Genuine Norlund hatchet

xeodguy

xeodguy

Gold Member
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
1,737
Time to profess my ignorance: I know very little about axes, hatchets and tomahawks. I have done some reading in this and other forums, but not enough to feel confident about the genre in general and this one specifically. I picked it up last week at an estate sale for $3. There is a ding visible on one side of the edge near the bottom, needs to be sharpened, otherwise nothing wrong with it that I can see.

Is this one a Hudson Bay hatchet? Aside from its value as a tool, is it collectible? I have another small hatchet, so I don't "need" this one, but it seems like a cool piece. Is it possible to tell if the handle is original?

Thanks for the help!

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You were at the right place at the right time! That would have been a steal at $30. IMHO, it's a collector piece, too nice to use. Nice find! T-A
 
Norlund are neat hatchets and they made a nice small camp axe. For 3 dollars you got a fantastic tool at a steal of a price.

That being said, they have a cult like following when it comes to price valuation. There are some brands I pay big prices for but I have not understood the market price paid for Norlund, Keen Kutter or Winchester as another. They are quality tools, just not exceptional. The quality and design does not justify the high price they command.

Taking cover now ;)

Bill
 
I used to consider them leverights and left them right where I found them. But times have changed. They are not really what I consider vintage and are not rare. Use it or flip it.
 
I will say this does look like one of the nicer ones, later on they were skimping on the level of finish grinding and you'd see the top and bottom ground pretty roughly.

I really don't know what people like so much about these or where the whole went to Sweden to learn how to make axes thing came from, but they do not seem to me like something that should bring what they do.

I have no doubt there a perfectly good tool and I would pick one up for the $3 you spent for sure, but I wouldn't pay a collectors price.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I will say this does look like one of the nicer ones, later on they were skimping on the level of finish grinding and you'd see the top and bottom ground pretty roughly.

I really don't know what people like so much about these or where the whole went to Sweden to learn how to make axes thing came from, but they do not seem to me like something that should bring what they do.

I have no doubt there a perfectly good tool and I would pick one up for the $3 you spent for sure, but I wouldn't pay a collectors price.
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In light of everything I have heard here, I think my best bet would be to offer it to collector's and see what price they will pay. Thanks.
 
They're as desirable as they are on the market chiefly because Dave Canterbury and a few others in the bushcraft community started singing their praises despite the axes themselves having actually been a lower-end grade of heads made for sale to campers and other outdoor recreationalists.
 
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FortyTwoBlades said:
They're as desirable as they are on the market chiefly because Dave Canterbury and a few others in the bushcraft community started singing their praises despite the axes themselves having actually been a lower-end grade of heads made for sale to campers and other outdoor recreationalists.
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That has been my understanding, and I never bought the whole " went to learn axe making from Sweden " thing.
As far as I know swedish imports weren't considered particularly special back then, so it doesn't make much sense.
 
Hickory n steel said:
That has been my understanding, and I never bought the whole " went to learn axe making from Sweden " thing.
As far as I know swedish imports weren't considered particularly special back then, so it doesn't make much sense.
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Historically, and at the time in question, domestic (USA) production was considered top-class, Swedish was considered the "cheap but good" alternative, and Austrian-made was the "just cheap" import grade.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Historically, and at the time in question, domestic (USA) production was considered top-class, Swedish was considered the "cheap but good" alternative, and Austrian-made was the "just cheap" import grade.
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That's what I thought.

Someone more recently in the bushcraft community must've made that bs up based on the reputation of current swedish axes.
In both norlunds and current swedish offerings you'll find smaller recreational axes with features bushcrafters like, so I can see how one might believe it but if you think about it for a minute many holes will appear.
 
What I think has been missed in these replies is that people will pay plenty for that axe on eBay. I’ve seen much worse condition Norlund’s go for well over $100.

whether or not it’s worth the money they pay isn’t for me to say. I just picked up a cheap Norlund Voyageur head (not $3 cheap). I guess I’ll find out if it was worth the $50 I spent on it when I’ve hung it and put it to use.
 
I have owned both the hatchet and the trapper's axe since I was in jr high school. Your hatchet still has the original orange they put on the top. I'd venture the handle id original also judging by that. I did some research and somewhere turned up the fact that the Norlund heads were made by Collins. I had never heard that before. As I have said I have owned my two pieces 48 years.
 
The Swedish makers actually did some pretty nice stuff back in the day, AB Sater particularly comes to mind. They had to compete in the American market. I'm guessing it was in the sixties and seventy's that things really went to crap, as it did here too.
 
Hi Xeod,

Whoa! Super nice find (ESPECIALLY) for three dollars! Unless you need the cash, I'd keep that Puppy! I too found a nice Norlund Hatchet (the "Mini" Hatchet) at a "Flea Market" here in Maine several years ago. Not quite three dollars but (if memory serves between ten and twenty dollars). I KNEW I got a GREAT deal regardless (especially) since the "Mini" Hatchets appear to be even more rare. Enjoy your new Norlund!

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HARDBALL
 
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