Riggers Hatchet

outdoorbum

outdoorbum

Joined
Jul 8, 2011
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In my attempt to keep up with all of you I found these on sell at Hope Depot (Home Depot) for $17 to $20. A little heavy in the head but a decent value. Large hammer head for driving stakes. Info from the Vaughn website "Our Rig Builder Hatchet is an all-purpose, heavy-duty hatchet, excellent for rough framing, concrete forms, fence building and many other projects. Forged from American made, high carbon steel, the Rig Builder's Hatchet contains a full-polished head with specially tempered 3 1/2" blade, 28 oz. head and an extra-large, milled striking face with deep throat. The 17 1/2" inch handle is high density, American hickory. Also available is a fiberglass version, featuring a high impact overstrike guard along with an exclusive vibration absorbing hollow core design"
 

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I got a few Estwing Rigger's Axes in stock and thinned/convexed the factory edges on them. It's a heck of a tool, and a new favorite of mine. The nail puller notch is great for pulling wire from old fences, which I'm sure we've all run into plenty of times before!

 
I do like my Estwing's and this is just a great value to tinker with. It is a very versatile tool (for me) and I use it almost daily. I am a little stumped on mods but I will post pix of it ASAP. So far I have ground all the edges down and thinned the blade, it does need to go to the belt sander for some serious attention. I plan to sharpen it, finish the head and strip and wrap the handle. What else should I do?

BTW: I bought 7 all total (2 sold immediately) so I have some to play with
 
It's good to see another North Carolina "ridge runner" on the forum. Any suggestions would depend on whether you are going to keep it as a hatchet or convert it to one of the many hawk designs.
 
Been searching e-bay uk for a traditional wooden handled carpenters hatchet as we call them for a modding but only come up with the steel shafted type, a few from the US but the postage they want just drives the price up ( im a tight wad) the search continues.
Chris.
 
I will prob leave these close to their basic design. I did grind all the edges and smooth the head out to flow better and give it a sleeker appearance. I plan to strip and finish the head and handle. I will wrap the handle with some kind of cord. I will post pix ASAP. My plan is to use these as "working" hatchets and leave the tactical sstuff to the CS fleet. Would be nice to mod it into a Death Dealer ax but we will see (my tool assortment and ability both limit me).
 
Construction or carpenter's axe is a normal name for them and they lend themselves very well to hawk mods. I look for them all over at yard sales and flea markets as well as old ball pein hammers for hammer forged heads. Lot of fun.
 
My vaugn 18" fell apart after stripping and linseed. Lacquer in the eye still. Just bought a boys handle to redo it. Def some work, but should be way nicer for knocking limbs and such.
 
Also noticed the eye is tapered towards the top.. smaller on top vs bottom. Seems wrong. Plan on filing it straight at least, if not a slight taper to open it a bit larger on top vs bottom. Any objections?
Vaugn riggers hatchet head.
 
outdoorbum said:
In my attempt to keep up with all of you I found these on sell at Hope Depot (Home Depot) for $17 to $20. A little heavy in the head but a decent value. Large hammer head for driving stakes. Info from the Vaughn website "Our Rig Builder Hatchet is an all-purpose, heavy-duty hatchet, excellent for rough framing, concrete forms, fence building and many other projects. Forged from American made, high carbon steel, the Rig Builder's Hatchet contains a full-polished head with specially tempered 3 1/2" blade, 28 oz. head and an extra-large, milled striking face with deep throat. The 17 1/2" inch handle is high density, American hickory. Also available is a fiberglass version, featuring a high impact overstrike guard along with an exclusive vibration absorbing hollow core design"
Click to expand...

That's a helluva deal for a new Vaughan. I'd pick up several at that price. God only knows how long they'll still be made in America.
 
broe said:
Construction or carpenter's axe is a normal name for them and they lend themselves very well to hawk mods. I look for them all over at yard sales and flea markets as well as old ball pein hammers for hammer forged heads. Lot of fun.
Click to expand...

You would be thinking of the standard half hatchet which is similar but has a smaller often octagonal hammer face.
Those are the most common ones usually.
Here it's the riggers axes I see at the swap meet because the framers used to prefer them before regulations made them a no-go.
 
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