Tags
ax, axe, carpenters axe, carving, Carving axe, Gransfors Bruks, Green Woodworking, Hans Karlsson Sloyd Axe, hewing, Swedish Carving Axe
Hans Karlsson Klensmide AB
Snickaryxa Axe (Sloyd or Carpenters Axe)
Specifications:
Weight: 24.5 oz (695 grams)
Blade length: 4″ (100mm)
Overall length: 14″ (356mm)
Price: $172.50 USD (Dec. 2012)
From: Country Workshops http://countryworkshops.org/Axes.html
If there is one word to explain this axe, one word that I rarely use for a tool, it would be outstanding. Now I know this may not seem ground breaking to you, but to me that really means a lot. You see, I am very picky about the quality of bought items, and tools are one thing that I really demand perfection from when it comes to quality, ergonomics, and lack of flaws.
Now, if I were to use more than one word to express myself, what would I say? Well, here are a few that should give you some idea of how I feel: outstanding, sharp, superb, well designed, high quality, beautiful fit & finish, enjoyable, accurate, ergonomic, and comfortable. This is a great tool. Seriously, I mean it. Am I done ranting, you ask? No, not yet!!!!
Out of the box this thing is sharp. Very sharp as a matter of fact. A little test on my arm and it shaves as good as a store bought razor. The blade is flat ground which makes sharpening to this degree easy. This is not something you see very often and it means that this axe cuts very well and with minimum effort. Normally, axes have a convex grind which is fine for felling but not great for a carving axe. This is especially true when used with seasoned wood. Kudos here to Hans.
The shape of the axe head is superb as well. It is pleasing to the eye and the curve of the cutting edge is just right for accurate placement of your hits when chopping. This axe just seems to hit right where I aim without any adjustments to my swing. In a way it seems to be an extension of my arm and works effortlessly. The cutout on the bottom allows you to easily choke up on the handle for more delicate chopping. The axe head is small enough to allow you to grip over the eye of the axe and use it for shaving. This axe is very well thought out and designed.
The handle is nicely shaped and left with radial rings from the shaping process which gives it a good feel when chopping. It also provides a little bit of traction to increase grip and keep it from slipping out of your hand in hot humid conditions. There is also a little antlered creature branded into the handle toward the knob. This is a neat little feature that is obviously non-functional, but shows that the maker cares about his tools and has pride in his work.
Preliminary tests of this axe included carving a seasoned spoon blank and shaping some green walnut. In both cases the axe cut very well and did not require any sharpening. It held an edge well and did sharpen easily at the end of the cutting session. Note that the edge was still sharp when I touched it up, I just lightly hit it with a fine diamond stone to see how it would sharpen.
Overall, I am very impressed with this axe. It has just the right combination of size, weight, and proper design, which makes it a great carving tool. The weight is light enough to be used for extended sessions without wearing you out, and it is light enough to do precision work. Compared to the Gransfors Bruks Swedish Carving axe, the Hans Karlsson axe is lighter and easier to cut more accurately with. Later I will do a side by side review, but at this point I am giving the nod to the Hans Karlsson Sloyd Axe.
Take care and ask any questions you might have. I will be happy to give you and honest opinion.
Dave
Thet’s great. What a find. I don’t even know how I might have looked for that axe online. Great resource!
“That’s great,” I meant.
Thanks. Yep it is a very nice axe. They are new to the USA so I don’t even know how many people have them at this point. From talking to Drew Langsner, I bet there are only a dozen or so on the market right now.
Hey Dave,
I stumbled on your blog via google reading up on axes. I’m thankful I did. I’ve been reading everything over. Great work!
I’m a beginner looking mainly for a carving axe, but also something that I could potentially bring into a forest to help fell a tree as well. This might be too much to ask of one tool. This Hans Karlsson is definitely high on my list, but carries quite a price tag with it. I’m also considering the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe. (The GB Carving Axe is a beautiful tool, but a bit too heavy for me for carving purposes.) I’m trying to figure out if I should just invest in a really nice carving axe or get an axe that might be decent all around, but perfect for nothing. I’d love to get any recommendations or advice. Thanks!
Glad you found my blog. The HK axe is great. It however might not be the best all around axe for camping as the flat bevel bit would not be as robust as a convex grind. You could work it into a convex grind if you wanted to though, but the beauty of this axe is the flat bevel which makes it carve really well.
One option might be to invest in a good carving axe such as the HK, and then get a cheaper axe such as the Council Tool Boys Axe that I blogged about. The heavier head and longer handle would be better for camping and bushcraft but not too heavy as to be a burden on the trail.
Then you would have two dedicated tools that would excel at their tasks instead of one tool that does neither very well. The fact of the matter is that a longer handled tool is going to be hard to carve with and a shorter handle tool is going to be hard to fell a tree or do other heavy work. If you go back and look at my blog, you will see that I wasted a fair bit of money trying to find a cheaper carving axe. In the end I spent as much as it would have cost me to just get the HK in the first place.
This is why I suggest two axes for what you are wanting to do. Hope that is of some help.
Take care,
Dave
One more thing. You will notice that I suggested spending the big dollars on your carving axe, and not your general use axe. The reason for this is that the carving axe is a specialized tool, and as such, it is much harder to find one that works well. It is however much easier to find a good general purpose axe such as a boys axe or half axe that will work well and not cost much. The Council Tool Boys Axe is a great deal at $30 and out performs many high dollar axes such as the Gransfors Bruks Small Forest Axe and does it at 1/6 of the price.
So my suggestion is to spend your money on a good carving axe and then buy a cheaper axe like the Council Tool for your bashing about in the woods.
Good luck and let me know what you end up doing.
Dave
Thanks for the advice, Dave. Interestingly enough, I was starting to lean in the direction of the GB Small Forest Axe. A friend of a friend loves his for spoon carving and all sorts of tasks. The price point of the SFA is attractive as well. There’s a small shop in Wisconsin making an interesting carving axe right now as well. I’m just not sure of the price and availability just yet. I think the idea of two axes is the right one, I just need to decide on my budget for my first (carving) axe should be. I’ll let you know where I land and will keep reading the blog. Thanks!
Hi Dave,
I am using a SFA for my kuksa and bowl carving and the handle on the SFA really hurts my fingers while I grab it pretty hard.
Now I am comparing the SCA and the hk one you just nicely reviewed. Both will be even grinded, I heard of that the SCA still needs a bit touch up to convert the slightly convexed bevels to nearly flat just as the scandi grind on hk. I don’t mind rework on the SCA. But how do you compare the quality of the steel of both axes? Which one holding the edge longer? I still prefer the shape of the cut edge of SCA, the hk just looks too symmetrical to me I mean the up and down swipe of the cutting edge. Can’t wait to see your review of these two excellent axes side by side… I guess either one is good for me but just had hard time to decide yet…
Cheers
Andrew
Hey Andrew,
Thanks for your comment. I have been out traveling for a while so haven’t posted on my blog much but that will change in the next week.
At first I was disappointed with the Swedish Carving Axe because I expected more from it for the price. The reason you have not seen a review of it yet is because I didn’t want to post a negative blog entry about it before spending some time using it. Now I can post a more objective review as I have worked around the issues I had with it in the beginning. After some work I have really grown to like it.
I am working on a review of it right now and should have it posted within the week so keep watching my blog. After I am finished with that post I will do a side by side comparison of the SCA and the HK axe.
Thanks,
Dave
As for the steel in the two axes. They both seem very good. The HK with the double flat grind seems like it would not be as robust as the SCA. The SCA seems a bit thicker at the bit and less prone to any edge damage if you were to hit something hard with it. I have not had any problems with the HK thought and it has held up very well. Just seems like it would be more fragile than the SCA. Whether this is true has yet to be seen, but I am less worried about mucking up the SCA.
The HK always seems sharp. It holds an edge very well. I have kind of been amazed with it really. In several months of using it frequently it has only needed a slight touch up with a fine diamond stone. The SCA has been used less but seems to hold up well too. I will say that the flat grind on the HK makes it cut wonderfully. In this regard it seems sharper than the SCA even when the SCA is shaving sharp. I have been working on flatenng the left bevel of the SCA and this has helped in this regard.
If you are using either of these for what they are intended and don’t hit them on any rocks or other hard surface, I don’t think there would be any issue with either of them.
Thanks Dave for the replies.
As I was waiting for your side by side review, I pulled the trigger ordered an even grinned SCA. Even after a phone conversation with Drew @ country workshop. He did mention that as far as the quality of the steel is concerned, he thinks the hk are superior. It kind of make sense, as the GB uses a special steel close to 1055 and hk uses some hard wearing carbon steel… I am not a expert. But I sharp the axe at the end of day anyway and the SFA just need a brief touch and that is about it, for same reason I got the roselli carpenter knife instead of their UHC version, its just easier to maintain to fun to play with… I prefer the heckry handle on SCA, like the overall shape of it. The hk looks too symmetrical to me.
I guess the original issue you had with SCA could be a grinding-reprofile thing? Drew mentioned that a flatten inner side is needed even on a even-grinded SCA.
Can’t wait to see these two reviews. SCA first then SCA/hk….
Cheers
Andrew
Hey Andrew. I just got up a review on the GB SCA today. Go check it out and tell me what you think. I hope that you get a good axe and enjoy using it. They really are a wonderful tool.
Sorry I did not get it published sooner, but I am operating off a tablet at the moment which is much more difficult to work on for doing blog posts.
Take care,
Dave