooth & straight. I have a lot of fixed blades & folding knives, as well as a few axes...majority of them NEVER come with a proper edge - even when they say "scary sharp." However, GB definitely delivers on their promise. This is my second GB product and both were actually truly "shaving sharp." For once I didn't have to toil away on the sandpaper fixing the edge for hours...a simple stropping shined it right up and got it up to snuff. I help my brother outside with cutting wood, etc...and it's extremely comfortable to hold and use, not too heavy or clumsy. I'm 5'8" 130 lbs female and it fits great in my hands, and just as well for my brother who is 6'2" 200 lbs. Truly unisex. Even the 24" GB is comfortable for me to use, the heads look like they'd be heavy but they're really not heavy at all for what they are. Highly recommend this for smaller jobs, and the 24" GB (Scandinavian Forest Axe) to go along with it for the bigger jobs. The leather cover they send in the box is a bit cheap but I do appreciate the effort to send it with something besides cardboard to cover the bit. "Review Outdoor Gear" on Amazon marketplace sells spectacular leather covers if you're looking for something better than the stock stuff. I bought their leather axe collars and axe sheaths and both are fantastic quality & craftsmanship. I only go to them for these things. Will be buying a sheath for this GB as well if they have it.

I admit that I was a bit hesitant in buying this hatchet since it does cost a bit more than other cheaper priced hatchets that I presently own, BUT.....don't let this hatchet fool you! The quality and craftsmanship is WELL worth the extra price. I've owned hatchets before, and most were just "ok", but since we're now on a homestead, I knew that I would need something that would be... 1) Made of excellent high-quality materials to last over the years to be passed down. 2) Build to withstand the punishment of work that I would be placing it through, including during deer season. 3) Was balanced well-enough that wouldn't over-tire my hand with and without a glove. I have to say...this hatchet is the BEST hatchet that I've ever owned for the price! I've absolutely put this hatchet through the wringer while clearing our land this summer while clear limbs and cutting huge branches while hanging deer stands up in trees. Anytime I'm out on my property, I have this hatchet with me...ALWAYS! - (I only wish that the company made a leather carrying case for my belt. So, I'm making on my own at present.) The quality of axe head and the wooden handle is solid with the Makers Mark in the axe head with his/her initials stamped on it! - they stand behind their product. I'm looking forward in additional axe purchases from this company. Thus far, I'm SUPER IMPRESSED with this small but BEAST of a HATCHET! - Lance H./Homesteader in Oklahoma

The wildlife hatchet. I love weapons. I especially love weapons that have character (age and individual craftmanship) that make them one of a kind. Get this hatchet. No product that you can find at any store has the worn steel look, feel, and texture that this has, unless it was made about 100 years ago. The head is amazing and the shaft is more steamlined but perfect, with a wide base that ensures a good hold (comes naked, and you can stain at will). I have swords, spears, knives, shurikens, and tomahawkes, and this (although new) manifests with its old-school forging technique the best, most old school product I own (next to an old knife I have that has been handed down through generations). Personally, this product fits me perfectly - I have Viking and Indian blood. Cold Steel has great tomohawke designs, but they manufacture things by the numbers in a factory, and the heads are only held on with a single screw in back (I love Cold Steel, but get a knife from them, not a tomohawke). - if you get a sword from ColdSteel, plan on rewraping the handle yourself! - They are a classic example of products that are great, but devalue themselves by the way the company values production rate and quantity over individual quality. (I still love them, but am mindful of their flaws). GRANSFORS BRUKS values quality above all else. I have actually gone to Home Depot several times and bought hatches and axes, trying to fill my lust for a good tomahawke-style weapon. I have an isatiable need for old school weapons, but I just found my tomohawke. I found a mate for my bone handle knife, and I treasure these two more than my $1,100 Samurai sword that was made in Japan. make no mistake, the wildlife hatchet is hatchet-sized, meaning that it's only about 13 1/2 inches overall. -This is not short, it is classic camping/hiking/carrying size. I'm a big guy, and this is just right. If you love QUALITY weapons/tools, just get a Gransfors Bruks product! AHHHHH!!!! I don't even need another, but I might get another make of theirs just because I love this so much!

I'd pondered the idea of the GB and Wetterlings axes and hatchets for a few years before being able to afford them. I initially chose the GB over the Wetterlings based on my research, which indicated the more expensive GB axes and hatchets are better finished than the Wetterlings. I never got the chance to handle the Wetterlings in person before purchasing to compare the two side by side. I handled the GB in person before pulling the trigger and decided it was worth the price. They're expensive, yes. But if you're the type who appreciates quality tools, is looking for a lifetime purchase, and subscribes to "buy once, cry once" you'll be more than satisfied with this hatchet. If not, you'll never be happy due to the high price tag. My hatchet arrived very nicely finished with no mill scale and a nicely sharpened edge. I unsnapped the sheath, gave it a few licks on a strop, and shaved hair off my arm no problem. The wood handle is executed well and the leather sheath is useful and unobtrusive. It feels nice in the hand and balances well. It's the kind of item that hasn't changed for a hundred years and there's a good reason for that. I highly recommend this hatchet. Very rarely is such a simple item so well made and so beautifully executed.

This is my second hatchet and I consider this the best hatchet out there. For me, this is an heirloom object you can have and pass down to your children. It is well made and it is very durable and light. I have used it camping and hunting and it works like a dream. I tried to venture out and get other types of hatchets but there were no comparisons and I had the send them back. This hatchet holds an edge! This thing is so sharp you can shave with it, if you were so inclined. REALLY SHARP! Be careful!! My twenty something son shaved most of the hair off his arm showing his friends how sharp it was! Gransfors Bruks is my gold standard of hatchets and axes!

I received the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife hatchet today. I am very impressed with this hatchet! The first thing you notice when you open the box is the smell of the honey coated hickory handle. The second thing you notice is the quality when you pick it up. It has good heft for a hatchet (approx. 1.5 pounds in total, with a 1 pound head). The head of the hatchet is made from hand forged carbon steel. It comes with a leather blade guard/sheath, which can be looped around your belt for carry. On the head there is the stamped initials of the individual who made your axe, and the Gransfors Bruks logo, which is also stamped on the handle. I took this outdoors and tested it on some lumber. It bites incredibly well for a hatchet, and it is very well balanced for throwing. I threw it just to test it, but I do not recommend you do because it is not a tomahawk; it did NOT break after throwing it 10-15 times. I recommend that you should lightly oil the blade after use, since it is carbon steel not stainless. It comes with an axe book as well. Overall this is a fantastic hatchet that will last you many years, you cannot go wrong.

Perfect feel, grip, balance, beautiful and correct constructed to be powerfully used for whatever tasks it faces. I had owned the Outdoor Axe, and as beautiful as it is, the handle was too skinny on the outdoor axe and didn't feel like I could go and give the blade its full potential, it didn't feel like a 220lb mans arm swing at full power would be safe., but with this wildlife hatchet here., it's a real all purpose full use hatchet/tool and more. Cheers!.

It’s a Great axe, as most will tell you, very sharp, but know that there is a lot of hype out there. This axe had a few issues with cutting hairs on my arm out of the box. A quick touch up with a fine stone solved that. The steel quality itself is fantastic, so there’s value where it counts. The finish seems a bit rushed, it’s rough, a bit uneven and poorly stamped. I know these are hand forged with the large power hammer they use (there’s a sweet video of it on YouTube by the way) So I understand they will not be highly machined, symmetrical, CAD drawing come to life stuff, and I’m fine with that, it’s very cool actually, but bear with me and I’ll give some examples of the difference between handmade uniqueness and a product made maybe a bit too quickly. First off, the very bottom tip of the blade edge is flat, only about a mil in length, but I noticed it within the first few seconds out of the box. Not a big deal, it effects very little and will be gone after a few years of use. Second, and call me superficial, I know, but I would have loved to be able to read the stamp "Gransfors Bruks Sweden" that comes stamped on all of their heads. And if I didn't know any better, I would say there is no "Sweden" on that stamp at all. It must have been struck too lightly or that stamp was worn out. Same with the other stamp including the maker’s initials and logo. The crown is barely visible and the makers name is deeply imprinted, implying a crooked strike. Third, the grain isn’t perfect. It’s alright, about 30 degrees off being dead in line with the head, certainly acceptable, especially for a hatchet of all axes, but the best should be the best. Fourth, the metal wedge that goes in the eye after the wooden wedge, it wasn’t fully hammered in, sticking out about 1.5mm. Not a big deal, I just set it in the rest of the way with a small punch and hammer. Of course none of these things really affected the performance of this axe to much degree. It is as wonderful to use as everyone says they are. I have the carving axe, forest axe, and this hatchet, two of which are of this same quality. For being the most expensive of the higher quality axes, one should expect nothing less than excellence. I hope someone at gransfors is listening, you’re a symbol of peoples return to quality and the rejection of the buy and throw away culture that is destroying human respectability. You are a symbol of peoples return to true craftsmanship. You may feel that you simply make good axes and that I am being a bit crazy about a company that makes tools, but to many, you are much more than that. You’re showing people what life is about. like raising chickens instead of buying eggs from a superstore, remembering that life is more than having everything convenient. It’s about some of the things we skip out on trying to be convenient. I got a little serious there. umm...... yeah its a pretty good hatchet.