Looking for some info before committing to a potential mod.

Hickory n steel

Hickory n steel

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Long story short, I just found this Pritzlaff hdw hatchet on Ebay for a reasonable price and purchased it with a potential modification in mind.
I just wanna make sure this thing isn't particularly special or anything like that before I go modifying it.
It's a cool one for sure and I don't mind leaving it as is if it's anything special, but I did have a modification in mind before ordering it and will likely proceed if it's not.



What pattern would this be ?
The best I can think to describe it as is a square poll half hatchet or modified barrel hatchet.
It seems smaller than a half hatchet but also doesn't have any of the features associated with say a produce hatchet, barrel hatchet, or lathe hatchet...ect.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Long story short, I just found this Pritzlaff hdw hatchet on Ebay for a reasonable price and purchased it with a potential modification in mind.
I just wanna make sure this thing isn't particularly special or anything like that before I go modifying it.
It's a cool one for sure and I don't mind leaving it as is if it's anything special, but I did have a modification in mind before ordering it and will likely proceed if it's not.



What pattern would this be ?
The best I can think to describe it as is a square poll half hatchet or modified barrel hatchet.
It seems smaller than a half hatchet but also doesn't have any of the features associated with say a produce hatchet, barrel hatchet, or lathe hatchet...ect.
Click to expand...
To me it looks like AA&T Co product ... Some kind of mutation between Barreling Underhill and Barreling Pocket Patterns https://archive.org/details/AmericanAxeAndToolCatalog/page/n11/mode/2up?view=theater https://archive.org/details/AmericanAxeAndToolCatalog/page/n13/mode/2up?view=theater
BookReaderImages.php
BookReaderImages.php
 
Thanks for posting those catalog photos.

Those pocket barreling hatchets sure are nice looking.


Btw I'm pretty sure I've seen this particular eye shape somewhere before , probably on this forum.
 
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I'm starting to think it might be best to just leave this one alone

That mod is stuck in my head though, heres what I had in mind if I do modify it.


The idea is to remove the notch and possibly shorten the poll a bit, and this is the best way I could think of to avoid making the bit too narrow or giving it a curved beard like a GB or tomahawk or something.

There would be other options if it's possible to say fill the notch in with a welder.
 
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I think you could weld the notch in. I have a roofing hatchet with gauge holes that the bit had been sharpened back to about 1/2” from the holes, but still 2-1/4” remaining. I filled them with my O/A torch, using strips from a scrap saw blade as filler (which I believed to be L6 steel). Ground them down and rehardened and tempered about the last inch of bit. Turned out good.

Parker
 
catspa said:
I think you could weld the notch in. I have a roofing hatchet with gauge holes that the bit had been sharpened back to about 1/2” from the holes, but still 2-1/4” remaining. I filled them with my O/A torch, using strips from a scrap saw blade as filler (which I believed to be L6 steel). Ground them down and rehardened and tempered about the last inch of bit. Turned out good.

Parker
Click to expand...
I figured wrapping the bit with a wet rag to keep it cool, the notch could easily be welded in without the need for re-temper or anything.
And if I were to cut first there may only be 1/4" left to need filling in.

I don't have a welder though so I'd need to have someone do it for me.

I will have to think it over real well when it arrives whether I want to modify it or not.
 
With my torch and technique, the heat affected zone extended at least 2” out from my actual weld, and a little more in some directions. It was clear that the original heat treatment was ruined. But I expected that, and intended to re-HT anyway.

If that hatchet were mine, I might look at shaping the underside into a shallow concave curve from the lug to the top of the notch.

Parker
 
catspa said:
With my torch and technique, the heat affected zone extended at least 2” out from my actual weld, and a little more in some directions. It was clear that the original heat treatment was ruined. But I expected that, and intended to re-HT anyway.

If that hatchet were mine, I might look at shaping the underside into a shallow concave curve from the lug to the top of the notch.

Parker
Click to expand...
That would be the easiest, but I do not want to give it any beard making it look like a tomahawk or a Gransfors Bruks which I find very ugly.
Were there no curved beard to them they would actually look great.

When I get it hopefully tomorrow, I'll see how wide the bit will be left if I was to just cut it straight off.
I think it'll be too narrow for the overall size of the head but I don't really know the heads true dimensions.
 
Yah, hard to tell by pics sometimes. That haft looks like those on a couple lath hatchets I have. Their bits are narrower, however, and parallel. You’ll want to donate all those nails and scrap metal to a museum, I’m sure.

Parker
 
I decided to leave the bit alone, I just smoothed off the worn out milling on the poll and raging the little guy.

If I can ever get the notch welded in I may proceed with modification, but right now I quite like it.
 
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Very cool, bud. Nothin wrong with that, just the way she is. Couple of mine the handles have darkened like that, makes a nice contrast with the steel.

Parker
 
That first pic reminds me of an old roofing hatchet I used about 50 years ago. I remember driving roofing nails into the handle when it got loose, just like the picture above. It looks really nice now, good work.
 
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