Hatchet vs tomahawk for long term camping?

jay1992 said:
The Hudson is actually on the list, lol! I'll check the basque out. I'm not sure if you saw it, but I also debated on just bringing two axe heads and a shaft, with the replaceable wedges. My list is getting long guys!! I love it.
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If you had two axe heads with the same or close eye dimensions, I don't see why that wouldn't really work.
 
jay1992 said:
How often do you put it through its paces? I imagine it sees more use during splitting season if you wood heat your home, the only action our axes really saw was the month we cut our cordage for the winter. And even then it was mostly that monster of a splitter, but when i inherited the land and such I bought a PTO powered splitter and buried that maul deep. It was the bane of my childhood/teenage years haha
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I don't think you break them in a month. Unless you throw them or something.

Of the things you might replace in a month. I don't think the axe will be one of them.

I have a gransfors. It is very sharp. So it does fine work well. If you wanted to carve with it or slice veggies or something you could.

But also has a bit of weight so it chops OK.

I have one of those claw hammer style axes of a brand I have no idea about. They are really good.

I would suggest look for a bit of weight if you are cutting hard wood. My fiskars has bounced off a couple of logs I have tried to cut
 
jay1992 said:
https://bravehawkforge.com/shop/ols/products/camp-tomahawk
Something like this?
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While I don't own one as I don't want to pay the new price and never get to the used ones in time before they sell, 2hawks and H&B forge are high on the list for tomahawks for me. Since you're fine with heavier weight, I would consider the 2hawks voyager or H&B camp hawk (small, medium, large sizes available, take your pick). I can't remember if 2hawks has a long lead time but I know H&B does, right now it shows 12-16 weeks for H&B.

If you search the brands you can find the name. Posting links to websites that aren't bladeforums supporters can be a little dicey. I think you're technically okay as long as you don't mention pricing and a link, but doing a websearch is easy so I usually just give the search words needed to easily find the item.

I'm actually pretty partial to the rinaldi axes from baryonyx knife as they have the slipfit design but are full-size axes. They have a really hard time keeping them in stock though so it's probably easier to send them an email to see if they have anything available or not. Since COVID, it's been even more challenging to get a Rinaldi. The steel has been pretty solid.

One axe I just thought of that should be decent is a snow & neally penobscot. It's basically a hudson bay axe on a short handle. I liked the hudson bay axe well enough (I think S Square_peg has a good thread on the downsides of the head design) and it's the same axe head. I like how easy it is to get your hand behind the edge for finer tasks (crafting things and rough carving). On the shorter handle, I don't think the weakness of the hudson bay design will be as much of a problem.

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Old Axeman said:
My thoughts for your needs--A Michigan or Dayton pattern 2 1/4 - 2 1/2 lb boys ax with a 26-28" straight American Hickory haft (correct grain orientation), hardened poll would be nice but not necessary.
--A claw hatchet with 16-18" hickory haft.
Done
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Here’s a man who literally wrote the book on axes. Good to see you, Bernie! I was driving by the old Springfield armory the other day and was thinking of you fixing those clocks.

Great advice here, too. A boys axe is always a good tool to have around.

How much money are you playing with, Jay? You might find that one is fun, but two is for you. (I love to spend other people’s money.)
 
jay1992 said:
Is this what you mean by claw hammer?
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Yes, exactly! You get a hatchet, a hardened poll for driving stakes or nails and a truly functional claw for pulling nails. A few duplex nails can be a handy thing in your kit, either 8 penny or 16 penny depending on your needs.

And the cheeks of those old claw hatchets are just convex enough to split pretty well without sticking like many of the new 'bushcraft' hatchets. This might be why none of us recommended Gransfors Bruk. Their hatchets/axes tend to be thin and sticky in the wood - though nice for making feather sticks if that's your main use for a hatchet.
 
Square_peg said:
Yes, exactly! You get a hatchet, a hardened poll for driving stakes or nails and a truly functional claw for pulling nails. A few duplex nails can be a handy thing in your kit, either 8 penny or 16 penny depending on your needs.

And the cheeks of those old claw hatchets are just convex enough to split pretty well without sticking like many of the new 'bushcraft' hatchets. This might be why none of us recommended Gransfors Bruk. Their hatchets/axes tend to be thin and sticky in the wood - though nice for making feather sticks if that's your main use for a hatchet.
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I don't find my GB small forest axe to be sticky. If you want to talk an axe that looks good but is nearly useless because it sticks in the wood horribly, bring up Estwing. I've got a 26" camper's axe and it hangs around doing nothing all the time. Their little hatchets are OK but still tend to be a bit on the thin side for chopping or splitting. I mostly use mine to break up gallon jugs of ice to cool the beer.
 
No argument there. The Estwings are by far the worst for this.

But try to buck a small log with a GB. The cheeks are too flat and don't pop the chip well. That's why they're sticky. Wetterlings did a better job of putting enough meat in the cheeks for bucking.
 
My attitude towards sticking is if it's sticking you're either swinging too hard or using incorrect technique for the bit configuration. Thin bitted axes work better at taking "deck of cards on edge" sized chips using paring blows like "\////" where you make a direct notch and then take chips that are deep but narrow so less wedging force is needed. Otherwise, swing only so hard as not to sink the bit overly deep and you can work quite leisurely. Their main drawback is their diminished ability to split, other than with the twist-split method.
 
I find thin-bitted axes are better at getting through dry wood. The flexing that green wood exhibits really let’s fatter-cheeked axes penetrate further and leverage out some chips. Dry wood is very resistant, so I find thinner bits cut dry wood better.
 
J jay1992 what other tools are you taking? Are you “camping” in a cabin, a camper or a tent? Ide say access to other tools, such as a folding saw might help you decide. If you are hiking weight saving may be an issue too.

Pretty much all of my camping lately is car camping at the beach. So I take tools that are specific to the issues I may see. All my firewood has to be purchased in the state park to prevent some invasive beetle from damaging the local evergreens. That means the wood is already split. And the need to process large amounts is not there. I have loved tomahawks since I was a kid, just because of the historical connection, and always have one from my collection with me. Movies like The Patriot and Last of the Mohicans had a part in it. I have taken many slip-fit hawks but lately my American Tomahawk Model-1 is what has been going. It chops very well, the handle is indestructible and the spike is fantastic for splitting bigger pieces of fire wood and processing it down to kindling. I lay the wood on its side and drive the spike in about 1/4 of the way down the wood from the end. To split it pull the wood to the left and lever the handle of the hawk to the right.

Prior to being able to afford higher end stuff, gerber/fiskars hatchet has served me just fine for decades. Maintenance free, nearly indestructible and low cost. They work well too
 
“Camp” to me implies more/heavier gear, so I’d probably bring an axe/hatchet for efficiency.

Light weight tomahawks are great for backpacking/hiking or as a survival tool where you might not have the ability to re-supply and the ability to carve a new handle fairly easily might save the day.
 
Buck froe for camping and backpacking. Lighter than most axes. slim straightline profile makes it great to pack. make kindling, feathersticks, cut down a 10" tree, split firewood, shit make your own 2x4s.... I bring a sak, large blade folder (or small fixed blade) and the froe when Im roaming the woods. If I was going to the woods long term (more than 14 days) I'd add a bucksaw blade to the kit.View attachment 1811029
 
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For a couple of months camping trip to compare a Buck froe to a axe and a hatchet is bad advise. And, make your own 2 X 4's, I don't think so, this Buck froe is not a real froe. Why do you have a picture of your Buck froe with the blade in the fire ? I hope you know something about drawing the temper from your knife.
 
The OP didnt state for several posts that his "long term" trip was six months. Also he did not specify where or how (moving sedentary winter summer jungle hardwood forest) I would gladly take my froe over an axe on a 2 month trip, most places I go. I stated in my post that the kit would change for a longer trip OVER 14 DAYS. Thats 2 weeks, which is about half a month. No, you may not actually be able to manufacture 2x4x10s very easily, but I think most humans would have read the humor in that line. It does make amazingly square and straight cuts over long pieces of wood and can be used as a draw knife. I wouldn't try to build a log cabin with one (or an axe for that matter). Of course the buck froe is not a traditional froe (it is VERY real), but no one was talking about traditional froes, so I dont understand the relevancy of this part of your post. In the picture, my froe is sunk into a heavy piece of wood that I needed to move into the center of a large fire pit. Photographs capture a 2 dimensional image of a fraction of time, so you cant see that I used the froe for a little extra stability as I moved the piece to the center of the fire and that the froe was over the heat for less time than it would take you to pull a potato off hot coals. My son was taking pictures of the fire though and caught this shot, which I like. Appreciate your feedback though... welcome to the forum.
 
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