I think the rounded edge will be better. It will help release from harder woods. Generally speaking, traditional axes designed for harder woods have shorter bits, softer woods have longer. West coast axes (pine, cedar, redwood) are broad, east coast (maple, cyprus, etc) are real narrow.
To me it looks like a cool tool! Just be sure to keep the handle behind the center of the edge, like laying it on a table on its edge, the tip of the handle and the center of the bit or closer to the heel (bottom of the bit) should be touching. If the toe (top of bit) and handle are touching it is tougher to use for some.
Put a spike on the poll side and make mine a boarding hatchette! Of course, I would require wood handle slabs
-X
Great information Xander! I know you have an awesome collection of hatchets too.
I think I'll reduce the drop in the handle a bit, good call.
If I make these I'll have to do one that way! LH of course.
Nice!
How well will chisel grind work on a hawk/hatchet?
It depends on the edge geometry.
Hatchet - for wood mostly, should be a triangle(ish) shaped section that won't wedge... a chisel can do that for certain, just think of a full flat chisel turned at an angle and you have a V
Tomahawk - for soft targets (Battle Hawk) or for destruction/breaching (Tactical style..) Chisel works great too! I'd do a steeper grind with thicker edge geometry for breaching/demo and a taller thinner grind for soft targets... a short zero grind often works even better for soft targets but not at all for bashing tougher stuff
I'll make one, test it and see what everyone thinks! 3v holds a tough thin edge.
Looks awesome!
How many of these will be made? I have a friend that has been looking for a hatchet for awhile.
Keep up the good work my friend!
It depends on interest, I need to make about 20 to do a run.
Pretty cool. With that curved handle, are you going to be able to "overlap" the hatchet blanks so you don't get a lot of waste when cutting them out?
They overlap pretty well, I tried it out in CAD. At the price each piece will cost I'd better be careful! I noticed most designs take advantage of the straight handle which is cool. I'm pretty set on a drop to the handle. I think I'll straighten the handle just a bit as fast14riot mentioned to provide more clearance.
That's a awesome design! :thumbup:
Thanks!
That's a good question about the cg. Will the cg work well on a hatchet?
I'll do a test video when I make one and let you guys see! It will have aggressive chopping geometry, that is why I like the 3V.
In my mind these would be fast in the hand with lots of power. The use would be for chopping branches from trails, chopping and splitting kindling, firewood breakdown and prep, Light enough to pack or really use but heavy enough to really work well. 3/16 is thinner than some hatchets but there is a lot of weight in the right spots, the center of gravity according to CAD is just under the head.
I also have the breacher hawk in the plans too, I was thinking I personally would use this one more. This one is for Bushcraft, around the house, keep it in the backpack so you have a hatchet when you need it, keep it in the car to remove fallen logs on the road, etc. It will chop trees with ease but is more meant for standard hatchet tasks...
I really like the idea of using the CPM 3V and having a real performance oriented hatchet. I don't want this to be like anything else you can buy!
Thanks for the input everyone! Small changes will be made and as always I will do lots of testing! I'm not 100% set on anything and really appreciate hearing what you guys think!
Me too! 
