this hike was mostly so i can do an axe chop off between the gransfors bruks small forest axe and hunter's axe to determine which i like better...and sell off the other. see this thread for more details on the hunter's axe:
http://jungletraining.com/forums/showth ... nter-s-axe.
used this roughly 6" diameter dead fall (i think it's oak)...these two axes made me miss my scandinavian forest axe but my ocd wants a size between it and the wlidlife hatchet though...hence this chop off.
prior to this trip, the hunter's axe was ahead but chopping this log evened things out...the sfa's longer handle, heavier head, and mostly that hook-shaped pommel area felt better/more secure for me when i really wailed on it and put all my power into the chop.
i checked, both my legs are still intact and no blood anywhere (kidding...i followed proper axe technique and was kneeling down the whole time)...round two!
...i still preferred the sfa over the hunter when it came down to pure chopping.
time to try the smaller stuff...held this piece vertical with one-hand (to prevent the axe from hitting the ground) and chopped one-handed...this is when the hunter's handle design shines - single-hand use like the wildlife hatchet but more power.
...splitting was about even.
when it came time to use the axe one-handed while holding the wood with the other hand to split kindling-size (see ray mears' axe video on the technique) then the hunter started to inch ahead again.
...and the hunter's more knife-like handle ergonomics pulls away when it came time to doing feathersticks...despite their similar handle length/head weight specs, they're very different axes in my experience...what i found is that for pure chopping and a belt knife to do the finesse stuff, i'll take the sfa...paired up with a folding saw and/or no knife at all, i'll take the hunter's axe.
i'll take a folding saw and a machete over any axe anyday though!
3 yrs ago, it was flowing so fast/deep that i couldn't cross it without getting all the way up to my knees wet.
