Coghlan's Axe

I mainly bought this to drink beer and have back yard bon fires while cleaning up my yard with many trees. It is much nicer than i expected so far, only chopped a few twigs, but damn! went right thru on one swing! I have done about 6 different 2 week backpacking trips through new mexico and Colorado. I would say you could easily ad this to your pack if you want a chopping axe. It is nice! I wish i had this on those trips. breaking up twigs for about 50 fires gets old, but chopping them is quick and easier! It has a nice cover to keep you safe too. Weight wise i think you could justify bringing this up a mountain if you have a several day several fire hiking trip planned. Also i would still bring a nice knife......but this makes fire starting and building soooooo much easier! and it is fun! buy it!

My quick review of Coghlan’'s 10-inch Pack Axe is simple. Buy it! But here are more details… The price is crazy low and this small axe has great steel. It is SK-5 which is the Japanese version of 1080 high carbon steel. This steel will harden to the mid-sixties on the Rockwell scale but this blade has been tempered back to the mid to low 50s. This is perfect for its use. The metal on this blade is 1/4 inch thick and there is a full, enclosed tang within the rubber handle, which is surprisingly comfortable. I am not normally a fan of finger grooves but these work well. One of the reasons I am so eager to recommend this axe is the price. It is ridiculously low. If you were to buy a knife made out of the same steel manufactured in China it would be double the cost. If the name on the label was tops you could add another digit to the price. The axe is not perfect, however. It does not come adequately sharp out of the package. You can think of the grind as a saber or scandi grind. but, it is not usefully sharp. I spent some time with sandpaper and sanding block then diamond stones and finally a strop to refine the 0 degree edge to shaving sharpness. Once the edge has been properly profiled and sharpened it is a breeze to take care of given that it is high carbon steel. The entire exposed metal part of this tool has a chrome like coating on it.I found that coating was prone to chipping off of the edges of the tool. I don't mind this as I would prefer no coating at all. Most of my tools are carbon steel and I find their care and maintenance to be simple and easy. The nylon sheath is adequate. Other reviewers have commented that the tips of the blade will stick out of the sheath. I have not experienced this, but I also have never worn this on my belt. The other thing to keep in mind is your intended use. This is a light, short tool. Do not expect to fell trees, or even conveniently buck limbs. The design of this more closely matches a hunter's axe. It is perfect for cutting through the pelvis bone of deer. Furthermore, the blade’s shape is very round. You could think of this axe as an ulu on a stick. Perfect for skinning large game. So, for the woods person think of this as a substitute for a large survival knife. It is great for small wood processing, splitting, and even does a fine job making feather sticks. The rounded corners where the head meets the shaft are sharp enough and ideally shaped for throwing sparks off of a ferrocerium rod. I have also found this to be a great tool for carving spoons. It is light and sharp and makes roughing out the spoon a breeze. Since the blade is forward of the handle line it is not an ideal substitute for a carving knife. But for the roughing out process it is awesome. I believe that if you understand the appropriate uses for this kind of blade and are comfortable with doing your own sharp sharpening you will love Coghlan’'s 10-inch Pack Axe. Did I mention that you should just buy it?

After many camping trips with only a bow saw and brute force to gather firewood, we decided that a hatchet might come in as useful. Much if our camping gear is Coghlans gear, so we figured that this cheap axe should suffice. We utilized it to cut down kindling, chop smaller fire logs (max diameter of 4" which took a minute to actually get through), and even to split some larger logs (max 8" diameter). It required a lot of work when addressing the larger pieces of wood, but it did eventually succeed in its task. After 2 camping trips, the hatchet has held up adequately. The hatchet blade is heavy for its size and securely attached to the shaft, but doesn't hold an edge for very long. The shaft is nice, it has some visible nicks after multiple uses but the structural integrity is still intact. As for the handled grip, it fits awkwardly in one's hand, and caused blisters for multiple people. I would suggest wear gloves, in addition to safety glasses, when using it. Two things that I would like to see different would be: 1. a stronger head material which keeps and edge longer, and 2. a slightly longer shaft. For the price I paid, the Coghlans Ltd 9060 Camp Axe is a decent addition to the camping gear. However, I will be looking into finding a larger axe for future trips.

I got this for the wife because she loves to help process wood on our multiple & extensive backwoods trips, however she is a bit put off by the dangers associated with a large hatchet or axe. This pack axe is 1 solid piece as advertised. It has a comfortable rubber grip, that as of yet has not worked itself loose. once the factory edge is honed and sharpened, you can keep it as sharp as a good knife. Please note this hatchet does not function as a wood splitting hatchet. The head/blade are sturdy, but too thin for effective splitting. I would say a large full tang knife, Ka-Bar or Similar, would be just as effective, if not more effective in a backpack instead of this product, as the knife has more uses. However, I give this product 5 stars for the price, quality and ease of use for little hands.

Nice little camp axe, especially for the price (9$ at the time of this review). I expected to have to sharpen it before first use from some of the comments, but no... It had a decent edge for a small axe and worked well, right out of the package. I bought it more for keeping by my wood furnace, to split kindling and trim firewood to fit into the furnace better, and it is being very good for that. It seems to be decent steel, and with reasonable care it should probably last for quite a few years of regular use.

This is a mixed bag. Pros: The handle has a good grip, the weight is a balance of good force without being too heavy. Cons: The blade is so dull and dented up that it's impossible to make a clean chop into anything. It's going to take a lot of grinding to get this thing into shape... Also, the fitting where the head is attached to the handle has a really strange sticky goo all over it. Not sure yet how I'm going to get that off...

Decent for the money. Not very sharp but sharpens well with a little work with a good file.

What a great hand axe with enough weight to split kindling but enough control chop small bush. One piece construction that should last for years. Would recommend as a great hand tool.