Anybody else using the Stihl hatchet??

D-Rail said:
I realize this is an old thread, but I happened across it looking for reviews of this hatchet.

I got mine for Christmas 2022. Doubting the quality, I wondered about heat treating it myself. My employer has a rockwell hardness tester, so I asked for a test.
At the center of length of the head it tested at RC-12. What?!
They also have an XRF analyzer for metal composition… 0.0 carbon. Only iron and manganese!

The short version is I learned about “mangasteel”. It is work- hardening and cannot be hardened by traditional steel methods. So every time you hit it, it gets a little harder - like bronze, for example.
In very high manganese content it’s used in tools for machining stainless steel.

I haven’t used it enough to know if performance improves over time, and how it is to sharpen as it hardens. So if anyone has, I’d love to hear about it!

For me, I really liked the head, but not the handle. After sanding and shaping, I decided it would be better suited as a trail axe. So I put it on a hickory boy’s axe handle, profiled, sharpened, blackened and oiled it.

Now to put it to the test…
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ace ventura bullshit GIF
 
D-Rail said:
I was shocked!
Why did they choose this metal? It doesn’t fit the definition of steel I know. But it’s called manganese steel, or “mangasteel”.

Would like to hear from someone who’s really worked with one.

Unfortunately I don’t have regular access to the XRF analyzer. It is calibrated regularly, though.
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Iron manganese alloys are castable and therefore much cheaper to produce. Stihl wouldn't be the first to go this cheap route.


Most people who use a hatchet these days don't need a tool better than this and will never know the difference.
 
garry3 said:
Ya, a magnet won't tell anyone what kind of steel or iron it is but it can tell us what it isn't.
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A magnet can't tell us that an axe isn't a manganese alloy. Manganese alloys come in magnetic and non-magnetic varieties. This Stihl axe tests, "0.0 carbon. Only iron and manganese".

We may not know the full composition of this Stihl axe. But we know that some manganese alloys are magnetic.
 
Square_peg said:
A magnet can't tell us that an axe isn't a manganese alloy. Manganese alloys come in magnetic and non-magnetic varieties. This Stihl axe tests, "0.0 carbon. Only iron and manganese".

We may not know the full composition of this Stihl axe. But we know that some manganese alloys are magnetic.
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I already made my point. It is not Mangalloy, Hatfield, Manganese steel.

I have no interest in speculating about what elements may or may not be present in the steel. Respectfully, I don't care if you think they are cast, forged steel or even if you think they are made from ancient meteorite forged in the depths of Mordor. I just don't care...
 
Some of those Stihl axes had Ochsenkopf stamps on them, Ochsenkopf says they use c-60.
I don't know that they make all of Stihls axes though.
 
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