Hi all, I bought a house a few years back and found a couple old axes lying around. I have been leaning towards buying a new 16 or 26 inch Estwing Camping Axe model E44A or E45A. I have also considered the Estwing EFF4SE 4-Pound Special Edition"Fireside Friend" Wood Splitting Axe/Maul with Shock Reduction Grip and the Fiskars X11 17 inch axe. Upon reading many articles, it seemed to imply that fixing up an older axe might be the most cost effective choice and would provide me with the highest carbon steel head, whereas todays axes are softer metal and not as good at keeping an edge. Now, to explain what I plan to use it for.. it will be used 95% of the time to cut up medium pieces of firewood for my backyard firepit. I will likely buy a cord of wood and need an axe to cut it up in smaller pieces. I may also use it to cut the odd tree down here or there but rarely. I have a hard time deciding on brand, let alone length and type of model to purchase. I can get a 16 inch Estwing camping axe for about 50$, so it seems like a decent option but unsure of how good they are (reviews seem good) Please see the picture of the two axes I have and let me know if you think its worth me cleaning them up and sharpening them for use or if you think id best just buy something new.. any and all advice is appreciated! Id like to choose something that cuts well but could also maybe be brought along camping as well. If you suggest a new option, I would like to keep the cost to about 75$ max. Thanks!
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