Any experience with the Knives of Alaska Hunters Hatchet?

I've used several of their products and have been pretty impressed. However, I haven't tried the axe. About all I can offer is to repeat what Cliff Stamp has said before: Gransfors Bruks sets such a high standard that it will have to be pretty special to compete, especially if it costs more.

Also, check out the Uluchet, also mentioned by Cliff. www.silverstar.com/turnermfg
 
I have never used it, but based on the picture and specs given at :

http://www.dukeshq.com/Knives2.html

there are a few immediate problems. First off the hatchet head looks like the edge has little sweep. This is bad for two main reasons. First off it lowers the performance of the heel and toe of the bit as point penetrators which is nice for fine cutting. Second it lowers the raw penetration for chopping as the sides grate along the cut, this is only relevant if you are multi-chopping a piece of wood larger than the face of the hatchet.

In addition, while I think that a deep cryo does have advantages, even for axe heads, it seems to me here that this is akin to Cold Steel claiming "Yes, we are using 420, but it is cryo treated 420". That is to say that it is more hype than substance. However this is a gut feeling, nothing more. You would really need to know the details of the heat treatment to know for sure.

The heads on these style axes also often have primary flat bevels. I can't tell for sure if this is the case here, you would want to handle one. If this is true then it is something to generally avoid as it is not the optimal geometry which is the traditional convex -> hollow -> convex. The edge looks a little thick as well, again the picture could be misleading however.

Finally as DWK noted, the Bruks line just dominates this class of axes. The above site offers the axe for almost 50% more than the Wildlife hatchet.

-Cliff
 
I haven't handled one either, but looking at the picture I believe that Cliff has summed things up in his usual thorough fashion.
There's a large axe head of similar design on the cover of the latest Lee Valley catalogue which shows that the design of the hatchet is not new. Such axes are used for splitting where some degree of precision is required - blocking up cedar for shingles etc. Since the hatchet might see a lot of use in splitting lower dead conifer branches for firewood and dressing large animals - it might be a great design. Naturally it wouldn't chop as well as well as a Gransfors WH, but it might be an excellent general purpose hatchet.
 
Yes, it is a very old design. To clarify, there are disadvantages to a large sweep in the edge. The heel and the toe of the bit then have little support from the main body of the blade can be snapped off much easier, as well they will bind much more readily in wood.

Which style is optimal depends on the type of wood being cut, and the manner in which the cutting is done. For example open felling is much less stressful on an axe than wedging which has a waste relief cut perpendicular to the wood. Open felling is also *much* faster, however it wastes more wood and leaves higher stumps.

As Jimbo noted, the above design is one optomized for toughness and thus can do a lot more rugged work that you would not do with an axe with a very wide sweep.

-Cliff
 
I had the chance to handle the entire line at an outdoors show. The Hunter's hatchet is, IMO, the most worthwhile item in the entire line. It's a nice, lightweight hatchet with decent balance.
Gransfors and Norlund are still the best I've seen.

Paul
 
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