Fiskars Brush Axe #7860

List Price: $33.52 Discount Price: $39.99

Features:

• A multi-purpose tool for all kinds of cutting tasks
• 9-inch cutting blade made of high quality drop-forged steel for maximum durability and sharpness
• Non-stick coating on blade for smooth cuts and rust resistance
• Tough, Nyglass handle
• Includes a plastic sheath for safe, easy storage

Customer Reviews:

Brilliant for hanging vines and shrubs [Posted on 2006-08-12]
I am a volunteer with the National Park Service and spend a great deal of time cutting invasive exotic vines and other noxious plants to try to save mature woodlands.

I used a new tool today to beat down some Chinese Porcelain Berry vines and it worked extremely well. To date, my tools of choice have been a 22" machete - for English Ivy, Winter Creeper, Multiflora Rose and tall Japanese Knotweed, and a 12-inch bow saw for anything over 1.5 inches in diameter. I also use a weed cutter (grass whip) for secondary knotweed cutting, etc.

I have found that the difficulty with Porcelain Berry is that it hangs away from native plants, is swingy and poorly supported. It's often so dense that one can't get close enough with hand pruners or loppers to make much progress. And the machete requires tedious, exhausting and repeated hacking. Today I used my brand new Fiskars brush axe on it, expensive at $39 through Amazon, but worth every darned penny.

It's a bit shorter than a machete, very light and well balanced. The handle is high impact plastic and absorbs shock well, the blade is short enough to be relatively safe, and the blade is strong, anti-corrosion coated and takes a good edge. But most of all, the downward pointing hook serves (similar to a grass hook, brush hook, bill hook or ditch bank - which are much heavier and unwieldy) to keep hanging vines and springy arms of shrubs from sliding off the cutting edge. The rounded point of the hook also impacts the ground before the blade, which helps to preserve the edge of the blade.

This tool cuts through vines up to 1 inch like a hot knife through butter! I reckon it is twice as effective as the machete for swinging growth and 4 times as fast as a lopper - plus being much lighter than a lopper. It works equally well on living and dead brush. If you are familiar with the difference between bypass and anvil blades (one for green wood the other for dead wood) on pruners and loppers, you know that you really need two tools if you go that route. Combined with welders gloves, the kind with the extra long gauntlets, I have no reluctance anymore toward bashing into vines that stretch over my head or under shrubs.

My only complaint, and it is minor, is that the handle is not rubberized and less smooth.

All in all, this tool is a joy to use.

Good tool, but it IS breakable! [Posted on 2006-11-06]
This was a great tool...until it broke and flew hundreds of feet into the woods. I used it to cut Asiatic Bittersweet and Porcelain Berry vines. It was great! It really did a nice job of cutting those vines. Good balance, sharp blade, quality shape to cut and pull vines away.

One day, I was cutting vines and the blade broke right off the handle. It was bizarre because there were no prior signs of damage. There were no cracks and the blade did not feel loose. So for the love of Crumb Cake, be careful with this tool if you purchase one.

I am happy to report that after I sent an email (including pictures of the broken tool) to Fiskars' consumer affairs department, they said they would forward the pictures to their quality control department. They were very helpful and quick to respond.

Sharp! [Posted on 2007-01-09]
This is a great product, my only complaint is the plastic protective sheath it comes with. I had a little trouble getting it back into the sheath the first time and ended up cutting myself on it's superbly sharp blade. Oops.

Great product [Posted on 2008-05-09]
This is a great tool I definitely recommend it. Light weight , extremely sharp, does not require a lot of energy to cut even 2" branches.

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