Condor Scout Hatchet Review

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rg598

Joined
Oct 18, 2008
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For 2011 Condor Tool & Knife has completely redesigned their line of axes. One of them is the Scout Hatchet. I chose to review this hatchet because its specifications came closest to what I would look for in a good hatchet. The next larger model offered by Condor is a hatchet with a 16 inch handle and a 1.5lb head. I find the head to be too heavy for such a short handle.

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Specifications:
Manufacturer: Condor Tool & Knife
Axe Head Weights: 1 lb; overall weight is 1 lb 3.5 oz
Axe Length: 10 inches
Axe Head Material: 1045 carbon steel
Handle Material: Hickory
Cost: $50.00

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In terms of cost, this is a mid range hatchet. While not expensive, I would expect a hatchet in this price range to be well designed and offer good performance.

I decided to compare the Condor Scout Hatchet to the Gransfors Bruks Wildlife Hatchet, as they have the same head weight, but since I also had the Gransfors Bruks Mini Hatchet with me at the time, I decided to toss it in the mix as well. Here you can see the three hatchets next to each other.

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The handle of the Condor Scout Hatchet had fairly good grain. However, I found it to be too small for the size head, and as a result rather uncomfortable. It is not only short, but also very thin, which does not allow for a good grip.

The most serious problem with the hatchet however is the design of the head. The head of the Condor Scout Hatchet has virtually no poll. The back is squared off, but there is almost no weight behind the eye. All the weight of the head is concentrated in the bit. This creates a very poorly balanced hatchet. While I have tested other axes in the past that have had poor balance, this one exceeds all of them by a large margin. The weight distribution, combined with the small, thin handle, makes for a hatchet that is very hard to control during a swing. This is usually not a problem for small hatchets, but here the issue is so significant that it effects the performance.

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The other problem with the head is that it is shaped like a splitting wedge. There is zero sophistication in the geometry of this head. It is literally just a wedge to which a handle has been attached. It will split well, but that’s about it. An additional problem with the design is that the eye is very small. This will create large forces on the handle. I would have preferred a larger eye. Also, on the hatchet I bought, the metal wedge was inserted not diagonally to the wooden wedge, but perpendicularly. Clearly that was done because there was not room in the small eye for the metal wedge, but here I don’t even think it was necessary.

The surprising thing about the Condor Scout Hatchet is that from a production standpoint and quality control, it is actually very good. I have bought many more expensive axes that have had worse quality control. The problem is almost entirely with the design of the axe, not the execution of that design.

Overall, I don’t think the Condor Scout Hatchet is worth the money. There are better tools out there in that price range, and even lower. Clearly Condor is a company that means well, and is trying to create a good product, but just lacks the knowhow. I hope that for next year they just buy a few old Plumb hatchets and axes and duplicate those heads.

Ross
http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/
 
Thank you for doing the review. It goes to show something that a lot of casual tool users miss: that there is much more to a tool's functionality than merely the profile, which is the thing that is easiest to see. There's quite a bit of subtlety in all aspects of a tool's shape and heat treatment that make a big difference in how it performs during use. This post illustrates that nicely.
 
omniviking said:
and the little steel wedge in the handle goes the wrong way in my opinion.
Click to expand...

That's because the eye is so small. The larger pieces have the wedge going the right way. :p

As a whole, I don't think that the eye being small is an issue from the standpoint that with a handle that short it's not like you'll be even capable of generating enough force for stresses to be a problem. The geometry of the head IS a problem if looking for a general-purpose chopper/splitter design, though. I'd like to see them increase the poll size and add a bit more form to the shape of the bit, as an addition to the series. If you payed the $50 msrp for it, though, that was a bit of a ripoff...the street price is a bit more reasonable. :)
 
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Thanks for the review, rg598. Condor seems to be making ASO's, axe shaped objects. I had looked at these, and hoped they were made well. It does seem they need to re-design their axes. They sure know how to make machetes, and like you said they should just copy a proven design.
 
I DO think the Scout Hatchet would be at home right next to the wood stove. It'd make a good kindling hatchet. :)

I'd be surprised if they don't do another overhaul of the series, though. Joe knows a decent amount about axes, even though he's a machete nut (like me) so I'm sure he's got input for them. He was the one responsible for getting on their case about grain alignment. ;)
 
ahh...camp is over finally, which means I can come out of my shell and start back onto the internets again.

This is totally off subject from the review, I just have a quick question. How much chopping do people do when they camp with this size axe, versus actual splitting for campfire logs. In a realistic setting, not just a review. Limbing logs is great for green wood, but I don't burn green wood unless I'm trying to keep a camp fire going with coals until morning. The reason I'm asking this is because I see so many knives batonned more with wood, rather than chopping. Answers will help with the next steps
 
Realisticly, I'm lazy. I've done less chopping and more dragging the log into the fire when I'm backpacking. I've had to chop more than I wanted to a few times. Larger logs, small trees too heavy to move, had to be cut down to smaller sizes, just to have some fire. Plenty of other times, I've just broken up some small stuff, and dragged the yule log into the fire as it burned.

I do enjoy chopping with large knives, machetes, and axes, but not if I'm backpacking, I like to take it easy. Then again, my idea of a backpacking hatchet is very small. I like to have something I can chop with, but do so only when I have to. Saving calories is important, I don't want to carry anything too heavy, nor do I want to chop wood for hours.
 
when camping, I generally use a bow saw or folding saw to section logs and a big knife or hatchet to split them -- by that perspective, my Condor Greenland pattern axe is great. For the record, I also use a chunk of tree branch to baton the axe head through log sections, too.
 
Thanks for the review of the Condor Scout Hatchet. I have not tested one yet. I agree with 1066vik. I have used a folding saw for many years, especially in Alaska on fly out trips when weight was limited to 50 pounds for everything you took excluding the clothes you had on. I have had very good experience with the Condor Greenland pattern axe also. I was hoping the Scout would perform as well.
 
Hey RG - I was just wondering - if I send you one of my old Kellys or old Collins, would you field test it out against your Gransfors of similar size? I think that would be interesting to see how old school compares to new school. Just a thought.

Thanks.
 
Joezilla said:
How much chopping do people do when they camp with this size axe, versus actual splitting for campfire logs.
Click to expand...
You have a point but then there are many cheap axe that would fill the bill. Also thick bit is better for splitting but this seems a bit extreme.
 
If you saw it in person you'd see it's quite a tiny little hatchet. It's not really that thick. I just measured one out of my stock and it's less than an inch thick at its thickest point. In fact, you know what? I retract my comment of agreement in it being a splitting-dedicated design; it would chop just fine too. Not as well as a dedicated pattern, of course, but it's going to do a fine job. For reference, the wedge on the piece I examined was driven at a diagonal, as well. It may not have much of a poll, but at that short of a length if that gives a fellow any trouble with keeping the blade on track then they shouldn't be using hatchets in general as they'll be liable to wind up in hospital even with one with the best of balance.

It's not a connoisseur's hatchet, no. But it's a damn good tool for the money given you can pick one up for less than $40. It's designed with the sort of tasks Scouting might entail...namely splitting up kindling and whacking down a sapling or two. For heavier wood it would be used as a wedge with a handle and batoned through. I'd be happy to have one in my pack any day of the week and I'm not sorry. :p I'm sure we'll see more complex designs in future, but for now we're only just seeing the beginning of a revival in quality axes. If you want a complex axe design for chump change antique stores and yard sales are your best bet. I've got a Plumb from the 1890's that only cost me $15.
 
I don't think anyone has--the Scout Hatchet has undergone redesign and has just been rereleased with a shopping bit rather than the splitting one that it had previously. Note the top-down diagram in the attached clip from their 2012 catalogue.

I gave my dad one of the original-release splitting ones for Christmas as a next-to-the-stove hatchet for kindling. He's been loving it. :)

Screen shot 2012-01-18 at 6.15.53 PM.jpg
 
Compared to the ultra thin bits that GBs are known for it certain looks big, but probably not far off the angle on a fiskars hatchet, just keeps going further.
I think the ungainly balance would probably be a bigger issue for me, though I do much prefer a thinner bit.
Do the other styles have similar attributes?

Just noticed that diagram bigger eye and a lot more poll now too, looks like it's a good all around user now.
 
Honestly with how tiny the thing is balance wasn't an issue. Sure, it wasn't evenly balanced but nobody complains about kukris needing more weight on the back end...it's easy to control such a short hatchet so the balance thing is really a non-issue unless you're severely chopping-challenged. And then you should be using a saw! Honestly once the actual edge is thinned (a little thick from the factory) it chops pretty well for a little splitter.

Here's a link to the 2012 catalogue. All of the axes have top-down diagrams to show you what the bits should be like as of present production. :)
 
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