New design: Marbles Double Bit Hatchet

S

Steve Tall

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Aug 28, 2010
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I saw these going for $19.99 and decided to get one. I'll post a short review after it arrives.

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"Hand forged 1045 carbon steel head
·American hickory handle
·Lanyard hole
·Head measures: 5-3/8"x2-1/2"
·14-1/2" overall"

The head looks better to me than the old version, and it has a proper eye (not the 3 holes used previously). The grain orientation in the photo even looks good. I'm kinda skeptical about the profile, but we'll see.
 
It's made for Marble's by Imacasa/Condor, for the record. :)
 
i saw these offered and i'm thinking if the bit is any good at all, it's a bargain

buzz
 
woody d said:
yet its 19.99? any info on why it costs less than a comparable Condor?
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My guess is there may not be an edge cover, if there is one it's probably nylon instead of leather, and they may not pay attention to grain alignment and the like as they do with the Condors. I guess we'll find out when Steve gets his! If they're good I'll be picking 'em up.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
My guess is there may not be an edge cover, if there is one it's probably nylon instead of leather, and they may not pay attention to grain alignment and the like as they do with the Condors. I guess we'll find out when Steve gets his! If they're good I'll be picking 'em up.
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id definitely be interested if they are a quality tool at that low price
 
I was almost ready to send you a Pm Steve to see where you got your's,then i saw that they're forged out of 1045,that explain's why they're only 19.99
 
to me they look nicer then the old marbles design.for 10 buck you can afford to beat heck out of it and not feel sorry, maybe even grind some to practise re- profiling.
 
scrteened porch said:
Would it be the different steel? A lot of condor axes are stainless, and cost a lot compared to their carbon knives, as I recalll.
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They only have a couple of stainless axes. Most are carbon. 1045 is what Condor uses for their axe line as well, and reportedly harden them to 45-50 RC
 
Here's a first look.

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Head Dimensions:
Head: 5.5" x 2.5" x 0.75"
Eye: 1-9/16" x 9/16"

Handle:
Length: almost 14.5"
At midpoint: 5/8" x 1"
Finish: lightly oiled
Grain alignment: very good

Weight:
The total weight (with handle) is only 15 ounces.
This is significantly lighter than a smallish vintage 14" Swedish hatchet I have (Super Banko) whose total weight is 25 ounces.

Profile and Edge:
I'm pleased to find that the edge profile and thickness near the bit is comparable to that on the Swedish hatchet mentioned above. The photo below is blurred, unfortunately, and you have to look at the blurry part at the very edge to see the actual profile. The factory edge was fairly sharp. Two inches back from each edge is the beginning of the handle/eye, at which point the head thickness is 7/16" for one of the bits, and 1/2" for the other bit. (Now I know which bit should get a finer edge and which bit to keep thicker.)

009b_1_1.jpg


There is some deformation visible on the upper left side, but it doesn't seem as bad as the above photo looks at that camera angle. The wedge is relatively wide, taking up about half the eye width. The metal wedge is 5/16" as shown. The head alignment is good but not perfect. The edge grinding job is also good but not perfect, but it's better than on the Cold Steel tomahawks I've seen.

010b_1_1_1.jpg


The hafting job seems pretty good, but there is a small gap on one side of the lower eye (as seen in the above photo).

For the money spent, I'm thinking "so far, so good". I'll sharpen it up and try it out. I'm curious to see how it holds an edge, how the weight and length combination will perform, and I want to do some hard chopping to see how secure the head is.

As mentioned earlier in this thread, these axes are made by the same company that makes Condor and Imacasa products (located in El Salvador, about 1200 miles from Houston, which is closer than the distance between Houston and Virginia).
 
Steve Tall said:
As mentioned earlier in this thread, these axes are made by Imacasa, the same company that makes Condor products (located in El Salvador, about 1200 miles from Houston, which is closer than the distance between Houston and Virginia).
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Fixed that for ya'. Imacasa is the parent company, with Condor as a subsidiary. The axes are contracted by Marble's through Imacasa, and are given a lesser version of the treatment given to the more premium Condor line. :)

Glad to see that it looks pretty solid! It's about on par with most of the most recent Condor axes I've gotten in, which makes sense since that's a brand new line of axes for Marble's. Let us know how it chops for ya' after you give the ol' elbow grease! :D:thumbup:
 
The filing of this hatchet was compared with a couple other axes that were nearby. A Plumb hatchet seemed a little harder than the Marbles, and a vintage Gransfors axe seemed significantly harder. After using a file/puck/strop, both bits on the Marbles could shave hair from my arm. The edge near the Marbles stamp is the finer of the two.

004b_1_1_2.jpg


I did some hard chopping on this ash log, using only the thinner bit. For cutting the left side of the notch, I soon switched to my less-accurate left hand to reduce the backswing hazard from the rearward facing bit.

011b_1_1.jpg


After chipping away for a while, I stopped here, took the photo, and checked the head tightness. It had not budged. I also re-checked the sharpness, and the middle of the bit could still scrape off some hair from my arm, but not as easily as before.

My impressions after this limited trial:

For the money spent, I'm not regretting the purchase. (I've spent more money at that auction site for a worse item, probably more than once, if you know what I mean. ;) ) I would never spend the going price a double-bit Norlund or other vintage saddle axe, and the previous version of the Marbles double bit looked worthless. Now I have a sub-one-pound hatchet (total weight including the 14" haft) to add to my "collection". Maybe it will prove to be handier than my other hatchets for certain uses.
 
Glad to hear that the Marbles name is going on a decent product again. Thanks for the review :thumbup:
 
For reference I just got a Condor Scout Hatchet from the most recent run of production and it's pretty darn near perfect--they're really dialing in on their production methods, so it's no surprise the Marble's is decent! Glad they finally hit the mark they were shooting for. This is pretty significant as far asa axe community developments go, if you ask me!
 
i havn't pulled the trigger yet but soon i will order one of these little choppers. price now is $30
 
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For the record, here's my update (from another thread):

My updated impression of this hatchet is that the workmanship looks good, the steel seems okay, but I realized that I don't like using a double-bit hatchet, with that back edge on a short handle coming toward me with every stroke. Also, the weight of this one is particularly light (just under a pound including the handle), it seems like it just "pecks" at the wood, and I would prefer using a heavier single-bit hatchet.
 
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