Got Hatchet?

I`ve got a weird question... Can anyone explain to me the difference between a hatchet and an axe? Is it as simple as a hatchet being a small axe??
*confused by this whole axe/hatchet deal*
 
In very technical terms ( ;) ) a hatchet is a small (typically around or slightly over 1 foot) axe. Not to be confused with 3/4 axes which are also fairly small and can be weilded with one hand by a strong individules (though theses are about a yard or slightly less in length).
 
Sorry to go OT(kinda) but this song by Bob Marley comes to mind:D So how small does an axe have to be to be a hatchet?

Why boasteth thyself
Oh, evil men
Playing smart
And not being clever?
I said, you're working iniquity
To achieve vanity (if a-so a-so)
But the goodness of Jah, Jah
I-dureth for-I-ver

So if you are the big tree
We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down

These are the words
Of my master, keep on tellin' me
No weak heart
Shall prosper
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall fall in it, fall in it
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall fall in it (... fall in it)

If you are the big tree, let me tell you that
We are the small axe, sharp and ready
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down

(To cut you down)

(To cut you down)

These are the words
Of my master, tellin' me that
No weak heart
Shall prosper
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall fall in it, uh, bury in it
And whosoever diggeth a pit
Shall bury in it, uh (... bury in it)

If you are the big, big tree
We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down
If you are the big, big tree, let me tell you that
We are the small axe
Ready to cut you down (well sharp)
To cut you down
Sharpened ...
 
I just bought a Wetterlings Wildlife. The casting doesn't look as good as the GB, but I came out of the sheath shaving sharp! The cutting edge is polished nicely and I just really like the look and feel of it.
Heck, at $33 including shipping, I think you'll find it hard to beat! And yes, I do own a GB also, but for the money I'd take the Wetterlings hands down any day of the week.
 
Anyone got experience and opinions as to which length the prefer for the Wetterlings? I'm torn between the 12" and 15", and haven't really come up with an argument for either than wins out.
 
the 15", I have a 17" the large hunter and its great, Perfect size for me. Your supposed to able to stuff the head in your armpit, and wrap you fingers around the end. I can more than wrap my fingers around the end, but the axe has perfect balance for me.
 
Never had much use for hatchets other than for pounding tent stakes or splitting kindling. A 3/4 size Hudson's Bay ax weighs only a few ounces more and is far more useful due to the longer handle and heavier head.
 
Ya, I find hatchets to a waste of space and weight, rather just have a 4'' knife and a "camp" axe. something a handle length of around 18, 17 inchs.
 
I was leaning towards something in that length, as hatchets I've had in the past have not grown on me. I was debating if it was the low quality I had bought or the length (I suspect length). I've already got a small axe (~26"), but it's a pain to haul around. I might just stay away from the notion and go it with my folding saw...
 
26" is fairly big I'd say. Something 20 and under is a nice addition to a small fixed blade. And A folding saw is another good thing to have.
 
Fonly said:
26" is fairly big I'd say. Something 20 and under is a nice addition to a small fixed blade. And A folding saw is another good thing to have.
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A hatchet needs to be small enough to use easily one handed like the GB Wildlife Hatchet at 13.5". The 15" hatchet from Wetterling is a little too big for a hatchet and too small to get two hands on comfortably. The 19" length is minimum for two hands, I have a GB Hunters axe which is okay, but I really prefer the 25" GB Scandinavian Forest Axe. The 24"-25" axes chop real well for me.

The question to be answered is what is more important, carrying the axe or chopping with the axe. Different scenarios will yield different answers.

A quality folding saw makes a big difference in what axe you need to carry.
 
I go fairly light, so the 17" on is perfect for me. Add a belt knife and Im good to go.

I personally would't like carrying a 25" axe with me in the woods, I find That to be too much. But again thats me and preferances aren't the same.
 
Alberta Ed said:
Never had much use for hatchets other than for pounding tent stakes or splitting kindling. A 3/4 size Hudson's Bay ax weighs only a few ounces more and is far more useful due to the longer handle and heavier head.
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Please post a picture Ed, if you have one of this axe. thanks.
 
Don't have a photo, but I do have a Snow & Neally Hudson's Bay ax. Check out www.snowandnealley.com. Here's an excerpt from a review I did a while back:The Hudson’s Bay axe evolved a few generations ago for voyagers and trappers and anyone who had to carry all their gear. The head weighs only 1 ¾ lb. and the 18” handle adds another half a pound or so. The poll is narrow, without the flare along the handle that you see on some of the beautiful hand-forged axes coming out of Sweden, and the butt extends about an inch; it’s made for driving stakes. It’s a better all-round tool than a hatchet, although with the relatively short handle you still have to be careful to have something between you and whatever you’re chopping.
There was some kind of varnish on the handle, but that came off with a few strokes of a sanding block. The grain follows the curve of the handle nicely; this one isn’t likely to snap under hard use. The head is fitted with a traditional wooden wedge. Next step was to pin the head by drilling a hole (3/16”) crosswise through the poll and driving in a nail. No way that head is going to fly off even if it does work loose.
Snow & Nealley drop forges their axes. Judging from the ease with which the drill went through, I’d venture that the poll is deliberately left a bit softer for toughness, much like a zone tempered knife blade. The bit was definitely harder; it took a fair bit of work with a brand new mill bastard file to work the edge back, just like it advises in the Boy Scout manual. The grind wasn’t bad, only a bit of a ridge on one side, but that smoothed out after half an hour. I was tempted to get out the Dremel, but, nah… keep it traditional. Anyway, I ended up with a smoothly contoured convex edge that will only get better with each successive sharpening. A DMT coarse hone worked well to raise the burr and a few strokes of a DMT medium hone produced a shaving sharp edge. Two coats of tung oil shined up the handle nicely and will last longer than linseed oil.
It came with a medium weight leather sheath, not too bad, stitched, with some light rivets, and two snaps. I worked in a bit of SnowSeal and melted that in with a B&D paint stripper (much faster than a blow dryer and no complaints about fingerprints left on the grip. Just don’t get it too close or it’ll cook the leather.) I’ll make a heavier sheath out of thick sole leather and copper rivets so I won’t have to worry about it working its way out of the sheath in the backpack.
For the initial test, I took a stroll up the mountain behind the town and while looking for the perfect Christmas tree, sliced off a few aspens and willows (the Klondike gold rush pioneers pretty well denuded the country for miles all around, but that was a century ago, so you can fell trees guilt-free here). It’s a very efficient tool, slicing through three and four inch trunks with a whack or two. Splitting a few chunks of dried spruce proved no problem, and the light weight was a delight.
 
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