Marbles MR701SB Camp Axe

great pack axe.

Over all it appears to be decent for the money. However, the head is a good bit crooked. Hard to capture in a picture, but nearly 10 degrees out of whack. Still usable, but annoying. Not so much that it's going back. I can live with it. If you want a perfect axe, buy Swedish, at three times the price. I'll fix it when I re-handle it. If you could win the Marbles lottery, and get a straight, sharp, nice grained axe, it would be an amazing deal. I got two out of three. Maybe order 3 and keep the one you like.

I looked forward to getting my new Marbles Camp axe. I wanted a new camp axe for use in my Civil War re-enacting of a camp carpenter. I will go back to using the old axe I already had. Two real issues. The first is that the head and the handle are not aligned together. The head is at about a 10-15 degree angle from the handle. I don't know if the issue is the handle or the eye of the axe. The handle is a little wobbly on the head and I thought about just replacing it but thought, NO, not on a brand new axe. The second issue is trying to sharpen this to a fine woodworking edge. It came dull, as dull as the back of a butter knife. I've sharpened on this for about two and a half hours using a file and whet stones. It now is sharp enough to trim limbs and maybe split firewood. I can't get the edge needed to be a carpenter's axe on this tool. Many reviewers talk about using it as a throwing axe. If that's your plan, it will probably be fine. I wouldn't expect the handle to last long however..................................................................................After watching a few videos and learning a different way to clamp the axe head for sharpening, I took another shot at this axe edge. It did take an edge that is quite sharp, not shaving sharp, but actually a really good edge. I gave one more star for that. The non-alignment of the handle and axe head is still costing Marble's one star.

This is possibly the holy grail of camp axes/medium hatchets. For the money, you're getting a hand forged axe head (in el salvador) hung with real care and attention (it is NOT coming loose, you can see a gorgeous cut from the head shaving the handle all around the eye equally) on an american hickory handle that is SOURCED FROM RESPONSIBLY GROWN FORESTRY (seriously that's awesome) that is a really heavy piece of stock with a proper palm swell, care was taken to make sure the grain was correct, and no stupid clearcoat on the head or lacquer on the handle. Just a beautiful raw wood ready for your favorite oil (boiled linseed is my preference)This costs about the same as a wood handled hatched like the rockforge piece of junk from home depot. But it's a thousand times the axe. The Husky axe is good too, but this is a little more my style, and also manages to be less expensive without a single sacrifice in quality.My only complaint is no sheath. I wish there was a proper, $10-15 leather sheath for this made by marbles, but I made due with this Rawhide Blade Cover / Fits 22210 Camper's Axe, Small It did need to be soaked twice in hot water and forced onto the axe with 1/4 inch dowels shoved in all around it to act as shims and stretch the leather, but it fits now.Sharpness is pretty good, it's not shaving sharp out of the box but you could easily take it out of the box and go fell saplings and split kindling. I like the basic bevel, it's a convex grind, not a flat grind, which does aid in splitting, similar to a hollow grind, without risking chipping. All it needed was a few minutes with a lansky axe stone and then some passes on a strop.It's a tad heavy for a long backpacking expedition, but I have a smaller tomahawk for that. For your car or throwing into a 30 pound pack, this little sucker is just money.

This is an out of the box, first impressions. After I have used it for a while, I'll do an update.Overall, this is a well made, well crafted hatchet. I was happy to see that the handle was not varnished or shellacked. It appears to be finished with linseed oil. There is no mushrooming where the handle meets the bottom of the head. The head is tight, with a round wedge, as shown in the picture. I split pieces of pine, roughly the size of a softball, or a little bigger. It worked well, and I was able to make a feather stick, with some effort. It will need to be sharpened and a few swipes over the strop before I actually start using it. The grain runs about as true to the handle as it could. I know from reading other reviews, the grain has been off. But I couldn't ask for this one to be any better. Maybe I lucked out. Why the four stars!!!! Instead of five! The El Salvador sticker that is placed on the handle is backed with an adhesive that is quite difficult to remove. I would rather see that stamped into the head. A minor issue having nothing to do with the quality of the axe, but it was a bit frustrating. I have small hands, and this handle is a great fit for me. If you are sporting meat-hooks, a full handle wrap may make it more comfortable for you. About 15 1/2inches, (39.37 centimeters) overall length. It arrived two day's earlier than expected. That's it ! Happy trails!