2Dogs,
I'm not sure what errors you're referring to since you don't really point out any, but whatever. RE facts and background: Jimbo's Sub-Zero was significantly reprofiled, not stock, and he did break the handle prying out chips, not chopping. The stock model as you note is a sounding hatchet not for woodworking, but Jimbo, Mike Stewart, Sharpshooter and others experimented with reprofiling it due to some promising inherent characteristics -- its thin head for splitting and its striking approximation of the specs for Horace Kephart's "Colclesser tomahawk": "Among my most valued possessions is a tiny Colclesser tomahawk, of 8-ounce head and 2-1/2 inch bit, which, with hickory handle and home-made sheath, weighs only three-quarters of a pound. I seldom go anywhere in the woods (unless in marching order with a heavier axe) without this little trick. It is all that is needed to put up a satisfactory shelter wherever there is hemlock or balsam, or bark that will peel, while for other services I use it oftener than I do my jackknife."
Thinner, harder edge +thinner cheeks = vastly improved penetration with less effort. Hence, in seasoned driftwood, "This gives an idea of how far the head sinks in with a
light swing just using weight of head." The purpose of the BRKT Mini project was to convert a sounding hatchet into a "serious" bushcraft tool. (Here are other links for anyone interested in info on
some early testing and on
reprofiling.
Yes, the eye is still much smaller and easier to break, and I don't doubt your daughter did just that; it also could've been exacerbated by a bad handle. But it isn't inherently as weak as you suppose. Its eye is comparable to one on a 16 oz. claw hammer which can handle repeated strikes equivalent to chopping, certainly far beyond "tapping." In the
previous link, Jimbo is actually chopping with a
longer handle -- that is, applying exponentially greater stress to the head/handle join than can be generated with its stock 11" handle.
I've split probably a half-cord of wood during several multi-day treks and a few day hikes, beach trips, etc., with my BRKT Mini, still intact (somewhat to my surprise), and I'm not nearly as skilled as Jimbo. Yes, it has obvious limits but it is more versatile than a saw (which I pair it with) and more powerful than any knife near its size/weight (which it replaces) -- a fair compromise for me in a 9.7 oz. tool. Your mileage has varied, obviously.
Glen