Council tool does an amazing job with their heat treat. I have one of their Camp Carvers and I would say it’s heirloom quality. You can see the color from the temper and it is such a keen, yet tough edge. It chops well above its size, it’s packable, and the pole is hardened. The handle is all around great (size, shape, grain orientation, no lacquer, etc.) it’s also all American Made 🇺🇸 Thank you so much for the videos, God bless you man!!
I LOVE my camp carver. It is such a great chopper, I use it for woodworking, especially green woodworking, and everything about it is wonderful to use.
Cool little axe, that is a pretty impressive handle for a factory made. Nice job on the sheath too. Keen to see your Top 10 list. Ive never owned any Councils but theres a few they make that i reckon will and should be in there. Actually i reckon i can pick a few others of yours that might be in there! Good stuff, lookin forward to it! 🪓🪓
Too bad they are discontinued. I too just found out that the clearing axes I really love have been discontinued. I went to my local small box hardware store and bought the last one they had.
Wow! I saw just a handful out there when I was making the video. Apparently they are all gone now online. Hopefully some pop up on the secondary market
I've wanted one for awhile but have been putting it off, so I just ordered one. The next thing I'm going to do is order a 20" cruiser handle for it from beaver tooth. Maybe it's just me, but 16" just seems too short to get the most out of a 2lb head. I have also always felt that the standard 14" length has always been too short for the typical 1-1/4lb head. I have a vintage 1-1/4lb head that came to me on an original 20" handle, I don't know who made the axe but it's such an awesome piece. The head is quite worn, but it's basically like a miniature Connie pattern. I have never seen another just like it but I believe it was probably sold as a trunk axe.
Very concerning as to why they decided to discontinue this.....did they say as to "why"? ...... can you provide a link as to how to get this b4 they are gone?
TH-cam doesn't let me post links unfortunately! I need to have something like 10,000 subscribers to do that. There may be one or two out there, they were made during the Nessmuk movement a few years back, and I think Council Tool needed to discontinue them to free up production for other tools.
They are gone man sadly I couldn't get I was wondering if there are any other double bit axes similar to the saddle axe from council tool any options you have would be greatly appreciated thanks again
If I couldn't get the saddle axe from CT I would hold out for a good vintage one. They are a bit rare but still pop up on eBay and Etsy every now and then for reasonable prices. Just make sure they are actually saddle axes and not worn down double bits!
Hello! Very likely that would work, but I think I’d want one closer to 2 lbs, a lot of cruisers are 2.5 lb or even a bit more. Thats more weight than I’d want on a short handle
Dude, never thought I needed this axe, but now the FOMO bug is biting hard. LOL! What are the odds that CT is discontinuing because Rooster’s got a new cruiser in the works?
I have no experience with it I couldn’t say. There are still a few council saddle axes out there and they’re still a decent price ~$50 I’d go with that for sure
I have two of these in Velvicut. I put a 20” haft on one and do not like it. With only a 3” bit, 20” is too much. I will eventually put it back on another 16” haft. I have two 16” hafts for backup. CT did their homework when they picked 16”. IMO. The head weighed 1 pound 11.3 ounces, the same on two different scales. I got one of the last Velvicuts last March or April. In response to my email inquiry why discontinue, Rooster mentioned something vague. I get the feeling it didn’t sell well enough. They can only inventory so much. I am sure it will become a cult classic someday. Soon. It’s a surprisingly good splitter, I think because of the short bit length-edge to eye. That makes for a decent ramp to separate the wood fibers. I am finding this to be true also with their 36” double bit axe. This is an underrated feature IMO. I find I use hatchets primarily to split kindling on campouts in wet weather, something we do regularly in here in the PNW. Two weeks ago, in fact. Cheers. Love your videos
Thank you! Awesome you’re tinkering with your axes, so good to get to know what’s best for a person. I think they were discontinued to make other models that sell better? Not sure. They may even be expanding their product line. Basically I think the saddle axes had a big pop with the Nessmuk trios popular a few years ago and pretty much everybody that was going to buy one had got one by now. Sad to see them discontinued such a great axe!
They would be very different axes, but the quality is very good. The Council needs a bit of cleanup, but not much. I own several GB axes, and also many CT axes, they are all worth owning, but the value purchase is the CT for sure.
I have the velvicut version. I bought it right after it came out. love that little axe.
That’s a great one too! The Velvicut looks even more cool in person than the photos.
Glad I bought my velvicut saddle axe. It's beuuutiful
As soon as I seen your post I ordered one!
Love Council Tool!
Council tool does an amazing job with their heat treat. I have one of their Camp Carvers and I would say it’s heirloom quality. You can see the color from the temper and it is such a keen, yet tough edge. It chops well above its size, it’s packable, and the pole is hardened. The handle is all around great (size, shape, grain orientation, no lacquer, etc.) it’s also all American Made 🇺🇸
Thank you so much for the videos, God bless you man!!
I LOVE my camp carver. It is such a great chopper, I use it for woodworking, especially green woodworking, and everything about it is wonderful to use.
Speaking of axe history, the famous historical woodsman George W. Sears (a.k.a. "Nessmuk") advocated carrying that exact style of double bit hand axe.
That's what got me into them! Part of it anyways. I made a nessmuk style knife too, and its a wonderful combination to have.
Cool little axe, that is a pretty impressive handle for a factory made. Nice job on the sheath too. Keen to see your Top 10 list. Ive never owned any Councils but theres a few they make that i reckon will and should be in there. Actually i reckon i can pick a few others of yours that might be in there! Good stuff, lookin forward to it! 🪓🪓
+1 COUNCIL TOOL...excellent job sir...
I immediately ordered one!!
Checked back this morning & they are all gone!!
Good you got the order in! They did sell out fast, there weren't too many still out there
Too bad they are discontinued. I too just found out that the clearing axes I really love have been discontinued. I went to my local small box hardware store and bought the last one they had.
Love the top 10 list idea. Too bad about the discontinuation.
Agree 100% that 5160 is a fabulous steel! I have two Council Tool Velvicuts & well worth the $$! Also the 19” Pak Axe has 5160!
Council Tool uses the best steel for axes and most companies won’t tell you what they are using.
I got lucky! If you're in Alaska, Great Northern Knives in Wasilla now has 3 left 😁
Wow! I saw just a handful out there when I was making the video. Apparently they are all gone now online. Hopefully some pop up on the secondary market
I've wanted one for awhile but have been putting it off, so I just ordered one.
The next thing I'm going to do is order a 20" cruiser handle for it from beaver tooth.
Maybe it's just me, but 16" just seems too short to get the most out of a 2lb head.
I have also always felt that the standard 14" length has always been too short for the typical 1-1/4lb head.
I have a vintage 1-1/4lb head that came to me on an original 20" handle, I don't know who made the axe but it's such an awesome piece.
The head is quite worn, but it's basically like a miniature Connie pattern.
I have never seen another just like it but I believe it was probably sold as a trunk axe.
Great video!
Nice beautiful axe
Very concerning as to why they decided to discontinue this.....did they say as to "why"? ...... can you provide a link as to how to get this b4 they are gone?
TH-cam doesn't let me post links unfortunately! I need to have something like 10,000 subscribers to do that. There may be one or two out there, they were made during the Nessmuk movement a few years back, and I think Council Tool needed to discontinue them to free up production for other tools.
Good video!
Thank you!
They are gone man sadly I couldn't get I was wondering if there are any other double bit axes similar to the saddle axe from council tool any options you have would be greatly appreciated thanks again
If I couldn't get the saddle axe from CT I would hold out for a good vintage one. They are a bit rare but still pop up on eBay and Etsy every now and then for reasonable prices. Just make sure they are actually saddle axes and not worn down double bits!
Do you think any cruiser head that one could found could make a saddle axe with the same kind of handle?
Hello! Very likely that would work, but I think I’d want one closer to 2 lbs, a lot of cruisers are 2.5 lb or even a bit more. Thats more weight than I’d want on a short handle
Dude, never thought I needed this axe, but now the FOMO bug is biting hard. LOL! What are the odds that CT is discontinuing because Rooster’s got a new cruiser in the works?
That would be awesome! I'd love to see what he would come up with. I think these are unfortunately it, though, at least for right now.
What is your opinion on the TimberWolf saddle axe version?
I have no experience with it I couldn’t say. There are still a few council saddle axes out there and they’re still a decent price ~$50 I’d go with that for sure
I have two of these in Velvicut. I put a 20” haft on one and do not like it. With only a 3” bit, 20” is too much. I will eventually put it back on another 16” haft. I have two 16” hafts for backup. CT did their homework when they picked 16”. IMO.
The head weighed 1 pound 11.3 ounces, the same on two different scales.
I got one of the last Velvicuts last March or April. In response to my email inquiry why discontinue, Rooster mentioned something vague. I get the feeling it didn’t sell well enough. They can only inventory so much.
I am sure it will become a cult classic someday. Soon.
It’s a surprisingly good splitter, I think because of the short bit length-edge to eye. That makes for a decent ramp to separate the wood fibers. I am finding this to be true also with their 36” double bit axe. This is an underrated feature IMO.
I find I use hatchets primarily to split kindling on campouts in wet weather, something we do regularly in here in the PNW. Two weeks ago, in fact.
Cheers. Love your videos
Thank you! Awesome you’re tinkering with your axes, so good to get to know what’s best for a person.
I think they were discontinued to make other models that sell better? Not sure. They may even be expanding their product line.
Basically I think the saddle axes had a big pop with the Nessmuk trios popular a few years ago and pretty much everybody that was going to buy one had got one by now.
Sad to see them discontinued such a great axe!
Is he better than Gransfors Bruk?
I find the handling characteristics of the CT Saddle Axe to be superior. As for durability, I never put them to a real test.
CT axes are by far the best bang for your buck. IMO.
They would be very different axes, but the quality is very good. The Council needs a bit of cleanup, but not much. I own several GB axes, and also many CT axes, they are all worth owning, but the value purchase is the CT for sure.