The quality of this axe is superb. It is an heirloom quality axe. The materials, craftsmanship and overall quality are on par with or superior to any other production line axe on the market. The leather mask(sheath) is well made with quality leather and buckle, it is well riveted with good quality rivets and they are properly set. The axe comes with Helko Werk's head oil, Helko Werk manual/catalog and the leather mask/sheath. The axe comes with a factory ground edge. with very little honing I was able to quickly bring the edge of the C50 high carbon steel to my preferred sharpness. The handle comes untreated (which I prefer) and finish sanded with what feels like 150 grit, so I lightly touched it up with 220 grit and then xxxx steel wool and 3 treatments of boiled linseed oil. After the final treatment of boiled linseed oil had dried, I rubbed down the handle and the head with "Fix in" wax from Self Reliance Outfitters and then wiped down the handle and buffed it by hand with a clean cotton shop towel and then installed the leather collar guard onto the handle. It turned out beautifully.
About Helko Werk North America Customer Service; In the original Amazon listing that I ordered my axe from, it included a "Metal Overstrike Protector" as part of this package. Upon receiving my axe there was no "Metal Overstrike Protector" included with my axe as stated in the original listing. I contacted Helko Werk customer service and after some correspondence with them and upon further investigation on their part, they were generous enough to send me one of their leather axe collars free of charge in place of the "Metal Overstrike Protector".
So, I must report that they are true to their endeavor to accomplish customer satisfaction. In the future I would buy Helko Werk axes and products with confidence based on their quality, craftsmanship and materials that go into their products and on their customer service.
Furthermore, I have and do recommend Helko Werk axes and leather products for anyone looking to invest in heirloom quality products.

The media could not be loaded. For starters I was nervous to spend almost $200 on an axe but after struggling with my $40 Collins axe I decided to pull the trigger on a new axe. Let's just say I am not disappointed. This thing is an absolute beast and comes very sharp. It made easy work of a few test rounds even knotted ones it sailed thru way better than expected. Now I'm looking at buying more from their lineup!

Highly recommend this axe. Comfortable grip, lightweight, yet durable, and keeps a great edge.

I ordered both the Classic Scout & the Traditional Hessen Woodworker. The Scout , as received, would cut paper. The Hessen, as received would not cut paper but it chopped better than my sharpened hardware axe. The axe heads were exact with the specifications given. The handles completely filled the eyes and were well secured. From the pictures, the Hessen's head appears much larger than the Scout's head; however the weight differences is only 0.25 lbs. Nevertheless, the Hessen felt better in my hands than the Scout.

The Scout's handle was heart wood and the grain orientation was perfect; however, the handle knob was not aligned well with the blade of the axe. The Hessen's handle had both heart wood and sap wood and the handle knob aligned perfectly with the blade of the axe. The throats of each handle were about an inch wide and the width increased to about 1.25 inch at the shoulder.

I kept the Hessen and returned the Scout. The Hessen is a great axe. Although it is lighter and shorter than my hardware axe it cuts as deep or deeper. Helko Werk makes a good product although for the two I compared, I rate the axe head quality superior to the axe handle quality.

This axe a lot better then Gransfors Bruk axe that I bought and a lot cheaper.