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Post by Voltan on Jan 29, 2017 23:57:52 GMT
J&L Cutlery Forge Welded Axe HeadReview & Test by Jason L McEntee Once again, I, Voltan the Dark One, was among the chosen ones...chosen by L Driggers (fallen) to test a forge welded axe head he made out of 5160 steel. His main concern was that the forge weld would hold together, as he told me that 5160 does not always weld easily. The axe head was provided free of charge, under the condition that I pay the shipping cost, mount a handle myself, and give it a good test of chopping wood. A felled pine tree a few miles from my house seemed the perfect test medium to me. Again, the head was made from 5160 steel, with the eye forge welded together. With a 36" handle mounted, it weighs in at 2 lbs, 3 oz, and the cutting edge is 4 & 1/4" long. With a forge-scale finish and just the edge area polished, this axe isn't meant to be pretty---it's meant to perform a task. When I received the axe head, I noticed a de-lamination was present on the surface, but it was not near the eye as the photos below will show. These were shot just before the testing began...   Now let's get to the fun part...  The light weight made it an absolute breeze to swing the axe. The edge bit deeply into the wood, and the surface de-lamination did not spread at all. The weld around the eye held together just fine, as the photos below will show. These photos were shot immediately after the testing. All in all, the axe performed well.    Disclosure: I have a business relationship with the maker of this axe, as L Driggers (fallen) heat treats all of the blades that I make. That said, I gave this axe an honest and fair test/review. --Jason L McEntee
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Post by vinland on Jan 30, 2017 1:39:04 GMT
That's an impressive axe, I really need to pick up another from him some time.
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Jan 30, 2017 2:11:26 GMT
Awesome review! I hope to make one that's even half as good when I make my haft for the one I received.
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Jan 30, 2017 6:05:18 GMT
Think you need a bigger axe for that tree.
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gandermail
Member
Bill, WEWolf, Slackitude...I need to settle on a name.
Posts: 248
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Post by gandermail on Jan 31, 2017 1:30:05 GMT
I love the way it looks like it was made for serious business. Thanks for the review.
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Post by g2knee on Feb 6, 2017 3:38:59 GMT
I also did an axe test for Driggers -- and I'm going to piggy-back off this thread rather than have a new one for all the tests done. The axe preformed well and held together nicely. Driggers did an especially nice job putting a nice sharp edge on it, which was appreciated. The axe head itself was rough, as Driggers said it would be. This was just meant to be a test of it's usefulness and structural integrity. I put a quick-and-dirty handle on it and put it to work. Nevermind the looks -- the iron age is back in style!  First up, was splitting. I had some Ash logs sitting around...and thanks to the keen edge and wedge profile, the wood split quite nicely:  Next, it got less glamorous work. I have a few small stumps in the yard that have been in need of being mulched...so I picked one out I had a special disliking of. The axe bit deeply into the softer wood. It took less time than expected to break it down to where I wanted it to be. Very handy. The edge of the blade suffered a very small knick -- it probably hit a pebble in the dirt or something.  At this point I could see the axe wasn't going to be phased by regular chores, so I decided to push the envelope a bit. I knew Driggers wanted to know if his forge-weld would hold under stress. So I put in some mild abuse and tapped the axe head with a hammer at the weld spots. Then I TAPPED it with a HAMMER...if you know what I mean. I managed to knock off some scale, and dent the outer mild steel layer, but the weld held up! No signs of increasing separation. Then I drove the bit of the axe into a log by smacking the poll with the same 3lb hammer a few times. Again, a few marks (to be expected of course) but no change in the weld spots. Congrats!   In conclusion, a great work axe. My crappy handle began to fail near the end...but since the axe preformed so well I have half a mind to take my time making a new one and then attacking the rest of those stumps. I hope Driggs doesn't mind that I beat up the axe a bit, and I hope it provides some valuable info. Thanks for the chance to check it out! |
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Feb 6, 2017 21:08:38 GMT
Okay, since I wasn't able to get a proper axe handle, I made one from a sapling. There is literally nothing else I could find to use. No spare shovel handles. No broken chairs. Nothing. So I decided to take a survivalist approach.
It was a very frozen day, and the wood I chopped had a layer of ice on it. I thought this would be an excellent medium to test the edge retention.
Due to the nature of the handle, I wasn't able to put full power. But I did use a log to hammer it on from the top and used a lot of force to do so and the Axe head suffered no damage. It was really cold out, so I wasn't able to do as much as I wanted. Consider this a mini review. Once I get a proper handle I'll do a full review with full power.
(If you don't see pictures yet, it's cause I'm uploading them from a phone. This website layout is friggen hell for mobile users, but the pictures will be up in a few moments)
While my pictures process I would like to mention how well this axe performed. Even when using minimal strikes, it but deep. Even when I hit ice covered wood, it but deep. Every hit was clean and made the frozen logs feel like sponge. I was having doubts in the hardness of the wood I tested, so I tried my condor HD kukri and it didn't perform as well as the Axe head did.
The edge was in the exact same condition I got it, after the test, as well. It's a fantastically crafted item
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Feb 6, 2017 21:32:27 GMT
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Feb 6, 2017 21:34:27 GMT
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Feb 6, 2017 21:36:57 GMT
Very sorry for the poor quality photos. This website format makes it super hard to upload anything of decent quality when you are a mobile user. I ain't got a computer.
But there is a bright side. This isn't my only review. It's just a teaser so we can get an idea what this thing can handle. Once I get a proper handle I am gonna push it to the limit
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Post by Jordan Williams on Feb 6, 2017 22:17:11 GMT
Very sorry for the poor quality photos. This website format makes it super hard to upload anything of decent quality when you are a mobile user. I ain't got a computer. Make an account on imgur.com, then upload photos there and just copy+paste the BB code onto here. Pretty easy, good quality uploads. |
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Ifrit
Member
More edgy than a double edge sword
Posts: 3,284
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Post by Ifrit on Feb 6, 2017 23:43:52 GMT
Thanks for the tip. I'll do that when my full review is made for sure. Maybe just can even get a chopping video
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Post by bigpete on Feb 8, 2017 14:29:24 GMT
Very much like voltans. If fallen starts making these regularly I may have to purchase one
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 9, 2017 21:59:36 GMT
Think about doing one's like Voltan, but will be using mild steel to make the jacket and 5160 or 1075 for the bit. I'm going to be busy making myself some forge tools for awhile. Got to get a forge press built so I can do even better welds. Got the I bean to start building it.
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 9, 2017 22:00:56 GMT
Hope to make the axe Volton really wants so buy more stuff from him.
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Scott
Member
Posts: 1,680
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Post by Scott on Feb 18, 2017 6:47:02 GMT
Just a few initial impressions, I'll get a more detailed review up with pictures soon after I've given it a bit more use.
So far I've cut through a 100mm thick piece of seasoned gum, not sure what type, but it was dry and hard. Blade held up fine with chopping and with twisting to loosen where it had stuck in the wood and remove the waste in the middle of the cut. After finishing cutting I took a chip and sliced one edge like making a feather stick, worked fine so it's holding its edge so far.
As said I'll get something a bit more detailed with photos up soon.
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Post by mrbadexample on Feb 18, 2017 19:49:15 GMT
I was also selected by our resident L Driggers to test one of his prototype forge-welded axe heads. The axe head was given to me free of charge on the condition that I pay shipping costs, haft it, subject the axe to rigorous testing, and submit a review here. I have a yard full of chopping tasks needing to be done, and my wood axe was out of commision. The timing was perfect. Here are photos of the axe as I received it and mounted on a standard tomahawk handle.     Straight out of the packaging, I was impressed by the heft of the axe head, its geometry, and the very sharp edge. It was literally paper cutting sharp, but the convex, wedge-shaped profile puts enough meat behind that edge to keep it from appearing delicate. I did notice a few brown/blue spots near the horns of the edge that suggest it may have gotten a bit hot during sharpening. These spots were very small, and did not worry me. The overall finish of the axe was quite rough, but all of the testers were told to expect that. This axe was meant to test proof of concept, and was finished to the appropriate level for that. Most of us have seen examples of Driggers’ polished work, and I have no doubt that he could have made the axe smooth and shiny. Despite the rough finish, there are no particularly obvious or deep hammer marks under the scale. The clean hammer work that went into the majority of shaping this axe head is impressive. The weld line is clearly visible and slightly open on one side of the head, but there were no signs of significant delamination. As for the materials, I understand that the bit is 5160 welded to a mild steel body. Driggers drifted the eye to fit a tomahawk handle so fitting one that I already had around was easy (more on that later). Once the axe was hafted, I noticed that there is a lot of meat around the eye. It is thicker there than what I usually prefer, and I wondered if it would affect performance. Moving some of that extra material into a small hammer pol could be a nice touch, but, again, this axe was meant for proof of concept. I expect that Driggers would have no trouble thinning out the material around the eye if wanted. Attachments:
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Post by mrbadexample on Feb 18, 2017 19:56:55 GMT
Here are some photos of the axe in action.   The performance was quite good. I tested the axe on a number of chores. I have a mulberry stump that I have been slowly picking away at for some time. The little axe head bit deeply into the stump and root wood, and readily split sections from the stump. A splitting wedge and sledge are still the proper tools for this job, but the axe did well for its size. Next I split a cedar log. This log was sawn from a fallen branch off of my Cedar of Lebanon. The wood is exceptionally hard. The axe bit deeply, and I was able to get a clean split by batoning the head. I have had other axes fail at this task, and was quite pleased by the performance.  I turned the log on its side, and about twenty chops from alternating angles got me a third of the way through. Not bad for wood this hard. Cutting small sticks and splitting boards was a breeze. I know that an axe is not a machete, but I have a lot of privet growing at the edge of the yard. The axe made a surprisingly clean, shearing cut through a green privet branch despite its profile being more intended for chopping and splitting tasks.  It handled each of these tasks well with no signs of weld failure. However, I had to cut the testing short because the head started to wiggle, come loose, and was working its way off the end of the handle. That is not usually the way a head will come loose from a tomahawk handle, and I asked Driggers about it. He tells me that this axe was drifted for an oversize hawk handle and provided the dimensions. I am going to pick up a thicker handle when I get the chance, and in the meantime I wrapped the end of the haft with masking tape to make up the difference. I don't think that will be a long-term fix, but its working for now. Before I stopped for the day I wiggled the head back as tight as I could and tossed it at my stump target. Driggers had warned that these are not throwing axes, but it did just fine anyway.  I cleaned the axe off and found that the edge was still paper cutting sharp, and the welds looked exactly the same.  This appears to be a very durable axe. I expect that once I have a properly sized handle, this axe will be a frequent, reliable, and long-serving companion in my yard work. Attachments:
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Post by L Driggers (fallen) on Feb 19, 2017 20:07:32 GMT
Thanks Mrbadexample for the test, sorry I don't used standard tomahawk handles. The drift I got are oversized and I've got alot of these larger handles in stock.
Keep testing them and keep giving me feed back.
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Post by mrbadexample on Feb 19, 2017 23:00:40 GMT
No worries. The masking tape is holding up until I get a proper handle. I did a bit more yard work today, and it continues to perform nicely. It's a great axe head.
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