Here is a Condor Woodworkers Axe that I have been using since Christmas. It is well made and a heck of a deal for the price.
It comes well packaged to protect it during shipping, and is complete with a leather sheath. The head weight is 1.5lbs and is fitted with an 18″ long handle. The dimensions of the head per Condor’s website is 6-3/16″ by 3-1/2″. However the actual dimensions of my axe is 5-1/2″ long by 3-3/8″ wide. I am not sure why there is such a difference between what they list and what I have, but it is rumored that there might have been a change in the design for this years model.
Straight and good taper on the head:
Nice grain running parallel to the blade:
Choking up on the blade:
Here you can see that the blade is parallel to the handle and not twisted. The light is reflecting off of the left side making the top look a little off but it is not.
Overall I like this axe pretty well. I am mostly using it to split and rough out wood for spoon carving and other things that I do. It works really well in the splitting department but there are a few things that would make this tool better for carving or roughing out spoon blanks. One is that the blade could be ground back further to produce a thinner edge and wider bevel. That would give you more control and make cutting easier. The other thing is that the handle could be thicker in the middle and thinner near the head. The narrowness at the middle of the handle causes the axe to roll in your hand when roughing out a wood blank. This in turn makes you have to grip the handle tighter than normal which causes my arm and wrist get more tired when using this axe compared to others that I have. At some point I plan to re-handle it and fix this problem.
Aside from those two things, I like the Condor Woodworkers Axe and would say that it is a great deal for the money. I would venture to say that this is a good alternative for people who would like a good hatchet or axe at a fraction of the cost of a Gransfors Bruks or Wetterlings axe.
Dave
Fine looking axe, Dave. I’ve got the Gransfors Small Carving Axe on order and I’m looking forwards to getting it. I like its size and feel.
Hey thanks. That is cool that you have a GB axe in the mail. One day I would like to have one of those.
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Man, I do not like that Condor woodworker’s axe. Its handle needed a lot of shaving to get it down to a reasonable size and I had to do a lot of work to get it sharp. After just a few strokes, it is loose on the handle. It was cheap compared to the GB, but now I am wishing I had saved for that Sloyd axe you review. I wonder how it compares to Council axes. Do you know?
Hey Mark,
Yeah the Condor is definitely not the greatest. I was trying to be a little more optimistic about it at the time because it was a Christmas gift from my wife. Hehe.. Mine has held up and is definitely better after thinning the blade. The only thing I use it for now is splitting kindling and work where I want an axe that I am not worried about damaging the blade. This is a good use for the Condor.
Like you, I tried a lot of cheaper axes instead of just getting an expensive one to start. Seems like you spend more in the long run doing this than just getting the good one in the first place. The Hans Karlsson is definitely worth the money.
I also got a GB Swedish Carving Axe for Christmas and am not really happy with it for the price. The HK is way better. I am thinking of returning the GB and using that money towards an HK Adze. I was hoping to use the GB for rough carving as it is heavier and then switch to the HK for delicate stuff, however the fit and finish of the GB is pretty poor (eye drifted off to one side, head canted on the handle, large chunks of tear out on the handle, etc.).
As far as the Council tools go you are not going to come close in quality to the Hans Sloyd Axe. I do like the Council tools axes, but they do not compare to the work Hans does. They also do not make an axe suitable for carving.
Take care,
Dave