Hatchet as a primary tool choice

[upnorth]

I have been on a slow distillation process over the last few years, with my primary outdoor tools. I felt comfortable for many years simply carrying my Becker BK-2 as a stand alone outdoor tool. I like to keep it simple most days out there and often these tools are peripheral to my primary outdoor interest at the time. Do I want to pack a kit while searching for old bottles ?, while metal detecting ?, while gathering mushrooms or berries ? Usually not, dependant upon location and weather. Bypassing my needs for water, fire, or food as separate issues I have been viewing my little hatchet as a more versatile minimalist tool. Light weight, a chopping or slicing edge, a hammer head, compact size. I just see the hatchet as a more versatile tool compared to a knife, when all factors are considered. It is not a perfect tool or a be all end all, but it has enough positive characteristics to now be my primary stand alone tool of choice. Of course dovetailing a hatchet with a little Mora and or a folding saw adds substantially to any primary outdoor tool. But if I choose to take just one, it feels more and more like the hatchet to me. I simply view the small light hatchet as a better tool to get a fire going quickly in cold or poor weather. I have been caught coming home many times at dusk, in the rain, having it get uncomfortably cold at dusk etc....... Some of you can make a log cabin with a SAK, but I can't, so this is my single tool compromise. A tool that was a necessity for travelling natives and Fur Traders...... I live in the real world when outdoors. I have skill limits, interest limits, weight limits etc. I don't believe that this little guy is a ''hatchet'' per say, but that's how I see\use it. I think that this is called a small wildlife axe, or some such. Anyway, I like pretty much everything about it, including how it feels in hand. If I only grab one light weight compact tool for a possible survival scenario, with bad weather potential, this is my choice. The tiny versatile hatchet.

 

[Huntsman Knife Co. LLC.]

I think a small hatchet or hawk can be a great stand alone tool in the woods. This is my utility hawk I designed for just that. I've carried it alot and I think with the proper technique it can replace a knife. It has thin geometry and 58RC edge so it can slice and cut very well while also having good chopping ability. And at ~12 inches overall its compact and easy to carry like a hatchet.

 

[sicily02]

I like smaller hatchets too. I have even made a few myself and carried them as EDCs several years back, but it would never replace my knife, since they truly compliment each other. If you can carry a small hatchet then you can also carry a knife even a small one. Have you ever tried to reach into the peanut butter or jam jar with your hatchet? LOL depending on the hatchet of course lol I made a small hatchet several years back that was just small enough to fit in my peanut butter jar.

Just think of the things you do every day with your knife.

Heck even the Ice man carried both a knife and axe.

Remember the old saying that one sharp tool is like having no sharp tool and having 2 sharp tools is like having 1 sharp tool etc.

I loves me some sharp tools just like the rest of you all but I will not even think of just taking one sharp tool with me when I leave the house to head into the woods. As I sit hear in my nice warm house I have 2 knives on my now .

Take care all,

Bryan

 

[Danimal6513]

I have found that if I'm carrying my machete (modded condor bolo), and a folder (rat 1 at the moment), I have all of my bases covered. Carrying a fixed blade is almost redundant. I find a machete more versatile than a hatchet because I live in the sub tropics, but its the same principle.

 

[Ethan_Hardy]

I'm all for it! I was all knife previously to Christmas. I thought knives were the be all end all for versatility. I got the Wetterlings wildlife hatchet and that changed. I found that with very little practice I would carve and make feathers just as easy as with a knife. Add in with that the ability to chip, hammer, split and last and we have a huge advantage over knives. From my 10+ years of knife loving I have yet to see a knife outperform a good hand axe of the same weight. That all being said, I do think that knives have their place, obviously. It is just now my "grab only one tool" item is a hatchet rather than a knife. A good small axe combined with a multibladed knife (SAK, preferably a Hiker Model) and or Leatherman is a VERY hard combo to beat. Like Danimal said, fixed blades are ALMOST redundant.

 

[upnorth]

I think a small hatchet or hawk can be a great stand alone tool in the woods. This is my utility hawk I designed for just that. I've carried it alot and I think with the proper technique it can replace a knife. It has thin geometry and 58RC edge so it can slice and cut very well while also having good chopping ability. And at ~12 inches overall its compact and easy to carry like a hatchet.

Handsome pieces.

 

[upnorth]

I like smaller hatchets too. I have even made a few myself and carried them as EDCs several years back, but it would never replace my knife, since they truly compliment each other. If you can carry a small hatchet then you can also carry a knife even a small one. Have you ever tried to reach into the peanut butter or jam jar with your hatchet? LOL depending on the hatchet of course lol I made a small hatchet several years back that was just small enough to fit in my peanut butter jar.

Just think of the things you do every day with your knife.

Heck even the Ice man carried both a knife and axe.

Remember the old saying that one sharp tool is like having no sharp tool and having 2 sharp tools is like having 1 sharp tool etc.

I loves me some sharp tools just like the rest of you all but I will not even think of just taking one sharp tool with me when I leave the house to head into the woods. As I sit hear in my nice warm house I have 2 knives on my now .

Take care all,

Bryan

Too funny ! I can BS myself but not other bladeaholics. Ya, the reality for me is that I NEVER go anywhere without back up fire making and cutting tools. Hell, I have an extra hawk in my winter ''stranded'' tub sitting in the car trunk. And an oiled carbon Mora with fatwood and a ferro rod taped to it sitting in the glove box. And I never go out of town without a folder or necker....hey, that's sounds like obsession....

And maybe it is. I suppose that I'm a little obsessive about my life and living. The places that I go and my weather experiences have taught me that I really CAN die out there without precautions. I once had a spooky ''turned around'' experience up north that is burned into my memories. It was not fun.....But right now I prefer to build around a hatchet as opposed to a knife. I just find the hatchet to be quicker at wood processing and requiring less finger dexterity in the cold here.

 

[upnorth]

I'm all for it! I was all knife previously to Christmas. I thought knives were the be all end all for versatility. I got the Wetterlings wildlife hatchet and that changed. I found that with very little practice I would carve and make feathers just as easy as with a knife. Add in with that the ability to chip, hammer, split and last and we have a huge advantage over knives. From my 10+ years of knife loving I have yet to see a knife outperform a good hand axe of the same weight. That all being said, I do think that knives have their place, obviously. It is just now my "grab only one tool" item is a hatchet rather than a knife. A good small axe combined with a multibladed knife (SAK, preferably a Hiker Model) and or Leatherman is a VERY hard combo to beat. Like Danimal said, fixed blades are ALMOST redundant.

Good points made by all. Asking for one tool to do all is definitely a dog chasing his tail discussion. Lord knows I believe in outdoor equipment redundancy. Funny how our views evolve over time and with more thought\experience. A few years back I would never bushwhack with a knife smaller than 6 inches, the bigger the better. I think that this stemmed from a fear of bumping into momma black bear in an isolated spot. And a lack of wood processing knowledge. I also didn't appreciate axes, I felt that they were....boring ? and a throw back to a long gone era. I look back at all the single and double bit axe heads that I found in the north while metal detecting, and tossed......But even the northern Indians used chain saws because processing wood for severe cold wasn't a game for them, just a never ending chore. Last winter I really got out in the ugly cold and realized that for myself, with my knowledge\ skill levels, that the tiny Wildlife Axe was a great compromise. I suppose that I have the luxury of being a semi poser and rarely put myself into a potentially dangerous long term situation now. It's almost like I'm just playing out there. But reality is also that people freeze to death etc. around here now and then so I have to respect nature. I suppose that I could be stone cold Mr. reality and pack a chain saw\gas in the car, which actually would make sense in the north. But that is over kill down here and I believe that part of my hatchet desire is practical reality and part fur trade romance.

 

[6shooter]

I've been eyeing that little Wetterlings for a long time, looks like the local shop has em back in stock too. Do you belt carry it? Overall length is about the same as a mid sized fixed blade, so I'm thinking it would carry pretty nicely. My go to woods combo has always been a fixed blade and a folding saw, with an SAK in pocket, but I really like the idea of this little guy.

 

[sicily02]

Upnorth, Those turn around moments while out in the woods are /can be so freaky lol.

Have fun with this hatchet build around. Like I said I love hatchets too.

Take care,

Bryan

 

[upnorth]

I've been eyeing that little Wetterlings for a long time, looks like the local shop has em back in stock too. Do you belt carry it? Overall length is about the same as a mid sized fixed blade, so I'm thinking it would carry pretty nicely. My go to woods combo has always been a fixed blade and a folding saw, with an SAK in pocket, but I really like the idea of this little guy.

The warden bought it for me a couple of years ago as we were snooping through one of those big box outdoor chain stores. I already had my G.B. small forest and got to take it up to the Boreal. So I was all the stud over the small forest. Then I started to take the little one out in the bitter winter, just out of town. I became greatly enamored of it since then. You know, once in a while you pick up a tool and it just feels right. It is not the be all end all of course, but it has so many attractive features for me that I favour it. I found that the snap on the fairly decent factory sheath was a little weak, so I grabbed an after market sheath and cut belt slits in it.

 

[upnorth]

Upnorth, Those turn around moments while out in the woods are /can be so freaky lol.

Have fun with this hatchet build around. Like I said I love hatchets too.

Take care,

Bryan

Ya buddy, thanks, I doubt that I could have squeezed a needle up my keester for a few hours there, as the sun was setting. Funny what you think about though. I was concerned that the warden would get worried................ between a few flashes of fear, anxiety and borderline exhaustion.

 

[fmajor007]

.... My go to woods combo has always been a fixed blade and a folding saw, with an SAK in pocket, but I really like the idea of this little guy.

Yep, this is my "go to" set up for when I'm planning on being outside. The trio just makes for a good, useable tool set for me. That said, there are a LOT of variations in which fixed blade, folding saw and folder (SAK was initially cited) for in-pocket carry!!!

Upnorth, Those turn around moments while out in the woods are /can be so freaky lol.

Have fun with this hatchet build around. Like I said I love hatchets too.

Take care,

Bryan

I got turned around one time with my Dad when I was about 14.... it was a *very* interesting 2 hours.

I'm not a hatchet kinda guy though I have a couple (I picked 'em up while living in Bosnia), but use them mainly for fireplace/fire-ring kindling making. I do see their value and usefulness even though I still prefer my fixed-blade.

 

[Smokinape]

Can you baton with that?

 

[HwangJino]

I'm not much of an outdoorsman (though I wish I had more free time to spend outdoors), my father was born and raised on a mountain until high school.

When we used to camp (weeks at a time), I only remember a small hatchet. He only used a knife for food.

 

[upnorth]

Can you baton with that?

One of the funniest replies that I've read in a while.

 

[upnorth]

I'm not much of an outdoors man (though I wish I had more free time to spend outdoors), my father was born and raised on a mountain until high school.

When we used to camp (weeks at a time), I only remember a small hatchet. He only used a knife for food.

I think that we take a lot of this stuff way too seriously anyway HJ. At least I do at times. You'd think that we were bringing down the wrath of God, gypsy curses and the I.R.S. on anyone batoning\refusing to baton, a knife through wood, a hatchet, whatever. Yeesh, who cares really. When I am done watching my outdoor shows on cable and shut off my H.D. tv, I can take a long hot shower. Then pop on my stove and make a great breakfast with copious amounts of fresh coffee. Then I drive the car to the edge of town and make a fire in a designated pit. And haul all unnecessary toys out of the trunk to play with........... The point is, most of us don't continuously spend many continuous days and nights outdoors, other than weekend trips etc. While outdoor tool knowledge\techniques are useful to know, they are not usually a life saver in our day to day lives. Who really gives a pinch if you split wood with a knife or hatchet ? Wont both help you to make that fire ? I am as guilty as anyone of trying to pick fly poop out of pepper with outdoor tool topics, as this initial post reveals. But really, when I watch northern natives they used whatever was on hand that worked. We have the luxury of tool ''elitism'' and I'm sure that the northern Indians that I met would just laugh at some of these topics, and just fire up their chain saws. Or take a gas can off their snowmobiles and splash a little fuel onto their wood heap, to fire it up. And as I said, I am as bad as any here for these topics, but I remember the north and try to ground myself again. No one cares if my left leg is canted 26.3 degrees and that my right pinky is extended for proper technique while batoning. Who cares.......... just make the freakin fire safely and quickly in whatever manor common sense dictates.

 

[Hammer67]

One of the funniest replies that I've read in a while.

X 2.

 

[neeman]

Upnorth,

Yes, but this forum for better or worse is a magnet for exactly what you are talking about.
And we really could all get along with a knife, a saw, and an axe.

 

[JG Custom Metal Works]

I usually just carry a fixed blade, back-up folder, and a Bahco Laplander folding saw. Using a saw requires a lot less energy to use than a hatchet in my experience. Also you could get by with just a saw blade if you know how to make a buck saw in the field.