Scandinavian Forest Axe: Comes complete with a copy of the Gränsfors Axe BookItem number: #430This item is brand new...has not been used or handled except to take pictures. Will only ship to the lower 48 states...No International bidders. The Gränsfors Scandinavian Forest Axe is a more professional axe, ideal for felling larger trees and for limbing a felled tree. The axe is forged to a curved bit, making it suitable for cutting into fresh, resinous wood such as spruce or pine. The long handle also gives more power to the cut. Gränsfors Bruk Axes are forged by very skilled smiths. The proof of this skill is that each smith can forge an axe with such precision that no post-processing is needed. This is what distinguishes Gränsfors Axes from other industrially manufactured axes. Each Gränsfors Bruk Axe has the initials of the master smith who actually forged it stamped on the axe head to proudly highlight the excellence behind the workmanship.The handle on Gränsfors Bruk axes was designed by Hans Erik Persson. Gränsfors Bruk handles are made from hickory. Hickory is the perfect wood because it is both strong and flexible. It has long, parallel fibres which increases the life of the handle. Gränsfors axes come with a sheath made from vegetable-tanned leather. The leather is tanned to prevent it being broken down by bacteria. The tanning preserves and improves the natural properties of the leather and can be done either through treatment with natural vegetable products such as bark from various trees, flowers and roots, known as vegetable tanning, or through treatment with chromium, known as chrome tanning.Vegetable-tanned leather dates back many thousands of years. In ancient river cultures, animal hides came into contact with bark, leaves or fruit and changed so that they no longer rotted away in water and heat. Today, vegetable tanning largely involves the same system but using more efficient methods. Vegetable-tanned leather is free from heavy metals and is biodegradable.In the tanning process, the hide goes through various different treatments such as salting, stripping (removing fat and tissue), washing, re-wetting, pH neutralisation and so on. The hide is then treated in a huge ‘washing machine’ with natural tannins from the plant kingdom. This gives it a natural feel, dimensional stability and an attractive patina.Gränsfors Bruk sources its leather from Tärnsjö Garveri, one of the few tanneries in Sweden that still produces vegetable-tanned leather. Gränsfors Bruk has specifically chosen not to use chrome-tanned leather, as we feel that its green credentials are not sufficiently high. Chrome tanning was developed in the late 19th century in order to treat hides in a cheaper way than vegetable tanning. Chrome-tanned leather commonly retains traces of chromium, which can cause allergic reactions and is also not biodegradable.Scandinavian Forest Axe: Comes complete with a copy of the Gränsfors Axe BookItem number: #430Sheath: vegetable-tanned leatherWarranty: workmanship guaranteed for 20 yearsLength with handle: 64 cm (25”)Weight: 1.2 kg (2.6 lbs.)Country of origin: Sweden