Ever since I first found out about Gränsfors axes a few years ago I have been a huge fan.

Gränsfors axes are handmade in Sweden to the same standards they were in 1902 when the forge opened. These magnificent axes are hand-forged from a Swedish steel specifically engineered to temper the blade of the axe to the correct toughness. Each axe is then stamped by it’s forger – mine was made by lp (Lennart Pettersson).

My first Gränsfors axe lasted me three winters of solid splitting and a very rigorous trip through the Andes and Amazon basin before I gave it away to the founder of a local orphanage. My new axe is the Small Forest Axe and I cannot express enough how good I think this item is for camping. It weighs in at 1 1/2lbs with a 3 1/4” face and a 19” hickory handle that has a truly wonderful solid feel.

It will take the limb off a tree with ease while ploughing through kindling like butter. My only reservation about this item is that it’s so sharp and holds it’s edge so well that you cannot forget you have an axe in your hand or else you’ll loose a finger.

Gränsfors itself is located in Sweden (although you can buy Gränsfors products at Lee Valley) and for more than a decade, master smith Lars Enander has been arranging forging courses in conjunction with Gränsfors Bruks. Participants get the chance to discover the potential of the glowing iron or improve their skills in the ancient art of forging in Gränsfors’ classic axe forge. Course length varies from five-day basic courses to a comprehensive forging course of 20 weeks.

Log building and handling an axe go together. Consequently, it’s only natural that log-building courses should be held in Gränsfors, home of the axe. Building with timber has a history stretching back thousands of years in Scandinavia, and these traditions are being passed on here. Participants can enjoy the pleasure and satisfaction of working together with skilled carpenters to build a complete cabin from logs.

For more info visit gransfors.com.