Council Tool 1.7# Wood-Craft Camp Carver Axe, 16" Curved Handle Axe Model - USA Made

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!

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!

It does everything you could ask of a camp hatchet!It has become my go to tool. Love the hardened poll so you can bang steel tent spikes with no worries. You just have to be mindful it’s a heavy hatchet. It carves well but the gansfors wildlife carves better. The gansfors wildlife is lighter also. This hatchet outperforms the gansford in every other way and it’s made in the USA!! I own both hatchets and this is the one I end up using far more.

Mine seems awesome so far. Noticed another older review of someone that posted a photo of the axe eye being offset quite a bit. Not sure if that was a counterfeit but since Amazon has a major problem with sending junk from China, I thought I’d post a photo of how it should look when it arrives. Note the manual that comes with it. Not shown is a rubber blade guard that it ships in. It is well packaged and well made. The manual gives a lot of detail about the company history, product line, tool anatomy, and it’s stamped with a date. I’d say if there is a question in its authenticity, contact the seller and send it back. Normally I don’t give 5 star ratings before testing. When I test, I will update if I run into issues. Otherwise, I think it is fair to trust the large number of expert reviews. I’ve studied and practiced bushcraft and survival for over a decade. The fit and finish is excellent, but to each their own. Normally I wouldn’t spend that much on an axe but this 16” is an excellent size for a pack axe and I must admit, it’s a pride thing when you’ve been doing this for so long. I’m not a fan boy though, so if I test the product and it sucks, I’ll be sure to update and say it like it is. Until then, I am definitely happy with it and hope to never need a different pack axe for my lifetime.

I'm going to break this review into two parts, the really good and the just plain bad.Good points: Terrific design and truly quality materials. The axe came razor sharp with a well profiled head. You can plainly see the temper lines and the handle grain lines are almost perfect. It came very well packaged in a box within a box to prevent any possible shipping damage. Just a great small axe design.The Bad: This is advertised as a "premium" product and is priced accordingly. With that said, the axe I received should have been listed under "seconds". The head was scratched on both sides. The left side was the worst where it extended from the center of the eye all the way to the temper line and was deep enough to easily be felt with a fingernail. The handle fitment was also sub par. The gap of the underside of the eye was almost large enough where it would definitely have been a weak spot to watch.What's the point of fancy packaging and Axe books included if the product you send out is pre-damaged by factory labor who couldn't have missed the QC defects with even a cursory inspection?I'm sure the axe will perform as it's intended but it's not in the same class as any GB I own. Made in USA means nothing if there's no pride in what that means.