What is the best trapping axe for the money and longevity for use on a trapline? I'm looking for one to build small cubbies for conibears and for the few odd sets. Thanks in advance!

-TheYouthTrapper

Honestly, I'd go to Lowes and buy the cheapest hatchet they have. Or hit up some yard sales. You don't need a top of the line hatchet/axe for the trapline.

That said, I'd like to get a Snow and Neally someday, but it's not anything a beginner trapper needs.

Just get whatever hatchet you can get your hands on cheap and put a good edge on it. Go build your cubbies before season and leave the hatchet in the pickup, I’d bet you don’t use it as much as you think you’re gonna. Which is why I wouldn’t spend a bunch of money on one.

A sandvik brush axe is a great tool on the trapline for cutting trail and cutting and limbing poles.

Less than $50

Lasts a Lifetime .light, strongest to use


Estwing E45A ES45A Fixed Blade,Hunting ,Outdoor,Camping, 26", Blue

I've rehandled so many axe heads this last year but I haven't found one for running the line with yet.

Bought one a year or so ago and don't use it for much as I'm not trapping a whole bunch of timber except for a few spots.

I've heard very good things about Estwings and aren't they made in the USA?

What is it you're looking for then, exactly?

I've only been able to do mauls and felling axes since my antique store doesn't have very many smaller single bits. I'm looking for a 2-2.5# head with a 27 inch handle. I have one but the eye on it is starting to bow out from the handle and the blade of it is crooked.

This is in my basket ….buy once ,cry once. Going on 6 years with the factory edge…wicked !

That's my favorite quote "Buy once, cry once" I've done that exact thing multiple times. I like the granfors and was looking at them but I'm not nice on any of my equipment and it pains me to hurt a 150$ axe.

I've not cried over an axe yet, haha. I might if I ever buy one of those Snow and Neally's. I been eyeballing them for 10 years but just can't make myself pay that much.

When I was a 10 year old trapper I asked for a hatchet for Christmas and got a $6 TruValu special, lol. I used it on my line until I moved out of state at the age of 25. Handle was pretty chewed up by then as I never replaced it and was never a very good aim, lol. I'd say I got my $6 worth out of that hatchet over 15 years. Since I moved, I've not bought a dedicated trapline hatchet because as Bob mentioned, I don't often find use of one on my traplines.

A good axe for a trapper is a boys axe head on a full length handle.Get the limbing style head(concave profile) for bushwork.It is light enough for trapline work,and quick to sharpen with the axe file,similar benefits of the sandvik,but can cut thru bigger stuff than the sandvik when needed.
Being lighter it wont tire you as much when working with it all day.Make sure when you are fitting the handle to keep it true so the head hangs right.
Its also a great axe for chunking up frozen carcasses for trapping bait.
An axe with a full length handle has much more uses in the bush than a short handled hatchet,and is much safer to use than a hatchet.

An axe / hatchet is a must for Beaver Trapping.

While I do love the Hudson Bay pattern in both big and small I've found that a golok type big knife to be a much more useful tool in my climate.

Goloks are a philipino/indonesian machete type tool that depending on shape can fill the roles of machete, axe or sword. They are generally a thicker blade, up to 3/8" in some cases, than the latin/african machete and almost always convex ground like an axe and can range in length from a few inches to a couple feet.

I dont have much trap line use for an axe either...though at times you have to chop a tree up on public land if you eant to check your traps as you know it might be hours or days before anyone shows up to clear it for you.

“What is the best trapping axe for the money and longevity for use on a trapline?”

The one you don’t lose. I however am blessed with the uncanny ability to scatter any and all tools across the countryside.

My preferred axe for trapping and general bush work is the Hudson bay style with a 2 1/2 lb head and a 22 inch handle. Great for light splitting, chopping, driving stakes and tent pegs.