Quality Hatchet from Mikhail Artemeyev (inspired by old Russian Carpenter axe)

[JayGoliath]

We all believe there is such tool. Some see it as the Excalibur. To each his/her own, such tool is a joy to use and becomes part of you. It is never easy to come by and once it does, you don’t let go.
Aesthetic supersedes performance and it is a blessing if we get both. Such design took many feedback, trial and error and plenty of thoughts and constant improvement to achieve that harmony with the users. Sometimes you wonder if the tool can even walk on its own.

This is a brief review of the Russian hybrid carpenter hatchet that Mikhail realized for both wood processing as well as utility use.

Specifications :
Steel: coal forged ШХ-15 steel Monosteel (equivalent of AISI 52100), heat treated to HRC 59 (molten salt bath)
Haft: Karelian birch root with beeswax
Weight: 790grams with leather sheath, 730grams without sheath.
Overall length: 18 inches long.

Some better pictorials of the hatchet itself :

Mikhail's signature: MA

The axehead is a homage to the Russian Carpenter model; the Kolunok

Notice the neck has a lip to protect the haft in case it missed accidentally. The extra wide cutting surface helps to dispatch wood fiber with better efficiency.

Whilst hewing axes/hatchets can make Full Scribe/Scandinavian Saddle Notch like this:

The versatility of such construction allows the Russian hatchet to do Dovetail notch:

 

[JayGoliath]

Whilst I don't do log building for a living, I have since switched to spoon carving for hobby (have to justify those purchases, innit):
The hatchet was used to make spoon blanks from Chempedak, Teak and Neem wood, of which all 3 are known to be fibrous in nature and tricky to make smooth cuts:
Large contact surface on the edge on this compact tool proved to be excellent as it was able to plane one entire surface instead of several; As part of the crank making of spoon, this is ideal so you can save the trouble of having to re-establish the rim height on both sides.

With the right grain orientation, the proper tool and technique, we can prevent a split on these tricky wood and turn them into smoother surface for hollowing later:

 

[DocJD]

Notice the neck has a lip to protect the haft in case it missed accidentally

Yeah , I gotta love that detail . Ruined my share of hafts . This would be a great time saver !

52100 equivalent steel seems a great tough choice here .

 

[Alberta Ed]

Great review! A lightweight ax is the ideal survival tool IMHO.

 

[Maxim Korotkov]

Mikhail makes excellent axes, beautiful and spectacular. And this wedge-like form of the axe works good especially when doing the lateral groove of a round shape on a log.My carpentry axe made specially for that purpose also has wedge-like blade.

 

[wildmike]

Just plain excellen!