A Roselli Axe Reveiw

First off I'm an axe novice, I've carried a knife of some sort or another since I've been in elementary school. Back then you could carry a knife in school and not raise an eyebrow. The extent of my axe collection are Kelly True Temper, a new Collins hatchet and an old Craftsman. I wanted an axe to carve with that would cross over from a carver to Bushcrafting. I decided on the R850 Allaround axe made by H.Roselli in Finland.

The the weight is around 1lb. 12oz. with a bearded cutting edge that's scandi ground, and the edge is around 1.5 in. long. The total length is a little over 18 inches long .
The sheath is simple but very well made and holds the blade securely and can be worn on the belt with a belt loop provided on the back with the blade secured by a buckle instead of a snap
which I think is much more durable and classy to boot.

I headed out to the woods along Back Creek in the rain, that being said, the Roselli was wet almost the entire time and never once felt slippery either in the regular grip on the handle or a choked grip like an Ulu.
The small head split wood quite easily I found mostly due to the thickness of the head, what I was splitting was around 4 to six inches

I also gave shavings a try, which worked quite easily.









I've read elsewhere that it doesn't like to stick in wood, I've found this to be somewhat true especially the end grain of larger stuff, probably due to its wedge shaped head and the lightness of it. I tried two handed on what I think is a piece of large Maple and it barely dents it.

Chopping is not an issue, in fact I think it chops quite easily in spite of it's thick profile, it doesn't seem to cut deep but removes chips without much effort. I gave it a try on a dead Orange Osage branch about 4 inches thick.

In the choke grip, holding it like an Ulu it performed quite well at shaving and shaping wood. It seemed to shave much like a plane in a straight path probably due to it's scandi edge profile

Using the hammer poll.

I should have mentioned when I got it it would shave hair but I think the Osage may have been what dulled it somewhat, still was quite sharp though.
It being touted as all purpose I gave it a shot at food prep cutting an orange and tomato which it did adequately and would have no trouble cutting meat.

Some random pics.

While it might not be the design for everybody, I like it a lot and look forward to be doing some project in the near future with it.

Stay Safe
Bob