During my chainsaw recert I felt the re-kindling of the desire to have a nice axe. I have several already but they’re all your run-of-the-mill big box store-type axe. Last year I started thinking about more of an heirloom axe. I want something that will not only last me a lifetime but also be something I can pass on to my son and it’ll last his lifetime also.

I finally took a leap and ordered my first hand-forged, Swedish axe. It’s a Wetterlings forest axe with a 26″ hickory handle and about a 2 pound head. Right out of the box I knew it was going to be an axe to enjoy.

The fit and finish of the handle was superb. The head is very nicely forged and it had a keen edge. It wasn’t quite sharp enough to shave with but I don’t think it’ll take much to get it there. I haven’t taken the stone to it yet but I hope to work with it some over the weekend. I didn’t have any gaps in the head as I’ve seen in some online reviews and the handle grain is straight and tight. You can see in this first image that the handle has a hole through it in the event you wish to use a lanyard.

The sheath that came with it is nice and fits well. I’d read some reviews saying it had a cheap magnetic closure but mine is a tight snap fitting.

The axe arrived with a nice, small pamphlet attached to it which talks about how the axes are made and of course how to use and care for it. It’s interesting that Wetterlings has been forging axes for 100 years and the company has only 9 employees.

It seems to be very well balanced and while I have yet to actually use it in the field I’m expecting it to be a dream to use. It really is a beautiful axe and I’m looking forward to getting some long use out of it.