My son, 13, wants a hatchet. Best value? Best value for the money?

[dbosman]

Thanks for all the replies.
I didn't know Gerber had anything made in China. Crud!
.....When I owned my own businesses, I bought the small Gerber pocket knives in bulk. When ever someone admired it, I gave it to them.

I'm going to let him buy his choice, but now I can advise him on what to avoid.
I like the idea of finding an old good quality antique or pseudo-antique and recycling it.

Thank you.

[reloader28]

The small Gerber hatchet I bought 2 weeks ago came from Fiskers in Finland. Says right on it.
If it was chinkanese I would not have bought it and thats a garrantee.

[dragon813gt]

The Bear Grylls brand does not fall under buy once, cry once. You are paying a premium for the name and some orange embellishments. I suggest you teach your son the buy once, cry once philosophy when it comes to tools. He will learn this lesson after buying the BG and it fails in short order. Let him buy what he wants.

[HMH]

I like the estwing hatchet also. It is a solid design the only downside is some of them need to be rebeveled out of the box mine did. It will get razor sharp fairly easily and hold the edge pretty well.

[Oreo]

Only trouble with the estwings is that they are heavy. For packing and carrying into the woods a wooden handled hatchet really is a better tool. Around the home / farm / camp the estwing will serve well.

[NSB]

I've got the perfect hatchet for you. I bought it at an auction but never use it. It's the one George Washington used to chop down the cherry tree with. Now it's not completely original anymore though. It's been used so much over the years that the handle was replaced three times and the head twice, but I guarantee it's the real deal. Let me know if you're interested.

[Any Cal.]

Best value? Cold Steel tomahawks, Fiskars axes from Finland(some are China made), Also look into Bahco if they are still made in Sweden. Wetterlings and Gransfors axes are good, watch the exchange rate to get a good buy on them from across the ocean. They cost about double the other options if you buy them right, but are a precision tool.

The Cold Steel is the best project, the Fiskars the best packing tool, Gransfors the heirloom type.

[JSH]

I bought one of the small gerbers with the knife that goes in the handle. I have had it for a little over a year takes and edge and holds it well. I think it is fiskars marked.
I then had a brain fart and had a gift certificate for home disapointment I got the estwing hatchet but the larger one not quite an axe but bigger than a hatchet. Satisfied with it as well.
I had been using a small axe for years to split kindling, then noticed the Winchester logo on it. Those things go for crazy money.
Jeff

[AZ-JIM]

Im with the Eastwing crowd, I used to spend the summers at my grandparents house when I was kid. I might have been 13 or 14 this one summer, where the preceeding winter snow had caused a large branch, maybe 12-14" at the fork of a cherry tree to fall at the back of the property. I was curious and had never been exposed to a hatchet. So I asked Grandpa if I could chop that thing up for him. He laughed at me as he thought it was a big undertaking. Using that Eastwing, it took me the afternoon and a bit the next morning but I chopped it up and he couldnt believe it when he saw it !
Anyway that Christmas I got an Eastwing hatchet from him just like his, I still have it and use it to cut fire wood every year while camping. I have had it for about 25 years and take good care of it, it holds an edge well and I think about him and that tree every time I handle it.

az-jim

[Victor N TN]

I carried and still have my grandfathers "Carpenter's" hatchet. It has nail claws on the back side. He used it in the 1910s and 1920s making cattle cars for the railway. I keep this one in my old Tahoe.

But the one I prize the most is an extended metal handle and an oversize head from Home Depot. It stays in the front stowage compartment of our big camper.

[Victor N TN]

Here is the one I like.


EstwingCamper's 16 in. Nylon-Vinyl Shock Reduction Grip Handle Axe
Model # E44A
Internet # 202183838
Store SKU # 348609
4.9 / 5
4.9/5
8 Reviews

$39.98 / each

[bob208]

my first I got was in 63 it was a boy scout hand axe with the metal handle. I still have it. I use a hand made tomahawk now. if I was looking at a new store bought it would be a estwing.

[Frosty Boolit]

Well, I like the idea of teaching the boy some values about value but regarding the hatchet, I think the estwing with the stacked leather handle is a steal for a lifetime of service. At least as often as I use it it ought to last a lifetime. A good hatchet though.

[ole 5 hole group]

Might want to consider the Gränsfors Small Forest Axe - a little over a C-note but it'll last him a lifetime and both your son and hopefully, grandson will enjoy its use. When sharpen properly, you can shave with it.

[John Allen]

I would find a thrift store or yard sale hatchet and have him restore it. Once he makes it all nice he will take care of it.

[1911cherry]

Help guide his decision to a quality product, my old man showed no interest in me or anything I was doing at 13. I bought a peace pipe tomahawk from a Choctaw fair and used it too much..... cant go wrong with the Estwing

[Hardcast416taylor]

My brother and I grew up on a farm and were schooled by Dad on the right way to use an axe. My brother (age 16) bought an excellent name hatchet (True Temper) for use when "Up North" deer camp/hunting. He was using the hatchet to cut tent poles for the old Army tent. He was notching the cut as you would with an axe. He hit the edge of the V cut and the hatchet ricocheted back striking him in the Left knee cap. He missed hunting that year as the knee cap was severely chipped by the blade hitting it and the 16 stitches needed to close the wound. I believe a hatchet should be kept away from kids and only used by someone that is knowledgeable in using them as these are not a "got to have one type toy".Robert

[pull the trigger]

Let him get what he wants BUT make him understand that only a fool buys the first thing to come along or a whizz bang gimmick.
Make him understand what it means to cry now or cry later.

At 13 years old, he already knows more about the Internet than the rest of us. Tell him it be hooves him to,study reviews and search, search and REsearch.

Maybe make a father son hour of looking over available options. If he understood the dynamics of a quality tool and how to take care of it; that'd carry over his lifetime.



As far as the Bear Grylls thing? There are MUCH better options. Don't talk him out of anything, just be sure he's well informed.

I agree. Let him make the desision but teach him what questions to answer to make decisions.

[TenTea]

Good ole US of A arn:

Plumb
Estwing
Collins
Utica
Keen Kutter
Boy Scout
Imperial
Pal
Kinfolks
Schrade
Marbles
Randall
True Temper
Ontario
Cold Steel
Case

...you get the idea

[claudesapp]

I think a great hatchet for the money is Husqvarna, about $40 and it compares well to those made by Wetterlings or Bruks at a fraction of the price. Not perfect out of the box, but then he'll learn how to sharpen it and care for the head and handle.