The Mini Hatchet

Finished this pair recently. A friend at work saw my straight handle mini craftsman and fell in love when I showed him how it sliced credit card receipts like butter. He is a big deer hunter and wanted one for his back pack. The longer one is a gift to him. He makes good shine so I'll get plenty of it in return. :thumbup:
I cut a 16" handle off a hatchet that I was displeased with the hang I did. It was one of my earlier hangs. Finished out at 13.25" overall. Feels great in hand. I tried it out yesteady and really like the length better than a 12". I did something a little different by putting a palm swell in near the fawns foot. Feels good.
Threw in a few wip pics.
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Another great update Rockman0, looks like you thinned out the handle on the Craftsman as well. You're definitely getting good at hafting these little hatchets. Hopefully I'll have my Vaughan done soon, for whatever reason I enjoy using that one the most.
 
Yep I thinned out the square pole craftsman, sanded it and hit it with plain BLO, no stain, I hated to sand the patina off that old haft but it sure turned a nice color after a few coats.
 
All dressed and ready to go. The center one is going to it's new owner Sunday.
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Awesome work Rockman0? I just realized that you have two of those square poll Craftsmans. I've been keeping an eye out for another myself. The one I have lost part of its toe to a grinder, hoping to find one intact.

I need to get to work on making sheaths for mine as soon as I'm done with the handle for my Vaughan.
 
Hacked said:
Awesome work Rockman0? I just realized that you have two of those square poll Craftsmans. I've been keeping an eye out for another myself. The one I have lost part of its toe to a grinder, hoping to find one intact.

I need to get to work on making sheaths for mine as soon as I'm done with the handle for my Vaughan.
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Thanks, I like the square polls best, I suspect they pre date the rounded polls, seem to be just a little higher quality. Nothing wrong with the rounded polls, they have good steel, the later round polls don't have a good high center line but early ones have it, or at least that is my take on it .
 
rockman0 said:
Thanks, I like the square polls best, I suspect they pre date the rounded polls, seem to be just a little higher quality. Nothing wrong with the rounded polls, they have good steel, the later round polls don't have a good high center line but early ones have it, or at least that is my take on it .
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I agree, thats why I really want to find another square poll. I keep kicking myself for letting one get away. I also have an older but I believe more resent Vaughan that doesn't have as well defined of a high centerline, obviously the same as the Craftsman from that time. The current Vaughan has a nicely defined high centerline and profile as well as good steel, but the fit and finish is superior on the older version. I'll try to take a better comparison photo to show what I mean.

Also good find on those sheaths. I didn't think there was any options out there for these hatchets. Good to know I was wrong.
 
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Hacked said:
I agree, thats why I really want to find another square poll. I keep kicking myself for letting one get away. I also have an older but I believe more resent Vaughan that doesn't have as well defined of a high centerline, obviously the same as the Craftsman from that time. The current Vaughan has a nicely defined high centerline and profile as well as good steel, but the fit and finish is superior on the older version. I'll try to take a better comparison photo to show what I mean.

Also good find on those sheaths. I didn't think there was any options out there for these hatchets. Good to know I was wrong.
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I have a NOS mini that appears to be made by Vaughan. It has flat cheeks and lower quality overall compared to the older craftsman stamped minis. I'll try to get some comparison pics posted up tonight.

Jantz supply website is knifemaking.com for the sheath. If order one get some neatsfoot oil. It's raw leather with no stain. I wet formed mine and slapped on the oil after they dried. They are nice and supple now.
 
Hacked if you have a new Vaughan I would like to see pictures of the centerline on it to compare to older ones. I'm not sure how old the one one the left is but in the first picture you can see the head is lopsided and second picture shows the flat cheeks.
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Thanks S Peg. It does have a nice high center line. Makes me wonder if they made the flat cheeks at a discount for vendors looking to stock cheap mini hatchets.
 
Rockman0, the flat cheeked one you have reminds me of the version that BRKT used to modify. I you go back to the first post in this thread there is a link to a blog where they talk about this version and modifying it. Since you have a talent for finding these hatchets would you mind giving me a heads up if you ever come across another square poll Craftsman in good shape?

Finally got around to getting a handle on my original Vaughan, finished up yesterday. This is the current version being produced today. It's center in the photos below.

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And here is the difference in profiles on mine. Starting left Square poll Craftsman, Current version of the Vaughan, and an older version of the Vaughan with a slight high centerline.

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Sadly you can hardly tell the effort of enlarging the eye from the photo. It may not look like much but its about twice the size of the eye on the Craftsman now, and straight.

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This hatchet is used primarily for camp and so I made the handle thin at the top just below the head and then the width tappers and finally flairs at the bottom for the fawn's hoof. This is so the handle will be less likely to contact wood when being used to split, and still remain comfortable in the place where I grip it the most. I wasn't concerned with over strike damage as missing with such as short light tool shouldn't be an issue. Time will tell how well this works in the long run.

Sqaure_Peg I defiantly want to pick up on of those Oyster hatchets some day. Seems like it could be handy around the shop. I could be wrong but it looks like from the photo that your Sportsman's hatchet could benefit from bringing the grind back a good bit. As your photo shows they ship completely un-sharpened. I find with as light as they are that they can handle, and work best with a very thin bit. Mine is somewhere around 14 degrees or 7 per side, though it's been thinned a bit more since I last tried to gauge it. If nothing else the steel is good on these hatchets.
 
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Nice work on those handles Hacked, I like the fawns foot on those, I've seen those BRKT mods come up for sale occasionally on eBay, lots more than I'm willing to pay. I can see the difference in the enlarged eye, looks like a worthwhile improvement.

Its about time for a square poll to pop up on eBay, it's been several months since I've seen one on there and I watch daily. I've got 2, straight handle and a curved handle so I'm good with that pair, next one that is in good shape comes up I'll let you know.

I've got my eye out for a double oval craftsman hatchet that's not badly mushroomed. I've got the wave stamp and single oval so wanting the double oval now.
 
There is a square poll just listed on eBay, it's a buy now but they want too much, it's a nice one, you may be able to talk them off their price.
 
Thanks for the heads up.

There's a lot of work in those handles, still the hardest axes I've hafted even with a slightly larger eye. They are worth it though as the handles feel great in use. The BRKT ones I was more getting at what they looked like before they were modified. They looked an awful lot like the one you posted with black paint on it profile wise, very flat cheeked.

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Hacked said:
Thanks for the heads up.

There's a lot of work in those handles, still the hardest axes I've hafted even with a slightly larger eye. They are worth it though as the handles feel great in use. The BRKT ones I was more getting at what they looked like before they were modified. They looked an awful lot like the one you posted with black paint on it profile wise, very flat cheeked.

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Right, I agree the BRKT mods started out with the flat cheek version.

These little handles are the most tedious to get lined up and fitted with no gaps. But it is a lot of fun and they are useful little hatchets, especially when weight is a factor in your pack.
 
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