Hudson Bay Axe

I purchased this axe to use for splitting firewood at home and for camping, small enough to carry in your pack but large enough to get a full swing while splitting wood. It came very sharp and can shave paper, but not hair so not as sharp as the gransfors bruks on delivery. Wetterlings quality throughout.

I bought this axe recently and have not had a chance to use it very much yet but here are my first impressions:I have several Gransfors Bruks axes and I consider these to be excellent in design and finish and basically in every way. They don't make a Hudson Bay design though.... so:My first Wetterlings axe, this Hudson Bay looks great, although the finish is not as tight compared to Gransfors products. Seemingly less attention to the overall finish grind. The handle seems to have some "daylight" around the axehead, very slight, but all the Gransfors are tight as can be. there is also no wedge present in the handle of the Wetterlings. This may not be an issue, as the axe will either hold together after normal use, or it will loosen and come off, but these next two observations make me think I may add a small steel wedge in the handle just to be safe: The part of the handle that goes through the axehead seems quite small in diameter. "Thickness" is probably a better word because since it's not round, it's not really a measurement of diameter, but comparing it to my small forest axe (and certainly the scandanavian forest axe), the wood that goes through the axe head is considerably thicker on the gransfors axes. This is of course due to the make of the Hudson Bay head, which has a smaller opening for the handle. My last observation concerning the design of this Wetterlings Hudson Bay Axe is that the head feels very heavy for the length of the handle. No doubt this is a powerful axe, and with it's very wide heavy head (not thin profile like the GB small forest axe or Scandinavian forest axe) it would be a first choice for splitting duty. I'm used to the Gransfors, so this axe feels very top-heavy compared to the perfect feel of the GBs.I have to say that the Hudson Bay shipped very sharp- not as sharp or as perfect an edge as the GB axes, but you can tell immediately that the Wetterlings is a very high quality hand made tool. I'm sure the steel is among the best available too, and that it will take and hold a great edge when it's time to sharpen. Handle is good American hickory and I would give the grain and make of the handle a 9 out of 10. Im very glad I made this purchase. I don't know who would carry this axe on a backpacking trip because at over three pounds, it's too heavy- the GB small forest axe is the tool for true backpacking, but I can definitely see the benefits of the Wetterlings Hudson Bay axe on the trapline- especially beaver and martin. Maybe I'll update this after Ive had the chance to use the axe more.

This is a very good axe, the head is a heavy, serious piece of steel. A little honing and the axe is sharp. It is, though,a bit heavy for the length and shape of the handle, giving it a slight unbalanced feel. For my hands, the handle is is too thin over all and especially at the palm swell, thinner than the handle of the W. Hunter's axe which I also have and really like. But, it is worth buying in the first place for the head itself.

A beautiful axe, I had to get one before they were gone. It came as promised, nice hickory handle with ideal grain orientation (fawns foot is on the smaller side), and a well forged sharp head with excellent style! Sure, the hudson bay style may be more prone to head losening because of the small cheeks, but do you want your axe to look good or work good? That's what I thought...I already have an axe that works good, it's called a chainsaw.

This axe came hightly recommended among my research and word of mouth from my outdoorsman friends, so naturally I was pretty stoked to get this axe for bush work and camping. Axe shipped in a box nearly twice the volume needed with only a single crumpled roll of packing paper. The axe literally fell out of the opposite end of the box as I opened it, luckily with the sheath attached. No big deal, it's a tool right? Well, that all went away when I actually grasped it and started to mock swing it, noticing a rattle, and sure enough the axe head was loose! Never even got a chance to use it. It actually rocked back and forth with minimal pressure. These axes aren't hung like many American made ones, has only a wooden wedge and no secondary aluminum wedge. This doesn't really bother me, but the looseness of this head is just plain unacceptable, especially for an axe over $150.00Not sure if it's a QC issue, or something got dropped or damaged during transit or a faulty tool was shipped to me, but after looking at it for about 10 minutes, and contemplating driving an aluminum wedge in myself, I decided to return it. If one is shelling out $150+ for a small pack axe, they should expect the quality throughout the purchase, unfortunately this did not deliver, will return.

Its great my Axe head was not lose like others have said. the Sheath was not great but they worked it out with me. I used it to night to cut down 4, 10foot trees 2, 8foot trees and cut 2, 3foot poles for my Baker Lean-to I will setup the lean-to tomorrow the Axe is great I wish Wetterlings did not go out of Business.

Very happy with axe. Grain is very tight and near perfect in orientation. Head is very tight to handle and sitting right at the shoulder. No gaps visible on top or bottom. Comes with a wooden wedge and no metal wedge which I thought odd, but I guess is how they do there Hudson bay model, easy enough to put one in yourself if uncomfortable with that I guess. Blade came free of any nicks and was paper cutting but not quite shaving sharp. The head does feel heavy for the length of handle but if you want to have something to fit in a pack that can do some serious work this would be the way to go. It is closer to a splitter in shape than a chopper but can definitely be used for both. Just a great do just about anything axe. The reason for four stars is the sheath. Its fits a little loose and comes unsnapped with a strong gust of wind. The leather itself looked a little dry and the cuts were a little sloppy looking. Overall very happy with the purchase.

high quality, very sharp. wood is also high quality and fitted well.