SHOW ME YOUR AXES

[davidwyby]

For sale: $100 ea?

6lb council 32”



4lb on vintage handle


4lb on newer council, 28” I think.


East coast lumberjack custom
handle for 6lb Elwell.

 

[Wilhelm]

Have you posted a picture of it?

Many times, just to get @davidwyby 's blood racing.
You can use the forum search feature, select "This Thread", type in no search word, type in my user name.

Here are a couple of my posts:

Post in thread 'SHOW ME YOUR AXES'

Dec 15, 2023

Old reliable.
Mission impossible finding another just like it!

My "Dragon Slayer"

• Wilhelm

• 

Post in thread 'SHOW ME YOUR AXES'

Dec 16, 2023

Classic Croatian maul vs. my Dragon Slayer ax.
Old folk swears on never sharpening a mauls blade, sounds counterproductive to me.



I gave the maul a couple swings, it does its thing through brute weight, no splitting sophistication whatsoever.

• Wilhelm

• 

Post in thread 'SHOW ME YOUR AXES'

Jan 14, 2025

From bucked...


...to semi split.
Dragon Slayer doing its thing.
Nevermind the little hatchet, I use it to knock off all the bark - actually, a nice little hatchet considering all the work it has done.

• Wilhelm

• 
• 

Post in thread 'SHOW ME YOUR AXES'

Jun 26, 2019

I finally broke my ax's handle, for the second time - no chance to save it this time around.
I reseated the ax on a custom made oak handle.


Steel wedge.

• Wilhelm

• 

 

[ammoaddict]

Does anyone know what brand axe this is? It in excellent condition except it's painted orange all over.

 

[maulhead]

Does anyone know what brand axe this is? It in excellent condition except it's painted orange all over.
View attachment 462254View attachment 462255

Council Tool, made down in your neck of the woods, Lake Waccamaw NC

Axes - Council Tool

With each Velvicut® and Wood-Craft Premium Axe, we don’t claim to be artists, but we do build tools for the art of work. Toolmaking expertise gained over three centuries is combined with contemporary technology and superior materials to create axes for those who simply want the ultimate axe.

counciltool.com

 

[ammoaddict]

Council Tool, made down in your neck of the woods, Lake Waccamaw NC

Axes - Council Tool

With each Velvicut® and Wood-Craft Premium Axe, we don’t claim to be artists, but we do build tools for the art of work. Toolmaking expertise gained over three centuries is combined with contemporary technology and superior materials to create axes for those who simply want the ultimate axe.

counciltool.com

That was my first thought but when I googled it I found this council logo.

 

[ammoaddict]

When i first looked at it I didn't think it was but now after looking again it looks like it could be.

 

[Catbuster]

Does anyone know what brand axe this is? It in excellent condition except it's painted orange all over.
View attachment 462254View attachment 462255

It’s a Council Tool axe, Jersey pattern. Some of their stamps are just plain ugly, and this is one of them.

They’re probably the best value on the market right now, by far. Made in NC.

 

[ammoaddict]

It’s a Council Tool axe, Jersey pattern. Some of their stamps are just plain ugly, and this is one of them.

They’re probably the best value on the market right now, by far. Made in NC.

Thanks for the information. The stamp had me a bit confused. Just didn't look quite like the ones I saw online. I found it in my dad's building behind some old scrap lumber. I didn’t know he even had it. He passed away in 1999. I only knew of one true temper axe he had and it's still hanging on the wall where he left it.

 

[maulhead]

It’s a Council Tool axe, Jersey pattern. Some of their stamps are just plain ugly, and this is one of them.

They’re probably the best value on the market right now, by far. Made in NC.

His stamp is crisp and clear, compared to my council jersey.

It's a tool not a display piece, so it does not bother me.

 

[bogieboy]

Just picked these up as perks of working at a stihl dealer.... we get points for stuff from stihl for selling equipment...

Both are not actuualy stihl, but Oxenkopf (spelling? LOL) built axes, 2500g pro splitter and the 600g hatchet

 

[ammoaddict]

His stamp is crisp and clear, compared to my council jersey.

It's a tool not a display piece, so it does not bother me.


View attachment 462402

I looked at several images online and there were a lot of differences in them. That's why I wasn't sure what i had. I was excited to find it because it's made in my home state. I was a little disappointed that someone painted the whole thing. I'm puzzled as to where it came from and why it was leaned up against the back wall with boards in front of it.

 

[Catbuster]

Just picked these up as perks of working at a stihl dealer.... we get points for stuff from stihl for selling equipment...

Both are not actuualy stihl, but Oxenkopf (spelling? LOL) built axes, 2500g pro splitter and the 600g hatchet

View attachment 462403

View attachment 462404

I bought a Pro Splitting axe probably… 7 years ago, and while this may sound hyperbolic, it has been one of the better purchases I’d made in my entire life. The short handle and lighter head make splitting smaller rounds a lot less tiresome than my 8 pound maul on a 3 foot handle, especially if I can get them off the ground onto a chopping block.

 

[davidwyby]

I bought a Pro Splitting axe probably… 7 years ago, and while this may sound hyperbolic, it has been one of the better purchases I’d made in my entire life. The short handle and lighter head make splitting smaller rounds a lot less tiresome than my 8 pound maul on a 3 foot handle, especially if I can get them off the ground onto a chopping block.

6lbs is the bee’s knees…however I’m not big on short handles cuz it seems like the head wants my knees…

 

[Chainmale]

6lbs is the bee’s knees…however I’m not big on short handles cuz it seems like the head wants my knees…

Ironically, without Knees you'll probably end up wanting a shorter handle

 

[ammoaddict]

Is this a dayton pattern? I tried to find a chart but the ones I've found are too blurry to read.

 

[SimonHS]

It looks a lot like one, with rounded shoulders on the poll.

This one is not too blurry:



This one also:



I got that image from this USFS manual appendix, here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf18232812P/Part15_Appendixes.pdf

The full manual, with lots of great info on axes, is available here:

Technology and Development at the Forest Service

 

[ammoaddict]

It looks a lot like one, with rounded shoulders on the poll.

View attachment 463166

I got that image from this USFS manual appendix, here:

https://www.fs.usda.gov/t-d/pubs/pdfpubs/pdf18232812P/Part15_Appendixes.pdf

This one is not too blurry:

View attachment 463167

Thanks

 

[Wilhelm]

I bought a Pro Splitting axe probably… 7 years ago, and while this may sound hyperbolic, it has been one of the better purchases I’d made in my entire life. The short handle and lighter head make splitting smaller rounds a lot less tiresome than my 8 pound maul on a 3 foot handle, especially if I can get them off the ground onto a chopping block.

6lbs is the bee’s knees…however I’m not big on short handles cuz it seems like the head wants my knees…

My DragonSlayer ax is ~4lbs(1.8kg) after decades of sharpening by grinding.
I am guessing it may have began its life as a 4.4 - 4.5lbs head (2kg) which is a common ax head weight in my area.

I have been favoring a 40+" handle as it seems to suit my splitting style and body height.

I had it on a 32" handle once or twice and I did not like it at all.

Seated on a 40" handle the swing rate & speed is exceptional and the impact force is jaw dropping.
Fatigue is minimal to modest.

This head is a work of art that I am so far unable to find a comparable double to.

 

[ammoaddict]

I finally got a double bit axe. My grandpa had one when I was a kid and I used it to split smaller stuff for grandma's wood cook stove. I always wanted it but it disappeared after he passed away. So I found this one on Harry J Epstein website. Family Owned business since 1933 in Kansas city MO. It was $78 delivered. It was $102 on Council Tools website. I ordered it Thursday and it arrived Saturday.

 

[JT78]

I finally got a double bit axe. My grandpa had one when I was a kid and I used it to split smaller stuff for grandma's wood cook stove. I always wanted it but it disappeared after he passed away. So I found this one on Harry J Epstein website. Family Owned business since 1933 in Kansas city MO. It was $78 delivered. It was $102 on Council Tools website. I ordered it Thursday and it arrived Saturday.
View attachment 466212

Council tool makes some really nice axe heads I don't have one of their doubles as I have a few older nice double bits but I have 2 of their 5# single bits one on a whisky river 30c and the other on the factory handle and also a 6# and an 8# fire axe made by them.