Finnish mini, near the top of the price range at the start of this thread. I wrote up an email summary for Sarvo to send back to the factory, but the whole Russia/Ukraine thing was well underway by then so not much could be done. Here's the summary, I'll see if I can post some photos later.Quote:
Originally Posted by Micky Duck
Short version - the steel is dead soft. Either missed hardening entirely or they had a material mix up and it's unhardenable (low carbon).
Long version:
I purchased my axe in October 2021. Fit and finish were excellent.
The axe has had very little use since then. After using it a few times I suspected the steel might be soft (minor edge damage and surprisingly easy to sharpen with a file), but it didn't cause a problem for the small bit of chopping and splitting I did on soft wood.
Last week I needed to chop a green (live) tree root about 40mm in diameter. I used less than ten one-handed strikes of moderate strength. The edge was severely damaged as per the attached photos. I can confirm I hit no stones or other hard objects; the edge simply rolled over when it hit the wood and I expect the following strikes bent it further. I used a different (much cheaper) hatchet to finish the job without issue.
The damaged area is bent, not cracked as would be expected for hardened steel.
I used a rebound-type (Leeb) hardness tester to measure the axe hardness. Due to the shape it is difficult to get an accurate reading, but it appears to be well below 40 Rockwell C near the edge. Perhaps even much lower.
I tested the metal of the axe edge using two other materials of known hardness. One was a Victorinox kitchen knife I tested at 55 Rockwell C - this easily cut shavings from the axe steel near the edge. The second was a stainless steel butter knife of 46 Rockwell C - this also easily marked the axe steel near the edge. I have not tried even softer materials. These knives did not mark another axe I have from a different manufacturer.
