HATCHETS FROM HULTS BRUK - Knives Illustrated

TAKE YOUR PICK: EITHER OF THESE HATCHETS FROM HULTS BRUK CAN DO THE JOB

New, up-and-coming companies in the edged-tool industry tend to get lots of attention as if they have somehow reinvented the cutting edge. But what about the companies that turn out quality products based on more traditional designs and have done so consistently well over many years?

Hults Bruk is one of those companies that keeps providing top products that perform year after year with little fanfare. How long have the people there been doing it? This Swedish axe company has been in business since 1697. How’s that for longevity?

I figured they must be doing something right, so I decided to find out for myself. On looking over the selection of axes and hatchets on the company’s website, my initial reaction was that I wanted one of each. However, that wasn’t going to be practical for this review, so I settled on just two: the 325-Year Anniversary Axe and the Aneby Hunting Axe.

The Hults Bruk 325th Anniversary Axe is a one-handed, hatchet-sized tool with a good chopping capability.

Hults Bruk 325-Year Anniversary Axe

Overall Length: 15 inches
Head Steel: Hand-forged Swedish steel
Handle Material: American hickory
Sheath Material: Leather
Head Weight: 1.25 pounds
Total Weight: 2.2 pounds
MSRP: $184

Hults Bruk Aneby Hunting Axe

Overall Length: 20 inches
Head Steel: Hand-forged Swedish steel
Handle Material: American hickory
Sheath Material: Leather
Head Weight: 2 pounds
Total Weight: 2.75 pounds
MSRP: $179

Jacob Reenstierna founded an iron and steel factory that was to become Hults Bruk in the Hult Valley of Sweden in 1697. In that location, there were abundant forests to provide wood for the forge fires and ample water to power the hammers. Archaeologists have learned that the region was also where stone axes had been crafted as many as 5,000 years ago.

In the early days of Hults Bruk, the primary product was hand-forged nails for shipbuilding. Through the centuries the blacksmiths at Hults Bruk manufactured many products, including metal sheets, anchor chains, furniture castings, stoves, axes, spades and even rail cars.

“The bit was very sharp from the beginning and that was a welcome feature that you don’t find on inferior axes and hatchets.”

The 19th century brought a great demand for forestry products. By the 1870s, axes became a major Hults Bruk product. An ironmaster named Ekelund, owner of Hults Bruk at the time, bought two axe-forging machines in 1877 to keep up with consumer demand.

The company’s products were sold around the world under such names as Flecha in South America, Jarrah Jack in Australia and Tiger in Southeast Asia. Most famous, however, was the company’s Agdor line of axes inspired by traditional North American axe patterns. These axes served the logging industry for many years. Many lumberjacks were willing to pay up to a month’s wages to have an Agdor axe.

WHY AN AXE?

I have a pretty good assortment of big blades, both knives and machetes. It’s been said that you can do most anything with a big knife. However, big knives are often made with the type of steel and heat treat that might be good for providing a sharp edge, but not for taking a pounding during chopping tasks. They don’t have the weight or the geometry for efficient chopping either.

Machetes are great choices for jungle travel or when you need to clear a path through a tangle of underbrush. Personally, I’m more likely to set up camp in a hardwood forest of North America.

For my purposes, I’m more apt to forego the whole issue of the one-blade option and instead choose a three-blade (at least) battery that consists of an axe or hatchet, a mid-sized knife and either a bow saw or folding saw, depending on the size and weight considerations of the particular outing.

That way I can choose whether the best way to accomplish a task is to chop, saw or cut, and I can preserve the sharp edge on my knife for knife-specific jobs.

So, do these two Hults Bruk products fulfill my chopping tool needs?

The Anniversary Axe comes with a leather edge cover that secures with a snap.

325-YEAR ANNIVERSARY AXE

Hults Bruk introduced this axe in 2022 to commemorate the 325th anniversary of the establishment of the company and it draws its inspiration from some of the company’s legendary axes of the past.

The axe head itself is hand-forged of Swedish steel. It weighs 1.25 pounds, follows the classic Yankee pattern and is finished with a narrow, five-step grind for a fine edge. The axe features a curvy hickory handle that provides for natural handholds in a couple of useful positions along its 15-inch length. That handle is protected with a coating of linseed oil.

“The Aneby Hunting Axe is one of those mid-sized choppers that I find very useful.”

Instead of a full-coverage sheath, this model comes with a full-grain leather edge cover that snaps in place and protects the user, the edge and other gear when the axe is being transported.

An informative booklet detailing the history of Hults Bruk is included in the box, along with a leather key chain with a ship’s nail attached that recalls the company’s forging origins.

The Aneby Hunting Axe is short enough to use one-handed and just long enough at 20 inches to use with two hands..

To further set this Anniversary Axe apart from others is a label on the head with the company’s old HM (Hults Manufaktur) logo. The red on the handle and green on the head come from the Agdor series of axes introduced in 1930 that was popular throughout the 20th century.

Hults Bruk refers to this model as an axe, but at 15 inches long and designed to be used one-handed, it’s what we think of as a hatchet. But it’s built like an axe. That’s what you get when you buy a hatchet made by an axe company.

As such, it features a nice, heavy head with a true wedge shape going from the edge (bit) to the poll. That heavy wedge will give it good chopping and splitting capability.

By comparison, look at the hatchets offered by many knifemakers and you’ll find thin heads that compromise splitting and chopping efficiency for the sake of saving some weight.

I put the 325th Anniversary Axe to the test first by hacking off some small limbs about one inch in diameter from a downed tree. This was an easy task for this tool. Then it proved its worth when I used it to split some forearm-thick hunks of firewood into kindling.

These Hults Bruk axes proved to be impressively sharp as they came from cardboard boxes in which they were shipped.

The bit was very sharp from the beginning and that was a welcome feature that you don’t find on inferior axes and hatchets. I recall buying inexpensive hatchets and axes from hardware stores in years past that needed a lot of time and effort with a file on the bits to make them barely serviceable. The lesson is simple: Buy quality whenever you can. This Hults Bruk model exemplifies quality.

The hickory handle proved very comfortable and secure in use and provided excellent control of the tool. Holding the hatchet in the red throat area of the handle just above the flared knob provided the best leverage for chopping power. Moving my hand to the curved belly just above the red gave me added control for making more precise chops.

The head showed no signs of loosening. It’s secured with both a wooden wedge and a round metal wedge. The leather bit cover was well made and provided enough security when setting the tool aside or carrying it inside a pack.

The 15-inch curved American hickory handle of the Anniversary Axe provides several excellent locations for a secure grip on the tool.

ANEBY HUNTING AXE

The Aneby Hunting Axe is one of those mid-sized choppers that I find very useful. The Aneby features a 2-pound, hand-forged head with a cutting edge about 3.5 inches long. Combine that weighty head (compared to a typical hatchet) with the Aneby’s 20-inch hickory handle and you have some real chopping power in a package that’s still pretty portable.

I would probably carry this model strapped to the outside of a pack, compared to the shorter Anniversary Axe that I’d probably tuck inside. The Aneby would be a good choice to store in an out-of-the-way place in your vehicle, too, in case you had to down some branches or saplings to clear a path around an obstacle in the only road back to civilization.

The head of the Anniversary Axe weighs a substantial 1.25 pounds, making it a more efficient chopper than many modern, thin-bladed designs.

The axe head is shaped in the Turpentine pattern with a finger notch on the underside for excellent control when holding the tool by the head or directly under it for detail carving. The poll has rounded edges, a benefit if you use this axe for skinning game (it is labeled as a hunting axe, after all). I’ve skinned many whitetail deer. An axe head works well for the job, better than a narrow, pointy knife blade. The head of the Aneby is blackened Swedish steel with a polished edge.

The curved American hickory handle is sanded and treated with linseed oil. It’s engraved with the Hults Bruk logo. At 20 inches, the handle is just the right length. If it was any longer, it would be a bit difficult to use one-handed. Any shorter, and it would be difficult to swing with both hands.

The 2-pound Turpentine pattern axe head of the Aneby proved to be an excellent chopper

The Aneby’s handle features a lanyard hole, too, that would be helpful when hanging the tool to keep it off the ground in camp. The leather sheath cinches in place with a leather cord. A user’s manual is included with some useful tips on the use and care of the tool.

The Aneby’s bit was impressively sharp. Chopping small branches or splitting pieces of kindling proved easy work when using this tool, especially when using a two-handed grip. I tried grasping it just under the head to shave some wood, too, which is when that finger notch proved to be very helpful.

: The Aneby Hunting Axe came with a sturdy leather lanyard that secures with a leather thong.

WHICH TO CHOOSE

There are numerous occasions when a mid-sized axe or a small hatchet is the best tool to have in your hands. No, you won’t build a log cabin with either of these, but I doubt that was on your list anyway. Use one in your backyard to clear downed branches from the last storm or prepare firewood for the kids’ marshmallow roast. Split kindling to keep yourself warm in a fall deer camp, make and pound tent stakes, trim poles to erect a tarp, build an emergency shelter, clear shooting lanes, or try your luck at accessorizing your primitive camp with a rudimentary stool, kettle support and other niceties.

The lanyard hole in the handle of the Aneby allows you to attach a short piece of cord to hang the axe in camp to keep it off the ground.

Whether you choose the handy 325th Anniversary Axe or longer Aneby Hunter’s Axe is up to you. Either will serve you well for many years. This was my first experience with Hults Bruk products and I was very impressed with their quality and usefulness.

I like to have a chopping tool available whenever I set up camp. The lineup of Hults Bruk axes and hatchets won’t provide the ninja warrior mystique you might find with the hatchets and tomahawks from the custom knifemakers. But that mystique won’t do much for you when you’re alone in the woods and no one’s watching. I’d rather have no-nonsense, serious woodsman’s tools. That’s what Hults Bruk has been producing for many, many years. KI

The 325th Anniversary Axe came with a leather key chain with a nail attached that recalls one of the company’s early products. A booklet on the Hults Bruk forging tradition is included, too.

Splitting chunks of firewood into kindling is a likely job for any Hults Bruk axe.

Chopping downed tree branches was an easy task for the Aneby Hunting Axe.

The finger groove on the underside of the Aneby axe head allows for an excellent grip for detail cuts or for shaving wood.

HULTS BRUK : A LONG HISTORY OF CRAFTSMANSHIP

Editor’s Note:

A version of this article first appeared in the March/April 2023 print issue of Knives Illustrated.