This is the first time I've written up my impressions of a cutting tool, so I apologize if it comes up a bit short. It was relatively unscientific. I don't cut sewing thread with my camp tools, so I don't know how many grams of pressure it would take to slice through that rugged polyester. I also don't dismember metal folding chairs or cinder blocks in camp, so I left that out of the test. If the chairs and blocks are causing problems, I just set them a little ways off and shoot them. That is general adequate for rearranging their attitude problems. Now for the test.
I was raised using hatchets and axes for camp chopping chores and have just recently been introduced to the large camp/chopper knives. I thought it would be interesting to compare one of each. I recently purchased a Kershaw Camp Ax, which is really a hatchet, and a Marbles Trailmaker. Here are the manufacturers' specs:
Kershaw Camp Ax
Camp axe
3-1/2" blade
11" overall length
14.5 oz.
Drop-forged, high-carbon stainless steel
Krayton handle
Cost: $21 plus shipping
Marbles Trailmaker with wood handle
Blade length: 10"
Overall length: 15-1/2"
Rockwell: 58C
Blade Material: Carbon
Weight (per my kitchen scale): 15 oz.
Cost: $99 plus shipping
The initial test was choppping 2" green limbs off of a spruce tree with the factory edge.
Kershaw: The hatchet achieved minimal penetration, but mostly bounced off of the limb. I didn't bother cutting all the way through as it was a cold evening and I didn't want to spend the night outside.
Marbles: Easy penetration and cutting.
At this point I considered throwing the Kershaw in the trash, but opted for reprofiling and sharpening the relatively blunt edge. A couple of weeks later I took both items back outside for a couple of relatively simple tests.
Test #1 was chopping through a 2" thick green spruce limb that was laid over a stump. The Kershaw still didn't cut to my satisfaction, but got the job done although the effort was a bit high. If you were desperate you could use it for the job. The Trailmaker felt lighter in the hand and cut through the limb about 25" faster. Penetration was noticeably better with the knife. Strokes with both tools were relatively light, as I prefer to let the tool do the work. The handle on the hatchet was easy to grip when wearing gloves, but quickly became uncomfortable when using bare hands. The handle on the knife was slippery when wearing gloves but very comfortable when using bare hands.
Test #1 was repeated twice with a slightly larger (about 2 1/2") green spruce limb with the same results. The knife was much more comfortable to swing and took about 25% fewer strokes. If I hadn't been counting the strokes, I would have guessed that the knife was about twice as fast as the hatchet. I presume this was due to the significantly lower effort involved in cutting with the knife.
Test #2
Chopping a 1 1/2" seasoned hardwood limb. The results were the same as for the green limb. I wasn't wearing gloves and by this point I was developing a rather pronounced dislike for the kraton handle on the Kershaw while becoming even happier with the Marbles' wood handle.
Test #4
Splitting slabs off of a seasoned oak round using a baton. If you could get the slab to split off before the head of the hatchet was buried in the wood, performance was about the same. If not, the extra length on the Trailmaker allowed you to continue batoning until the job was finished while the hatchet simply couldn't finish the job.
Safety: The hatchet had a lanyard that could be looped around your wrist so it wasn't going anywhere. However, I thought that the relatively poor cutting performance of the hatchet would grate on my nerves enough at the end of a long day that I would probably try putting too much effort into the work. There have been a couple of times in the past when that has led to accidents.
Practicality:
I normally use a folding saw to cut wood. The saw is light and it is a lot faster. If I didn't have the saw on hand I would be happy using the Trailmaker. If it came down to using the hatchet, I'd probably spend an hour or so looking around the neighborhood to see if there were any unemployed beavers looking to pick up some quick cash.
Splitting:
The Kershaw would do as long as your rounds were short. The Trailmaker is just as easy to use and will handle a much wider range of splitting chores.
Other camp work:
I suppose you could use the hatchet to drive in tent pegs. You could also leave the hatchet home and just use a rock. This is one chore where the Trailmaker wouldn't work. I normally just press them into the ground with my hand or step on them with my boot heel. If you are hitting rocks, you'll have to move the peg anyway regardless of what you are using to put it into the ground.
I typically rig a tarp over the sitting area. If I'm using new rope I need something to cut it with. If both tools were nice and sharp, you could use either one, but I'd use the knife because I always use a knife to cut rope. Force of habit wins out.
The knife can be used for food preparation if you are comfortable with the size. I've read about folks using a hatchet for food preparation, but it isn't something that I'm likely to do. Realistically I probably wouldn't use either one for food preparation because I'd probably have a small fixed blade knife or folding knife for food preparation.
Bottom line:
The Kershaw was a waste of $21. The Marbles was $99 well spent.
I was raised using hatchets and axes for camp chopping chores and have just recently been introduced to the large camp/chopper knives. I thought it would be interesting to compare one of each. I recently purchased a Kershaw Camp Ax, which is really a hatchet, and a Marbles Trailmaker. Here are the manufacturers' specs:
Kershaw Camp Ax
Camp axe
3-1/2" blade
11" overall length
14.5 oz.
Drop-forged, high-carbon stainless steel
Krayton handle
Cost: $21 plus shipping
Marbles Trailmaker with wood handle
Blade length: 10"
Overall length: 15-1/2"
Rockwell: 58C
Blade Material: Carbon
Weight (per my kitchen scale): 15 oz.
Cost: $99 plus shipping
The initial test was choppping 2" green limbs off of a spruce tree with the factory edge.
Kershaw: The hatchet achieved minimal penetration, but mostly bounced off of the limb. I didn't bother cutting all the way through as it was a cold evening and I didn't want to spend the night outside.
Marbles: Easy penetration and cutting.
At this point I considered throwing the Kershaw in the trash, but opted for reprofiling and sharpening the relatively blunt edge. A couple of weeks later I took both items back outside for a couple of relatively simple tests.
Test #1 was chopping through a 2" thick green spruce limb that was laid over a stump. The Kershaw still didn't cut to my satisfaction, but got the job done although the effort was a bit high. If you were desperate you could use it for the job. The Trailmaker felt lighter in the hand and cut through the limb about 25" faster. Penetration was noticeably better with the knife. Strokes with both tools were relatively light, as I prefer to let the tool do the work. The handle on the hatchet was easy to grip when wearing gloves, but quickly became uncomfortable when using bare hands. The handle on the knife was slippery when wearing gloves but very comfortable when using bare hands.
Test #1 was repeated twice with a slightly larger (about 2 1/2") green spruce limb with the same results. The knife was much more comfortable to swing and took about 25% fewer strokes. If I hadn't been counting the strokes, I would have guessed that the knife was about twice as fast as the hatchet. I presume this was due to the significantly lower effort involved in cutting with the knife.
Test #2
Chopping a 1 1/2" seasoned hardwood limb. The results were the same as for the green limb. I wasn't wearing gloves and by this point I was developing a rather pronounced dislike for the kraton handle on the Kershaw while becoming even happier with the Marbles' wood handle.
Test #4
Splitting slabs off of a seasoned oak round using a baton. If you could get the slab to split off before the head of the hatchet was buried in the wood, performance was about the same. If not, the extra length on the Trailmaker allowed you to continue batoning until the job was finished while the hatchet simply couldn't finish the job.
Safety: The hatchet had a lanyard that could be looped around your wrist so it wasn't going anywhere. However, I thought that the relatively poor cutting performance of the hatchet would grate on my nerves enough at the end of a long day that I would probably try putting too much effort into the work. There have been a couple of times in the past when that has led to accidents.
Practicality:
I normally use a folding saw to cut wood. The saw is light and it is a lot faster. If I didn't have the saw on hand I would be happy using the Trailmaker. If it came down to using the hatchet, I'd probably spend an hour or so looking around the neighborhood to see if there were any unemployed beavers looking to pick up some quick cash.
Splitting:
The Kershaw would do as long as your rounds were short. The Trailmaker is just as easy to use and will handle a much wider range of splitting chores.
Other camp work:
I suppose you could use the hatchet to drive in tent pegs. You could also leave the hatchet home and just use a rock. This is one chore where the Trailmaker wouldn't work. I normally just press them into the ground with my hand or step on them with my boot heel. If you are hitting rocks, you'll have to move the peg anyway regardless of what you are using to put it into the ground.
I typically rig a tarp over the sitting area. If I'm using new rope I need something to cut it with. If both tools were nice and sharp, you could use either one, but I'd use the knife because I always use a knife to cut rope. Force of habit wins out.
The knife can be used for food preparation if you are comfortable with the size. I've read about folks using a hatchet for food preparation, but it isn't something that I'm likely to do. Realistically I probably wouldn't use either one for food preparation because I'd probably have a small fixed blade knife or folding knife for food preparation.
Bottom line:
The Kershaw was a waste of $21. The Marbles was $99 well spent.
