Good hatchet for camping?

agoutihead said:
Do those Gerber Gator II's come very sharp out or the box?

Is there any maitenence to do with the head so it won't rust? Is it carbon or a SS?
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In my experience, nothing comes really sharp out of the box other than a Gransfors Bruks. Even Wetterlings' QC has been slipping, and they usually need edge work. Any axe/hatchet under $50 is going to need to be sharpened.

Re: Estwing. They are fine. I don't know what people mean they don't chop, they do chop. The factory edge geometry isn't the greatest, but you can fix that with a belt sander, or even a coarse/fine stone (either a rectangular or round "puck" type -- should be able to find them right at the hardware store you get the hatchet from). Personally, I'd take an Estwing over any Fiskars/Berger/Buck plastic handled axe any day. They do have the weakness that they are uncomfortable choking up under the head because of the steel shank. You can remedy that quickly by wrapping it with rawhide lace or paracord. For under $50, and if you can't abide a wooden haft, the Estwing is the best.

Stainless steels aren't very good for chopping tools, so very few axes (and NO good ones) will be made from it. You can wipe the head with oil, or get one of those silicone gun/reel rags that you can find at gun stores, Wal-Mart, etc, and it leaves a dry film of silicone behind to inhibit rust.
 
agoutihead said:
..........Are the Gerber handles made from the same indestructible plastic that the Fiskars are?
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They are not indestructible, nothing is.;)
As far as what you should get, well there
are hundreds of suitable ones, you just have to
look around and find one. No, you do not have
to spend a lot of money, but just look around
at yard sales, ebay, etc. You can find great vintage
hatchets, made in America from quality steels, for
less money than some chinese POS.
I would not worry about rehandling a hatchet,
it is easy enough and besides, most handles are
going to take some serious abuse before replacement.


I had a Fiskars axe, the handle cracked while in the use
of my brother. I was out of forty bucks and left with a
paperweight, because YOU CANNOT replace a Fiskars handle.

I would advise against an Estwing, heavy and are out chopped
by much smaller and light hatchets, hell for the weight of the lightest
Estwing, you could get a larger axe.

I would recommend a Gransfors, in my book they are top of
the line, and that is the end of it. I have not regretted any of the
ones I have purchased and you will pass them down through your
family.

I still think you should go for some vintage hatchets however and, later,
drop the money on a GB, after you learn about axes and
grow to appreciate them. Furthermore, learn the components
that make up an axe because an axe does not have a tang.:)

This is just my dollar, and it is worth fifty times as much as
anyone else's.:D
 
I have had several Estwing hatchets over time. The only one I don't still have was stolen.

I responded to that guys bad review of Estwings in a thread before. They chop very well I did work on the edge on mine with a Norton Blue axe puck but that was it.

Currently I have one of their little 14a's which makes a great axe to carry in a rear blue jeans pocket. And one of their 16" camp axes. Both are great.

! also have a couple of the Fiskars hatchets. One I gave to a friend, the other stays in the tool kit. While they are good I don't feel they compare to the Estwings.

Get an Estwing and you won't be unhappy at all.
 
You will get the most for your money if you rehandle a vintage US-made hatchet. When I first started getting into axes/hatchets, I started with Fiskars and Estwing because they looked tough and were reasonable. Then I went to Gransfors Bruks because everyone says they are the best. Then I started getting into refinishing old axes and hatchets. Looking back, I wish I had just started with the old axes. They cost very little compared to everything else, and they are just as good if not better then Gransfors Bruks, IMO. Also, refurbishing old axes/hatchets is both easy and enjoyable.
 
I have an old Mann Edge Rapid Ax hatchet and a C Hammond #1 that are small, lite and sharp, and will cut anything. Though I prefer something with more beef and a good pole, in case I need to drive wedges or stakes, so something in the 2 lb area for me is good, say like a Mann True American 2 pounder.
 
It seems to me that a lot of "hard wear store" hatchets are left blunt intentionally by the manufacturer so that the end user can put whatever edge they want on their tool. It is the traditional way an American axe or hatchet is produced. Or maybe I'm wrong and they are just cheap bastardos
 
In my opinion, it is easy to sharpen an axe-any axe. When it comes to chopping however, even a sharp axe will fail if the blade geometry is not good. Different types of geometry serve different functions. For a good chopping axe the convex of the edge needs to be thin in addition to sharp. That is where the Estwing hatchet falls behind the others. It has a very thick convex of the edge in comparison to other hatchets. In the picture below you can see the Graintex hatchet, the Husqvrna hatchet and the Estwing hatchet. I think it was after 30 swings with each.

n_%2811%29.JPG


You can certainly grind the edge into a thinner convex, but that takes work and time. For me it was not worth it because of the other issues such as weight and the uncomfortable handle.

On the other hand, the thicker edge will allow for more abuse without damage. That is why you see so much edge damage with the Fiskars hatchet-the edge is very thin. The type of edge you need on your axe/hatchet will depend on what you want to do with it.

http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/
 
I have seen this on most heavily used Fiskar/Gerber/bucks, it's a design defect. IMO They all eventually have this happen, and you have to send the bit in to have the handle replaced. PITA
IMG_5214.jpg

IMG_5215.jpg
 
Is that really any worse than a wooden handle breaking? Which I think might even be easier to do and happen during a time you wish it hadn't.

The Estwing would be ideal since it's all metal, but clearly by the pics rg598 showed, it's a TERRIBLE chopper.

What the one in the middle, is there an axe that cuts as good as it but has a synthetic handle?
 
I have three hatchets - a GB hunters axe, a leather handled Estwing, and the gerber with the saw pictured earlier. I would also rank them in that order. The GB is cost prohibitive at around $150, and the grind angle on the gerber is abhorent, though the little crosscut saw in the handle cuts pretty well.

I would assume the only reason the fiskars/gerbers out performed the estwing would be the weight distribution. Nearly all the weight of the gerber is in the head.

Don't be a commie. Get the Estwing. :D
 
The Estwing clearly chops terrbible compared to the rest. I don't care where it's made.

The Gerber Gator II is still cool. Nice to hear it chops better than Estwing.

I'd still like a hatchet that chops like the Husqvrna that rg598 posted but would prefer a synthetic handle. Is there such a thing? How much are those Husqvrnas?
 
agoutihead said:
Is that really any worse than a wooden handle breaking? Which I think might even be easier to do and happen during a time you wish it hadn't.

The Estwing would be ideal since it's all metal, but clearly by the pics rg598 showed, it's a TERRIBLE chopper.

What the one in the middle, is there an axe that cuts as good as it but has a synthetic handle?
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Estwings being all metal - to me that is so alien in comparison to other axes and hatchets. Doesnt feel right in my hand, doesnt look right to me, etc. Im sure its a great product - I have a couple hammers and like them a lot - but their hatchets and axes to me are just "off". I dunno. Just me I guess. I would rather have a hickory handle with conventional head on it.
 
agoutihead said:
I'd still like a hatchet that chops like the Husqvrna that rg598 posted but would prefer a synthetic handle. Is there such a thing? How much are those Husqvrnas?
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I don't know of any brands that have a synthetic handle but the styling of a Husky or GB. Those Husqvarna's are $35 - $40.

I still don't understand why you're so afraid of wood handles. They've been used by generations of lumberjacks, woodsmen, campers and hikers. If you're looking for an axe that you won't have to sharpen, repair, replace the handle or go hands-on with it, then give it up; It's a hands-on tool...you'll have to do something to it at some point.
 
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Seriously, you know what you need to do?

Go to the hardware store, buy a $8 wood handled Collins hatchet, sharpen it up, make a cardboard and duct tape sheath if you must, and get out and use the darn thing.

Let's be honest here, you want a hatchet. It's rather difficult to generate the force necessary in a hatchet to flat out break a wooden haft, unlike a full sized axe where you generate a lot more energy with each swing.

Here's another little biut of personal opinion: fiberglass hafts suck. Sure, some wiseguy is going to pop up and say they absorb shock. Sure. Problem is, they store that absorbed shock in the haft, and the rebound is a biotch. To me, they also feel less stable.

If you are going to insist on an "indestructible handle" buy the Estwing. It'll outlast your 4th Fiskars. Don't be lazy, get a puck or rectangular stone, or buy a small belt sander, and reprofile the edge until it works the way you want. Hell, some people think it's worth the cost to buy a Wetterlings and have to put work into it to get it to work right, why not an Estwing?
 
2 is 1, 1 is none.

Any thing can be lost or broken. A wood handle can be rigged in a pinch easier than any of the plastic/metal if you had to. A broken wood handle would be a inconvenience. A broken fiber or metal may need shop tools to repair/rig to work.

A wood handle if inspected before a trip and not abused will work +99% of the time for a weekend or even extended trip to the woods. They can break but seldom do. On par with your shoe loosing a soul or your pack blowing out the bottom (or loosing a shoulder strap)

Unless I have been throwing or prying (abusing) a wood handle I have never had a catastrophic failure (just explode or complete head separation)on a hatchet handle. They will crack/split along the grain and can be rapped and used carefully until there replaced. Bunged up from missed cuts, you got to miss a lot of times to destroy a handle this way unless it splits and you have to rap it.

There a hatchet, not an Ax. I don't know how strong you are but as hard as I can swing with 1 hand I cant break a hatchet handle with several blows. Even with out the head just beating the stick on a log. unless it is a bad handle there pretty tough. A Hawk handle is thinner but a good one will take a fair amount of abuse.

I own several tools with metal or wood handles. These are tools I intend to abuse. (maul, pick ax, framing hammer...) I have bent and straitened the handle on my Estwing hammer so many times I'm worried how much more it will take. They have a place, but I prefer wood if I have a choice.

JMHO but I think this may be a search for a solution to a problem that dose not exist. Thats not meant as an insult, we all want what we want and I have lots of stuff "just 'cus I wanted it just like that". If you respect and maintain the tool it will last.

Good luck with your search. Maybe you can look at less traditional more tactical tools.
 
I carry a wood handle tomahawk.

I have 3 hawks with plastic handles, 2 'crash axes with all metal handles and 2 Blue handle Estwings but don't like them as well for various reasons. They're tougher but not as functional for me and how I plan to use them.

I do have a request in with Vector to handle 2 heads with his handles, but thats a waiting list thing.

I'm not anti synthetic, just haven't found one I like as much or offers something wood won't do with out to much trade off. (flex, un field replaceable, short, uncomphertable...)

My Estwings chop well. Not as good as the Stihl with a new chain, but they cut well.
 
I know you said not the fiskars; but thats what I use very effectively and like very much. I added paracord wrap to handle, which if done right with some tacky under-wrap and turks head knot for one, it won't slip.
 
Well if I'm going to consider wood handles in my price range, that Husqvrna looks like an amazing chopper rg589's pics. I'm probably going to lean towards that. I'd rather have easier chopping then a metal or plastic handle.
 
agoutihead said:
Well if I'm going to consider wood handles in my price range, that Husqvrna looks like an amazing chopper rg589's pics. I'm probably going to lean towards that. I'd rather have easier chopping then a metal or plastic handle.
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I understand the Graintex hatchets got a nice review and they are cheap.
 
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