A New Thread For Axes, Hatchets, Hawks & Other Striking Tools

[Scandi Grind]

Here are the test cuts. It wasn't mind blowing or anything, but it certainly worked better than it ever has. The smaller piece of branch was around 6 in. the larger about 12 in. in diameter. Probably took 5 and 20-30 min. respectively. The bigger piece was a bit more work 'cause I had to stand on the branch to cut between my feet then make two cuts to go all the way through.

All and all, I think I am pretty satisfied with the result.

[zuludelta]

Nice! What tree is that? Looks like a fairly dense hardwood.

[Scandi Grind]

You know, I am pretty bad with tree recognition, so I have no idea, but it feels pretty hard and I have blisters to support that theory, ha ha! I'll have to try and identify it as it is on my property after all. This branch has been setting there for some time now too, so I think it has gotten noticeably harder since I initially broke some of it down to get it off my fence.

[zuludelta]

Picked up a Silky Nata 240 recently & used it to delimb a Douglas fir that fell across a trail I frequently use. As I understand it, the traditional Japanese nata hatchet comes with a right-handed chisel grind, which makes it especially well-suited for cleanly chopping off branches close to the trunk, thus minimizing the risk of the delimbing site becoming a focus of infection in an otherwise healthy live tree.

Silky makes both a single-bevel/chisel-grind nata & a double-bevel/V-grind nata. It is the latter version that I picked up. Not as true to the traditional nata, but a better fit for my uses. I'm hoping that this nata can replace the Fiskars hatchet & the Jarosz Choppa that I usually carry along with my Silky folding saw for when I'm clearing trails of deadfall.

It really does feel & swing like a cross between a western hatchet & a big knife/short machete. Is it just as good as both tools? My first impression is that it chops significantly better than a big knife but not quite as well as a western hatchet, and it clears brush just as well as a big knife/short machete but its heavier weight means I can't swing it for as long before fatigue sets in. So it's a "jack of all trades, master of none" the way all multitools are. That said, I think some of that impression may be from my unfamiliarity with the nata design, and it's certainly possible that it will be just as effective for my uses as a western hatchet and a big knife/short machete as I spend more time using it.

[Scandi Grind]

I've looked at that Nata before, seems like a pretty cool tool. Your evaluation in actual use is pretty much what I supposed it might be from reading specs. It seems like it could do a pretty good job at multi-tasking if the amount of work you have to do with it isn't excessive.

Well, as for me, I got around to a thinning and resharpening my Council Tool hatchet over the course of last week. I hit a milestone with this job, the first axe edge I have ever sharpened that effortlessly shaves hair! Fun! Also works good on wood, he he. I had it scrape shaving off of my Worksharp field sharpener's medium grit side. Hairs were being whisked away after refining on a fine Sharpmaker rod, then stropping on balsa charged with 3 micron diamond paste.

[zuludelta]

Nice! I don't know why I've never thought to get any of my hatchets that sharp, simple mid-carbon steels are a joy to sharpen.

Picked up an Off Grid Tools Handy Rescue Tool recently. It's basically a modified version of the popular Trucker's Friend tool, the primary difference being the inclusion of a cutout in the blade that can be used as a gas shut-off valve wrench.

It isn't really designed for outdoors use, it's more of an urban forcible entry/rescue/demolition multitool. I used to work in demolition/resource recovery, and this would have been a really useful implement for me back then, due to it combining the functionality of a small axe, demo hammer, and wrecking bar in one tool. The axe blade has the half-circle shape that's seen in certain rescue axes (think the Ontario SP-16 SPAX or the Ontario Wyvern Crash Axe). This keeps the blade from binding up & getting caught in sheet metal, drywall, and plywood, but isn't especially great at outdoors-y chopping tasks.

Nevertheless, I brought it along as the nominal hatchet in my trail maintenance kit today. It's well-balanced and the blade itself is serviceable for chopping small logs & delimbing trees, and the combination of the Nupla fiberglass shaft & rubber handle is great at mitigating vibration from impact. So it may not be the most efficient chopper, but it's quite comfortable to use.

All in all, I'm glad I picked it up, and it's probably going to replace both the Fiskars Pro 18" wrecking bar and Fiskars 11" hatchet in my demo tool bag (the leather sheath is quite of overpriced given its basic quality, though).

[MacLaren]

I've really enjoyed this Hardcore Hammers Survivalist Hatchett ? I think that's what they call it
Anyways, just excellent quality imo. Bites like a s.o.b.

[kennethsime]

Well, as for me, I got around to a thinning and resharpening my Council Tool hatchet over the course of last week. I hit a milestone with this job, the first axe edge I have ever sharpened that effortlessly shaves hair! Fun! Also works good on wood, he he. I had it scrape shaving off of my Worksharp field sharpener's medium grit side. Hairs were being whisked away after refining on a fine Sharpmaker rod, then stropping on balsa charged with 3 micron diamond paste.

Very cool.

I gotta practice my axe sharpening. I have a Hults Bruk puck and haven’t had a lot of success with it. I’m going thinking about picking up the new worksharp belt grinder, i feel like that would be really useful for thinning out the edge.

[Scandi Grind]

It took me about 3-4 hours to thin it to this point with nothing but a 10 in. coarse file, so power tools could definitely be a help at speeding things up. If you do use power tools, obviously watch out for heat build up, but also, watch out for over thinning too. When thinning with hand tools, I end up with pretty convex geometry which is very stable even going quite thin. If you grind fairly flat bevels with a machine, they will cut better, but they will also be unstable earlier in the thinning process than convex bevels.

I am thinking about thinning near the tip and heel a bit more, but I am liking the effect that this basic grind has. If the bit ever sticks in the wood, all you have to do is lever the handle up or down, a pretty natural reaction to a stuck head, and the thicker ends easily wedge the head out of the wood.

Most people suggest using a circular motion from what I have seen when sharpening an axe, but that hasn't worked super well for me so far. I started doing just an up and down motion instead, which seems very similar, but it has yielded far better edges for me for whatever reason.

[Scandi Grind]

I've been looking at this tomahawk just for something fun. It's fairly cheap and I like that it is traditional and wood handled. Cast head which I have never heard of before and presumably why it is cheap. Not sure if there is any reason to be leery of a cast head. It's a throwing axe so it is supposed to be tough, but I'm not sure how good of an edge it can take or keep. I e-mailed the seller to ask if they knew what it was hardened to, but they said they didn't know, just that it was hard enough to be thrown.

Curious what anyone else thinks from the look of it?

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categori ... omahawk-nr

[zuludelta]

I don't think I've ever seen—much less used—a proper axe or hatchet with a cast 4140 steel head. I do have a cold chisel made from 4140, and I recall having a moulding pry bar made from 4140 steel at one point, and I think maybe a hammer. Just from this limited experience with the steel, I imagine that the tomahawk you linked to would probably stand up really well to the impact from throwing, but probably wouldn't hold an edge particularly well relative to your typical 1055 steel axe/hatchet.

[JD Spydo]

Nice! What tree is that? Looks like a fairly dense hardwood.

I believe you are correct because it most definitely looks like a hardwood tree of some sort. It's hard to tell exactly from those pics. My guess is that it's maybe in the "oak" family. The bark appears to be that of one of the red oak variety.

Using your axes and hatchets on hardwood trees is a great way to test your edged tools out. We are blessed with a lot of different types of oak here in Missouri. We also have a few varieties of hickory as well. Everything in the hickory family is extremely hard.

[Scandi Grind]

I've really enjoyed this Hardcore Hammers Survivalist Hatchett. I also really love my $40 Schrade too.
The Hardcore is very well made. The head is 4140 steel. Gets super sharp and bites deep.

Well I noticed this earlier in the thread. Not cast I take it, but same steel. I have seen a couple custom makers using 4142, which I would think is similar, but I am not sure how similar.

[MacLaren]

I don't think I've ever seen—much less used—a proper axe or hatchet with a cast 4140 steel head. I do have a cold chisel made from 4140, and I recall having a moulding pry bar made from 4140 steel at one point, and I think maybe a hammer. Just from this limited experience with the steel, I imagine that the tomahawk you linked to would probably stand up really well to the impact from throwing, but probably wouldn't hold an edge particularly well relative to your typical 1055 steel axe/hatchet.

Goodness, I didn't even realize there was a "proper" axe or maul head....
I always just used whatever we had and had absolutely no idea what it was made of - and we burned wood exclusively for about the first 35-40 years of my life...
As for 4140 - I reckon she's not "proper" either but, she does pretty good..
Honestly I kinda doubt me ever havin a "proper" hatchett but, that's ok!
And, don't get me wrong, I'm all for proper - and hearing about it too

[MacLaren]

I've really enjoyed this Hardcore Hammers Survivalist Hatchett. I also really love my $40 Schrade too.
The Hardcore is very well made. The head is 4140 steel. Gets super sharp and bites deep.

Well I noticed this earlier in the thread. Not cast I take it, but same steel. I have seen a couple custom makers using 4142, which I would think is similar, but I am not sure how similar.

, yeah I dunno.....but, she is well made and cuts good. That's all I care about. Looks pretty cool too

[zuludelta]

Goodness, I didn't even realize there was a "proper" axe or maul head....
I always just used whatever we had and had absolutely no idea what it was made of - and we burned wood exclusively for about the first 35-40 years of my life...

Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to dismiss anyone's positive experiences with 4140 steel axes ("proper" was probably not the right word). My comment was more intended to highlight that cast 4140 doesn't seem to be as common a material (at least nowadays) in axes compared to 1050-series steels, and it's something I've encountered primarily in cold chisels and hammers.

[MacLaren]

Goodness, I didn't even realize there was a "proper" axe or maul head....
I always just used whatever we had and had absolutely no idea what it was made of - and we burned wood exclusively for about the first 35-40 years of my life...

Ah, my apologies. I didn't mean to dismiss anyone's positive experiences with 4140 steel axes ("proper" was probably not the right word). My comment was more intended to highlight that cast 4140 doesn't seem to be as common a material (at least nowadays) in axes compared to 1050-series steels, and it's something I've encountered primarily in cold chisels and hammers.

Oh! No worries!
just look over me bro....
I'm rarely serious about anything!
I just like goin broke and havin a good time while doin so!
Seriously, I really have no idea what the best steel.is for a axe or the sort
I just report back on the flavor of the month for me so to speak
I'm just happy not to have to be burnin dam wood all the time now!