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

[beroen]

Get him a tomahawk!

[RogerDat]

This is an old thread but since I read it all I'll go ahead and post.
Small camp axe is a more useful tool than a hatchet. Sort of a 3/4 sized axe. Small enough to pack, large enough to actually do some work. To cut firewood nothing beats a bow saw. Way more efficient than a hatchet.

Agree with all of those that suggested looking at reviews online, see what folks find as significant features or failures is a learning experience in itself. I always head for the "3" reviews first, least likely to be fan boys or people who lack skills to use item so have an epic fail.

[Michael J. Spangler]

looks for good old hatchets at yardsales for a few dollars. or buy a fiskars from your local walk mart for about $19
i have friends that collect hatchets and axes and have found some amazing deals at yardsales, as a matter of fact they find them all the time. no-one wants hatchets and axes anymore, no-one will bother with new handles when they old ones break. norland, collins, true temper all can be had for literally a couple dollars.
make a project of it with some steel wool and a new handle.

good luck! it's nice that he wants a hatchet and not just another video game

[AllanD]

If you can take him somewhere that he can handle an Estwing hatchet, I have three.
one I bought at a garage sale 20years ago, one I bought new several years before that
and one bought by my grandfather (He died in 1941, 20 years before I was born)

the three are hard to tell apart... Nor do I expect them to change appreciably in the
next century or two...

My point here is that an Estwing is something he can give to his grandson when
he in turn wants a hatchet..
considering I bought
The gerber branded made in china may hold up well but new sheaths
for my Estwing hatchets and they fit the oldest one as well as they fit the newest... I doubt
Estwing is going anywhere...


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[Petrol & Powder]

I realize this is an old thread but it caught my eye.
When I was 13 I would be old enough to take care of a hatchet but not old enough to appreciate a good quality hatchet, if that makes any sense.
My dad had a "miner's axe" which was a cross between a small axe and a big hatchet. We used that thing all the time and it was one of the most useful tools I've ever seen. Wish I knew what happened to it! I was frequently entrusted with the care of that tool and I never let it rust and I could put a decent edge on it, however I doubt it was very expensive to start with. The point being, spending a lot of money on a tool for a 13 year old that may or may not appreciate high quality or even care about that tool a year from now is likely folly.

[Petrol & Powder]

looks for good old hatchets at yardsales for a few dollars. or buy a fiskars from your local walk mart for about $19
i have friends that collect hatchets and axes and have found some amazing deals at yardsales, as a matter of fact they find them all the time. no-one wants hatchets and axes anymore, no-one will bother with new handles when they old ones break. norland, collins, true temper all can be had for literally a couple dollars.
make a project of it with some steel wool and a new handle.

good luck! it's nice that he wants a hatchet and not just another video game

Buy a good quality but old head and make a handle for it !

An excellent way to make it worth something to him !

[Ivantherussian03]

Buy him something cheap for him to learn: Learning sharpening, tool care, ancillary things, etc.

[Ivantherussian03]

Buy a good quality but old head and make a handle for it !

An excellent way to make it worth something to him !

Good idea

[GhostHawk]

IMO Dean Winchester post #17 nailed it.

For me, if that is what he thinks he wants, give your blessing and teach him how to use it safely.

Then go find a decent tomohawk with good steel (and a longer handle) get it sharpened up well. And show him the difference between a good tool and advertising. Your building for the future here. Getting him to learn to see past the name, the advertising, the glitz. And actually compare tool to tool for the job he wants to use it for. Well that is a great learning experience for any boy.

Me I have one of those cheap Harbor Freight hatchets. Fine for pounding in tent stakes while camping. Or splitting a couple of pieces of easy to split pine. But I prefer the Tomahawk for most work. Longer handle = more force on target without having to swing wild. It came reasonably sharp, I spent maybe 15 min tuning it so that it would shave curls or feather sticks for fire starting. And IMO it is a much better tool for self defense in the woods.

If he is going to want to throw it buy a spare handle or two.

I have a couple and enjoy both. One is more a lightweight carry/throwing hawk. The other is built a bit heavier but has a good built up hammer section for driving tent stakes, etc.

This is one of mine, the well built heavy one.
https://www.crazycrow.com/hand-forge...wk-hand-forged

[JBinMN]

Resurrected old thread from 2014-2015. {The OP was in Feb2014, post #46 was from Sept2015. This one is post#50 in May2019}


The 13 year old kid that was gonna get the hatchet, is now, likely about 18 years old & going to be graduating HS this year.


Just so ya know.