Backpacking Hatchet?

D

Dave568

Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
118
I was wondering if anyone here could recommend a good hatchet for backpacking. Weight and durability are both prime concerns. I went shopping around the stores in my area, and the only options available here are a Gerber axe that is sold at EMS, or sketchy Walmart/Target brands that are $6.99 - not something I'd like to trust. So if anyone has any recommendations, that would be great. I'm looking for something in the price range of up to $50. If it's necessary to spend more, I will, but I'd prefer not to spend that much. The hatchet will be used pretty much 100% for splitting firewood/chopping down small trees, and I guess whatever other uses I find while I'm out in the woods (Maybe using the back as a hammer?). Thanks for any input.
 
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Thanks for the replies. The one you posted Michael seems a bit too expensive and fancy for my tastes. I just want something simple and effective. The Gerber one you posted InTheWoods is one that I saw at a local EMS, but it's about $15 cheaper in the link you gave me. Between that and the Kershaw, which would you recommend? The Kershaw seems slightly longer and heavier, but it seems to have a large blade. Do you have a personal preference?

Also, this might be a stupid question, but what sort of tools do I need to sharpen an axe? I use a Spyderco Sharpmaker for my knives, but I've never had to sharpen an axe before...
 
I have both a Kershaw and a Gerber. I find the Kershaw to hold up better when chopping (I think the steel is either better, or has a better heat treat) add to that the fact that the fiberglass handle on the gerber can break leaving you sol. For backpacking/hiking imho you have to give the nod to the kershaw. You can buy the kershaw online for $24 at ultimate outdoors or you can buy it in person for $26 at sportsman's warehouse. I was thinking about the Krommer bush pilot survival hatchet for $49 because it is super well built and looks/feels bulletproof, but you can't reverse and hammer with it(narrow spine and hard finger grooved handle would eat your hand in a hurry besides being unweildy as hell) it is also very heavy.
 
Awesome. It looks like I'm going to be going for the Kershaw. Thanks a lot for the replies guys. Also... any advice on sharpening it? :D
 
Sorry about that, I was going to address sharpening in my other post but got long winded and forgot. I carry a small two sided diamond hone coarse on one side and fine on the other. Other people will surely disagree with me on my hatchet sharpening method but.....it's just my opinion and it works for me. I place the hone in my palm coarse side up and use a constant circular motion while moving up and down on the blade so as to cover the whole thing, and I just keep this up alternating sides until the hatchet is sharp again. When I am home, I just lightly kiss it to a fine belt on my belt grinder on each side and you can shave with the result for a little while. The field sharpening method is an adaption of the way my pop taught me to field sharpen an axe when I was a kid. He had a 4" round stone about 3/4" thick that he would palm and sharpen his axe in nothing flat and he could shave the hair off his arm with the results....I could do the same if given a much longer time period lol. Dad could do the same with any kind of sharp tool with bench stones without even thinking about it....I wish I was half as good lol, but I guess that's what happens when his dad (my grandpa) made a good part of his living as a blacksmith while dad was growing up. Well, enough rambling for me...I hope I have been of some small assistance to you.
 
Dave568 said:
Awesome. It looks like I'm going to be going for the Kershaw. Thanks a lot for the replies guys. Also... any advice on sharpening it? :D
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Dave I can't say I agree with Big Custom about the Gerber/Fiskars.

I use Fiskars/Gerber axes exclusivly and they are practically bombproof in my opinion. High quality Swedish steel, differentially hardened and regularly takes on the hardest red oak I have on my property, no problem.

That being said the Kershaw looks like a fine camp hatchet and is similar in weight. And apparently would also be a very good choice.

And they're both cheap enough that you could even try both and not break the budget.

Lowes has the Fiskars 14" hatchet for $19.99. It's identical to the Gerber and is what I use. However it's sheath is basic in nature, compared to the Gerber which has a better carry sheath.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=214972-1078-7850&lpage=none

As for sharpening, the Fiskars/Gerbers have another advantage, the Fiskars roll sharp. It is a rolling ceramic sharpener that I use on my own axes. It's similar in grit to sharpmaker medium stones. Works well and is easy to carry.

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=productDetail&productId=180207-1078-7861

The Sharpmaker also makes a good sharpening tool. Just be careful with some lesser quality steels and axes as 40 degrees is too steep, and the edge can chip. My Fiskars are regularly used at 30 degrees and I never had one chip, even on the hardest hardwoods.

Your call.
 
Based on the comments from Inthewoods, I wonder if the Gerber I have is substandard. I have used the Gerber and Kershaw performing identical tasks, and had the edge of the Gerber get all dinged up while the Kershaw was little the worse for wear. I wonder if for some reason ( don't know what it would be but...) the Fiskars are made with better steel/heat treat than the Gerber, or if they make their larger axes better than their smaller ones. I will go to Lowes in the next few days and purchase a small Fiskars hatchet to try and see how it compares to my Gerber. Maybe I got a bum one. I have a beat to heck wooden handled large axe and a large estwing neither of which is fit for hiking/backpacking, but are used when car camping.
 
Could be bigb.

Not sure. I think they all come out of the same factory in Finland off the same machinery.

I haven't had any problems whatsoever with my Fiskars axes (I have both the 14" hatchet and the Pro chopping full size model). And regularly cut red oak and other hardwoods.

The Gerber site states the heads of Gerbers are made out of stainless steel. Fiskars states theirs are made of carbon steel which indicates to me non-stainless. Probably something in the 10 series. Perhaps it is different steel. That might explain it.

Hard to tell because my fiskars has a teflon coating and are always kept well oiled, but I've never noticed any corrosion.

The only problem with using the Fiskars hatchet as a backpacking axe is it's only available in 14" length, and only has a basic scabbard. It could be used, just wouldn't be as convenient to carry as say one of the smaller Gerbers with the more ellaborate scabbard.

If that's the case then it sounds like the Kershaw might be the better choice for backpacking.
 
Maybe the gerber is made out of inferior stainless and the fiskars is made from 10 series carbon. That would explain why I had bad luck with the gerber and you had good luck with the fiskars. In any case, I will be purchasing a fiskars to try out #1)$19.00 isn't much money for a hatchet, and #2)I want to see what, if any, difference in performance between the fiskars and the gerber. You can never have too many sharp objects laying around anyway...can you?
 
I'd recommend a Swedish Wetterling Camp axe. Cliff Stamp's done some reviews on their axes and thinks highly of them and you could probably find one under $50
 
I would also vote for the Wetterling. I got one off E-Bay last year for under $35.00 (Shipping included). Mine is the camping hatchet, but my poll was rounded and buffed like the Hunter's axe is, for skinning big game. High Carbon steel, nice wood, IMHO "almost" as good as the GB, just half the price.
 
I spoke to Fiskars today and they are supposed to get back to me on the type of steel used in their axe heads.

They stated Gerber axes, although a subsidiary of fiskars, have entirely different specifications than the Fiskars line. Which could mean different steel, stainless, etc.

She was also not sure whether Gerber's were also made in the Fiskars Finland factory or not.

Although there construction is very similar, and both axes are listed as swedish steel.

Based on this and my experience, currently I'm leaning towards thinking Gerber uses stainless for their axe heads, and Fiskars is using high carbon (10 type).

This would also explain the difference in price between the two lines.

No doubt stainless, such as 420, would be more corrosion resistant as an axe head material. But 10 series would certainly be the tougher axe head material.

Something to think about when comparing the performance of the two or decided which best suits your needs.

If I find out more I will post it here.
 
Jeff Clark said:
Even on the internet it is a little over your $50.00 limit, but the Knives of Alaska Hunters Hatchet is a remarkably well made.
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I've been looking for a quality hatchet (to replace the questionable one I have now :rolleyes: ) and this one has really caught my eye. Have you had any hands-on expericence with this little beauty?
 
I have the wetterlings. I examined both the Wetterlings and the GB side by side. While the GB has a more refined finish, both at the head and at the better handle, it was not worth doubling the price to me. The heads on both were almost exatly the same, and I could see myself getting a new handle in the future.

Zac
 
If you're gonna be backpacking you're gonna be in situations that could turn bad, in which case you need something ultra reliable. In your price range there is the Kershaw that I have personal experience with and reccommend, and the Estwing that might even be better (can anyone confirm this?). In your price range I'd stick with a one-piece forged tool. Certainly the Gransfors and Wetterlings are better woodsmans utilities, but they are heavier, larger, and not one piece. Not that that bothered the woodsmen from the last several millennia, but for hiking/backpacking where size and weight are considerations the itty-bitty Kershaw is a hell of a package for the price.
As for the Gerber/Fiskars think, I have a gerber back-paxe and I wouldn't trust it in iffy situations. Edge retention is poor, as mentioned above, and although I've never had a problem using it in the yard I've heard too many stories of the plastic hollow handles breaking to really make it a trustworthy tool.
Long story short: Kershaw 1018. do a search for it in this forum and see some of my other comments on it. I think I'm going to get another one 'cause I was dumb and sold my first one.
 
I've only split a little kindling so far with my Knives of Alaska hatchet. It is light and comfortable. As a comparison I chopped up my christmas tree using a Marbles Synthetic Safety Axe and found the blade great, but the grooved handle very hard on the hand.
 
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