looking for good hatchet
- Thread starter demc570
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just for some little stuff at the wood pile and for kindling
Sorry i forgot to say what i wanted the hatchet for,which is for kindling and delimbing some of my small firewood in scrap pile,i never owned a hatchet,i do split most of my wood by hand with 8 pound maul,serveral wedges and sledge hammer,i also have the fiskars x27 axe was impressed with it at first,but find maul and wedges doing most of the work.........................................wow! great replies thankyou all.......
Sagetown
Farmer and a STIHL
Okay; Just came in from splitting some kindling with my old Estwing. I used aged Oak, Hickory, and some fresh ice damaged partially frozen Pine. The Oak was wet , and definitely hard to do. The Hickory, especially small aged 4 inch limbs were impossible, even with an axe. They were very damp too. The Pine just popped open. very easily. The hatchet itself was no problem. I've always used it for whacking off small branches in the past.
Ron660
Addicted to ArboristSite
Best I've owned is my Gransfor Bruks wildlife hatchet. It's worth the price. You only live once..might as well have quality.
Sagetown mentioned the "Fireside Axe" from Estwing. Despite the dislikes expressed in this thread about Estwing products, I personally love this particular model.
I use it strictly for splitting kindling from larger split pieces. It is heavy enough to bang through tough pieces but light enough that it swings easy without fatigue. I highly recommend it.
http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/products/Estwing/Estwing®+Fireside+Axe/EWFF4.html
My other hatchet is a "baby" compared to some but I wanted something small and easy to carry. I picked the Marble's MA700SB Single bit hatchet. It's only 11" overall and very handy.
It will hold a razor edge longer that I thought and for only $17 from SMKW and I'm very happy. I made a nice little leather belt sheath for it, too.
http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerc...ors/Marble's®+Single+Bit+Hatchet/MA700SB.html
I use it strictly for splitting kindling from larger split pieces. It is heavy enough to bang through tough pieces but light enough that it swings easy without fatigue. I highly recommend it.
http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerce/products/Estwing/Estwing®+Fireside+Axe/EWFF4.html
My other hatchet is a "baby" compared to some but I wanted something small and easy to carry. I picked the Marble's MA700SB Single bit hatchet. It's only 11" overall and very handy.
It will hold a razor edge longer that I thought and for only $17 from SMKW and I'm very happy. I made a nice little leather belt sheath for it, too.
http://www.smkw.com/webapp/eCommerc...ors/Marble's®+Single+Bit+Hatchet/MA700SB.html
nice,and cheap price to boot!! i like that little hatchet...thank you
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
A froe and mallet would do a pretty good job splitting kindling. A sharp hatchet makes some good fuzz sticks.
I may pick-up one of those little Marble's hatchets for knock-'round-use... for 17 bucks it looks like a heck of a good buy.
On the other hand, I wouldn't buy one of those rubber-wrapped steel handled Estwing's if'n they were priced at 5 bucks (I have one of the leather wrapped, it's a horrible tool also).
A striking tool, especially one with a sharp edge, needs to balance and handle properly. You shouldn't have to "control" or aim it; it should just naturally land where you're lookin'... and it shouldn't "zing" you with shock, vibration and rebound. I have yet to use any striking tool mounted on a steel handle (wrapped with leather, rubber, or any other) that balanced and handled well... let alone, be comfortable and easy on the hand(s) and arm(s).
A few years ago I got "Tennis Elbow" while swinging a hammer. I stopped by my brothers house while he was building his deck, and ended up helping him set the main framing. All he had for hammers were those steel-handled Estwing's... after just a couple hours swinging one I woke-up with Tennis Elbow the next day. The worst part was, I'd beat the fingers of my left hand black-'n'-blue swinging that unbalanced abomination, between that and my right elbow shot... I couldn't do a damn thing. If'n you've never had it... Tennis Elbow is miserably painful, and takes several weeks to heal. You shouldn't haf'ta "grip" a striking tool, it should just float in your hand and land exactly where you're lookin'. When using a hickory handle properly you actually release (or lessen) your grip a bit just as the tool strikes... near nothing is transferred to the hand. It ain't possible to do that with steel, fiberglass, rubber, and whatnot because the tool rebounds and you'll lose control of it... THAT'S WHY THEY WRAP IT.
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Vibes
Addicted to ArboristSite
I ruined my hand banging duct work together as a Sheetmetal Apprentice using a Nalco steel handled tinners hammer. They are built just like Estwing .
I have a Plumb hatchet that works like a charm for splitting kindling. I always look for hatchets at the flea market. I always lose them while trapping so I don't spend a lot on them. I've lost Stanleys and any number of unmarked hatchets. All worked fine with a sharp edge on them. That Marbles looks like a nice one if buying new. They always make a good tool.
That Gransfords Woodsmans would make a sweet trapper tool but I couldn't sleep if I lost that one.
I have a Plumb hatchet that works like a charm for splitting kindling. I always look for hatchets at the flea market. I always lose them while trapping so I don't spend a lot on them. I've lost Stanleys and any number of unmarked hatchets. All worked fine with a sharp edge on them. That Marbles looks like a nice one if buying new. They always make a good tool.
That Gransfords Woodsmans would make a sweet trapper tool but I couldn't sleep if I lost that one.
If your Plumb hatchet is an older one... say, prior to 1970-71... it's about as good as they get. Even most of those made in the 70's aren't bad... now-a-days I believe most anything with the Plumb name is made in China. Even so... I still prefer the hickory-handled, 13 ounce, curved-claw Plumb as my "go-to" nail hammer. I have yet to find an "off-the-shelf" nail hammer, of any weight or brand, that balances as well as that 13 oz Plumb... and the hickory handles are still of "top-shelf" quality. I lost my last one somehow; I've been shoppin' for near a year now for the replacement... the problem is ya' just don't see a lot of 13 oz, hickory-handled, Plumb hammers, and I ain't gonna' buy one without "feeling" it in my hand. A hammer (any striking tool really) needs to "feel" right; every hickory handled striking tool balances just a shade different... once you pick the right one, the one that "feels" right to ya', using another one is like using someone else's toothbrush. I found one at a lumber yard in Cedar Rapids, but the head was hung just a bit "off" dead straight... didn't feel right.
theswampthing
ArboristSite Operative
Not to argue here, but I've been a journeyman carpenter for 12 years, and Estwing is pretty much the gold standard of hammers. On every job, 95% of carpenters use the blue handle Estwing. I swing one everyday, and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I can definitely see your point as far as the hatchet's go, but you aren't going to find many tradesman who will agree with you on the hammers.
woodchuck357
Addicted to ArboristSite
I would advise forgetting a hatchet for splitting and just choke up on your fiskars to make smaller splits.
Jim Timber
1/4 bubble off
I've had my blue handle Estwing 16oz claw hammer for 22 years. I remember my dad's scorn when I bought it (I was 16), and to this day I'm glad I stood my ground.
Times change... physics don't...
When I was swingin' one for a livin' the steel-handled hammer was used for pullin' nails, not drivin' 'em... anyone with savvy knew better than to abuse their favorite hickory handle by pullin' nails and such. Gold standard (of the day) or not... ya' can't change the physics. Yeah, I see a lot of young(er) guys with steel and/or fiberglass handles on striking tools of all sorts... but that don't make it right, it only makes it a fad perpetrated by the age we live in (new-fangled has to be better, correct??). A hickory handle on a nail hammer requires a bit more finesse... learned finesse... that pays big dividends over the long-haul. Not everybody wants to take the time to learn... now-a-days it's all about the shortcut. Besides, "tradesman" don't drive even half the nails with a hammer that they did a couple decades ago... air-nailers and pre-assembled is what it's all about. For example, when's the last time you saw a "tradesman" laying shingles with a hammer?? Or building roof trusses on site from a stack of dimensional lumber?? Pre-hung doors... slap-in windows... heck, when's the last time you laminated together a support beam on site?? Look around you a bit more carefully... I bet you'll see the old-timers still hangin' on to hickory.
Back-in-the-day, a "tradesman" built everything from a stack of lumber, with his hammer. Nothing came pre-assembled, wrapped in plastic, and ready-to-slap-in-place... and a tons (literally, tons) more nails were driven by hand.
Back then the steel-handled hammer was used for prying, demolition and maybe some heavy framing...
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L-O-L
You're "glad" only because you don't know any better... and what your missing.
Jim Timber
1/4 bubble off
I have numerous other hammers now. I still have the estwing, and still prefer it over wood and fiberglass handles.
theswampthing
ArboristSite Operative
I can and have done everything I do with my power tools, with hand tools. This includes laminating support beams, hand nailing shingles, building window sashes, roof trusses, cutting and shaping my own window casing from trees I cut down, and much of the furniture in my house. Just because I chose to use a hammer that is comfortable in my hand and I can swing all day doesn't make me less of a carpenter. I enjoy doing things the old way on my own time, but I haven't found many customers or employers who are going to pay me to use hand tools and take longer, and get the same quality of work. I have a large collection of old woodworking tools, but unfortunately they wont make me any money during day to day remodeling and construction. If you're that gung ho about all this, I'm sure you'll be selling your chainsaws, logsplitter and truck, and start using timbersaws, axes, and a mule team on a day to day basis.
theswampthing
ArboristSite Operative
I'll tell you what, Whitespider. You're a live wire, and I've gone on similar rants. I like it. hahahaha
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