I hate losing my hatchet in the woods

M

mjderstine

Joined
Jul 23, 2013
Messages
149
I always hate being the woods getting firewood, or blazing trails. You get ahead of yourself and put the hatchet down. And go to get it and wow, it's not there. Some little Woods Gnome has walked off with it. Now this isn't a fancy hatchet, but it's my hatchet, and I love it. It's and old True Temper I got for $10 at a yard sale. It had a small hatchet handle on it backwards. Like the curve was setup for using the hammer. So I cut that off when I got it home a couple years ago and put this 18" framing handle on it. Two weeks ago I lost it for about an hour so I got home and decided to paint it. BRIGHT F'N ORANGE.

I know. its ugly, but between this and a Woodsman Pal, they are the two best tools to have while blazing trail, minus a DR.

What have you done to make yours Wood Gnome repellent?

 
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Nullify is right. You can loose virtually anything in the forest. I try to put a little color on all of my forest tools, from chains to axes..
 
mjderstine, I know what you mean I lost a deer that I shot and watched fall into small depression full of leaves. Looked 15 minutes till I saw a hoof sticking out from the leaves. I like orange in the woods especially.
 
Another great thing to do is to make a lanyard out of orange/reflective/glow in the dark paracord and make it long enough that it'll show up even if you manage to cover the rest of the tool with various objects.
 
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Totally with you on this. Orange is great for the woods. I have a very nice bushcraft knife that Bryan Breeden built for me that has an orange G10 handle. Had a black leather sheath built for it so I call it the Halloween knife. VERY hard to lose.
 
Hi MJ,

Heck, I LOVE it! I hate misplacing items in the Woods. This Spring, I started collecting Axes/Hatchets/Picks/Hoes/old Carbon Knives, etc. I now own at least three of the type Hatchet (you have pictured) and three different sizes. I too own a "True Temper" just like yours (save the Orange paint). Heck, it's not so unlike a Tomahawk. I've yet to re-hang it though. Perhaps I'll take your lead and do the Orange thing! Looks good! Enjoy.

Regards,
HARDBALL
 
utah_fish said:
Totally with you on this. Orange is great for the woods. I have a very nice bushcraft knife that Bryan Breeden built for me that has an orange G10 handle. Had a black leather sheath built for it so I call it the Halloween knife. VERY hard to lose.
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nice man, feel free to post a pic of your brightly colored tools in here, and or whatever else you do to make them safe to Woods Gnomes.

HARDBALL said:
Hi MJ,

Heck, I LOVE it! I hate misplacing items in the Woods. This Spring, I started collecting Axes/Hatchets/Picks/Hoes/old Carbon Knives, etc. I now own at least three of the type Hatchet (you have pictured) and three different sizes. I too own a "True Temper" just like yours (save the Orange paint). Heck, it's not so unlike a Tomahawk. I've yet to re-hang it though. Perhaps I'll take your lead and do the Orange thing! Looks good! Enjoy.

Regards,
HARDBALL
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nice. you got a thread of your collection anywhere? i would like to see what you have. I like the 18" framing handle on mine, mainly because its a light head, and the long handle really gets you some torque. if you go this route you will have quite a bit of trimming to do on the neck to get it through the neck of the head. I am by no means a customizer of these things, as i use them for tool and the work great for me the way they are.

LeonJ said:
Another great thing to do is to make a lanyard out of orange/reflective/glow in the dark paracord and make it long enough that it'll show up even if you manage to cover the rest of the tool with various objects.
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yeah, this is a good idea. might need to do that to the machete!

Cfin said:
mjderstine, I know what you mean I lost a deer that I shot and watched fall into small depression full of leaves. Looked 15 minutes till I saw a hoof sticking out from the leaves. I like orange in the woods especially.
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thats hilarious.

bbforstr said:
Nullify is right. You can loose virtually anything in the forest. I try to put a little color on all of my forest tools, from chains to axes..
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oh yeah. its probably why i can find things like that in the woods that have been there for years.

Nullity said:
Heck yeah!

A leaf covered forest floor can swallow anything.
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everytime man.
 
Hi MJ,

I'm sorry I am unable to post pixs due to this darn old Computer (with MAJOR Issues). As I have mentioned in earlier posts, I really should STOP buying Axes/Knives etc. and save up for a new Computer instead of making myself mental using this ten year old POS Computer with all it's issues. When I do ever get a new Computer, I will surely post my collection of Axes/Hatchets/Knives/etc. I must admit, I have gone a bit OCD like buying edged items this Summer. Heck, tonight, even my wife called me a HORDER! Arrrrr! I said, "Honey, you're not a guy, you wouldn't understand". Little good that did me. Anyway, a couple of my best finds so far has been a Norlund double bit "Saddle Cruiser", an "as new" circa 1990's Gransfor Bruks Wildlife Hatchet (with curved handle) and a really small (unknown brand) eight ounce Hatchet head. I've amassed about thirty or so Hatchets/Hatchet Heads/Axes and Axe Heads and some Picks and Hoes type items this Summer, all purchased from Flea Markets, Yard Sales, etc. It's been fun.

HARDBALL
 
This is why it wasn't uncommon for loggers to paint their axe handles - which nowadays is seen as taboo somehow.

My hatchet has a painted handle but it's the grip stuff. It's in red, which has fainted over time, and can be hard to see in the woods.

IMO fluorescent blue is the best color to find in the woods.
 
Operator1975 said:
IMO fluorescent blue is the best color to find in the woods.
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Blue is a great color for woods tools. It doesn't naturally occur on the forest floor. And it helps to leave the tool handle protruding into the trail if you have to set it down.
 
Operator1975 said:
This is why it wasn't uncommon for loggers to paint their axe handles - which nowadays is seen as taboo somehow.

My hatchet has a painted handle but it's the grip stuff. It's in red, which has fainted over time, and can be hard to see in the woods.

IMO fluorescent blue is the best color to find in the woods.
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Blue is good. We use it for marking trees in timber sales. It shows up good in the forest. I still use fluorescent orange for my woods tools.
 
Me too. Wooden handles are my favorite but man, the orange makes it so much easier to find after you accidentally set it down while working.

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i'd rather paint the other end,not to leave orange paint on the wood i split...
 
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