I was given a hatchet !

[Kevin the grey]

I was given the contents of someones basement ! This must have been an interesting guy cause amid the miniature carving tools and paint spraying equipment were attemps at carving and many other items indicating a wide range of interests . I was pleased to find a hatchet among his stock . It says drop forged made in Germany on one side of the integral metal handle and Strong Boy on the other . It has an Estwing style leather handle except the transition between leather and shaft is not tapered like an Estwing and is rather abrupt . it has some kind of nail puller groove cut into the bottom of the blade . Is this the find of the century or just a neat little hatchet good enough to serve as a camp tool ? I,m hoping for the former but suspect the latter . Whay say you .

 

[Kevin the grey]

I would just like to add that this hatchet is a strong design . Having the handle integral to the head there is no eye in the head . The handle itself is wedge shaped and so if it is used with a baton or even a hammer there is no eye to spread/damage and the handle is so narrow and wedge shaped that as the head spreads/splits the firewood the handle would have minimal contact with the wood and if it did contact there would be no damage . If it turns out to be an ordinairy hatchet which I suspect it would serve that task admirably .

 

[whittet]

A West German strong boy hatchet recently was recently sold on Ebay but the pic is no longer available.

I have an Estwing sportsman like you describe, but my favorite was their light axe http://secure.centercube.com/ProductImages/large/Product_25644.jpg

I used this to limb trees and clear undergrowth because its sharp edge would generally take anything up to 1 1/2" out almost effortlessly.