Best Felling Axe Reviews

What is a Felling Axe?

A felling axe is an axe designed with an extremely sharp, thin blade with a pointed head that makes a very deep cut into the wood grain with each stroke. It’s an axe used mainly for cutting down trees. Felling is more a logging process than a camping or survival task, ideal for cutting down stumps, and climbing trees.

Therefore, it’s best done using specific axes that cut and not split wood fibres. The axe’s heads are usually medium in weight, weighing between 2.7 to 4.2 pounds with a 31 to 36-inch handle.

key points to note about felling axes:

• Felling axes are used for cutting down trees and branches.
• They are designed to chop across the grain and not with the grain like mauls.
• Felling axes have slightly round blade and relatively low cutting edge angle.

Without further ado, let’s begin the reviews of the best felling axes.

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1. 1844 Helko Werk Germany Classic Expedition – 4.5lb Felling Axe

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This is an excellent working axe best reserved for the heaviest and most difficult jobs. Its huge size seems to intimidate those who are new to using the axe but the expedition is ergonomically balanced and fully capable of clearing your property (provided you have the stamina to put it to use).

This classic expedition axe is as big as they come, heavy about  4.5 pounds head that delivers incredible striking power in the hands of a controlled operator. This handmade German axe’s head is polished with an impressive size having an exquisite display piece which is highly reflective that reduces cutting friction and improves rust resistance. This will eventually attract you to make an order for two (one for the shed and one for the mantle).

This axe’s head is made of  German C50 high-grade carbon steel with an open face drop-forged, heat-treated, and oil-hardened, Helko crown hammered into the cheek and 53-56 HRC (Rockwell Hardness). It comes with a 1oz bottle of Axe-Guard protective oil and a  vegetable-tanned Leather Sheath.

The axe’s handle, crafted in Switzerland having a sustainably sourced Grade-A American hickory that is individually selected for strength, grain orientation, and density are oiled with the most appropriately boiled linseed oil finish. It has 150 grit smooth sanded Hung with hardwood wedge and notched steel ring wedge. The overall weight if this axe is 6.5 pounds and length and handle length of 35 inches.

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2. Velvicut 4 Pound Premium American Felling Axe with Sheath

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This 4-pound heirloom American felling axe was produced by the manufacturer’s experienced artisans. The axe head is rough ground in a robotic work cell and then sharpened by an experienced craftsman using increasingly fine abrasives and then finished with leather stropping. One of the most preferred axe by skilled woodsmen for a full-sized felling. The Dayton pattern is a timeless shape in which much care is taken in the finishing process after the head is forged.

The axe head is designed to have hand-honed razor sharpen by skilled craftsmen such you get the assurance if having sharp axe can fell trees with ease. The head is strong and durable available for usage over a period of time. Forged from 5160-grade alloy steel for strength, toughness, durability and the ability to hold an edge. The council is displayed on one side of the head, and the other is marked the USA.

It is also a heat-treated which can be quenched to produce a hardened edge extending to one and a half inches up the bit for maximum edge holding and tempered to Rc 52-56 to hold an edge without becoming brittle.

The handle has a length of  36 inches, made of grade A American hickory which is selected for grain orientation and density and its traditional pattern embodies the heirloom quality of axes as time goes. The handle is also mounted to the head in a traditional manner using a softwood wedge along with a round steel wedge for added security.

The axe head is coated with oil to prevent rusting and to showcase its natural beauty. A Linseed oil coating is applied to protect the handle. A premium leather sheath made in the USA is included to protect the tool and user and features a buckle for fastening and an embossed logo.

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3. Hults Bruk Torneo Compact Felling Axe

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Hults Bruk Torneo Compact Felling Axe is an axe is made by using superior quality steel that has been struck various times to enhance the hardness and durability such that the axe can carry out the task of tree felling with ease.

The axe has a strong area which maintains it’s sharpness even after the blade has been repeated sharpening. While the axe head is made of clear and glazed iron, the bent handle is of Hickory wood are made from the US. The axe also has a protective, ornamental leather sheath and shipped in a storage box.

For quick easy tree felling, this is a perfect tool as it has an axe head(steel) sourced from Sweden weighing 2.86 pounds, and linseed oil treated handle whose length is 26 inches.

The axe is a perfect, practical, compact felling axe to use to tackle most jobs in the outdoors that can cut small to medium trees and comfortably fits into a truck. The package of the axe comes with a detailed user’s manual.

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4. 1844 Helko Werk Germany Classic Forester – 3.5 lb Felling Axe

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The Forester felling axe is handmade in Wuppertal, Germany that is highly rugged, full-size general purpose axe made from superior quality steelhead weighing 3.5lbs, handle length 31 inches and the total weight of 5.5lbs which can carry several works such as providing enough heft for all types of cutting and splitting work, and is big enough to take down large trees without fatiguing the average user.

Therefore, when you are searching for a full-size axe, but aren’t able to comfortably wield the 4.5-pound expedition, the Forester is a solid choice for that task. It is also a perfect tool for farm, household repairs and fittings.

The head is a German C50 high-grade carbon steel buffed and polished to a highly reflective finish that reduces cutting friction and improves rust resistance. Also, the axe is open face drop forged, heat-treated, and oil-hardened. And  Helko crown hammered into cheek 53-56 HRC (Rockwell Hardness)

The axe handle is Crafted in Switzerland, which is a sourced sustainably Grade A American hickory that was individually selected for strength, grain orientation, and density. Boiled linseed oil finish, 150 grit smooth sanded,  Hung with hardwood wedge and notched steel ring wedge for convenience handle and 1oz bottle of Axe-Guard oil for handle protection.

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5. Hult Bruk Atran Falling Axe

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The Hult Bruk Atran Falling axe head is hand-forged and made from Swedish axe steel in a foundry that has been in operation since 1697. The metal head weight is 3.5 lbs and a handle length of 32 inches. It is used in falling small or large-sized trees. It is a clear-lacquered ironwork and the curved shaft is made from sourced hickory. The handle is treated with linseed oil for better grip and possible stability. The axe comes with a traditional leather protective sheath, storage box and a user’s manual.

The density of the axe steelhead is reduced by multiple strucking which will increase its durability. The steelhead is designed with a tempered zone to hold a very sharp edge even after many sharpenings and leather sheath. It’s one of the toughest and finest axes that was ever created for the most enduring task of all–(my personal favourite) falling trees. The exciting thing about this axe is the fact that it’s been manufactured to specifically maintain its’ sharpness. The axe is rugged, it will increase the expertise of the user,  therefore, recommended this Hult Bruk Atran Felling Axe for a prompt and perfect felling of trees.

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Here is a quick video on how the older generation used to fell trees:

Unique Features of a Felling Axe

When it comes to best Axe for chopping down trees, very unique features you should check out for and there are a few main aspects to bear in mind to choose the best axe for felling trees.

They are:

1. The weight of Felling Axe Head: You can start felling trees with axe head having less weight may be any of the axe heads with a 3-pound axe with a 2-pound and go on increasing the weight as you get stronger and more used to the axe. While the most massive axe head does produce maximum force, it’s better to buy an axe with a head measuring fewer pounds. When the axes are heavy axes, more power is required but give less accurate swings.
2. Length of Felling Axe Handle: The length of the axe handle is taken into consideration, for instance, longer handles do give more force in each swing, but is better to use short handle axes than necessary. Also, note that when the handle is too long there may be a risk of you not able to control the axe after some time.
3. Axe Handle Material: The axe handle is made of wooden material or plastic. The wooden handles are better, especially the ash handles. Check the wood grain and its growth-ring width and quantity. The grain and axe bit should run in a parallel direction because perpendicular running grains are weak and may snap upon striking trees. Axe handle with numerous and narrow growth rings are stronger than wood with fewer, broadly-spaced growth rings.
4. The shape of Axe Handle: Most axe handles are curved or straight, single-bitted felling axes should preferably have curved handles as it has a more natural feeling. It is easier to flip the axe around, that’s, it is actually a unique feature to double-bit a straight handle axe.
5. No Varnish: If the handle is varnished, sand it off using sandpaper and elbow grease as varnish only makes the handle slippery, which is risky as the axe may fall out of your hand. Though blisters may occur when using an unvarnished handle, the calluses you develop with time solves the problem.

What is the recommended size for the Axe handle?

To get most of the load’s tree felling effective, the axe handle’s length is usually measured from the axe’s top edge to the bottom knob, and the standard length is 36 inches. While most men look for long-handled axes thinking it gives powerful swings, some experts, however, suggest using short handles which provide more strength. Hence, it is better using an axe that’s balanced between power and accuracy like shorter handles that give better control for efficient cutting. A 31 inch or even 28-inch handle gives better force and control to the average 6 feet tall male. It eases the work done as a result of your fast swing of the axe with more power.

How to oil the Felling Axe Handle?

Felling axes mostly designed with a traditional wood handle have a long-lasting protective finish applied. This could be like a periodical coating of teak oil or any other oil like boiled linseed oil. Only boiled oil and not raw linseed oil is use because raw oilseed doesn’t dry. The raw linseed oil is thick, doesn’t penetrate well and needs 3-5 days to ‘dry’ while boiled linseed oil has thinners and drying agents for faster curing. A rag or a small paintbrush is needed to rub the oil onto the handle. Linseed oil helps to protects the handle from elements and the more layers are added, the better is your axe handle finish.

How to Sharpen a Felling Axe?

Depending on how worn-out the axe’s head is, they are sharpened with a fine-toothed flat file, useful for filing both sides along the edge while maintaining the edge’s original shape. In case of minor damage, a coarse handheld whetstone is used to sharpen the axe. While moving the axe back and forth, ground the entire edge evenly. Turn the axe continuously to sharpen both sides and if you need a keener cutting edge, strop it against some leather after honing with each stroke made away from the cutting edge.

Conclusion

If you are cutting down a tree manually, you need the right axe to make life easy. Choosing the right brand and model of a felling axe is very essential.

Some of the higher end felling axe models are known to last for a long time. So, pick your axe properly.

Hopefully, this review has helped you understand the benefits of some of the best axes available.