1844 Helko Werk Germany Traditional Hinterland - Made in Germany Double Bit Axe, Felling Axe for Felling Trees and Cutting Wood with Two Blades - Head 3.5 lbs, Handle 30 in. (Hinterland) #13575

I have currently used this axe for about 20-25hrs of actual chopping. I wanted to put this axe through it's paces before I wrote a review. This is the first product I have bought from Helko Werks. I now own Helko Werk's sharpening stone, hatchet, maul, axe collars, and sharpening file. I can also compare it directly to a Fiscar x7 hatchet. Yes I know they are different types of axes, but I will be comparing aspects that are not specific to its size. Lets start with why I bought this over say a Granforsbruks, Prandi, Hultsbruk. Fiscar, and Council Tools. I visited the Fiscar and the Council Tools website and they both do not have the head weight and total weight listed. I associated this lack of information as these not being professional tools because I could not make an educated decision on what axe I needed. This is because depending on the region you reside you need to have an axe that is efficient for the type of trees that you are going to be felling; head weight, total weight, and length give you a good idea of the efficiency of that tool for a given job. I live in Southern California. I am going to be working here as an arborist and I need reliable tools to that can take on the various jobs when I can't use a chainsaw because of an environment prone to catching fire. A very common tree over here is the Ponderosa Pine. The Ponderosa Pine in my backyard for instance, needed branches that are 15 inches in diameter cut and needed to be broken down, as well as an immense amount of twigs broken to size.If you didn't know, Ponderosa pine as well as Elm are some of the most difficult to break down wood. They don't want to split and both have many knots, and twisted grain. These are unlike the trees I see in youtube videos where you can use your felling axe to split wood. If I tried to do this, (which I have done -.-) your axe will bury itself in the wood and you won't be able to break it free by itself (I loosened the eye handle connection trying to break it free ). So for me, having a heavy axe head and a long enough handle is paramount to making enough energy that can handle chopping trees around here. The remaining brands such as Granforsbruk, Hults Bruk, Prandi, etc. do not make heavy axes. My theory is that these axes are not for using (though they will cut) in an industrial capacity. They are made to be comfortable and beautiful for the average user to treasure when they occasionally use it. That is why they are not made heavy. Heavy is uncomfortable for someone who isn't used to real manual labor. I was chopping for 10 hours on my first day using this axe, 6 hours on the second. I was in an environment that would catch fire with a chainsaw. During that time, I really could appreciate the subtle quality of design on the hickory handle, longevity of holding an edge, and the general balance of the axe helping me to continue swinging while I was getting tired. The weight, balance, and handle design allowed me to generate a great deal of power efficiently for difficult wood. For comparison, this axe weighs a total weight of 5.5 pounds with a 31inch handle. The Granforsbruk felling axe is 32in with a total weight of 4.6 pound, and it doesn't list the head weight. The Swedish axes are pretty light weight. The Hults Bruk is similar in that they are just lighter weight. The only other axe company I would recommend are the quality Japanese axes as they are weighted properly for real work 5.6 pounds at 36 inches of length and good steel but are are also 2-3 times more expensive than Helko Werks. Now for the qualities of the axe. Hickory handle is good quality for me. I'm certain some snob out there will point out something wrong with it that doesn't affect usability. The axe neck guard will save your handle but is limited in it's lifespan if you hit too many times or really hard one time. The guard is held on by 4 small screws that go to a very shallow depth in the handle. So a hard hit will strip the wood holding onto the small screws. Once the guard comes off you will be happy the screws are small otherwise they could have hurt the structural integrity of the handle. I see the guard as training wheels as you get used to the axe. If you bash your guard off, the neck of the handle is very thick to resist breaking on impact in an overstrike. I would recommend to get the neck collar from Helko when your guard is bashed off. I want to explain why I use this axe over something like a Fiskar since people think wrongly that a Fiscar is the ultimate axe. Fiscar's chopping axe is 23.5 inches and is really lightweight. This is too small and to light that your axe will bounce of difficult wood. More importantly, the axe is not designed for real world use. I was using the Fiskar x7 hatchet to cut thin branches and twigs for more than a couple of hours. My hand was hurt so bad by the vibrations that when I woke up the next day I could not feel my hand due to temporary nerve damage. The numbness lasted 3 days. The design is flawed because of the handle knob shape which puts too much force on the ring finger and pinky while loosening your grip before impact. You will feel pain in the web of those fingers. The Fiskar metal on the blade will chip on hard wood... When I think about the people who praise the Fiscar axes, I know they are not using the axe for an extended amount of time and on difficult wood otherwise these things will become very apparent. The Helko Werks Handle shape, material, Weight balance, all work in unison to reduce strain on the user and maximize power. I put my Helko hatchet against my Fiskar hatchet and the Helko chopped deeper with less strain than the Fiskar. Hickory, Sugar Maple and other woods are necessary for an axe handle that will be used for extended periods. The Helko Axe head that I received had numerous inaccuracies which are consistent in the fact these axes are handmade, this extends to the grind, relative sharpness, the slight curve to the left of the blade etc. I want to stress that I didn't care that these defects if you will were present because I was buying a handmade tool to do work. None of these so called defects affect the axe one bit in actual use. To contrast look at a machine made Fiskar axe, everything is uniform and consistent, however the axe is completely useless for real extended work because it was not designed from actual user feedback. It lacks the essentials for it to be a good axe. A nerd will look at these defects, because he is used to mass produced consistency, and say they need to spend more time on it etc. Granforsbruk has more automated processes than this company because they are made at a higher volume. Honestly, I love my axe oddities because it makes it feel more human and natural. Nature is not made up of straight lines. I also like that I'm supporting people instead of machines. I'm not happy about automating all types of work because it means people don't get to experience the satisfaction of being proud of something they produced. The axe's blade much like my Fiskars or any other axe I have owned needed to be sharpened. Something anyone who plans to use this axe knows or will learn how to do. This axe came sharper than my Fiscars on arrival but not sharp enough for my tastes. The axe came boxed within another box with bubble wrap. Suffice to say this company wasn't being cheap on securing the axe for safety for shipping (thanks Helko!!). In conclusion, don't buy junk like a Fiskar. Buy this axe because it has all the essentials to aid you in getting work done.

A fantastic hatchet, I was really reticent to spend this much but it's a great product. Great fitment and metal working and overall quality. I've rigged up a pack carrier for it out of a standard US MOLLE II holster/leg extender and a couple of Maxpedition's Tac Ties. Secure, but quickly removable from the carrier, and the carrier from the pack for belt carry if needed. I've only used the hatchet lightly so far, and I did improve the edge with a couple of different stones. Great weight, I'd say it's at the upper limit for a hatchet length handle, but that head cuts well. What I didn't see on Amazon (yet) are OEM replacement handles and parts, for spares just in case. The leather case was really dry, hit it with leather oils, bought the leather handle guard as well, soaked it and tied it on nice and tight. I didn't use the included leather lace, but used 550 cord instead. So far so good.2020 edit: still going strong, lots of use, sharpened twice, doing it's job well.Oct.2020- Could well be the best tool I've purchased through Amazon, just cut a red oaks smaller limbs into an 1/8 cord of kindling with this hatchet, it's still perfectly sharp and working great. I may have to decide which kid i like best, cause this is gonna be in the will 😁Well, it's 2023 now, and this damn hatchet is still absolutely fantastic. I've only "sharpened" it twice when fairly new a few years ago. And since I've only dressed the edge after heavy use. It's still fantastic, still together, no looseness, metal fatigue, chipping etc. Cut shitloads of firewood, done trail clearing, even helped build a cabin with it. Thousands of strikes so far, no problems. A great damn tool worth every penny.It's a bit customized by now, I'll post a new pic at some point. But, the modifications were only to make a great tool perfect for my individual use. Not to improve the actual tool. Thanks Hello Werke team! Heirloom.