Thread: Wilderness Axes - hand made from the Urals - Siberia

[QUOTE=Sarvo;1162520]

Originally Posted by Frodo

Lots of nice options.

Too many Options according to some
Can't win ah :-)

Originally Posted by MSL

Got to keep it simple for simple folk like me


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Lol.

He would very likely do that - given time of course
He is a very clever Craftsman and presume an old established family business
He has some amazing stuff

Sells some of it for 10K US$ to rich Oligarchs etc
Wife will ask - he is very approachable and responds immediately
Have just ordered 10 from the above and he will surface Air mail out - is now what we are planning (to be confirmed for those in the wait)

Here are some of his more "ornate" productions :-)

Holy sh*t. Definitely a master of his craft.

OK
Shutting this Order off tomorrow

Anyone else in
Looks like surface mail - Air shipment - so pending production time - should be here before end of our Winter

https://vimeo.com/554596704

@PaulNZJ
Just the Butcher and the Colun were not ordered
But the ones I just sent are what I did doubles of - speculating selling after arrival

Tur
The head weight is 800 grams.
The total length is 420 mm
RK - 150 mm

Osprey
The head weight is 1000 grams.
The total length is 600 mm.
RK - 110 mm.

Presuming the "RK" = depth of head

Thanks Sarvo. When you say there's another 10 or so different models in the Hunter Axe collection, these are ones you haven't posted photos of on here before?

Originally Posted by PaulNZ

Thanks Sarvo. When you say there's another 10 or so different models in the Hunter Axe collection, these are ones you haven't posted photos of on here before?

PM you email and I will send the lot
To bloody painful on here to up multiple photos
But - I think most I have post b4 - mayby Facebook ??

Originally Posted by Sarvo

PM you email and I will send the lot
To bloody painful on here to up multiple photos
But - I think most I have post b4 - mayby Facebook ??

Sorry Sarvo, not meaning to make things difficult for you. PM incoming.

Originally Posted by PaulNZ

Sorry Sarvo, not meaning to make things difficult for you. PM incoming.

Not you I "bloody" too :-)
This archaic Platform

There a bloke in the Ukrains makes damn fine looking axes too, sells them on Etsy.

I know a few of the guys on here ordered these axes back in the day, out of interest how did you find them? Not blaming Sarvo, but mine was a dud - an expensive paperweight. Always wondered whether I got the only bad one.

Watching with interest...which one did you buy?? and how much did it cost you?? maybe someone will want it for fancy paperweight...or novelty factor.

Originally Posted by Micky Duck

Watching with interest...which one did you buy?? and how much did it cost you?? maybe someone will want it for fancy paperweight...or novelty factor.

Finnish mini, near the top of the price range at the start of this thread. I wrote up an email summary for Sarvo to send back to the factory, but the whole Russia/Ukraine thing was well underway by then so not much could be done. Here's the summary, I'll see if I can post some photos later.

Short version - the steel is dead soft. Either missed hardening entirely or they had a material mix up and it's unhardenable (low carbon).

Long version:
I purchased my axe in October 2021. Fit and finish were excellent.
The axe has had very little use since then. After using it a few times I suspected the steel might be soft (minor edge damage and surprisingly easy to sharpen with a file), but it didn't cause a problem for the small bit of chopping and splitting I did on soft wood.
Last week I needed to chop a green (live) tree root about 40mm in diameter. I used less than ten one-handed strikes of moderate strength. The edge was severely damaged as per the attached photos. I can confirm I hit no stones or other hard objects; the edge simply rolled over when it hit the wood and I expect the following strikes bent it further. I used a different (much cheaper) hatchet to finish the job without issue.
The damaged area is bent, not cracked as would be expected for hardened steel.
I used a rebound-type (Leeb) hardness tester to measure the axe hardness. Due to the shape it is difficult to get an accurate reading, but it appears to be well below 40 Rockwell C near the edge. Perhaps even much lower.
I tested the metal of the axe edge using two other materials of known hardness. One was a Victorinox kitchen knife I tested at 55 Rockwell C - this easily cut shavings from the axe steel near the edge. The second was a stainless steel butter knife of 46 Rockwell C - this also easily marked the axe steel near the edge. I have not tried even softer materials. These knives did not mark another axe I have from a different manufacturer.

Originally Posted by PaulNZ

I know a few of the guys on here ordered these axes back in the day, out of interest how did you find them? Not blaming Sarvo, but mine was a dud - an expensive paperweight. Always wondered whether I got the only bad one.

What was wrong with it just out of interests?