Hatchet Instead of Knife?

B

beezaur

Joined
Jul 31, 2002
Messages
430
Blasphemy, I know.

But suppose you chose a small hatchet as your only edged tool for wilderness survival. Would that be a bad choice?

What tasks could you do with a knife that cannot be done with a hatchet?

I am thinking of something like a Fiskars, kept very sharp.

Scott
 
To replace a 6 inch blade yeah but I would still carry a good folder with you. A good portion of your knife usage will be cutting wood so why not use the right tool?
 
if you get the right one, I don't see why not. The problem with Hatchets, or cheap ones anyway, is that they are so thick near the edge that once you blunt them it is hard to get a decent edge on them. They become hammers. But better quality hatchets or Hawks would work well.
 
Depending on where you are located, a small, good quality axe would be a good choice. Although, I think that I'd still have a folder or small fixed blade with me.
 
Smaller more delicate tasks like gutting a trout or bird or removing splinters would be tough with a hatchet.
axcaliber
 
A Kukri is a good compromise between the two. Smaller, more delicate tasks will be tough with a hatchet and the softer steel would be harder to keep sharp and would dull faster but it could work if need be.

I would still prefer a large knife or machete.
 
Cutting trout and in general cutting meats isn't much of a problem, filleting a fish would be awkward, but you can slit them open easily. There are many downsides though, clearing lots of brush, whittling/slicing woods, and especially carving in woods.

Most of it you can work around by switching methods, for example while an efficient knife carves or slices a point on a stake or a notch, a small axe will just chop the same and can do it faster if you have enough control. You can also use the heel of the bit to dig in woods similar to the point on a knife.

They are hard to use effectively to cut lots of brush compared to a long blade, but they work much better in thick woods and as a hammer. They work better as complements to knives rather than direct replacements.


-Cliff
 
Two thoughts that originally steered me the hatchet direction were creating shelter and weapon perception.

Where I live in the Pacific northwest, I would tend to want to build a fairly substantial shelter from tree limbs. A hatchet makes that work a lot faster.

While the kit is being packed around, say in my truck, a hatchet is much easier to defend than a large knife. For example, I take a class at the U every so often. They prohibit weapons, but I think a hatchet would be ok. I don't want to have to "disarm" my truck every time I turn around.

Scott
 
Seems to me that the gov is suggesting that people keep emergency kits in their vehicles. So in a way, you are just following Homeland Security approved recommendations and everybody knows that an emergency kit isn't worth it's salt without an edged tool or two.:D

I don't want to see you get into trouble, but if they aren't doing searches, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
beezaur said:
Where I live in the Pacific northwest, I would tend to want to build a fairly substantial shelter from tree limbs. A hatchet makes that work a lot faster.
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Unless the limbs are fairly large, wider than the bit of the hatchet, or really dense wood, longer blades like goloks and parangs or even the larger working bowies are generally much more effective at limb removal than a hatchet. Hatchets are generally much cheaper than those types of knives though, except for some like the Valiants which are very reasonable in cost.

While the kit is being packed around, say in my truck, a hatchet is much easier to defend than a large knife. For example, I take a class at the U every so often. They prohibit weapons, but I think a hatchet would be ok. I don't want to have to "disarm" my truck every time I turn around.
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Some universities/schools have *extreme* no-tolerance weapon policies and the consequences for breaking them are quite severe, you might want to check this out in detail.

-Cliff
 
Make your vehicle kit with the hatchet and take the knife whenever you trek into the wilderness. I think having both is better.
Scott
 
i've carried a hachet/throwin' hawk for about 6 yrs i bought at the mountain man store in
Sisters,Oregon 18 miles from my house its served me well but...
i also carry multible folders and or small fixed blade so...one cutting implement
isn't diverse enough to do it all we just have to find the right combo for ourselves


tyrant
 
echosix said:
A knife is so light, why would yo want to carry a hatchet instead of a knife?
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It's the chopping.

When you pack a knife big enough to do some chopping, shelter building, etc., it weighs the same or more than a Fiskars hatchet.

The kind of scenario I am envisioning is a relatively short term -- a week or less. You might have to travel or maybe are injured. Shelter building would need to be done as efficiently as possible. I don't need to be taking up precious daylight and giving myself bad blisters doing an abnormal amount of heavy work with a knife.

The bottom line is, I am just not coming up with a long list of things that cannot be done with a sharp hatchet.

Scott
 
i've carried a hachet/throwin' hawk for about 6 yrs i bought at the mountain man store in
Sisters,Oregon 18 miles from my house its served me well but...
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Ahhhh, I could spend days wandering from shop to shop in Sisters!

As soon as I scrounge a digi cam, I'll post a pic of the native american made war axe made from the jaw bone of a buffalo that I bought there.
I can't remember the name of the shop I bought it at, it was at the eastern end of town on the south side of the street.
 
When you pack a knife big enough to do some chopping, shelter building, etc., it weighs the same or more than a Fiskars hatchet.

The kind of scenario I am envisioning is a relatively short term -- a week or less. You might have to travel or maybe are injured. Shelter building would need to be done as efficiently as possible. I don't need to be taking up precious daylight and giving myself bad blisters doing an abnormal amount of heavy work with a knife.
Click to expand...

It doesn't need to be that way. You can easily make a small knife outperform a hatchet or make a medium sized knife outperform a full sized axe as a chopper:

http://www.swampratknifeworks.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=11;t=001621

Mike
 
Evolute said:
You can easily make a small knife outperform a hatchet ...
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It demands a lot from the knife though, many of the smaller knives are not built to take those impact, and the thought of cracking one into an inclusion isn't pleasant. If this is going to be an option you need to factor it into the knife choice significantly. I like the Mora 2000 as a wood cutting knife, but I would have concerns about the handle/tang in heavy impacts. Frank posted pictures awhile back of common Mora's with plastic handles which were shattered from impacts in the Fosters survival knife discussion.

beezaur said:
I am just not coming up with a long list of things that cannot be done with a sharp hatchet.
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There really isn't anything that can not be done, it is all a matter of efficiency, you don't even need a hatchet to do any of it, or a knife, it is just easier/faster the better tools you have. If for some reason I had to pick either a hatchet or small knife I'd take the hatchet, but considering that a small knife can weigh a few ounces it seems unreasonable not to pack one and a small quality folding saw.

-Cliff
 
Cliff,

I agree that the high impacts can be demanding on a small knife, and requires a sturdily built small knife. The only reason I didn't mention it, here, is because the provided link clearly states this.

Cheers,

Mike
 
Yes, your writeups are fairly comprehensive and detailed, often people don't follow reference links though.

-Cliff
 
Hi: I like the Gransfors Bruks "Mini". It is tiny but you can do most anything with it you could do with a larger hatchet. They are damned expensive however. Another tiny hatchet is the Vaughn sub-zero, short light and cheap. A step up (size-wise) from the Gransfors mini is the Gransfors "wildlife". Either could serve as a substitute for a knife. Just depends on your preference.....
Cheers
Bruce
 
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