Fiskars 9" Brush Axe with Safety Sheath - Fixed Handle -Curved Blade Branch Chopping Axe - Yard and Garden Tools - Black/Orange

Works exceptionally well. Love the lightweight handle, great balance. Super strong

I have looked for something to clear trails. Up until now all I have found have been plain machetes. I was at a local sporting good store and found the Gerber Brush Thinner. It must have been an older model because the handle broke on the second use. I returned it for repair but it takes too long so I bought the Fiskars from Amazon. It's the same thing. Fiskars makes it for Gerber. The handle is much better. It is wonderful for clearing any kind of brush and small trees. But it is really great for heavy thorns. Where the curve of a machete will actually push thick thorn branches away the curve of the brush thinner actually give them no place to go. And you can use it to hook the cut brush and pull it out of the way (really important with thorns). I notice on one of the reviews for this type machete about sharpening the blade at the bend. You can pick up a $4 hand held sharpener (fits in your pocket) that has a carbide side and a ceramic side. The best thing about this machete is the blade. With the above mentioned sharpener I can put a really sharp edge on is and it stays sharp. Great Great Product!

2015: Great product to replace my Gerber (discontinued). Put an edge on it when you get it and easily cut through 2-inch hard woods in a single pass. 2020: Just threw another two in my cart, as the 2nd of the two I bought in 2015 was stolen. Guess that’s the best-said review Fiskars can get! Lol. Seriously, I swear by these and have influenced at least 10 people to get their own after seeing mine work. It’s a great tool if used correctly, maintained and just slightly modified as soon as you get it. I’ve been the occasional user; suit by day, land clearer/tree feller/landscaper by night (side hustle). It’s a simple and relatively safe (you are wielding a large, sharp blade) tool that works better than any other long blade (billhooks, machetes, parangs, etc.) or small (12-14”) hatchet I’ve found. It won’t blister fresh hands, it won’t wear out your shoulder during a hardcore hour or two of work, and the blunt hook tip saves your cutting edge (and shins!) from serious damage/injury. Now I’m full-time landscaping; using it to cut hedge roots (e.g. Holly), slice off saplings and young trees at ground level, clear overgrown lots of...everything, clearing pipeline right-of-way paths ahead of my gas trimmer/brush cutter team, and countless hours breaking down branches and limbs for efficient disposal (dump trailer space saver, without ruining saw chains). It’s also faster than a saw for breaking down limbs for disposal, a point I proved to my business partner and his MS250....lol. Mine have even been known to dig a hole or two for flowerbed planting too... You can chop into/on the ground/concrete without fouling because of the hook tip, use the spine to scrape or precision hammering, top to dig/clear dirt to expose roots, it takes Pro use well. It’s also easy to go 3-4 hours straight without “pacing” before my hands begin to let it slip and reconstructed shoulder begins to ache. I’ve heard (seemingly) hundreds of times, “You’re wearing yourself out, are you tired?”...until they get one and learn how to use it. The important stuff: AS SOON AS I GET IT: (1) I use a Dremel to checker (1/2”) or spiral the handle, (2) tie up a snug wrist wrap/lanyard using 550 cord, and (3) continue what the factory began by sharpening it to a razor edge. Five of the eight months of my season are 100+-degree/90%+ humidity days - when pouring sweat begins at 7am, the extra grip and safety (wrist wrap) helps. Axes are blunt force tools, this is not - it is a slicing tool that requires a fine edge (technically a garden/grass cutting blade, though the original/Japanese were/are thinner and lighter). PROPER USE: DO NOT CHOP OR HACK. This isn’t a chopping tool, you’ll get nowhere and blame the tool. Instead, whether it be a single swipe through a 3” red oak or getting through a 30” log, imagine yourself as Hannibal Lector using a straight razor to escape; it’s more of a swipe. A flick of the wrist. A whip of the arm. Slice THROUGH the wood/brush/grass, do not strike AT it - the way a swordsman uses a katana slices through a bamboo bundle (if using a chopping motion/technique that same sword will take 5-7 strikes to sever). Seriously, put on some classical and walk through the woods with that Hannibal Lecture vibe going....seriously, it works. Lol. Last guy to get one I made him watch the scene on YouTube, and he finally got it. MAINTENANCE: The coating wears off pretty quickly, so the drag will increase. I polish my edge/remove burrs before every’ish use. For the average user, I’d say after every hard use cutting woody material or when you see burrs or roll over. It’s pretty soft and easy to sharpen. I’ve used those little $5 pull through sharpeners, traditional wet/dry stones, the yellow-handled diamond-coated sharpener you see at ______ (Big Store), my REAL knife sharpening set, as well as a concrete curb once...just about anything works. My go-to is my axe puck since it’s always closest. Hope it helps!

The 5 star reviews are pretty spot on! As a Machinist, sharpening blades is one of my fun things. The steel in this is amazing and its heat treat! First, I used a EZE-LAP diamond hone & stone in Fine grit, with Silicone oil to gradually remove the epoxy type finish from the edge. The steel is very abrasion resistant. So I had to switch to Medium grit to slowly match the factory edge. The beauty of this small, narrow stone is that it maneuvers easily to follow the curved blade portion. Since the steel is so dense and hard, it took a long time! And yet I didn’t need to switch to a fine grit since the finish was so fine! It developed a small burr which was easy to remove. Cuts TP like a razor! Will get back after cutting tests.

I do lots of riding on ATVs and also assist with "Extreme" 5K races... you know, where there are obstacles, mudpits, etc. During the prep for the last race my buddies were using the Gerber version of this tool. I was astounded by what a simple, effective tool this was for trimming branches and brush. I immediately set aside the hatchet and machete and loppers and used their tool whenever possible. Once home, I ordered this version from Amazon. It is identical to the Gerber version but costs $25 vs. $40. As for the Pros? - Simply perfect for quickly trimming branches/small trees up to 3 inches in diameter. It routinely "one-strokes" the branches 1.5" or smaller. - perfect size for carrying on an ATV or UTV or vehicle. It would be light enough to pack in on oneself, but check into securing it properly - handle is balanced well and provides a great amount of leverage - Construction was good and I saw no issues. Cons? - Only one... the blade shipped as is was very dull. I am sure that is a liability issue, but TAKE NOTE: If you purchase this I highly reccomend you sharpen it well. Like other cutting tools, if you do not sharpen this to a fine edge then you will wind up doing more work with it. It is designed to be very sharp and use its edge to cut, NOT YOUR BRUTE FORCE. I suspect from reading many of the reviews that people are using it as is and having to work waaaay to hard. Sharpen and oil regularly and I think you won't be disappointed. As it says above, if I could only take one cutting tool into the wild this would be it. ====== 3 YEAR UPDATE ====== So, this tool has been in my UTV now for 3 years. It gets sharpened a few times a year, sprayed with 3-1 Oil, and used around the house, at the hunting lease, and on the trails. Its been through the heat of 100F summers and single digits. Been up to the mountains of Colorado. I will say it again. I would not be without this tool. I also read many of the reviews on here and wonder if people understand the need to sharpen the axe out of the box. IT WILL ARRIVE TOO DULL TO USE. If you do not sharpen it then you will not use this tool properly and will be let down. Sharpen it to a fine edge and this tool will slice through small branches and vines with ease. Highly reccomended.

This thing has a number of problems right out of the box. First, it came dull as a butter knife. I know, I know, some people say that's not a fair gripe. But I'm perfectly capable of sharpening my tools, I just don't want to have to spend 45 minutes to get an edge on it before I even use it. I bought it for a specific job so having to sharpen it was a pain, but not a deal breaker. Second is the big orange sticker. No idea why Fiskars does this, but Estwing did it also on my hatchet. They stick a big rectangular "Fiskars" sticker right on the blade. When you remove it, it leaves behind the backing of the sticker and glue. If you care, you have to use some sort of remover to get the sticker residue off. If you don't do it, it attracts dirt, dust and small chips from whatever you cut. Third is the handle, which as has been noted by everyone, is slick. I had leather gloves on and it slid on every swing. I'll be putting some sort of tape on it to fix this. Fourth is the sheath, which is a joke. Ok, so did it work? It did. I had a huge branch that I wanted to cut up and my chainsaw is in the shop. I took it to branches from 1 inch to 3 or 4 inches thick. The bigger ones took several swings, but the blade chopped through and was no worse for the wear. Up to an inch took one or two swings. I took it to some briars and it worked OK though those branches tended to slide off. Next I did a little trail clearing and it worked well on 1 inch branches and smaller. Bottom line: I spent $21 on it so I'm happy with what I got. But I would recommend getting the Gerber, which comes with a rubber handle and a sheath. It's $10 more and well worth it.

According to Amazon I bought mine in 2010. It is still going strong. Its main use has been cutting down bamboo and large creeper vines, many thicker then my wrist. I hack the bamboo at the ground in rocky areas, it has taken all my abuse, I’ve treated it way worse then it was designed for, thumping it into the ground repeatedly without any real issue or chips. When it gets a little dull, I get a file and remove any burrs, and then use the same fiskar sharpener that they sell for their axes. Yes, the handle gets slippery, I put a rope loop in the handle so it can’t fly away, generally when that happens it means I’m tired and its time for a break. If you have a bamboo problem like I did, this has worked the best to remove the stalks quickly and at the ground. My personal experience with other Fiskar equipment that has failed has shown Fiskar to honor their warranty and replaced the item.

Even though I’ve modified mine a bit I find this a useful chopper! I keep the sheath/holder ziptied to my brush cutter or side by side. It’s imperative that you keep the lanyard looped around something because the holder/sheath tends to pop open at random (usually at the worst possible time) and it will drop the chopper off where you’re unlikely to find it. The holder/sheath is likely the biggest weakness and if I were to use it more often I would have to make something more suited to being carried instead of ziptied to equipment. The handle is ok maybe better than ok, but I wrapped it in hockey tape impregnated with a bit of shoe goo to make a handle more suited to my needs. (It’s also not orange so a win/win! The steel is carbon so sharpens easily and stays sharp longer. Coating is pretty good, but expect to do simple maintenance/rust prevention as the coating wears. I’ve owned this since 2022 and have kept it strapped to equipment much of that time. I find it to be a dependable tool that is held back by a marginal sheath that I’ve done a work around by attaching it to the equipment I’m using!