I know a lot of people say these are made of stainless, but if they are, it must be a very high carbon stainless because I have the Fiskars X7 and have seen it develop rust on the edge (I sharpened/stropped the coating off the bevel) after washing dirt off and unintentionally putting it away with a few drops of water still on it. This happened in just a couple of hours. I've since tried to get rust to develop on the blades of a Mora and a Benchmade Mini Grip and have had no luck so far.
Good review. I recently got the Fiskars x5 camp axe. It is the exact same axe! Brilliant piece of kit. Combined with a mora it is great for under £50. I sharpen mine on japanese whetstones and it slices paper easily. PS- Instead of battoning the axe you could hold the wood in one hand and axe in the other. Bring them down together on the chopping block and it splits nicely.
Very good review. Have been looking at something more heavy duty to go with my Mora. For the size a little hatchet is better than a big knife. Thanks for proving that.
would you recommend the longer handle (next size up) for backpacking or not? I'd personally rather thrash on a small hatchet than my blades. (I do baton with my blades currently, but I'm tired of inspecting and maintaining them, rather keep em sharp, -thinking of going to a hatchet) Thanx - Great review!
I have the 17" & 14" Gerber/Friskars axes. The one negative I would mention is the ridge of the handle around the head does occasionally hang up while splitting wood. I have also noticed some small chips taken out of this ridge from hanging up while slitting. Nothing serious, but I could see this causing trouble a few years down the road. If weight is an issue these are great axes, if not, then go for a Wetterlings high carbon steel axe with hickory handle they are much better.
Yep, I've been useing that 17" Fiskars axe for over five or more years, and it's chopped through more wood than I can remember. You're right, Fiskars make the axes and badge them for Gerber. Fiskars were famous for the sharpest dress making scissors, then a few years ago the brought the Wilkinson Sword company. I love that 17" axe because it cost me £17 from a hardware store, and the same axe badged as Gerber was costing at that time, £48.....It pays to shop around. Nice video 5*
Is that like Fiskars the Scissors makers? They make amazing scissors for seamstresses, I have several that I use daily. I'm thinking I need a Backpaxe now. Good review, thanks for sharing :) 5*'s as usual.
@spannernuts thanks :) So they bought the Wilkinson Sword company? Interesting history. But I do love their scissors something terrible :) My kids know if it's orange...touch & die, lol. I can't wait to try out their axes now. I bet their just as top notch.
@sassylindalou If it's orange...touch and die, made me chuckle...I would go with the 17" Axe if it's your first axe, then that way you have a great axe for big work and for smaller stuff, as appossed to going for the small one in the video then finding you can't do they heavier work so easily. The weight diff between the two axes is minimal as the handle is a very strong plastic composite. And like it says in the video, they head is sealed into the handle so there is now play.
Never went for an ax cause of the weight,but i think i might give one a try.I been in the air about it.Actually looked at a couple,saw the same one with the little knife in the handle.I think im sold on it!!!Thanks for the help.
Another Great video PackRat!!! Have you seen the Gerber Gator Axe? It looks just like your axe but it has a knife built into the handle.... Very cool!!!
pretty cool, I had a handle break on me, so practice good safety, my ax head went flying ,Had no previous damage to the handle. btw what kind of tree is hollow like that?
@beast12101 It was a sweetgum tree. It was diseased, causing the core to rot away. The side you couldn't see on the tree showed on the outside pretty bad. That is another reason I cut it. I feared that at some point it could come down at an inopportune time while I was at this camp!
How does this compare to the Gator Combo Axe with integrated hand saw? The Combo is 15" long 1lb 12oz and at $35 on Amazon a great deal. Is it considered too large for adding to a camping back pack?
@MaximumDensity1 I don't mind. Actually, I really respect Nutnfancy's videos and normally agree with him on most things. I have not seen his review though. Different people have different ideas of how their gear will be used and what they expect of it. I will stick by my review, as for me this axe has really been a strong performer. Thanks for watching and commenting!
Great review. I have thought about getting one of these for a while, but was always leary about the handle and weight. But it appears it works well. I might get one afterall !! Thanks !!
Dude you are so lucky to walk out your door and be able to set up camp. I can't where I live. I have been looking at property in west Kansas, West Indiana, Kentucky & Tennessee. I would love to own a couple hundred acres and go totally green.
@deepwater1974 I am very lucky to have access to areas to do this. However, it does take me some time to get to these areas. I wish they were actually right out my door, You would probably see me making many more videos! Good luck on that land, that is a dream I have as well!
Arkansas dude. I'm from urban Southern California(redundant I know) and in my opinion Arkansas has some of the most pristine wilderness. The land is cheap and much of it is forest, especially towards the Ozarks. We purchased 60 plus acres of woodland with 2 acres split between two ponds, a large creek and an old red barn for around 100k but that was six years ago, I'm sure the deals right now are even better.
@cbdoobie I know. I spent a week in Salesville and Mountain Home. I did a lot of trout fishing on the white river and visited crystal clear waters by the old ghost town. Also went to Blanchered Caves. I love Arkansas. If I knew my business would work out there, I move there right now.
I never thought of it when I owned a fiskar I have since went to a wetterlings but I wonder now if you could get a length of hardwood and wedge in bottom of handle to extend axe handle if needed in field just a thought. Great review 5/5
One other thing to mention: those hatchets, at least when sold under the Fiskars brand in Canada, have a lifetime guarantee. I assume that would be the same in the US and elsewhere.
Good vid. I have the bigger brother to that hatchet, the one with the 14" handle, and find it also to be excellent, I think a bit more versatile for only a tiny bit more weight in the longer handle.
Fiskars bought out Gerber in 1987. Silva / Brunton (well known brands of compass) are also Fiskars brands, though they apparently sold off Brunton (the US marketing division for those products) to "Fenix Outdoor" , another Swedish company, last year.
hey packrat could you tell me the intro song thank you
Jacob
graffiticandy 2 weeks ago in playlist More videos from PackRat556
By "no luck so far" I just mean that there was no visible rust, not that rust is a good thing. LOL
Also tried it with a Boker Gnome (same steel as the Mora, but different finish) and a CRKT Ritter RSK Mk5 and saw no rust there, either.
CanItAlready 2 months ago
I know a lot of people say these are made of stainless, but if they are, it must be a very high carbon stainless because I have the Fiskars X7 and have seen it develop rust on the edge (I sharpened/stropped the coating off the bevel) after washing dirt off and unintentionally putting it away with a few drops of water still on it. This happened in just a couple of hours. I've since tried to get rust to develop on the blades of a Mora and a Benchmade Mini Grip and have had no luck so far.
CanItAlready 2 months ago
fiskars owns gerber
jeffbengtson 5 months ago
Good review. I recently got the Fiskars x5 camp axe. It is the exact same axe! Brilliant piece of kit. Combined with a mora it is great for under £50. I sharpen mine on japanese whetstones and it slices paper easily. PS- Instead of battoning the axe you could hold the wood in one hand and axe in the other. Bring them down together on the chopping block and it splits nicely.
pnfcrac 10 months ago
Very good review. Have been looking at something more heavy duty to go with my Mora. For the size a little hatchet is better than a big knife. Thanks for proving that.
pnfcrac 10 months ago
Very good review, objective and practical.
cameraguy1968 10 months ago
would you recommend the longer handle (next size up) for backpacking or not? I'd personally rather thrash on a small hatchet than my blades. (I do baton with my blades currently, but I'm tired of inspecting and maintaining them, rather keep em sharp, -thinking of going to a hatchet) Thanx - Great review!
epmd2450 1 year ago
I have the 17" & 14" Gerber/Friskars axes. The one negative I would mention is the ridge of the handle around the head does occasionally hang up while splitting wood. I have also noticed some small chips taken out of this ridge from hanging up while slitting. Nothing serious, but I could see this causing trouble a few years down the road. If weight is an issue these are great axes, if not, then go for a Wetterlings high carbon steel axe with hickory handle they are much better.
illyounotme 1 year ago
Strange, Fiskars (corporation) says 'carbon steel' but Gerber (brand of fiskars) says 'stainless steel'. Which is right ?
ZaphB 1 year ago
Comment removed
ZaphB 1 year ago
Yep, I've been useing that 17" Fiskars axe for over five or more years, and it's chopped through more wood than I can remember. You're right, Fiskars make the axes and badge them for Gerber. Fiskars were famous for the sharpest dress making scissors, then a few years ago the brought the Wilkinson Sword company. I love that 17" axe because it cost me £17 from a hardware store, and the same axe badged as Gerber was costing at that time, £48.....It pays to shop around. Nice video 5*
spannernuts 1 year ago
Great review! You sold me on it, just picked one up online. Thank you!
mixsplace 1 year ago
Great field demo. Nice job!
theWZZA 2 years ago
Great video! Keep them coming!
SergeantUSA 2 years ago
I heard they are the same company.
FixedByDoc 2 years ago
I have the small and the medium ones. They are awesome. But need gloves with them. They are very sharp and EASY to keep sharp.
FixedByDoc 2 years ago
Another great review...Thanks again!
64beanm 2 years ago
Is that like Fiskars the Scissors makers? They make amazing scissors for seamstresses, I have several that I use daily. I'm thinking I need a Backpaxe now. Good review, thanks for sharing :) 5*'s as usual.
sassylindalou 2 years ago
@sassylindalou Yep, Fiskars are the scissor people....see my previous post
spannernuts 1 year ago
@spannernuts thanks :) So they bought the Wilkinson Sword company? Interesting history. But I do love their scissors something terrible :) My kids know if it's orange...touch & die, lol. I can't wait to try out their axes now. I bet their just as top notch.
sassylindalou 1 year ago
@sassylindalou If it's orange...touch and die, made me chuckle...I would go with the 17" Axe if it's your first axe, then that way you have a great axe for big work and for smaller stuff, as appossed to going for the small one in the video then finding you can't do they heavier work so easily. The weight diff between the two axes is minimal as the handle is a very strong plastic composite. And like it says in the video, they head is sealed into the handle so there is now play.
spannernuts 1 year ago
Never went for an ax cause of the weight,but i think i might give one a try.I been in the air about it.Actually looked at a couple,saw the same one with the little knife in the handle.I think im sold on it!!!Thanks for the help.
erm9173 2 years ago
@erm9173 The axe weighs more than a saw but does more and does it faster with less work. I would never go back to a saw
spannernuts 1 year ago
Damn Packratt! Great gear. Where exactly did you buy those axes?
KungFuKid1015 2 years ago
Another Great video PackRat!!! Have you seen the Gerber Gator Axe? It looks just like your axe but it has a knife built into the handle.... Very cool!!!
n2jmb 2 years ago
great review & field demonstration. Just wondering what the overall weight is on this backpaxe?
CampfireTalk 2 years ago
pretty cool, I had a handle break on me, so practice good safety, my ax head went flying ,Had no previous damage to the handle. btw what kind of tree is hollow like that?
beast12101 2 years ago
@beast12101 It was a sweetgum tree. It was diseased, causing the core to rot away. The side you couldn't see on the tree showed on the outside pretty bad. That is another reason I cut it. I feared that at some point it could come down at an inopportune time while I was at this camp!
PackRat556 2 years ago
no idea why... but i cant STAND axes without a wooden handle :/
bushcraftourway 2 years ago 3
How does this compare to the Gator Combo Axe with integrated hand saw? The Combo is 15" long 1lb 12oz and at $35 on Amazon a great deal. Is it considered too large for adding to a camping back pack?
GeorgeStynzen 2 years ago
Great review Rat....keep'em coming
GATORFOOT166 2 years ago
Thats a cool little axe! Very nice review, thanks! 5*****
40sigsauer 2 years ago
I don't mean to pit 2 of my friends against one another but, nutnfancy did a review of the full size gerber ax and didn't have much good to say.
I DO think your review is more realistic as opposed to his overly hard use so i will now give it a try.
5 stars bro.
MaximumDensity1 2 years ago
@MaximumDensity1 I don't mind. Actually, I really respect Nutnfancy's videos and normally agree with him on most things. I have not seen his review though. Different people have different ideas of how their gear will be used and what they expect of it. I will stick by my review, as for me this axe has really been a strong performer. Thanks for watching and commenting!
PackRat556 2 years ago
excellent video. what is the overall length of the full size axe in that video?
jambi726 2 years ago
Great review. I have thought about getting one of these for a while, but was always leary about the handle and weight. But it appears it works well. I might get one afterall !! Thanks !!
charper3006 2 years ago
Fun to hear americans say Fiskars lol also...Fiskars produces for Gerber yes and Fiskars are Great stuff!!!
Roboflux 2 years ago
Nice review PackRat.
ProfessorQuantum 2 years ago
Wow...awesome little axe...gonna have to check into one.
Bustertb 2 years ago
fiskars owns gerber that is why they are the same.
spartencamp 2 years ago
Nice review vid...I might have to look into that little guy! 5 stars
Shanester66 2 years ago
fiskers purchased gerber in 1987
nellynell77 2 years ago
Thanks for the excellent review on this nice little axe. It looks really decent and I like the construction a lot.
SkallagrimNilsson 2 years ago
Dude you are so lucky to walk out your door and be able to set up camp. I can't where I live. I have been looking at property in west Kansas, West Indiana, Kentucky & Tennessee. I would love to own a couple hundred acres and go totally green.
I love your videos. 5 Stars.
deepwater1974 2 years ago
@deepwater1974 I am very lucky to have access to areas to do this. However, it does take me some time to get to these areas. I wish they were actually right out my door, You would probably see me making many more videos! Good luck on that land, that is a dream I have as well!
PackRat556 2 years ago
Why green?
ChristianBackpackers 2 years ago
@ChristianBackpackers Solar power, Wind Power, Wood Burning Stove. Freedom from (forgive me for putting it this way) from the man. lol.
deepwater1974 2 years ago
@deepwater1974
Arkansas dude. I'm from urban Southern California(redundant I know) and in my opinion Arkansas has some of the most pristine wilderness. The land is cheap and much of it is forest, especially towards the Ozarks. We purchased 60 plus acres of woodland with 2 acres split between two ponds, a large creek and an old red barn for around 100k but that was six years ago, I'm sure the deals right now are even better.
cbdoobie 1 year ago
@cbdoobie I know. I spent a week in Salesville and Mountain Home. I did a lot of trout fishing on the white river and visited crystal clear waters by the old ghost town. Also went to Blanchered Caves. I love Arkansas. If I knew my business would work out there, I move there right now.
deepwater1974 1 year ago
@deepwater1974
I'm heading to Blanchard Springs/Sylamore Creek within the next week for backpacking and I'm very excited.
What sort of business is it?
cbdoobie 1 year ago
@cbdoobie Auto Collision Repair. Im looking to get out of it and start selling AR15 parts and Accessories and tactical gear.
deepwater1974 1 year ago
I never thought of it when I owned a fiskar I have since went to a wetterlings but I wonder now if you could get a length of hardwood and wedge in bottom of handle to extend axe handle if needed in field just a thought. Great review 5/5
medicjimr 2 years ago
good review, thanks packrat
qweer999999999 2 years ago
Super review. Thx for getting out there.
CallsThunder 2 years ago
Packrat, was yours sharp out of the package? I did a review on the one I purchased and it was VERY dull
roknrandy 2 years ago
Great video/review
knife4knife 2 years ago
thanks for this i was considering one of these axes the other day
leetshots 2 years ago
★★★★★
3charter 2 years ago
great video!!
packrat557 2 years ago
Fiskars company owns Gerber, I use to work for that company, very good company and very good products.
heml0ck01 2 years ago
One other thing to mention: those hatchets, at least when sold under the Fiskars brand in Canada, have a lifetime guarantee. I assume that would be the same in the US and elsewhere.
offramp100 2 years ago
Good vid. I have the bigger brother to that hatchet, the one with the 14" handle, and find it also to be excellent, I think a bit more versatile for only a tiny bit more weight in the longer handle.
Fiskars bought out Gerber in 1987. Silva / Brunton (well known brands of compass) are also Fiskars brands, though they apparently sold off Brunton (the US marketing division for those products) to "Fenix Outdoor" , another Swedish company, last year.
offramp100 2 years ago
Wait the head is stainless steel ?! That cant be right.
Didnt Fiskars buy gerber about 15 years ago ? Awesome little pocket axe tho . I want one : )
flashdamingo 2 years ago
What is the model of that little Gerber sharpener? Thanks-
sourcefourme 2 years ago
my only concern i guess is under artic temps would that handle shatter
RecurveBow1983 2 years ago
These usually get bad reviews. I might have to pick one up.
eme71489 2 years ago
great review! 5/5
essentials4survival 2 years ago
Gave you 5 stars pack rat . Im a huge gerber fan and love all there products. I too own this axe and I like it alot . keep up the good videos !
GlockAnimal 2 years ago
nice little axe short handle looks like it gives you more control.
DEDMNKY 2 years ago