Challenge: Worst hatchet ever- if you know axe worse than this, show me

jblyttle

jblyttle

Joined
Sep 3, 2014
Messages
3,741
These are in Ocean State Job Lot now. Of course I did not buy one, but I had to show it. Accept the challenge...if you can.






Please tell me that Made in USA refers to the label.
 
Wow! That does indeed look like a piece of excrement. I find it hard to believe a US company would manufacture a product to such low standards. As far as a worse hatchet, I'm not too sure, but maybe the made in China Harbor Freight hatchet would be close.
 
High_Noon said:
Wow! That does indeed look like a piece of excrement. I find it hard to believe a US company would manufacture a product to such low standards. As far as a worse hatchet, I'm not too sure, but maybe the made in China Harbor Freight hatchet would be close.
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No way. The HF freight hatchet is made in India and looks pretty nice; holds up pretty well also. This is probably more of the same malarkey we got from the UAW in the seventies, buy American, even if its schlock.
 
martemper said:
These are vaughn seconds from what i found searching the net. Even sounds sort of scandinavian.
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Seconds? Holy s**t who is working the line? I've been into axes for 6 months and have sharpened and hung 5-6 of them. I think that only chimpanzees could do worse than this!?

Seriously, if I was drinking and not capable of quality work, even then I would know enough to stop and do it the next day. Holy crap.
 
I find stuff like this insulting. All the material and energy that goes into this stuff and they have no respect to make anything valuable, just throwaway junk.
 
Them seemingly hollow handled Coleman hatchets suck pretty bad too, can't even find mine anymore and the only reason I had it is it was a gift.
 
Chignecto Woodsman said:
I find stuff like this insulting. All the material and energy that goes into this stuff and they have no respect to make anything valuable, just throwaway junk.
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Same. Garbage like that is an affronting waste of labor and resources.
 
Certainly the 'finishing' of these sucks a proverbial egg but what about the quality of the steel? You can't get much these days for $10.
My oldest daughter took me camping last spring and produced a cheezie metal/rubber-handled "JobMate" (Taiwan?) hatchet for gathering and splitting firewood. It had such a horribly blunt factory edge (and there were no files lying around) that I wound up using it solely as a spitting wedge. You smacked it into a piece of wood and then beat on the poll with a log. I suppose I could have used a big rock but I hate smashing things outright, even if they're junk. Certainly for $10 you could do that with these ones too, and some gentle laps with a grinder or belt sander would at least clean up those blades. And if they really are Vaughn 2nds then you also get the chance to have a $30-40 tool cheap!
 
300Six said:
And if they really are Vaughn 2nds then you also get the chance to have a $30-40 tool cheap!
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Best attitude. The reality is that since the wealthy and powerful who run this country have moved millions of USA manufacturing jobs to exploit 3rd world labor, anything in the USA has to compete with those 3rd world workers.
As long as the trash in our population keeps buying stuff made overseas, then this trend will continue.

As things are now, the only USA made stuff is either very cheap to compete with third-world wages, or it is high-end toys that appeal to the upper class. This is why vintage axes and hatchets from before corporations moved production overseas are such a good deal in price and quality for those in the know.
 
gben said:
Best attitude. The reality is that since the wealthy and powerful who run this country have moved millions of USA manufacturing jobs to exploit 3rd world labor, anything in the USA has to compete with those 3rd world workers.
As long as the trash in our population keeps buying stuff made overseas, then this trend will continue.

As things are now, the only USA made stuff is either very cheap to compete with third-world wages, or it is high-end toys that appeal to the upper class. This is why vintage axes and hatchets from before corporations moved production overseas are such a good deal in price and quality for those in the know.
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I think with inflation considered that old 5 dollar axe from 1910 would be close to the 200 dollar mark today. Basically a weeks wages then was five to ten bucks, and now it's 200 to 400. Most people can afford the 'upper-class toys' they just spend it on other 'upper-class' things. Just consider what most people spend on a weekend out partying.

Junk is junk, no matter where it's made. Vintage axes are only really cheap where people do not understand their value.

If someone has to use a cheap axe that's fine. That's what you have to do. But the real value in dollars of a good axe is still around 200 dollars no matter how you put it. Time, knowledge, and effort considered, the vintage axe is probably much more expensive than that.
 
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If I had $10 to throw away, I would buy one to see how it held up. Just beat the crap out of it. Sometimes you can find a real gem amongst mud...
 
MrFixIt said:
If I had $10 to throw away, I would buy one to see how it held up. Just beat the crap out of it. Sometimes you can find a real gem amongst mud...
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In the past couple weeks I've picked up 2 really nice vintage hatchets for $4 and $11. No reason to throw away $10 on junk. If I wanted to spend the money and not have anything to show for it, I'd buy a bottle of wine. :)
 
I don't believe the head is welded on. It's just really lousy cast or mold forging with no effort to clean up the flashing.

All I can think is maybe it was training day rejects that someone decided to try selling, rather than reworking them or recycling the scrap.
 
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