Replacing my chopper knife for a hatchet.

[chuxwan]

The idea that you should use a synthetic or metal handle to bring in the woods with you is really silly to me. If those handles break (which they can), you absolutely cannot replace the handle, AND you have to deal with the fact they they don't ever really compare to proper axes and hatchets to begin with, for various reasons. It isn't that easy to break a well-made wooden handle anyway. If you're planning to rely on axe as a survival tool every day for months or years at a time, long enough to actually potentially warrant replacing the handle, I'd hope that throughout that extensive amount of time, you'd learned at least the basic skills required to make another usable handle.