The Mini Hatchet

So this particular hatchet is for sale online, obviously I can't post a link and I don't want to steal the sellers picture.
I also don't want ot give too much away , but I thought you got might like an idea of what I'm talking about.

Here's my best drawing of what I'm trying to buy, it looks to be about a 1lb'er.

I'm pretty sure it was a metal detecting find but it definitely looks like it could be put back into service though it's going to be pretty pitted.
I'm thinking post civil war 1800's but I'm not an expert.
Sure I suppose some reenactor could have lost their made in India hatchet back in the 70's or something, I don't know.
Its not like anyone is trying to sell it as a valuable antique or something.
 
There are a few things I wish I had done differently with my first Vaughan Sub zero super sportsman, so I finally decided I wanted a do-over and ordered two more.
My first had a bit of a crooked eye too, so hopefully one of these two is good.

With two I'll be able to go about each a bit differently.
One will get it's blue pain stripped with JASCO while the other gets sanded and maybe get a timer finish, and one will have it's factory handle reshaped while the other will have a handle made from a standard hatchet handle like I did with my first.
I might even cold blue one of them.

The goal is just a better result compared to my first effort.
 
By the way I could no longer find the little super sportsman on Vaughan's website, they still offer the same old catalog to download which would lead me to believe they still manufacture everything in it, but they could have discontinued for little super sportsman.
 
I went ahead and got a handle knocked out for one of the Vaughan minis whenever they arrive, should be able to give it just the right kind of closed hang.
I just started with a hardware store link handle, it feels pretty good , and i think it's proportionally slim as it should be. The goal is to hang it at 12" on the dot.
 
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Hickory n steel said:
I went ahead and got a handle knocked out for one of the Vaughan minis whenever they arrive, should be able to give it just the right kind of closed hang.
I just started with a hardware store link handle, it feels pretty good , and i think it's proportionally slim as it should be. The goal is to hang it at 12" on the dot.
Click to expand...
That's a beautiful haft! That'll look and be really nice when done. Look forward to seeing it!
 
Square_peg said:
3rd one back on the left. Can we see the whole handle on that one? I have an old Craftsman mini like that and the haft is like a miniatrure version of a good full size axe handle. Most mini's don't have handles to scale like that.
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I don't know why Vaughan no longer uses a properly scaled handle like this.
That's what I had in mind with the handle I made for one of the two that's scheduled to arrive today.
I'd love to find whatever that mini hatchet is that's seen on Old Jimbo's site, now that thing as a real beauty with a perfectly scaled handle.
 
Hickory n steel said:
I don't know why Vaughan no longer uses a properly scaled handle like this.
That's what I had in mind with the handle I made for one of the two that's scheduled to arrive today.
I'd love to find whatever that mini hatchet is that's seen on Old Jimbo's site, now that thing as a real beauty with a perfectly scaled handle.
Click to expand...

My Craftsman mini has a nicely scaled handle. And a full unclipped fawn's foot. I love it! Just waiting for my grandson to get a little older so I can pass it on.

Craftsman%20mini.jpg
 
Square_peg said:
My Craftsman mini has a nicely scaled handle. And a full unclipped fawn's foot. I love it! Just waiting for my grandson to get a little older so I can pass it on.

Craftsman%20mini.jpg
Click to expand...

Sure is a nice one, I'm sure he'll be so happy with it.

The current handles do have enough wood to work with, I'll see what I can get out of it if mine ever arrive.
I didn't bother to attempt a proper shape with my first one because the hang was a bit too open and it was too short when I rehung it so I just replaced it.
 
Now those bastards at UPS changed it to Monday when it's at a location less than an hour away, so I don't know what's going to happen.
My town is probably the last on some lazy bastards list and they decided they wanted to go home early.

Ordering things online is absolutely not convenient, unless you're using Amazon and I refuse to give those bastards my money.
 
They just arrived with only 10 minutes before I had to leave for work.
The eyes on both are perfectly centered and straight up and down which I'm happy about.
The handle on the one I'm rehafting punched out very easily with a 3/8 punch and is now sitting with a bunch of Citristrip, good for me but not great knowing it wasn't all that secure.
I was holding the head in my hand and not wearing gloves either, my first was a real hear to remove.
The hardware was out of the good stuff so I had to settle for the Citristrip and I'm not sure its gonna be strong enough to get the job done, I know Jasco would have no problem with this.
Citristrip is much safer while Jasco is some pretty nasty stuff, but that's what it takes some times to remove industrial epoxy paints and stuff like this.
 
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Just needs some BLO, I wish there was a bit more to the swell / fawns foot but there's just not enough meat on these handles for it. It's not bad I'd just like a little bit more.
I also forgot how rough these come underneath that blue stuff, i did what i could but could not get everything perfectly smooth.
They must use like a 10 grit belt or something, if that's even a thing.

Sadly I could not use that handle I made, once I started hanging it I realized there was way too much forward curve and not enough backward curve.
It just wasn't going to work.

It came out at exactly 10.5" which I think is actually a good length for these little guys, 10.5" is fine and 12" is great, but the 11.5" they come at seems weird to me for some reason.
 
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