The Mini Hatchet

It's about time to bring this thread back for some more action. It's mushroom hunting season here in Southern Illinois, and sometimes I like to take my mini pocket axe along, just because.

Well, except that it's not really mine anymore, since my daughter claimed it. :)

That means I've been thinking about getting another one for myself, for quite some time now. Once a week or so, the mood would hit me, and I'd google for a new Vaughan mini hatchet. In fact, I've had one sitting in my Amazon shopping cart for like a month.

So why haven't I pulled the trigger & bought it? I got to thinkin' about all the work I'd want to put into it, to make it "right". I'd have to thin the edge of course, and maybe feather in deeper reliefs so it has a higher center line. Then enlarge the eye so it's proportional to the size haft I think looks right. And by the time I'd be done, what would it weigh? Seven ounces or less? That's probably stretching the limits of practicality; I wouldn't mind having a few more ounces to start with. And after putting in all that work, I'd still be left with a hatchet worth about 20 bucks, with steel on the softer side of what I prefer on a small tool like this.

So I even started looking for a scrap of 5160 from a spring shop, thinkin' about making one entirely from scratch. Hey, if I'm putting in 80% as much work anyway, I may as well end up with a completely hand made item of higher value. Maybe it wouldn't even be any more work, since it's much easier to shape when annealed.

So as I was mulling all this over, I did my usual sweep on ebay, and all the above suddenly became null and void. I found just what I was looking for, at a price I was willing to pay.

s-l500.jpg


Those curving shadows show the nice shape and geometry of this little 12.9 ounce head. The eye has more room for a stronger haft, and the edge is already wonderfully thin.

s-l1600.jpg


I don't believe it has been sharpened much.

s-l1600.jpg



Does anybody know who made this? I cannot find any markings at all, but it is obviously not new since it was made with a good steel bit forge welded onto the body.

Now I need to go find a nice piece of wood to make a haft, and get it sharpened up.
 
the possum said:
It's about time to bring this thread back for some more action. It's mushroom hunting season here in Southern Illinois, and sometimes I like to take my mini pocket axe along, just because.

Well, except that it's not really mine anymore, since my daughter claimed it. :)

That means I've been thinking about getting another one for myself, for quite some time now. Once a week or so, the mood would hit me, and I'd google for a new Vaughan mini hatchet. In fact, I've had one sitting in my Amazon shopping cart for like a month.

So why haven't I pulled the trigger & bought it? I got to thinkin' about all the work I'd want to put into it, to make it "right". I'd have to thin the edge of course, and maybe feather in deeper reliefs so it has a higher center line. Then enlarge the eye so it's proportional to the size haft I think looks right. And by the time I'd be done, what would it weigh? Seven ounces or less? That's probably stretching the limits of practicality; I wouldn't mind having a few more ounces to start with. And after putting in all that work, I'd still be left with a hatchet worth about 20 bucks, with steel on the softer side of what I prefer on a small tool like this.

So I even started looking for a scrap of 5160 from a spring shop, thinkin' about making one entirely from scratch. Hey, if I'm putting in 80% as much work anyway, I may as well end up with a completely hand made item of higher value. Maybe it wouldn't even be any more work, since it's much easier to shape when annealed.

So as I was mulling all this over, I did my usual sweep on ebay, and all the above suddenly became null and void. I found just what I was looking for, at a price I was willing to pay.

s-l500.jpg


Those curving shadows show the nice shape and geometry of this little 12.9 ounce head. The eye has more room for a stronger haft, and the edge is already wonderfully thin.

s-l1600.jpg


I don't believe it has been sharpened much.

s-l1600.jpg



Does anybody know who made this? I cannot find any markings at all, but it is obviously not new since it was made with a good steel bit forge welded onto the body.

Now I need to go find a nice piece of wood to make a haft, and get it sharpened up.
Click to expand...

Nice hatchet head there, no clue who made it though. Im thinking it could be an Imperial.
They had a 3 piece combo that came with a small sized traditional hatchet a camp king and H6 fixed blade. If I remember correctly ( I've only seen old ads ) the heads looked a little like this and were definitely about the same size.

Btw my Vaughan sub zero hatchet came with a nice high center line to it.
 
Square_peg said:
Old Craftsman/Vaughan?
Click to expand...

Those were the same size as the current Vaugan sub zero and were deeply stamped.
This head is pretty similar to what I know of the imperials, and since they didn't make them and they were coming with a 2 knives that were marked they theoretically wouldn't need to be stamped.
Since I've only seen them in ads where no stamp was shown in the picture unlike the knives I have no idea if they actually had any sort of markings on them.
Edit : the forge welded bit pretty much throws out the imperial idea.
 
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The overall shape reminds me of my (I mean, my daughter's) mini Craftsman hatchet. But this one is clearly larger, 60% heavier, and the eye is almost twice as big. Did Vaughan ever make a 3/4 pound version?

Also, there's lap seams inside the eye, making me believe it was hand forged.
 
the possum said:
The overall shape reminds me of my (I mean, my daughter's) mini Craftsman hatchet. But this one is clearly larger, 60% heavier, and the eye is almost twice as big. Did Vaughan ever make a 3/4 pound version?

Also, there's lap seams inside the eye, making me believe it was hand forged.
Click to expand...
I don't believe they ever did, and it would absolutely be marked if they made it.
 
I have one of these little Craftsman. I find it to be little use for anything I do, but it's definitely as well made as the bigger ones. It's actually a really elegant little tool,
and it's certainly light.
A longer handle may help out in its usefulness, but the one on there is beautiful and I have a lot of others I like fine, so it stays!

By a 14" hatchet
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Sitting on a 4 lb swamper
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Very cool, muleman77! Love that curly maple handle. You make that yourself?

I already have a 14" hatchet or 7, and pretty much every other size on up. But I didn't have a small pocket axe anymore, so that was the whole reason for this purchase. :)
 
the possum said:
It's about time to bring this thread back for some more action. It's mushroom hunting season here in Southern Illinois, and sometimes I like to take my mini pocket axe along, just because.

s-l500.jpg
Click to expand...

The shape is unique. The top is so square to the poll. Defintely different from the Vaugahn or Craftsman so I take that suggestion back. Looks little worm like it might have once been 4-3/4".

Vaughan and Craftsman for comparison.

Craftsman%20mini.jpg

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My main interest in a small hatchet is to actually USE IT for whittling mainly. I have some nice whittlers, but I find myself doing the roughing with my Buck 110 and often using it like a hatchet to chop off tiny branches.

I've been looking into small hatchets to do the job. Of course a Gransfors Bruks would be nice, even a Hults Bruks, but those are out of my price range right now since this is just a hobby and I need a couple of other folders as well.

The hatchets I've been seeing on eBay are the Marbles Small Axe which is of course very well reviewed, has the right length handle, has a very desirable woodworking profile, a true palm swell, high carbon steel, and last but certainly not least, a good price.

I've also seen the Marbles #9 Belt Axe with the triple hole eye, a longer straighter handle, no beard, and a stainless steel (?) head. Altogether it seems harder to maintain.

I've seen a Craftsman which everyone here says takes time to set up, but that once it's set up it's very nice. The problem is that I don't have the time, the talent, or the tools to set it up.

I've also seen some Plum/Boy Scout, Swiss Surplus, and various random heads which, again, I would have to hang. It looks like I'm going to go for the Marbles Small Axe. I'm not interested in collecting. I'm interested in using, and for whittling/woodworking specifically. I might upgrade later, but for now I need something easy to set up and maintain so that I can get started on actually making stuff.
 
Gabriel-
For my part, it's not about collecting either. It's about having a full set of tools in a wide range of sizes, so you always have the right tool for the job at hand. I wouldn't buy just one wrench for the same reason.

If you're looking for a small & light hatchet that works off the shelf, have you looked at the Calabria hand axes offered by our forumite 42Blades? It might be more cost effective than the Swedish ones, and the handle is long enough that you could trim it off at whatever length you like. http://www.baryonyxknife.com/richaaxe.html
 
I haven't been considering those that are hung tomahawk style. I wanted a nice palm swell. But you're right. Since the handle is straight, I can cut it to whatever length I want. Also, I was hoping for high carbon steel. The Calabria has "spring steel". I don't know what that means.
 
Gabriel Velasco said:
I haven't been considering those that are hung tomahawk style. I wanted a nice palm swell. But you're right. Since the handle is straight, I can cut it to whatever length I want. Also, I was hoping for high carbon steel. The Calabria has "spring steel". I don't know what that means.
Click to expand...

I've got the marbles double bit hatchet ( saddle axe ) and it's great, they're made in El Salvador by imicasa as are my machetes.
I thined the bits some with a file, but it technically could've went to work out of the box.
 
I'm not familiar with that Hunter's Hatchet. I was all excited when I saw they were made of S7 steel, but then I scrolled down & they list the hardness as 50 to 54 Rockwell. :( WTF? If you get one, let us know how it works out for you.
 
Gabriel Velasco said:
I haven't been considering those that are hung tomahawk style. I wanted a nice palm swell. But you're right. Since the handle is straight, I can cut it to whatever length I want. Also, I was hoping for high carbon steel. The Calabria has "spring steel". I don't know what that means.
Click to expand...

There's an overlap: a spring steel is a medium to high carbon steel and makes an excellent striking implement.
 
the possum said:
I'm not familiar with that Hunter's Hatchet. I was all excited when I saw they were made of S7 steel, but then I scrolled down & they list the hardness as 50 to 54 Rockwell. :( WTF? If you get one, let us know how it works out for you.
Click to expand...

50-54 still makes a good axe. 53/54 would be excellent. You just wish they'd push it a little higher with S7 steel.
 
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