Hultafors Classic Trekking Axe First Impressions

Happy Holidays folks. As you may know Im rather fond of hatchets and small axes. Its a versatile tool which allows for a wide range of bushcraft cutting tasks. So this christmas I asked my family for a higher-end Swedish made hatchet. While I did some research the decision was largely made for me. The Gransfors Bruks wildlife hatchet was way above my budget. The Wetterlings hatchet was not only above my budget but also had some recent quality control issues. The Husqvarna Hatchet was comfortably within my budget but after inspecting one in a store I felt that there are basic design issues with the hatchet and decided to avoid it. So I ended up choosing the Hultafors Classic Trekking Axe. This tools is supposedly handeforged by the oldest axe making company in the world and had top reviews on Amazon. At 83 dollars this tool is incredibly expensive. So today I wanted to share some of my observations on this hatchet. First lets talk about the sheath. The sheath seems to be made of thick high quality leather The fit of the sheath to the hatchet head is very tight. It has a very thick welt and brass rivets in my experience both features serves to protect the sharp bit of the hatchet in the event that the hatchet is used accidentally with the sheath still on. This sheath uses a brass toggle and leather cordage to secure itself around the hatchet head. This system seems much more maintainable than the snap cap buttons on other leather sheath designs. In an emergency I could fabricate cordage and toggles from natural materials I cannot do so with snap on cap buttons. On the other side of the sheath there is a loop for attachment to ones belt. I like this feature very much since it significant reduces the amount of time it takes to deploy this tool making it more likely for me to use the hatchet. The handle of the Hultafors Trekking Axe is made of American Hickory and is approximately 16 inches long. Now my handle did not come with any varnish on it So I applied several coats of boiled linseed oil to preserve the wood. The grain of the wood is straight with tightly packed growth rings. There were no nicks scratches or imperfections of any kind on this handle. The grain orientation was not completely vertical it was off by about 5 degrees. While not at all a big deal in terms of practical use I would still expect such an expensive hatchet to have a handle with perfect grain orientation. With that said the handle was also incredibly thin this feature shold offer only not enhanced cutting power for the same amount of effort but also many comfortable gripping positions along the entire length of the handle. Now What shocked me was the insane balance of this handle it is perfect! Having restored a hatchet myself I know that this feat took tremendous skill and craftsmanship especially since the hatchets center of gravity is already disrupted by the aggressive design of the hatchet head. Speaking of the head. At approximately 1 pound in weight it is a hudson bay pattern head with ears that provides a firm grip on the handle. The one major miss with the head was in the way it was mated to the handle. It is clear to me that whoever pounded in the circular metal wedge was off and this caused a piece of wood to flake off. I consider this to be a huge lapse in quality control especially for such an expensive tool. That detail aside The head features a perfectly symmetrical and very acute cutting edge. This cutting edge smoothly transitions into the cheeks of the hatchet head. Having re-profiled my old hatchet I recognize this as a design feature to enable deep cutting capability without compromising splitting capability. However the durability of this design hinges on the quality of the steel. Softer steels would cause the acute edge to roll after just light use while hard unevenly tempered steel would cause this edge to chip. So for such a hatchet to be durable the steel needs to be of absolutely superb quality. Now Hultafors mentioned that the edge had a Rockwell Hardness of 58 but they did not release what type of steel it is for some reason. Now the factory edge on this hatchet came with a mirror polish and is scary sharp. It slices newspapers just like a Mora Knife.,

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