Gear Test: Iron Fox Axes

Open a compartment door on a truck these days and there is a tool for just about everything. The one nearest and dearest to my heart, as far as functionality and tradition in the fire service, is the firefighter’s axe. With that in mind, I tested the Iron Fox axe to evaluate if its new engineering, combined with old-school functionality, create the ultimate firefighting tool.

The Iron Fox axe comes in both a pick head and flat head style, with the choice of a wood or fiberglass handle in various lengths. Not all tools are created equal, and the same goes for the thought process in creating an axe. The Iron Fox features many technological modifications to create a tool that best accommodates how we use it in the field.

Right out of the box, this axe looks ready to do business. When it comes to carrying and using a tool designed to be swung, balance is extremely crucial, and the Iron Fox excels in this area. The 7.5-lb. head is stout enough to do some serious damage, yet is balanced adequately enough to feel like I was getting the most out the tool with a smooth swing. The handle’s end features a “fawn foot,” a portion of the bottom of the handle that flares out, providing a solid grip.

The Roof

There was no doubt the axe could rip through just about anything we would encounter on a roof, but I wanted to see how efficient it was and if the patented design would prevent the blade from getting stuck in the material. This test used OSB, plywood and
1″ x 4″ lumber used in skip sheathing that was placed on both a flat and pitched cutting prop. In the OSB and plywood tests, each material was covered with asphalt shingles to simulate a real roof. The Iron Fox cut through all materials with an exceptional amount of ease. The cutting portion of the axe tapers out enough to keep the axe from getting stuck and leaves a nice, clean line in the roofing material.

Using the pick end easily creates a hole that can be used as a smoke-indication hole or an anchor for footing. The balance of this tool is extremely functional so I was able not only to do a lot of damage with each swing but I was able to do it pretty effortlessly.

The skip sheathing was no match for this tool either, and I blasted through the boards with no problem. The skip sheathing was then covered with OSB to simulate a remodeled roof, and again, I was able to cut through a very significant amount of roofing material with each swing.

Extrication

In testing the axe for vehicle extrication, I wanted to see how it did creating purchase points while striking and prying at a car. Using the blunt end of the axe created a purchase point, and the cutting edge could easily be inserted to create a large gap.

There was no way we could have solid metal in front of us and only use the tool to pry, so we started to see how it fared cutting the metal. I was extremely impressed with how the axe cut through the metal of the car–the hood, doors, roof and even the floorboards.

Forcible Entry & Exit

The flat head portion of the axe works very well as a striking tool. When striking a Halligan bar, the balance of the tool made it very easy to control the swings, while the weight of the axe head kept the Halligan tool moving forward. The wide, flat surface on the rear of the axe provided a good amount of surface area to strike the prying tool.

When it came to residential doors, they can be easily breached by using either the flat head portion or the cutting portion. In the tests we conducted, we easily forced a typical residential deadbolt with one well-placed swing.

When it came to testing the axe to breach metal commercial doors, it took just a couple of well-placed swings to create a gap between the door and the jamb in order to insert a forcible entry tool. Although this process is more labor intensive and much more destructive to the metal door, the Iron Fox was able to effectively cut through the door’s metal skin, especially when the axe was swung in a downward motion.

I also wanted to see how the Iron Fox functioned when it came to breaching the masonry used for many residential and commercial structures. Again, the weight of the head coupled with the balance of the tool made breaking through both block and brick a very feasible task.

As the testing wrapped up, I became curious about just what this tool couldn’t cut through. I put this axe against concrete, different types of metal, wood of all dimensions and even 1/8″ steel from a dumpster–it cut everything, without doing any damage or dulling the design of the axe at all.

Improving on a Classic

Although the craft of being a firefighter continuously changes, we always seem to rely on the basics. In my tests with the Iron Fox, it became apparent that the axe, the most basic of traditional fire tools, can nevertheless be reinvented. Iron Fox has taken every factor of our craft into account in its design of the axe. The axe exceeded my expectation; it works flawlessly, looks mean and is beyond durable.

Sidebar – Iron Fox Axe
Pros
+ Excellent balance and design
+ Axe can cut through concrete, metal, wood without damage or dulling the tool
+ Designed for the needs of a firefighter

Cons
– Price

Sidebar – Iron Fox Axes
Tel: 602-253-6921602-253-6921
Web: http://ironfoxaxes.com
Email: contact@ironfoxaxes.com