I recently found a couple of old hatchet heads of my grandfather's. I put a new handle on one. It was a hatchet/hammer combo with GTW stamped into the metal. I looked around and guess that it means Germantown Tool Works. I made a handle for it out of an axe handle that I cut down to length then shaped. The other is a broad/hewing hatchet with a single beveled edge. I was planning on making it into a sort of camp axe until I really looked at it. Now, I don't know what I want to do. I don't really have any use for a hewing hatchet, but I don't want to re-profile the edge and completely change what it is. I have two questions. Would it work well as a normal camp axe with a single bevel? If not, what would you suggest? Should I ignore the tool's history and turn it into something I can use, or preserve it's history and not use it?
Hewing Hatchet?
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The reason folks get into collecting old tools (and not using them!) is they are currently quite affordable. It may well be the 'cachet' of owning a Germantown-made implement will increase substantially over the next 50-100 years but in the meantime all you will have done is carefully store it awaiting such an eventful day. Get out there and enjoy it now, man! If you enjoy working with wood the majority of classic and vintage tools were better made and of higher quality than anything new that is available now.
Single bevel hatchet is going to have limited use for you in the woods. Asymmetrical head shape and single angle cutting edges suck for chopping. These were specialized for shaving and planing and desecrating the blade just for the sake of adaptation for recreation isn't going to please you and will negatively impact the future value/desirability of that tool.
Single bevel hatchet is going to have limited use for you in the woods. Asymmetrical head shape and single angle cutting edges suck for chopping. These were specialized for shaving and planing and desecrating the blade just for the sake of adaptation for recreation isn't going to please you and will negatively impact the future value/desirability of that tool.
Hickory n steel
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You're half hatchet or possibly riggers axe ( if it has a hammer head like a framing hammer it's a riggers axe )
Could be Germantown tool works or it could be Griffith tool works which they later changed their name to , so I guess it really doesn't matter. I've got a Germantown ( not stamped GTW ) 1.5lb machinist hammer and it's an excellent tool.
Is the edge on you're half hatchet straight or does it have a bit of radius to it ? If it's still straight it won't have as much use for chopping, but there are so many out there that it won't hurt to file a bit of radius into it before sharpening.
Chances are the bit is a little dinged up which would need to be filed out anyways.
The half hatchet or riggers axe is well known to be the best option for a woodcraft or camp hatchet because it's got an actual hammer as well as a head shape that allows you to choke up right under it for carving tasks and because the bits are normally pretty narrower.
( a good vintage half hatchet or riggers axe is probably twice as good as a gransfors axe and a lot cheaper )
BTW you may not have a need for a broad hatchet now, but if you really get into axes and want to eventually make you're own handles it will help if you want to make a hatchet handle from firewood or something.
Could be Germantown tool works or it could be Griffith tool works which they later changed their name to , so I guess it really doesn't matter. I've got a Germantown ( not stamped GTW ) 1.5lb machinist hammer and it's an excellent tool.
Is the edge on you're half hatchet straight or does it have a bit of radius to it ? If it's still straight it won't have as much use for chopping, but there are so many out there that it won't hurt to file a bit of radius into it before sharpening.
Chances are the bit is a little dinged up which would need to be filed out anyways.
The half hatchet or riggers axe is well known to be the best option for a woodcraft or camp hatchet because it's got an actual hammer as well as a head shape that allows you to choke up right under it for carving tasks and because the bits are normally pretty narrower.
( a good vintage half hatchet or riggers axe is probably twice as good as a gransfors axe and a lot cheaper )
BTW you may not have a need for a broad hatchet now, but if you really get into axes and want to eventually make you're own handles it will help if you want to make a hatchet handle from firewood or something.
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If the single bevel hewing hatchet isn't rare or collectable then do with it as you please. If double beveling means it will get used then go ahead. There are plenty of those out there for whoever wants one.
I guess. I had a couple of clean ones ('no names' mind you) and couldn't figure out what to do with them for 30 years so the first party that professed an interest went home with them. I hope they didn't ultimately throw them out. In hindsight that shape is perfect for decorative doorstop if you're not a log home builder or rough timber framer that can actually use one of these.
The half hatchets and riggers axe are not the same tool. They just have a similar profile.
Bad reading comprehension on my part. You know they are not the same.
Hickory n steel
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Edited for confusing wording.
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Whoo boy! Now you've got me thoroughly confused too.
Hickory n steel
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Yeah I guess I wasn't too clear.
Plain and simple a riggers axe always has the larger hammer face like you see on framing hammers, they have the hammer known from framers because they were modified to create the first framing hammers.
Half hatchets come in many styles but most commonly have an octagonal hammer poll.
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I believe it is a half hatchet, from what you said. It has a normal round hammer head and a built in nail-pull on the hatchet side, and is way too small for an axe. It does have at least a small radius to it. I don't know whether it came that way or not. Knowing how my grandfather was, it is very possible he could have changed the shape of the edge if he didn't like it. Also, thanks for your input on the broad hatchet. I think I will keep it the way it is in hopes that I'll either need it one day or be able to find a home for it that can put it to use.
Rigging axes have a milled face for gripping nails. 17" handles and 28oz heads.
Hickory n steel
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Yeah the heads are always 28oz, but not always milled faces. They can wear smooth as well as be filed off by the owner for finishing purposes.
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Hickory n steel
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It definitely sounds like a riggers axe to me.
Handle length and having a milled face can also define a riggers axe, but the face can be worn or filed off and handles can be gone or replaced so this can be deceptive.
That's a hefty thing! On a whim 30 years ago, while building decks/fences and retaining walls I switched over to a 22 oz Estwing framer and wasn't long in going back to my usual 20 oz straight claw. You'd want to be doing some serious pounding in order to justify swinging a 28 oz all day. Incidentally, switching over from 3 1/2 inch spirals to 3 1/2 coated box (for house wall and floor framing) was a revolution for conserving energy and saving arms and wrists.
What year is that from Bob?FWIW:
Bob
I never knew rigging axes came in different weights and sizes. I shouldn't be surprised with the variety that was once available though.
Its strange that I hardly ever see used ones out and about as popular as they once were. Used hard and discarded I suppose. I have a little pile of them that I use for wedges when I run short to split longer staves.
Not sure when them vinyl coated nails came out but when they came into common use nobody was unhappy about it.