thook
ArboristSite Operative
hey all,
i'm looking at getting a hatchet for when i'm out cutting firewood. trying to meet some criteria as follows...
-$30 +/- range
- relatively light...no more than a framing hammer
- composite handle would be nice, but not deal breaker
- 14"-16" total length. shorter might work depending, but not any longer
- blunt butt end for hammering wedges
when i'm out cutting, i'm usually alone and often in the woods a ways from a road which means i have to hike in the essential tools i might need eliminating back and forth to the vehicle. along with my chainsaw, i sometimes carry a rock bar for rolling logs to buck them and, in that case, both hands are occupied. i keep a multi tool, cutter file, maybe scribing chalk, and felling wedges in the various pockets. so, i need a hatchet with enough of a butt end so that'll stay in my hammer loop on my dungarees while hiking in. more importantly, this would enable to have it right with me ...vs laying it down here and there...while bucking and limbing to hammer in wedges, knock off loose/dirty bark, or remove small straggling branches or vines
i'm looking hard at an estwing camper's axe. steel handle would work, but i question whether it has enough of a butt to stay in the hammer loop. it's atleast longer than other really nice choices i've managed to come across, so far.
anyway, looking for suggestions. thanks so kindly!
~matthew
i'm looking at getting a hatchet for when i'm out cutting firewood. trying to meet some criteria as follows...
-$30 +/- range
- relatively light...no more than a framing hammer
- composite handle would be nice, but not deal breaker
- 14"-16" total length. shorter might work depending, but not any longer
- blunt butt end for hammering wedges
when i'm out cutting, i'm usually alone and often in the woods a ways from a road which means i have to hike in the essential tools i might need eliminating back and forth to the vehicle. along with my chainsaw, i sometimes carry a rock bar for rolling logs to buck them and, in that case, both hands are occupied. i keep a multi tool, cutter file, maybe scribing chalk, and felling wedges in the various pockets. so, i need a hatchet with enough of a butt end so that'll stay in my hammer loop on my dungarees while hiking in. more importantly, this would enable to have it right with me ...vs laying it down here and there...while bucking and limbing to hammer in wedges, knock off loose/dirty bark, or remove small straggling branches or vines
i'm looking hard at an estwing camper's axe. steel handle would work, but i question whether it has enough of a butt to stay in the hammer loop. it's atleast longer than other really nice choices i've managed to come across, so far.
anyway, looking for suggestions. thanks so kindly!
~matthew