The Competition Thrower: World Axe Throwing League Premium Competition Throwing Axe with Throwing Hatchet Hickory Wooden Handle

Looking at these axes (I bought 2), my first thought is the handles will need to be replaced. One of the handles has near perfect grain orientation (almost completely parallel to the axe head) but the run-outs on it are a little close together. The other has grain orientation that runs a little more than 45 degrees to one side and has almost no visible run-outs.If you are unfamiliar with grain orientation and run-outs, to put it simply, grain orientation is the direction the grain runs in the handle and run-outs are the arrow/triangle patterns you would see on the side of the handle. These two things correlate to the strength and durability of the handle and the likelihood of it breaking.Now for the throwing review.I actually bought these as starter axes for some people I turned into axe junkies.Normally, I throw a slightly lighter axe than this (about 1.5lbs) with a 14 inch handle, so throwing these took a little bit of adjustment in my throwing position. Some people say that the handles are too slick or they slide out of the hand too easily and that is truly a personal preference, and some who throw axes professionally or who coach it might even warn against putting grip tape on it altogether to avoid the handle sticking in your hand too long.Overall, these are great starter axes but be advised: there is a 50/50 chance of you getting a not so decent handle, so be prepared to put a new one on it. Also, the white varnish on the head does scuff and scratch easily, so you may or may not want to take that off.Update: The two axes I bought here are holding up perfectly. The people I got them for are as stated in the original review, beginners, and they love them. I ordered the starter kit from WATL themselves which included one of these and the Big Axe. This brings my personal collection up to 6 different axes and of them all, this competition thrower is my number 2 in the line up.

LONG STORY SHORT:Great Axe (hatchet) for throwing. Well balanced. Straight, smooth wooden handle. Plenty sharp, and comes with a whetstone for further sharpening. My wife and I went axe throwing at a friend's house and she had so much fun. She was really good at it. Like...a little too good. Borderline scary good ;) Anyway, she loved it, mentioned that "we should build one of these in the backyard" so I did. And then I bought this axe. No regrets....yet. lolPROS:-Smooth wooden handle. Straight at the bottom, not curved like you would find at the end of a chopping hatchet.-Well balanced. Lots of weight in the head, not a lot in the handle.-Sturdy and well made. In our learning, this thing has smacked against the target and flopped to the ground more times than I care to admit....due to our ineffectiveness, NOT due to any flaw in the axe. It has continued to stay in one, sturdy, solid piece. No wobble at the head.CONS:-We only have 1. I'd like about 2 more of these bad boys. Which, I'm sure they'd send to me.....for a price.-The wooden handle is...well...wooden, and if you happen to hit it with a throwing knife by accident, it will splinter. I've used CA glue on it, and sanded it back smooth a couple of times. All this is to be expected.CONCLUSION:BUY. Great quality, lots of fun.

Great throwing axe, I love practicing with this one

This thing feels great in our hands, and once we got use to the way the axe goes through the air, we could get it to stick almost every time. Only problem is that even though it's listed as good for beginners, the handle broke in the first hour. We bought two other sets of cheaper( all metal)axes and they have not taken any damage yet. We bought this one because my wife is thinking about getting into the sport, and this is her favorite one to throw,but the handle is concerning.

I bought four of these and gave them to my grandsons for Christmas. We tested them out at a local axe throwing facility. The axes are quality built, nice balance and good value for money.

I've been using a cheap axe I bought from Ace Hardware, but this is better balanced. The handle is longer than I expected. It should be great.

Great budget friendly axe

Terrible quality. Just spend your money on a good axe. After a couple throws, the axe head got loose and it doesn’t come sharp so now i gotta go do that. The wood feels cheap. Looks like i need to put a coating on that too. My $14 axe i bought from menards throws way better then this