Small Belt Axe

[Ricochet]

Finished this up today. 11” oal and 16 ounces. Scraped and burnished Hickory handle stained with alcohol dye and finished with bear grease. Been needing/wanting a small hatchet to carry around while hunting. I think I will make a shoulder slung sheath for it. Thanks for looking!

 

[windini]

Nice work, looks like a really handy size!

Did you forge/shape the head, or find a wee one for sale somewhere?

 

[Ricochet]

I used a larger axe and used my 2X72 belt grinder and files with a bunch of finish hand sanding.. Removed a bunch of steel to get it down to where it would be light enough to carry around. It is some very good steel that sparks to beat the band and will shave your beard as it sits. I want to forge one eventually but for now this one will do.

 

[troy2000]

I like that. It's almost a compact tomahawk...

 

[RobWheeler]

Nice piece!

rob

 

[flinter1977]

That's a very handy size for quartering game . well done .

 

[Ricochet]

Here is the sheath I made for it. Thanks for looking and thank you for the compliments!

 

[j2adams]

That’s going to be a handy belt axe.
Well done sir!

 

[Tradbow]

That looks as if it will be comfortable to tote which translates to being carried more than a bigger axe. Very nice work on it.

 

[Hatman/2nd line]

Looks good, perfect size from what it looks like.

 

[Rifleman1776]

"will do" gross understatement. Very nice hatchet/axe/t'hawk for carry. If I were still acquiring stuff I would ask you to make me one. Good job.

 

[Loja man]

Good use of a useless tool! From growing up in the jungles of South America I’m very proficient with machete. I never understood why anyone would use an ax or a hatchet over a machete. The more I was around American made axes and hatchet I realize they were so blunt. Way to much metal in the head! The last couple of years I’ve been carrying around a forged belt hatchet while I’m hunting. Was a much thinner blade and a sharp edge it’s a total be reckoned with! So when I say good use of a useless tool I mean way to turn a overly heavy blunt cutting object into a nice slim hatchet!! Can we see a picture of the edge geometry from above to get an idea of the thickness of the bit?

 

[Ricochet]

Not real clear, hard to do with a cell phone but here is the edge

 

[Ricochet]

I guess that is a shadow on the top right of the first picture. The bevel is even

 

[Springerpanhead]

H

Good use of a useless tool! From growing up in the jungles of South America I’m very proficient with machete. I never understood why anyone would use an ax or a hatchet over a machete. The more I was around American made axes and hatchet I realize they were so blunt. Way to much metal in the head! The last couple of years I’ve been carrying around a forged belt hatchet while I’m hunting. Was a much thinner blade and a sharp edge it’s a total be reckoned with! So when I say good use of a useless tool I mean way to turn a overly heavy blunt cutting object into a nice slim hatchet!! Can we see a picture of the edge geometry from above to get an idea of the thickness of the bit?

Have you ever tried to chop down a 12 in diameter oak tree with a machete?? Go to a wood chopping contest with top competitors and you‘ll see what a GOOD American made axe looks like. Ace might be the place for homeowner goods, but if you want an axe with a proper grind thats not where you go get it.. Oddly enough, Voluntown Connecticut is / was home to David Geer, multiple time world champion lumberjack, his neighbor, Sven Johnson, multiple time power sawing champion, and another neighbor Gibby Ingalls, multiple time axe chopping champ. Amazingly, Gib was still chopping a couple years ago and he was 81. Warning, Dont bring a machete to an axe chopping contest.

 

[SOLANCO]

H

Have you ever tried to chop down a 12 in diameter oak tree with a machete?? Go to a wood chopping contest with top competitors and you‘ll see what a GOOD American made axe looks like. Ace might be the place for homeowner goods, but if you want an axe with a proper grind thats not where you go get it.. Oddly enough, Voluntown Connecticut is / was home to David Geer, multiple time world champion lumberjack, his neighbor, Sven Johnson, multiple time power sawing champion, and another neighbor Gibby Ingalls, multiple time axe chopping champ. Amazingly, Gib was still chopping a couple years ago and he was 81. Warning, Dont bring a machete to an axe chopping contest.

Different terrains, different missions, different needs.

 

[Loja man]

H

Have you ever tried to chop down a 12 in diameter oak tree with a machete?? Go to a wood chopping contest with top competitors and you‘ll see what a GOOD American made axe looks like. Ace might be the place for homeowner goods, but if you want an axe with a proper grind thats not where you go get it.. Oddly enough, Voluntown Connecticut is / was home to David Geer, multiple time world champion lumberjack, his neighbor, Sven Johnson, multiple time power sawing champion, and another neighbor Gibby Ingalls, multiple time axe chopping champ. Amazingly, Gib was still chopping a couple years ago and he was 81. Warning, Dont bring a machete to an axe chopping contest.

LOL!! I have not tried cutting a oak tree that size with a machete! I have cut other trees that are that diameter with the machete. I have cut many a Oak branch that was up to 6 inches in diameter. Interestingly enough the tables for the most part are turned here in the US. It’s hard to find a quality machete without special ordering online from a dealer that carry’s foreign brands. A well-designed ax that is sharp will make a lot of chips fly! But you pretty much have to use a custom axe to achieve that.

 

[Loja man]

Different terrains, different missions, different needs.

Very True!!!

 

[Loja man]

Not real clear, hard to do with a cell phone but here is the edge

Nice! That should work! I think you could take it back to the grinder and thin it down even more if you wanted though. Just my 2 cents! I like a thin bit on a hatchet!

 

[Loja man]

Here is the sheath I made for it. Thanks for looking and thank you for the compliments!

Love you sheath!! How dose it ride? Will you run a belt over the strap?