Lee Valley Hatchet

O

Old Axeman

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Lee valley Tools has a new listed hatchet for those of you who dont want to rehab a historic one. They call it the Yankee Hatchet, # 65U15.20 and is only $26.50. They say it is forged in Germany with American Hickory handle. From the picture it looks good. Anybody have a report on this hatchet?
 
Lee Valley says it's "forged in Germany by a family-run firm that has been making axes since 1919..." which sounds like a match for Adler.

FortyTwoBlades said:
They're definitely different companies. Believe it or not, Adler is something like the second largest axe maker in Germany! They're just not well known outside of there because they haven't sold to the USA until now. :)

Helko doesn't produce some of the models Adler does, and Adler produces more variations of overall quality level. Adler also produces hoes, which are notably absent from Helko's product line.

Adler uses both C45 and C60 steel, with C60 being used for their more premium models.

ADLER was established in 1919 by blacksmith Josef Schmitt and is located in South Germany, Baden-Württemberg between Karlsruhe and Mannheim. Initially the company was specialized in semi-finished hoes and tools which were further processed in local forges. There were the respective local tool forms finished as these forms varied tremendously among the different regions. Over the next few years a handle production site was built as an extension to the plant and therefore the production chain consolidated the manufacturing of tool heads and the processing of appropriate tool handles.
Today our plant consists of three buildings and comprises a total area of 10.000 m2. In addition to the forge and handle production a modern painting plant was constructed which enables us to lacquer the handles with environmental friendly water-based paint. This gives us the opportunity to respond to customer’s request in- stantly.
For enhancing our production flexibility an automated dry kiln was installed which is guarantor of a constant high quality our customers are used to since the beginning.
Since four generations, ADLER is one of the leading specialists in the area of forged forest and garden tools. Our primary concern is to offer products tailored to our customer’s specific needs and therefore we constantly expand our knowledge and capacity in order to strengthen our competitiveness.
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Yup--looks like a dead ringer for Adler to me. In which case you can expect crooked hangs with gaps in the eye. The initial samples I received were nice, and the steel and heat treatment are excellent, but when I placed an actual order with Adler the handle quality and the way they were hung was abysmal. Technically functional, but not salable.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Yup--looks like a dead ringer for Adler to me. In which case you can expect crooked hangs with gaps in the eye. The initial samples I received were nice, and the steel and heat treatment are excellent, but when I placed an actual order with Adler the handle quality and the way they were hung was abysmal. Technically functional, but not salable.
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If that's the case, then I'd just get a 17$ craftsman hatchet from sears ( American made by vaughan ) it may be a 1 day project when you get it, but the Steel is just fine.
 
The Adler heads were nice and had a visible temper line a good 2"+ into the bit, but the handles were really hit or miss. You were basically just buying the head with a "freebie" handle in it.
 
This might be off a little but the weight stamp makes me think of the "Made in West Germany" heads somewhat.

Here's the Adler:

File-2016-03-07-1-44-36-PM-e1457376394615.jpeg


West German:

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FortyTwoBlades - Were the Adler's you handled marked in any other way besides the weight?

There are obvious shape differences, of course. The Adler looks much more refined but they are new production.

Since WECO was involved in imports from Japan and West Germany (as far as I know from my chair and the internet), I wonder if there is any reference to them dealing with Adler.

Your comment made me think of one I have:

FortyTwoBlades said:
The Adler heads were nice and had a visible temper line a good 2"+ into the bit, but the handles were really hit or miss. You were basically just buying the head with a "freebie" handle in it.
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Just pre-coffee rambling.
 
The only marking on the heads was the weight--nothing else. All other marks were on the handles. I still have a few of the samples I received from 'em, including a small Yankee.
 
I looked at one in the store and was far from impressed. Pics in the catalogue made it look much nicer. Bit was thin enough I suppose.
 
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