Council Tool5 lbs. SB Splitting Felling Axe; 28 in. Straight Wooden Handle

I've been thinking of a splitting axe somewhat lighter and easier to swing than my 8lb maul which tends to overpower small stuff, and made in the USA. The CT 5lb axe was priced well, seemingly heavier than the 4-lb range I'd been thinking of but I tried it anyhow, and its been great.This last weekend I split about 3/4 of a cord of mulberry, some twisty and knotty ranging up to 24" diameter. For small stuff < 10" or so about fireplace length, the CT axe had no problem splitting even with knots and twist. For straight grain stuff it was comfy well over 1ft diam and didn't mind long pieces.For larger/twisty stuff I needed the maul to break the rounds, then used the CT axe for all the quartering. Its a LOT easier to swing and aim than the maul, and the lighter weight provides a lot of room for adjusting the intensity of the stroke. For kicks I split a bunch of ~4" diam branch sections, the axe aimed well enough and hit hard enough to reliably get close to halving them.It would be a bit heavy for a lot of kindling but just fine for smaller quantities given an easy swing. I stuck it a few times when getting ambitious, didn't have much trouble levering it out without needing to knock it out with a hammer.At first the handle seemed short but it sure makes the axe quick and I wouldn't change it, might be that is part of the excellent aim. With a dozen or so rounds fully split the mill scale is wearing back from the bit leaving it clean and shiny. I found the factory wax on the handle a bit sticky so gave it a scrub with steel wool and treated all the wood several times with linseed oil- handle is quite smooth now.

I really like this axe. It is fantastic for banging wedges, limbing, splitting or chopping if you had to. Though I use it for banging wedges 90% of the time. I really like the poll length for this reason. It’s as close as I could find to a vintage rafter or national pattern. Wish I could find a 4lb in the same pattern and poll dimension. Guess I’ll have to settle for a Dayton for that or pony up the coin for a vintage rafter.

I, unfortunately ordered the wrong axe size. I wanted the 36" handle. I dont even know why you would want a short handle on a 5lbs axe. They did a good job packaging it. I used it anyway and it does ok. Maybe the ash I was splitting was problematic, it did straight up bounce my splitting maul off without a crack. But most likely it was the short handle. So Ill just rehang it

Short, thin handle with a stout head. Came well sharpened, too. Awesome tool for splitting varying sized firewood and small rounds. The combination of power, ease of use, and comfort is top notch.One small detail that I love-- the head is mounted with just a slight forward tilt. Makes the bit hit flush more consistently.

I use this as my wedge banger. It’s my favorite axe. Works great for splitting too. The short handle makes it great when I’m in the woods in tight places. I’ve had it for 2 years now and it’s still going strong. Highly recommend!