New GB Mini wedge problem?

B

billytwilight

Joined
Nov 2, 2015
Messages
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Hello all. i just acquired a new GB small hatchet 410 and the wedge/handle is a little messy. See the pictures below. Is this something that is an issue and should be returned, or is it okay as is? I am not too bothered by the look of it; its just that I am not an experienced hatchet user and I want to make sure this doesn't come back to haunt me later. Sorry for pic quality; smash job with an iPhone. It's hard to see from the picture, but it appears there is actually some wood glue in the area, which I didn't think was used when GB hangs their bits.

Thanks!

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Yeah, it could be that it hit something, but it will end up looking like that sooner or later anyway. The actual quality of the wedge and how it was hung looks great to me.
 
Looks perfectly fine, could use a little cleanup with a sharp knife but other than that, no problem to speak of.
 
It looks like they jammed some filler chips to fill a gap at the front of the eye. I have four GB axes, and only one, my splitting hatchet, looks like that. I've wailed on my splitting hatchet and it is still as solid as a rock.

But all of my come with a metal cross wedge from the factory. Odd that yours doesn't. The cross wedge would have taken up some of that slack at the front of the eye.
 
Twindog said:
It looks like they jammed some filler chips to fill a gap at the front of the eye. I have four GB axes, and only one, my splitting hatchet, looks like that. I've wailed on my splitting hatchet and it is still as solid as a rock.

But all of my come with a metal cross wedge from the factory. Odd that yours doesn't. The cross wedge would have taken up some of that slack at the front of the eye.
Click to expand...

The filler is kind of what it looks like to me as well. They do not use a metal pin in the mini or outdoor axes; I don't know why. As long as the consensus is that this not a flaw I am fine with it.

Thanks, everyone!
 
To me it looks like a bit of the wedge that was shaved by the eye when the wedge was driven. I would guess the wood glue is just BLO that got mixed in. Looks good to me as well, and the lack of a metal wedge is a plus IMO.
 
Thanks again. Might as well ask now. I haven't figured out what oil to use for the head. I've watched the seminal Ray Mears video multiple times and know he recommends gun oil. I've tried that before with Hoppes gun oil and wasn't pleased with the result. His video implies that the gun oil he uses would harden and leave a durable coat on the axe. This did not happen with the Hoppes and the Hultafors axe I used it on picked up some light rusting in first use after the oiling. Am I wrong in the assumption that he was using a hardening oil? I know I could use mineral oil or basically any other oil, but I'd like to protect the bit in a way that I don't carry oil in the field with me and the bit is still relatively protected for say a three day trip. Any suggestions (besides paint!)? I know this has been covered a million times on this forum, but I haven't found an entirely satisfactory answer to the question. Thanks in advance!
 
Sorry big thumbs. I use a mixture of bees wax, turpentine, & linseed oil in equal parts for the handle and head.
 
regular linseed oil will do you fine for that hatchet. The wedge and hang look ok, but its hard to tell from pics. Great tool.
 
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