Council Tool 2lb Hudson Bay Axe with 18 inch Handle and Sheath

This is definitely an axe that you buy to personally mod yourself, as it is not that great out of the box. So to begin, the handle was naked/unfinished with a 45 degree grain. This was decent. I sanded it myself with 400 grit sand paper, and coated with linseed oil multiple times. After stripping the black paint from the top, I noticed that the handle was not flush against the eye of the axe leaving two gaps between the handle and the inside of the axe head. So during use, I noticed that when I stuck the axe into a stump, and tried to removed the axe by pushing against the handle, the handle would move, but the head stayed stuck, confirming what I already saw. Once freed however, the axe head was solid, and was not lose on the handle. To remedy this, I feather sticked some curls of wood using my mora companion, and then the curls to size, and inserted it into the gaps. Now its much better. Now to the blade... You need to sharpen it. You need to get a good stone and grind that edge until its useable. Otherwise, the factory edge is almost blunt.Usage:I used it pretty heavily. So far its holding up well. Edge retention is so so. It's sharpness noticeable decreased after being used, but was still sharp enough to chop with.Overall:Decent axe if you mod it. Otherwise not that great of an axe.

Yes, it has a very nice sheath, and yes it's sharp, and yes, it is marked made in USA.But I was disappointed.First the handle seems small. It is made for someone with a much smaller hand than mine. It is nice straight grained hickory, we'll see how it holds up.The head is crude. The majority of it was never polished out at all, just cast & painted.. It looks to have been sharpened on a coarse abrasive belt, the faces are not smooth at all, just grooved from the coarse abrasive. It may be made in US, but it looks like a cheap import.I would not have bought it had I seen it first. Especially for the price.

Not real impressed! Great head design but roughly made for a $50.00 hatchet. A few more seconds on the buffing wheel would really help. They used thick black paint to cover up the deep grind marks. The hickory handle is satisfactory but not great. I buffed it up, sharpened it, and sanded/oiled the handle and now I like it. It is a great design for a heavier camp hatchet/light axe. Not really for one-handed use unless you choke up pretty short on the handle.

It's a great axe for the money. Sure you have to put a little work into sharpening it but that's what I was looking for anyways and also oiling the handle to how I wanted it. The grain of the handle is a little off but I'm not making my living off of this hatchet so I don't give a hoo, a handles going to break no matter what if you miss treat it. So buy it it's made in USA. Support this country.

The handle is a little on the thin side, hopefully it'll hold up, the Sheath is very well made. Will be using it for trimming branches and driving in wedges when felling trees. Only usage and time will tell.

I like the feel and quality of this axe. The leather sheath is also very good quality. I recommend getting both the axe and the sheath.

This is a quality American Made product. I have not had much opportunity to put it to thorough use yet. I have done some kindling splitting for the firepit in my yard and was happy with the performance.I really like that it came with a sheath. This was worth an additional $10 to $20 alone.

American made, excellent wood in the handle, high quality steel head that sharpens razor sharp. Sheath is high quality leather. A fine axe.