THE BAD AXE Review.
The Bad Axe by Cold Steel Industries is a pressed steel cold forged differentially heat treated high quality spring steel double bit short axe. This makes the blade very flexible and holds a decent but not overly sharp edge, which is great because its main design is fighting and throwing. What started as a novelty item has turned into one of their better selling products. Prices range from $20-50 as this item is no longer in production.(Everything said in this review is Identical to my review of a Cold Steel Fighting Shovel, only when I say feels like a shovel change it to is a shovel. As a weapon section differs as a shovel is a broad spear point. Ratings remain the same.)
Function-
It is exceptionally light weight which makes normal chopping chores laborious as you have to provide the impact pressure yourself where normally physics and leverage provide the force. It has a short lacquered ash handle again making it very light for an ax. When it come to throwing which is this ax's forte I have yet to throw an ax that surpasses it. This thing will sink extremely deep from just about any angle. As long as it is thrown end over end it with stick on impact from 90% of the rotation. Meaning even an amateur can sink this ax most of the time.
4 out of 5
The Head-
Its light. Its agile. It excels in biting deep, sometimes too deep. The blood grooves on it are supposed to allow for airflow when the blade is removed after a deep strike. There is only one weld, and its on the back of the handle attachment. The over all feel of this ax head is similar to a flat shovel with angular points cut out of it.
3 out of 5
The Handle-
Its a shovel handle only short. There are no 2 ways around it, it feels like a shovel. It was designed after the handle of the Russian Combat shovel. It is made of lacquered Ash which is flexible and durable, but I have had mixed results. I have gone through a few replacement handles, and they most often break at the bottom of the ax head. I have stopped using the ash handles all together due to this issue. Luckily you can go to any hardware store and find a nice replacement handle of some sort. The original handles are best if you are into throwing, but a wooden baseball bat can be cut and trimmed to make an better throwing handle.
2 out of 5
As a tool-
It functions decent on small jobs like a 5” blade machete would. It can hack through larger brush, but requires a lot of effort to swing at speeds enough to cut larger saplings. It is really light so it doesn't add much weight to a pack when you are counting ounces. Great when you need a brush tool and can't sacrifice the weight for a machete, ax or hatchet. It can preform a lot of the same chores as a hatchet, but does require just a bit more effort.
2 out of 5
As a weapon-
Its great. Light and agile so it has wonderful lively. You can keep it moving and it is a very aggressive ax. Due to its short handle weapon catching is not recommended, but can be done. It has 2 notches that enable high grip under the head. The full length does not allow for effective 2 hand defense techniques but it is long enough for easy 1 or 2 hand grip changes or passes. Like I said before this thing sinks deep, and doesn't need much of an edge to do it. With its bizarre shaped head the top is very useful for punching and with some skill blade catching.
5 out of 5
Overall-
If your an ax lover, throwing enthusiast or collector it definitely should be added to your collection. As a hiker outdoor adventurer or backpacker your better off with the Fighting Shovel. This is one of those weapons if you love it you'll probably need 4 or more to be satiated. The good thing is the weight and feel of the Bad Ax and the Fighting Shovel are near identical, so switching between the 2 doesn't really matter much when using in combat or throwing. The Bad Ax is slightly better at cutting due to the curved blades then the Fighting Shovel. Both are great additions to the arsenal or BOB.
Overall 3.5 of 5
This review is meant to be objective as possible, but I love both my Bad Ax and Fighting Shovel.
