Made by H. Roselli in Finland, this is the axe that I take with me if I'm going camping in the woods. I have to admit that what first attracted me to this axe was how incredibly cool it looks. With it's bearded head it definitely has something of the viking about it. At 850g and with a 46cm handle, it sits somewhere in between an axe and a hatchet. It fits easily into a rucksack and is perfect for splitting small logs. This is due the really thick wedge profile of the head.
The profile also means that it's almost impossible to get this axe to stick in a log, something which again makes it perfect for splitting.
The beard means that you can choke up really close to the head, which along with the long bevel allows you to make nice planing cuts.
There is also a small poll that is hardened so that you can use it as a hammer, though it's not very well balanced for this task. It comes with the nicest leather sheath I've seen on a production axe and a straight handle made of birch. It is also available with a smaller handle of 36cm, but the head is exactly the same on both axes.
I've used this axe to cut down a tree, prepare wood for a fire and even rough out a spoon. For me it is the perfect axe for preparing firewood when out on camping trips. It seems quite similar in it's specifications to the Gransfors Bruks Outdoor axe which was designed with help from Swedish survival expert Lars Falt.
There is a good comparison of the Roselli and the Gransfors small forest axe (which seems to be the most popular bushcraft axe) here
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