Strange Little Belt(?) Axe, any Thoughts?

H

Hacked

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Jun 1, 2010
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So I came into an odd axe recently, and I never come across anything quite like it before. Best I can tell it's an old belt axe. It weighs 9.80oz, measures 4.75" from bit to poll, has a 2.75" bit and is .5" wide at the widest point, yes you read that correctly.

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Yup, that's an AAA battery that is wider than the eye, did I mention that it was narrow?

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It has a well defined high centerline that carries into the eye and forms a slight ridge in the center sort of like the AA&T ideal axes.

Any ideas on what it is or how old it might be would be appreciated. Otherwise I figured the fine folks on this subforum would appreciate this.
 
So cute!! For chopping twigs!
Several manufacturers made tiny little baby axes like that, presumably for marketing purposes.
 
What a cool little axe!

It looks vaguely British to me with the long bit. Looks like somebody made the smallest axe they could with an existing eye drift.
 
daizee said:
whaddaya use it for??
No doubt it's proper, but what's the intended use?
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They're great for kindling, limbing, and generally just the perfect thing to take when you think you don't need an axe because there's always a chance you may need a hatchet . They're also good for quick stock removal when your carving something.
People often underestimate such a hatchet, but you just have to give a proper one a chance to get an idea of how effective they really can be.
I'd say there Intended purpose besides what any other hatchet is good for is simply being too handy and easily packed not to take with you.
 
daizee said:
So cute!! For chopping twigs!
Several manufacturers made tiny little baby axes like that, presumably for marketing purposes.
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I've seen few true salesman's​ samples over the years. Belt axes and small hatchets have been used by woodsmen, trappers, in the kitchen, hunters, fishermen, as sounding hatchets and so on over the years but never as a marketing tool. Here's a link to some older belt axes, I'm not sure if this one is quite as old, but obviously folks found them useful at one time. Vaughan made small axes for several manufacturers including Craftsman, this one however was pretty Obviously not a manufactured axe, at least not in the mass produced sense.

As for what I would use them for, same thing I use any other axe for.

[youtube]rHT2d38PY-s[/youtube]

Only the one I'm using in the video is smaller.
 
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Square_peg said:
What a cool little axe!

It looks vaguely British to me with the long bit. Looks like somebody made the smallest axe they could with an existing eye drift.
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Ah so you are thinking they used the narrowest part of a drift intended for a larger eye. That would certainly explain the long narrow eye. Interesting thought Square_peg!
 
Mini hatchets make nice little carvers. I've fooled around with these little Vaughan minis. I actually prefer the oyster hatchet.

Square_peg said:
Here's that Craftsman mini alongside two current Vaughans for scale. The head is about the same size as the new Vaughan - likely the same weight. But the haft is much more diminutive. It's tiny and very well formed. I've half a mind to give it to my grandson when he's of age. The other half says to keep this nice and give him a new Vaughan mini. This is uncommon and in great condition. I should probably keep it as is.

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Love that high center line.
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I was expecting a thread about Klax, anyway :P...

As for the ones doubting the mini-hatchet's capabilities...Hacked put my worries to rest :), the 1st time I saw that video.
 
daizee said:
whaddaya use it for??
No doubt it's proper, but what's the intended use?
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I've read that Horace Kemphart himself considered a small hatchet/hawk very useful for shelter building & always carried one, variously described as 8~12 oz.
 
That's awesome, but I just want to be clear. We are now using the term "proper" in seriousness or is it still like a jab?
 
I'mSoSharp said:
I've read that Horace Kemphart himself considered a small hatchet/hawk very useful for shelter building & always carried one, variously described as 8~12 oz.
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Here's a couple of pictures of a Colclesser tomahawk, the little hatchet that Kephart spoke of. I get the feeling it was more of a product endorsement than anything but who knows.

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I'm glad you brought it up since it is similar in ways to mine from the OP. I'm guessing that the time frame was similar for both.
 
I have a similar axe. Mine is 6 1/2 inches long with a 2 1/2 inch bit. 3/4 inch at the widest part of the eye. The axe I think is hand made. The handle is old hand made too with two hand hold areas. One of my favorites.

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cool little hatchet. Iv got a small hytest hatchet en route :)
The sales listing said it was 135mm / 5.3" from bit to poll so small but not quite as small as yours but still pretty small.
 
I wouldn't want to fell a big oak tree with one of these little hatchets, but they make quick work of sticks and limbs. Say, anything up to around 2 or 3 inches thick (depending on how hard the wood is). They're so small and light they're easy to stick in a pocket when ya don't wanna carry something bigger, but at the same time need to cut stuff that would be unhandy to zip through with a pocket knife. I could totally see them being favored by trekkers who only need to feed a twig fire and cut a pole or two for a shelter.

I have also used my little Craftsman for carving, and agree they're less tiring to use than a normal sized hatchet, while taking off wood much quicker than a draw knife.
 
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