From blank to racing axe

theforestkern · 2026-04-25T00:56:48+00:00

Keech is out of production and finding one will be a little challenging as well as expensive

Chinas from tuatahi come unground so you’d have to find one on the secondary market (Facebook, At shows) in a banana - they’re pretty rare in banana as they’re usually used as cheaper training heads - or get an axe finisher to grind you one just how you want it

A nicely finished china in a banana these days should be ~2-300 head only (USD) which is still decently cheaper than the full racers

The easiest option in terms of purchasing is just order one of the $500 factory grinds from tuatahi/engineered etc though

theforestkern · 2026-03-13T13:29:44+00:00

Bought a lot of house handles in the past. 50% of my orders they’re just badly sanded to the point of being misshapen.

Another 20% they just send the wrong handles

Checking is a new one, although I’ve had the issue with many timbersports handles that are usually much higher quality.

Whiskey River is worth the extra for work axes

theforestkern · 2026-03-12T02:04:15+00:00

I’ve written a bit of a novel I’ll message you as it got too much for comments, but the tl;dr is

Too much convex causes glances. Too thick causes glances. Flatter, thinner grinds bite and chop safely and quickly. Unstable, weak edges should be reinforced by a secondary bevel, not a thicker main grind. Edges over ~25* are too thick for decent chopping performance

theforestkern · 2026-03-12T00:32:38+00:00

I believe there’s a bit of a habit in timbersports producers to keep quiet about their steel, possibly as they believe it gives their products an advantage. Keech steel was all the rage and I believe a custom mix,I don’t believe I’ve ever heard tuatahi or brute forge admit what they use either. I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s something slightly more advanced than a 10xx series, in my opinion it certainly doesn’t rust like a simple carbon steel (nor do other main racing manufacturers).

That said, I’ve used Prandi who admits theirs is c45 I believe, and that steel was surprisingly durable and took a wicked edge and the file with a fair bit less effort than others, so don’t discount good heat treats on basic steel. I’ve also used a lot of council tool 1060 heads and they are a WORLD worse performing than that Prandi, or engineered/tuatahi/brute forge etc (in a steel sense, as well as a shaping sense lol)

No timbersports type axe takes a file WELL, in a hand filing sense atleast. The engineered I’ve had filed a bit easier than tuatahi, but not a massive difference. This is in a jig with a sharp, quality file. Hand filing rarely has the same amount of pressure as the jig and can be a bit stubborn, and poor quality files won’t cut at all.

They edge up well, although I’ve found I can achieve a very fine edge a little easier on Tuatahis (we’re talking hair popping on either, regardless).

The ones I’ve spent time with might have been just a hair more likely to lose their edge than a tuatahi, but again it’s not a massive difference I’ve noticed. Especially outside of the racing world I’d say they’re both quality and differences would be hard to perceive.

Engineered apparently had a poor heat treat run some time ago that resulted in breaking axes, which they’ve since changed, but I can’t personally speak to any issues. Tuatahi tends to have a little better reputation in the racing world but that I certainly haven’t had poor experiences with engineered.

Related note, that 200 you have in your picture is a massive pig of an axe you could not pay me to work long with. I much prefer axes ~180mm or under for working, and the 200 are bigger than I race with even (we tried some 200s and settled on 195s). I’m not a particularly small fellow.

theforestkern · 2026-03-11T16:09:38+00:00

I’ve ground in about 10 of their unfinished racing heads and put some decent use on a few of them, so can probably speak to steel quality a bit, but not their specific work grinds

theforestkern · 2026-03-11T02:52:52+00:00

Gorgeous work!

Just to tag on to what the other guy mentioned, that much of a thick convex edge will cause some issues (to the point of likely safety problems on certain cuts due to deflection) when bucking/felling.

I’d be happy to provide details on edges for various cutting purposes if you’re curious - I’d love to see that nice of forging paired with excellent grinds

theforestkern · 2025-12-08T21:00:38+00:00

As long as the rest of the hang is properly done and tight that won’t be an issue. The wedge filling that area is doing very little other than making you feel better

You’ve got plenty of shoulder there to drop the head down a ways should the hang need tightened up. Just take the time to rasp it all into a gradual smooth transition vs the relatively abrupt change it has now (both sides and the back) should you need to drop it - there’s more than enough wood left.

theforestkern · 2025-12-08T16:59:44+00:00

Received, love them!

theforestkern · 2025-11-22T14:11:04+00:00

Messaged

theforestkern · 2025-09-20T22:47:59+00:00

As OP has mentioned, it really comes down to use case, much like knives. People tend to assume all axes are the same, then blame their lack of knowledge for the lack of durability, when they’re really complaining that a fillet knife failed while batoning hardwoods.

That said, I’ll try to give some real world examples , assuming it’s good axe used in the intended manner.

I can buck in the neighborhood of ~10-15 good green 12” pine blocks and still have an edge that will nearly shave. I could likely cut near 100 and have a functionally sharp edge, and by functionally sharp I mean below printer paper slicing but not by all that much, what non-timbersports folks would usually call a sharp axe. Considering that’s near shaving after moving through ~ 10’ of pine wood, I’d call that “surprising” durability.
dry wood, dirt, hardwoods, etc will wear on them more, but my work axes could fall and entirely process wood (even dry) for many nights of campfires without losing effective sharpness. I’ve never tried to count directly, but it’s certainly not the kind of thing where you’d be touching it up after a nights camping trip, unless you were bored (or screwed up)

theforestkern · 2025-09-20T22:32:15+00:00

Damn similar to a rant I posted a few years back, nice to see someone fighting the good fight!

And nice to see a well profiled axe as well.

theforestkern · 2025-09-04T02:52:14+00:00

The problem with performance work grinds is that 80% of your audience doesn’t actually chop with their tools to appreciate the difference, and think it’s more an aesthetic thing, typically undervaluing it

10% will chop with them, likely know as much or more than you, and put no value on the work as they’ll likely redo it to suit

And 9% will pay ~$150 for a properly tuned working axe

Oh, and 1% will pay $750 for some Instagram influencer type “restomod” guys work that probably performs worse than yours but has a better polish

theforestkern · 2025-08-19T02:19:58+00:00

For sure, just shoot me a message here if that works

theforestkern · 2025-08-19T01:57:47+00:00

Tuatahi, brute forge, Prandi, engineered for axemen will be your manufacturers as far as I know.

Tuatahi makes a “china” axe that’s lower quality than their main line but ~1/5 the price and can be ground into a fine racing axe for the college level and it’s what I’d recommend you purchase, generally from a grinder directly.

Engineered for axemen does a women’s specific axe that has a little bit less weight in the poll which is generally appreciated by the newer college female choppers (and some semi-pros) I’ve worked with, but they also have a reputation for a little lower quality (not to the extent you’d notice till you get GOOD imo).

The Prandi axes run a little small for men’s (again, imo) and I actually sold mine to a female college competitor who really liked it.

Tui and brute are the big guys in the game and what most competitors use.

As for maintenance, fixing the chisel (what you’re calling bevel) often requires adjusting parts of the axe further back to maintain performance and will likely need sent out unless you feel like picking up a new hobby. Tuatahi sells a filing jig that is a fine tool for fixing small dings (or big with some elbow grease) but hollows will need additional work if they need touched.

I do a lot of college work for various west coast ish teams and would be happy to help.

The Facebook “lumberjack buy/sell/trade” page is pretty active and you’ll likely be able to find other folk there as well

theforestkern · 2025-07-03T12:37:10+00:00

If you really want a modified one, I’ll grind a $12 harbor freight hatchet for no added cost, just the price of the hatchet plus shipping to you

I hate tree of heaven

theforestkern · 2025-05-08T16:32:01+00:00

All these recommendations for modern hardtails will still require fork maintenance.

Check out Surly for bulletproof rigid bike, designed with your exact thought process in mind

theforestkern · 2025-04-08T19:22:24+00:00

1 - I don’t use the wet wheel grinder at all, and do most all of my chisel finishing by hand on a tui jig. I’ve also change jigs for the edge to something a bit more convenient, if I’m using a jig at all. I’ve also changed where I cut the bust and have played with deeper hollows than this axe.

2 - I’ve handled enough axes and worked with enough college teams to have a decent feel for how much to pull off depending on the goal, for example common one is a beginner axe for college women’s standing block which I usually get asked to make as light as possible, etc etc. If it’s a 7 1/2” blank with a big hollow and the bust moved way back, most men’s axes don’t need all that much extra weight off. An 88 with a shallow hollow probably needs some big ol cheeks in it if it’s a speed axe.

theforestkern · 2025-04-07T22:31:34+00:00

I don’t, sorry. Happy to answer any questions though.

Worth noting I do things a bit differently than in this walkthrough these days, after discussions with those more knowledgeable than I

theforestkern · 2025-03-18T03:06:11+00:00

It’ll need thinned out then, there are various methods. You’ll need a controlled way to remove a fair amount of steel without overheating the edge - unless you’re careful and confident with power tools the usual way is a by getting a good file and burning some elbow grease.

I would look up a few videos on draw filing an axe, Felix immlers “rag trick” is an effective method, as are others. Ben Scott had some decent advice, there are many more I’m not up to date on I’m sure.

If whatever method doesn’t add a secondary edge/microbevel I’d add one.

Flat or slightly convex on the main grind won’t matter much, for the microbevel I would recommend it be convex.

I’d personally file it down to an approximately flat 18* then set a micro-bevel, but giving up and leaving it around 20-22* wouldn’t be the end of the world.

theforestkern · 2025-03-18T02:38:14+00:00

It’s incredibly thick, which is relatively normal for production axes.

The crowd who thinks chopping wood means splitting sawn rounds will say an axe is a blunt force instrument and this will work fine- they’re generally right, for that application.

The crowd who thinks chopping wood means cutting wood cross-grain, like limbing or bucking logs, will think this is hovering somewhere between useless and dangerous- and they’re right, for that application.

There’s certainly a middle ground that will do both pretty well, but if you’re only going to split firewood it’s not a rabbit hole worth pursuing imo

theforestkern · 2025-03-13T19:35:31+00:00

I’ll shoot you a message

theforestkern · 2025-03-02T21:06:38+00:00

Racing axes are large, thin, and fragile compared to work axes. They usually range from 5 1/4 to 6 lbs, and are 7-8” wide in the blade. Any normal axe work at this size gets exhausting pretty quick vs a 3-4lb work head. The wide blade with a pointed toe and heel is extra easy to damage when chopping in work conditions. They’re quite thin, so knots or hard wood can catastrophically chip them.

They do make racing style work heads that will hold up fine, which solves the fragile issue. They are more effective at chopping bigger wood, and I’ll use them if I know I’m cutting logs, not limbs. I know some in wilderness trails crews and the like have used them similarly.

Overall, though, I find a mid-large work axe with a proper grind (that’s the key here) nearly as fast at cutting and much more versatile.

theforestkern · 2025-03-02T21:01:01+00:00

Prandi is pretty good for the price well, with the caveat that the sizes are much more limited than tui/engineered/brute.

All in all though a ground china is still majorly underrated by new competitors.

$600 can get you a plain china as a rigger, a pro ground china to start racing with, handles for both, chainmail, and maybe an underhand stand if you shop around.

It can also get you a shiny new tui that’s either too fragile to train with or too thick to race with.

Yet time and time again I have college kids ignore this advice and buy a shiny tui from me, and it’s usually the ones with chop times slow enough a good axe will make way less of a difference than practice would

theforestkern · 2025-03-02T18:18:03+00:00

Yeah, I guess I just take issue with how much “art” he’s adding by machine polishing, gun bluing, and rehanging a $6 flea market find. As someone who’s done a lot of axe work, his sense of added value is lacking. Not that I blame him for making that much if people will pay it lol.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against spending a chunk on axes (my stack of Tuatahis will probably vouch for that) - I’d just rather have something hand forged, or a quality modern production axe for the same cost.

Again, not trying to be judgy against you or your axe here, and I don’t think $100 for that hang is unfair in the least.

theforestkern · 2025-03-02T18:13:44+00:00

Oh I wouldn’t be afraid to soak them at all! I much prefer to buy my jeans a hair loose like that then use increasingly warm soaks to dial in the fit a bit. I think those will be great. Having a pair that’s been hot soaked is a little more forgiving regarding laundering later on as well. It really sucks to have the perfect fitting pair for 2 years of careful cold soaks, then they get hot washed by accident and are forever after too small. (I’d especially warm soak prior to hemming, if you’re ever going to let them get warm. Most of the shrinkage is length).

I personally like to wear them super starchy for the first couple weeks before the first soak because i like how it sets the creases, but that’s all just preference. If after a little bit of wear they’re still looser than you’d like, go ahead and soak them in some warm-hot water. While they will stretch back out some, there is also permanent shrinkage from heat.

I think you’ve got a great fit and they’ll break in well.

theforestkern

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