Council Tool 1.7 lb. Wood-Craft Camp Carver Axe, 16" Curved Handle Axe

There are things not to love about Council Tool:Their heads are almost always too heavy for their intended use and thus do not balance well.Their handles are always at least an inch shorter than advertised (which can make a significant difference).With that said, these are premium axes. Made of 5160 alloy steel, which is better than high carbon steel is terms of edge retention while maintaining ease of sharpening.I own the entire Council Tool Woodcraft line, but the camp carver is my favorite of the council tool axes. I would use this for camp chores over my gransfors Bruk Wildlife hatchet, my Hults bruk almike and my hultafors Hultan. The camp carver is just that good. Again, not as well balanced as the Hults bruk or the gransfors Bruk, but I like the profile for splitting kindling more than the others.To be clear, I do prefer the Gransfors Bruk line over the woodcraft line by Council Tool, but there are things I like more about the council tool woodcraft and velvicut lines, namely the 5160 steel. Overall GBAs feel better designed for heavy use. The balance makes them much better to work with for long periods. They also have the perfect handle length for their intended use. 25” on the Scandinavian Forest Axe (is actually 25”) compared to the 24” pack axe (actually 22.75”). 19” on the small forest axe (actually 18.9”) compared to the 19” pack axe (actually 17.9”). That extra length makes a big difference in functionality.Overall the Woodcraft line is the best bang for your buck. You get a very high quality axe with amazing steel for 25-35% off the price of Gransfors Bruk. The camp carver, in particular, is extremely well designed

I received it new and no flaws. Well-built and sharp. I used this one for day camping and I keep it in my truck as part of my off-road equipment and hunting.

Fit and finish is amazing. The woodgrain in the handle is perfect. Council Tool makes the best axe products.

This little hatchet has a great looking design that really stood out to me when I first saw it. The design is functional not just for show.I am glad to see that we have a choice for a US made production premium axe to choose from. Council Tool seems to really be stepping up to make a strong showing. I support that and that is one reason why I chose to purchase another of their axes along with the fact that it is a quality tool....and I have a slight axe addiction.I have had mine on several outings from day hikes to multi night winter camping trips. It has done very well. I did initially redefine the edge a little as I cut a lot of downed pine for firewood. Cutting standing dead wood on public land requires a permit in my state so the best way to get dry wood is to find downed trees and cut the vertical branches. These downed trees are often wind blown or fire kill and sometimes thinned by forest workers. The tree tends to pump pitch into the branches and creates loads of pitch-wood that can be like cutting into epoxy or plastic. For this reason most of my axes, hatchets, hawks etc have a robust semi convex edge on them.The 5160 steel on both of my Council Woodcraft axes has proven very resilient and tough. It tends to hold an edge very well and is easy to sharpen. The hardened poll holds up well to abuse from simple driving tent stakes to knapping rocks to get chunks to use for steel striker fire kits.The top edge is flat ground to 90 deg. and this provides another working edge to scrape bark or fatwood with. This is nice keeping the cutting edge sharp longer. Some people may never use this feature but for those of us that do it is nice not having to file the edge down ourselves.The overall fit and finish of my Camp Carver was the nicest of the three Council Tool axes I own. Very nice handle to head fit. I dont get too hung up over it but grain orientation was good and wedge ( wood&circular steel) blowout was minimal. But these things are different for every axe and a topic of much debate ( just look into why GB and Wetterlings no longer use steel wedges).This little hatchet is very handy and versatile for just about any camp chore the bit is thin enough to carve with confidence, biting into wood with vigor but then towards the eye there is an increase in thickness. This flair lets this hatchet tackle bigger chores such as splitting small firewood as well. It really is a decent jack-of-all-trades. The way the head is shaped really allows for you to choke up on the hatchet and get a good balanced grip when carving. At the same time the downward sweep of the 4" blade forces the bit to dig deep when chopping and reduces "glancing blows" common to light hatchets.As stated on Council Tool website most of their tools are only available through distributors and from what I have seen the Camp Carver seems to be made in smaller quantity runs. This means it can be a little harder to find in stock at all times. It is easy to pick a distributor/retailer and preorder to get on the waiting list though, most wait times seem to be fairly short. ( if you have ever bought custom axes extremely short compared) I wouldnt be put off by this I think it is an attempt to keep a better handle on quality control and better response if you have issues.I purchased mine through a retailer here on Amazon the seller was Imagine Gear who was a great seller, I believe Wiseman Trading and supply has them in stock regularly as well and I have had good dealings through them also.Thanks for reading!

I like the shape of the axe head, and the steel is very nice. I have been chopping dried hard wood and the axe stayed sharp. I have to round off the edges on the axe head. The edges were really sharp. Also the handle is a bit thin for me, but overall it still deserve a full five stars.

Super sharp right out of the box. Fit and feel are excellent. I love how the handle was seated and the curl out was trimmed at the haft below the cheeks. A very neat and tidy look, and great attention to detail. 90° edges are perfect for a ferro rod, and the bearded blade will help to avoid inadvertent overstrike damage on the haft. This is definitely a good all-around small work, processing, limbing, kindling and carving axe. Too small and light for anything beyond felling saplings and maybe trees up to around a 5-inch diameter.A couple of things I'd change if I could: Handle is an A- because grain orientation is a little off. Lots of sharp (90°) edges at the haft mean close carving work can be a little uncomfortable. The eye seems just ever so slightly off center.I started the standard linseed oil treatment (once a day for a week, once a week for a month, etc.) but stopped on the fourth day because it was no longer absorbing and was having trouble curing. 16-inch handle on this one. Will be back for a Hudson Bay 24-inch handle ("boys axe" sized) in the near future. Big fan of Council Tool axes right now!