It followed me home

[TARFU'D]

Nice find...do you know who made it? i like the multi-purpose role.

 

[Square_peg]

It's a True Temper but claw hatchets were made by most of the big names back in the day.

 

[Operator1975]

It's a True Temper but claw hatchets were made by most of the big names back in the day.

depends on what you call back in the day

 

[Square_peg]

A quick check of a few digitized catalogs I have on hand found them made by American Axe & Tool, C. Hammond and Plumb. I didn't find them in the Warren catalog. I've seen a Collins claw hatchet before. So they were fairly common.

 

[KingKoma]

I finally got that claw hatchet sharpened and re-hung on the existing handle. I haven't taken it camping yet but I messed around in the back yard.

Here's how it fared at various tasks.

Chopping - It's only a so-so chopper. The straight bit and relatively flat cheeks aren't advantageous for chopping but I knew that going in. The other thing it has going against it is a short handle - only 13-3/4" long. I think this is a 1-3/4 pound head and it would be better hung on a 16" to 18" handle

Carving - It's quite good at this. This is what I had in mind when I shaped the edge. It came with a blunt ~45° bevel on it and it favored one side almost like a broad hatchet. I re-centered the edge and gave it about a 28° bevel.

Splitting - It kind of surprised me here, splitting much better than I anticipated. I think the weight of the thing is a big factor here. With a little longer handle it would actually be a great kindling splitter. As is I'd rate it as good.

Hammering - It feels almost like a framing hammer in my hand. Works very well at this task and I suppose that's to be expected since it was marketed as a carpentry tool originally. Here again it would benefit from a longer handle.

Nail pulling - It's very good at this which was what I was hoping for when I bought this to replace my Tommy Axe. The short hammer face creates good leverage for pulling nails - unlike the Tommy Axe with it's longer poll face. I was impressed with how easily it pulled 16 penny sinkers.

Overall I think I'll be slightly happier with this than the Tommy Axe as my camp hatchet. And once I find a longer handle for it I think I'll really have no complaints.

What do you mean with the flat cheeks making it no good for chopping? And what do you think would be an optimal handle lenght for one handed use?

 

[screened porch]

Too bad to have to trade chopping for nail-pulling. I wonder if those claws were an afterthought on the Tommy, despite all their scientific design: it would have worked better on the dynamic hatchet with its shallower poll, or even on this one, if they'd rounded the poll.
Any plans to round back the corners for a curved bit?

 

[Square_peg]

What do you mean with the flat cheeks making it no good for chopping?

Flat cheeks tend to stick more than convexed cheeks (sometimes called a high centerline). Also convexed cheeks throw out chips better than flat cheeks.

As I stated in the original post a think a 16" to 18" handle would do better on this hatchet. It's a little clunky at 13-3/4". I will look for a riggers hatchet handle next time I'm at the hardware store.

 

[Square_peg]

Any plans to round back the corners for a curved bit?

Not with this one. I'll use it as a stump axe or carving axe/bushcraft axe. It's suited for that and it chops well enough. And it can still function like a broad hatchet. OTOH, I have an old pitted claw hatchet out in the garage and I might do a little experimenting on that one. I was thinking of doing just what you suggest, round the heel and toe a bit. Plus I might try to create a little convexness in the cheeks by filing the top and bottom of the blade.

 

[Square_peg]

Here's another comparison photo.

 

[KingKoma]

If you have problems with it sticking excessively why not regulate the penetration with the grind, as you would a large knife?

I have a hatchet thats a bit lighter than that one on a 16½" handle and I find it to be a pretty much perfect balance of dedicated one handed hatchet and the possibility of fitting two hands on it for splitting. An 18" handle would throw that of, I think, but Im about to rehandle a larger (hardware store type) hatchet thats going to go to camp duty and I want as much power as possible without making it totally unwieldy with one hand. Any advice?

 

[Square_peg]

If you have problems with it sticking excessively why not regulate the penetration with the grind, as you would a large knife?

I've done that to a degree with this hatchet. I left a bit of a roll in the grind just to make it stick less. That's part of what makes this an OK chopper. But I don't plan to do a lot of chopping with this hatchet. I carry a folding saw for that work.

.......I'm about to rehandle a larger (hardware store type) hatchet thats going to go to camp duty and I want as much power as possible without making it totally unwieldy with one hand. Any advice?

Weight to handle length is a personal preference thing. Generally people seem to prefer a light axe on a long handle better than a heavy axe on a short handle. I have a 2-pound house axe on a 19" handle and that's about as much axe as is comfortable for me one-handed. With a 1-1/2 pound head it would be very manageable one-handed on the 19" handle. If you want a two-hand option then I'd stick to 17" or longer - but again, it's personal preference.

 

[KingKoma]

I've done that to a degree with this hatchet. I left a bit of a roll in the grind just to make it stick less. That's part of what makes this an OK chopper. But I don't plan to do a lot of chopping with this hatchet. I carry a folding saw for that work.




Weight to handle length is a personal preference thing. Generally people seem to prefer a light axe on a long handle better than a heavy axe on a short handle. I have a 2-pound house axe on a 19" handle and that's about as much axe as is comfortable for me one-handed. With a 1-1/2 pound head it would be very manageable one-handed on the 19" handle. If you want a two-hand option then I'd stick to 17" or longer - but again, it's personal preference.

Thanks for the reply. If Im understanding you correctly the answer is to try as many axes as possible. If thats the case, I can live with that

 

[filedog]

I've been reading this forum for a while and decided I needed (?) a boy's axe : )
Picked this up off the 'bay, and ordered a haft from househandle. I'm going to
make a sheath for it too. Thanks for all the good info guys!

 

[screened porch]

That's a beauty. Good catch.

 

[filedog]

That's a beauty. Good catch.

Thanks. This'll be my first attempt at hanging an axe, hope the parts fit together!

 

[Square_peg]

That's a beauty. Good catch.

Indeed. The toe is still long and the bit doesn't have much curve. That's the sign of a fresh axe.

For boy's axe handles I usually just shop at my local ACE Hardware. They carry O.P. Link handles and for some reason their boy's axe handles and cruiser axes handles tend to be good - better than their full size handles.

 

[bearhunter]

I've been reading this forum for a while and decided I needed (?) a boy's axe : )
Picked this up off the 'bay, and ordered a haft from househandle. I'm going to
make a sheath for it too. Thanks for all the good info guys!

I've got to get myself a Plumb boys axe

 

[filedog]

I was at Ace yesterday, they had 2 Link boy's axe handles. They would have worked, but neither one was great.

For a couple bucks more, I get one "hand selected" and no varnish from house. They seem like a good company,

I'm happy to send my business their way. This looks like a really nice head, I figure I might as well go all out!

 

[Square_peg]

Here's another comparison photo.

One further update on this claw hatchet. I rehung it on an 18" riggers axe handle. It feels and handles much better now and it chops better, too. It was just a little too clunky on that short handle.

Here's an interesting little tool I made to dig out wedges. It's just made from a scrap of unknown high carbon steel. I hardened it and tempered it back to purple. It's real handy. It's tapered to match the shape of a wedge.

 

[cooperhill]

nice stuff Pegs

Here's a few I picked up for $5.

Indecipherable Maine axe marked 3 3/4 as is typical on the face of the axe.

4# Mann axe. kept the original (well maybe after market) steep bevel on the bit. Can't imagine using this for anything other than splitting at 4 lbs