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just bought a hatchet, is it special or a beater?

B

borrowed time

Joined
Dec 19, 2006
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416
today i found a small, two bladed hand axewith the words "Saddle Cruser" on one side of the head. it came with a leather sheath with no belt-loop, light brown leather and reads" Genuine Norlund" on one side.

Any help out there please? Thanks!

--------- Eric
 
Norlunds are generally decent axes. It might benefit from a little edge reprofile and sharpening but otherwise, it ought to be sound.

DancesWithKnives
 
Dimensions would help a lot. Is the axe head about 6" across the top? How long is the handle?

Norlund is a quality axe.
 
Yep, anything that smacks of a Nessie is desirable and priced accordingly.

DancesWithKnives
 
valcas1 said:
Dimensions would help a lot. Is the axe head about 6" across the top? How long is the handle?

Norlund is a quality axe.
Click to expand...

this Norlund "Saddle Cruiser" hand axe has the following measurements:

handle------------ 13 1/4 inches (not including the part in the head.

Axe head -------- center of head, height -- 2"
the axe blades are 2 3/4 inches high
the head is 5 3/4 inches from blade to blade

The handle is in excellent shape for its age, no dents, just some small scratches. the head has 9 black "stains" on it but no rust. im guessing that the black stain areas may be from being stored inside the leather sheath for a long time? There is some orange paint remnants on the top of the head, most of it is on the top of the axe handle that pokes through the head. i'm not sure what the wood is, hickory maybe?

The sheath is basically a rectangle with white thread and rivets. it also has two ... straps?... that fold under the blade and snap on the other side to lock the head inside. There is no fixture to put this on a belt. Color of the leather is a light brown. sheath has seen some use, there are more black stains on the back side. there is a small area on the back where there is some splitting of the leather, but not bad. basically it looks like everything is original.

Thank you for any help! ---- Eric
 
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You have found a keeper bro.

I have been searching for several years for the same axe. IMO it is the closest thing to the axe Nessmuk describes in his book, without going the custom Lee Reeves route.

Ebay gets big money for them. Infact, there are a few going on right now. Clean it up and use it. Enjoy.

Paul
 
It might even be closer to a Nessie than Lee's double bitters, as far as blade shape goes.

I just picked up my bocote-handled Reeves about an hour ago and it is beautiful, but the blades are a bit wider and flatter than illustrated in Sears' book. Can't wait to try it out!

DancesWithKnives
 
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