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Carry a hatchet.

MattMan81

MattMan81

Well-Known Member
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Joined
Jan 13, 2020
Messages
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The Mitten
Last summer i ordered a few odds and ends on sale from camo fire. They missed something in my order, and when I contacted them they were quick to ship out the missing contents. Plus I had an extra goody in it. A SOG hatchet. I have one of those cheap machete blades with a saw on the back I used for prepping trees. But this winter I took that hatchet, and again yesterday. I used both. But that hatch is hands down better. You can chop thru a decent size limb pretty quick. Clears small limbs with a little wack. Pretty compact, sharp, pretty flat and the Handel is way more comfortable. Not that
expensive. Pretty sure it would chop your rope in an emergency as needed to. Not a bad little tool for a scouting mission.
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Yes!! I’ve been preaching tomahawks/ hatchets for years, especially the ones with a hammer head back. I have 3 of the CRKT woods chogans and they’re the bees knees, 1. far superior to a machete for size of limb to amount of strikes to eliminate, 2. Who doesn’t want to look like a Viking walking around, 3. The CRKTs can easily slide the head off for packing purposes. It is indeed a handy weapon/tool. I hunt only public but I’ve been using these things to clear countless brush/trees on private land.
 
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This is an opportunity for me to give a shout out to a good friend of mine's son who started a small, veteran owned business somewhat recently. My
friend, an ex co-worker, and his son gifted me a truck axe as a retirement gift this summer. I have to say I've been pretty impressed with it. I'd say in size that it falls in between a hatchet and a full size axe and it handles really nice. For the record I have no affiliation with this company other than I've known these guys for 25 years, good men who both served their country in some bad places/situations in this world.

www.veteranhawk.com

VETERAN HAWK

We sell 100% Made in the USA Axes and Tomahawks. Quality Hickory handles. Custom engraving. All of our products are designed for outdoor activities, such as Rendezvous, Hunting, Camping, Survival Training, Splitting Wood, Cabin building, Campfire building and other Bushcrafting. All our Axes come wi
www.veteranhawk.com www.veteranhawk.com

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Hatchets are great for busting pelvic bones too! I keep a hatchet and a Gerber Gator Jr in my truck yr round. There is no telling when you may or may not need to crack some Zombie Taters, or just get a tree out of the way.

Oh, and a Fiskers Brush Axe you get from Wally World, is hell on a limb. Its the love child of an axe and machete, in my opinion.


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boyne bowhunter said:
This is an opportunity for me to give a shout out to a good friend of mine's son who started a small, veteran owned business somewhat recently. My
friend, an ex co-worker, and his son gifted me a truck axe as a retirement gift this summer. I have to say I've been pretty impressed with it. I'd say in size that it falls in between a hatchet and a full size axe and it handles really nice. For the record I have no affiliation with this company other than I've known these guys for 25 years, good men who both served their country in some bad places/situations in this world.

www.veteranhawk.com

VETERAN HAWK

We sell 100% Made in the USA Axes and Tomahawks. Quality Hickory handles. Custom engraving. All of our products are designed for outdoor activities, such as Rendezvous, Hunting, Camping, Survival Training, Splitting Wood, Cabin building, Campfire building and other Bushcrafting. All our Axes come wi
www.veteranhawk.com www.veteranhawk.com

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This style ( the Veteran Hawk Truck Axe) is my preferential axe for the kind of tasks the op is talking about. For me, those short handled hatchets are dangerous as hell. I really prefer the medium length axe for camp / trail work and hunting site prep. Though, during the season I find a folding handsaw to be quieter to use, safer in the tree and much lighter to carry.
 
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Jammintree said:
This style is my preferential axe for the kind of tasks the op is talking about. For me, those short handled hatchets are dangerous as hell. I really prefer the medium length axe for camp / trail work and hunting site prep. Though, during the season I find a folding handsaw to be quieter to use, safer in the tree and much lighter to carry.
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I’ve seen a ton of injuries with hatchets, I prefer a curved 170mm folding Silky saw. Will go tight through inch thick pieces in seconds. 2-3” branches very quickly.

 
 
TheBlindCat said:
I’ve seen a ton of injuries with hatchets, I prefer a curved 170mm folding Silky saw. Will go tight through inch thick pieces in seconds. 2-3” branches very quickly.

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I’ve seen a ton of injuries with hand saws too. Especially foldable saws that bind on bending limbs. Almost any tool you use improperly can leave you in need of stitches, or at least a heck of a scar.


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Jammintree said:
Though, during the season I find a folding handsaw to be quieter to use, safer in the tree and much lighter to carry.
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I stepped up my branch removal game, last year and purchased a serious folding pruning saw from Lowes. :cool:
I've carried a limb saw for many years, but this pruning saw is a beast for cutting any limb or branch and it does it with ease! :)
 
shmelton said:
I’ve seen a ton of injuries with hand saws too. Especially foldable saws that bind on bending limbs. Almost any tool you use improperly can leave you in need of stitches, or at least a heck of a scar.


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No argument from me that you can cut yourself badly with a hand saw. But compared to a hatchet you’re more likely to just need stitches instead of a vascular surgeon, just from my experience. You can certainly mess your hand up either way if you screw up. It’s a good reason to carry bandaids, a trauma dressing, and tourniquet though.
 
boyne bowhunter said:
This is an opportunity for me to give a shout out to a good friend of mine's son who started a small, veteran owned business somewhat recently. My
friend, an ex co-worker, and his son gifted me a truck axe as a retirement gift this summer. I have to say I've been pretty impressed with it. I'd say in size that it falls in between a hatchet and a full size axe and it handles really nice. For the record I have no affiliation with this company other than I've known these guys for 25 years, good men who both served their country in some bad places/situations in this world.

www.veteranhawk.com

VETERAN HAWK

We sell 100% Made in the USA Axes and Tomahawks. Quality Hickory handles. Custom engraving. All of our products are designed for outdoor activities, such as Rendezvous, Hunting, Camping, Survival Training, Splitting Wood, Cabin building, Campfire building and other Bushcrafting. All our Axes come wi
www.veteranhawk.com www.veteranhawk.com

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I'll go ahead and try to include that in our November New Gear Column.
 
I have a hatchet in my pack at all times. Great tool to have in your pack. Just like any other tool, you need to watch what you are doing and keep hands, arms, feet and legs away from the danger end. I heard of a guy in my town almost dying from whacking himself in the lower leg with one in the woods, lost a lot of blood.
 
I used to love using a hatchet and machete when I was young, and I have at least one small scar and a partially numb thumb from putting that machete in a scabbard. Kept all my digits though! But then I discovered the folding saw and a pair of garden hand pruners. The saw I keep handy for that occasional limb once I’m at height, the pruners are my go to walking in as they make short work of green briars that are always grabbing me. Machete still comes in handy occasionally when switch cane is on the agenda.
 
I have one of these but geez the price has sure gone up on them….I paid $65 for one, it’s nice but not $124 nice for my use https://silkysaws.com/silky-ono-hatchet/

30 yrs in the landscape industry I’ve used a lot of different cutting tools, they all have their place depending on what a person needs to do. I don’t use a hatchet too much these days where I hunt, usually a short 12” or sometimes 14” machete and handsaw. I bought a 24” lerp this year to experiment with on Palmettos, we’ll see how it works
 
2Sloe said:
But then I discovered the folding saw and a pair of garden hand pruners. The saw I keep handy for that occasional limb once I’m at height, the pruners are my go to walking in as they make short work of green briars that are always grabbing me
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I use standard sized hand pruners for small stuff but if you find yourself needing a little more power these work pretty well

felco.com

FELCO 13

When size or ergonomics are really is an issue, these pruning shears /secateurs deliver formidable cutting power from an advanced design that means one tool is all you will need. Go small or go large, use one hand or use two – it’s your decision on how to use some of the most versatile and...
felco.com felco.com
 
I am a fan of most bladed tools and have a few hatchets. The "with a hammer head"( I've always called them shingling hammers/hatchets) is one my my go to tools if something needs to be chopped, as well as my GB small forest axe, though they are more bush crafting/camping tools to me than saddle hunting tools. I picked up a silky pocket boy and think that type of saw plus a pair of pruning shears is a good combo as well. And a tramontina machete sure is fun sometimes too. Hey I said I was a fan of bladed tools lol.
 
This one stays in my camp bag but could end up in my hunting bag


www.battlbox.com

Gear Aid BALTA Hatchet

The GEAR AID BALTA Compact Hatchet is a versatile and durable multi-purpose camp hatchet that will quickly become your go-to tool in the woods. It effortlessly cuts kindling and hammers stakes into hard-packed earth, making it an essential tool for any outdoor adventure. Multi-Purpose Camp...
www.battlbox.com www.battlbox.com
 
shmelton said:
Oh, and a Fiskers Brush Axe you get from Wally World, is hell on a limb. Its the love child of an axe and machete, in my opinion.
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I've got one of those, it's great. I've brought it camping and on some BCWA trips but lately have just been using it in the yard. It powers through wrist-size limbs much faster than something its size should.

I also have an Easton axe I really like, that does double-duty in the quad or truck, depending on what I'm doing. I think they call that size a "trapper's axe" or "boy's axe". It doesn't really split logs very well, but for most canoe trips or general camp chores it's perfectly adequate. I also have a ChiCom double-bit throwing hatchet I bought for hunting, sharpened it up with the idea I could split pelvises or ribcages or do any other woods task. The last several hunting seasons, though, I seem to just get by with a ratchet pruner and Fiskars folding saw. And I haven't needed to split the last few pelvises. I've cut through the cartilage next to the sternum with a Mora knife, instead of gunking up my pruner. Hatchets are certainly handy but I seem to get by OK without one.
 
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