Hickory Shaft Felling Axes

On receiving my Faithful Felling Axe I was exceedingly pleased by it's quality and finish. Two arrived at my local store to choose from-a difficult choice since both were in excellent condition. I mean, Hickory is the best wood for axe handles generally known and both were beautifully sanded and with lovely straight grain. I have now had this axe in very, very hard use for several days now and absolutely no problems; previously on the same job, one axe head and two adze heads all had come loose or off in a tiny fraction of the time. Another sobering thought; usually I am NOT a man for labels and brands, but I got lulled by all the talk of Gransfors Bruks and also I do enjoy Ray Mears films; so to cut a long story short, I bought not only a Gransfors Bruks but the MUCH more expensive Ray Mears version…it arrived in such poor condition I asked for a refund…the handle was barely sanded! I might expect that from a mass produced axe but my experience has been to the contrary. Faithful gave me a wonderful, exceedingly beautiful, carefully finished, tough, 'faithful' tool for a very reasonable price, Gransfors Bruks and Ray Mears gave me a substandard, super over-priced product that I wouldn't even consider owning having handled it! No disrespect to Ray Mears's bushcraft skills which are Great, ( truly he is an inspiration in that regard!) but disrespect to the hype, 'label', marketing and frankly abuse of the customer to map money through his name on nothing or less than nothing. Full marks to Faithful. I hope to post film/stills of my work if all goes well which will surely testify to what I call my 'Old Faithful's' durability, usability, work Horseness and general trustworthy-brilliance! Last Positive comment to Ray Mears company, they did allow me to return the overpriced, poorly finished item. So not all bad.

Thank you 'Old' Faithful.

Reviewed by Adam John Barker on 16th of October 2015