- Joined
- Dec 13, 2005
- Messages
- 6,105
No shame in silver, right? Ol' Fonly had some good timing when he posted his Mini review, I've been in the middle of a small hatchet hunt for a good while. Between the size and price of the Wetterlings mini I just had to give it a try! I ordered one off Ben's Backwoods and it arrived neatly today. (I must say, too, he was a pleasure to deal with. Fast shipping and he was happy to hand-pick a piece for me.) Anyway, Fonly really 'hit the nail on the head' so I don't have much to add, just some more pics and another perspective.
First impression, a lot like the Becker BK2, was just at the surprising heft! Weighs more than it looks if that makes sense. It's not overwhelming, it's certainly lighter than it's small axe counterparts.
I don't have the GB handy for exact comparisons, but several weeks ago I got to play with HD's and still recall aspects of it. The fit and finish was not quite as high as the GB mini. It's not at all 'bad', there are just some finishing touches that differ. Nothing whatsoever to affect function. The edge came much better than any 'hardware store' axe, but needs just a bit of work with some sandpaper. Shaves now though!
Let's show some quick pics..
(sorry for the blurriness)
The GB mini is certainly lighter and more thinly profiled than the Wetterlings. The Wetterilngs feels more like a truncated 'medium' hatchet than a true mini, as it should since it shares the same head as the 13h. But it ain't a knock! It's still a really good hatchet, just different.
I used up part of the afternoon just splitting some firewood and getting to know this thing. One plus above the GB mini is that the handle (as Hollowdwelller so quickly noted) is more 'full', which as you might guess I have an appreciation for. Choking up was pretty durn comfy, and gave as much control as you can get out of a hatchet. Enough to get some little fuzzies anyway.
The heavier than expected head actually helped a lot when splitting; it gave plenty of momentum to turn a medium sized log into kindling. Basically, I feel you can expect it to split whatever you would be able to baton with a large-ish fixed blade, maybe a shade more. But the raw chopping power is a good bit above a large fixed blade (like 9" type). It's a good compromise.
I also used it briefly in the kitchen and it super handy when chopping stuff. You get a whole 'ulu' type grip and it just snaps things in half.
I've tried to show enough that prospective buyers can get a feel for what this hatchet can do, how big it is and what it weighs. It's not going to out-chop your S&N Pen Bay, but it's also going to eat more wood than your KaBar Bowie. It's also not going to be first choice for the ultralight campers amongst us (the GB would be a better choice there... not that UL people carry hatchets anyway....). So far I like mine enough to keep it in the pack, I've found a really super woods trio I think. :thumbup:
First impression, a lot like the Becker BK2, was just at the surprising heft! Weighs more than it looks if that makes sense. It's not overwhelming, it's certainly lighter than it's small axe counterparts.
I don't have the GB handy for exact comparisons, but several weeks ago I got to play with HD's and still recall aspects of it. The fit and finish was not quite as high as the GB mini. It's not at all 'bad', there are just some finishing touches that differ. Nothing whatsoever to affect function. The edge came much better than any 'hardware store' axe, but needs just a bit of work with some sandpaper. Shaves now though!
Let's show some quick pics..
(sorry for the blurriness)
The GB mini is certainly lighter and more thinly profiled than the Wetterlings. The Wetterilngs feels more like a truncated 'medium' hatchet than a true mini, as it should since it shares the same head as the 13h. But it ain't a knock! It's still a really good hatchet, just different.
I used up part of the afternoon just splitting some firewood and getting to know this thing. One plus above the GB mini is that the handle (as Hollowdwelller so quickly noted) is more 'full', which as you might guess I have an appreciation for. Choking up was pretty durn comfy, and gave as much control as you can get out of a hatchet. Enough to get some little fuzzies anyway.
The heavier than expected head actually helped a lot when splitting; it gave plenty of momentum to turn a medium sized log into kindling. Basically, I feel you can expect it to split whatever you would be able to baton with a large-ish fixed blade, maybe a shade more. But the raw chopping power is a good bit above a large fixed blade (like 9" type). It's a good compromise.
I also used it briefly in the kitchen and it super handy when chopping stuff. You get a whole 'ulu' type grip and it just snaps things in half.
I've tried to show enough that prospective buyers can get a feel for what this hatchet can do, how big it is and what it weighs. It's not going to out-chop your S&N Pen Bay, but it's also going to eat more wood than your KaBar Bowie. It's also not going to be first choice for the ultralight campers amongst us (the GB would be a better choice there... not that UL people carry hatchets anyway....). So far I like mine enough to keep it in the pack, I've found a really super woods trio I think. :thumbup:
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