Small Bearded Hatchet/Axe/Axt with Adze Blade Bushcraft - Steel 4150

Very nice hatchet. Received via Post from Bulgaria well before promised date, well-wrapped and undamaged. This is a great bushcraft tool, as I surmised from the photo, description, and previous reviews. Reasonably sharp as received, but as with every edged tool I've ever bought, did require a little touch up, but no big deal - started with my fine whetstone and worked down from there - maybe 10 minutes to a razor edge. The steel is not identified, but it took an edge nicely and seems like it will hold one. Sufficient for modest chopping - limbing trees or branches, cutting kindling, kitchen chores, but not really what this is for.Where I expect it to shine is in bushcraft work. The length is just right - good balance with a grip about 2 inches up the handle - about as big a swing as I'd want to take with this. Another good grip point about 3 inches down from the head, for more detailed chopping strokes. Also a decent grip on the head itself for carving with both the axe and adze blades, although a 2-headed tool obviously creates some safety issues with any carving grip (see below).Two minor issues keep this from being a full 5 stars. One is design, the other quality. The design issue is that the "beard" on the axe blade is really too wide for this compact tool. The width (almost 4 inches) is almost as big as on my 22-inch forest axe, but this is a 13-inch hatchet with a much lighter head. With a full swing, you really can't get that full width of the axe blade to bite into a workpiece. And for carving grips on the head itself, the tip of the "beard" gets uncomfortably close to my wrist / forearm (i.e., when gripping the head and carving with the adze blade). I plan to cut off about 1 inch from the bottom of the axe blade to solve this problem. On the quality front, the handle seems very solid, and the grain is CLOSE to ideal, but less than perfect (see attached photo). Given the attractive price and the quasi-custom nature of the product, I shouldn't be expecting what I do from Wetterlings or Granfors-Bruks, but that's the way it is. I guess it would also be nice to get a sheath, but I've made those before and I'll soon cobble together something for this. It's not a "belt hatchet" anyway, so it doesn't need to ride on my hip. If I could give 4.5 stars, I would, and I am definitely happy with my purchase!

I bought this for the axe head and not the handle so I'm going to focus mainly on that.First off, shipping to America took forever but, that's to be expected so just wait it out.The axe edge came hair shaving sharp. The angle was a little extreme for my liking so I profiled it back a little to prevent the edge from rolling so easily. Which at the angle it came with it rolled from delimbing one small tree with 2" limbs. Still shaving sharp but more durable now.The adze blade was not quite apexed but the angle was good. Just look about 5 minutes to finish that edge and it seems to dig, chip wood and shape just fine.The handle was not to my liking. Too small for my hands. Inspect its fit when you get your axe. My head was tight side to side but had a massive gap front to rear that allowed me to be able to shift the handle a noticeable amount by hand. Grain alignment was a little off too but for a small handle it was fine. This was not an issue for me as I planned on making a new handle for it anyways.

The edges are apple seed shape and mirror polished. Looks like the edge was taped and the the whole hatchet painted black.A great hatchet, for fine woodworking.It would be a shame to wreck this fine edge on ordinary old firewood. I cut a branch anyway and no edge roll as expected.Handle is kiln dried Ash with a nice swell at the base. Smooth and handy.My overall impression is a woodworking tool. You could use it for Bushcraft, sure. It would do just fine. But that edge is so fine it would be a shame to use the his hatchet for such mundane jobs. Great tool and worth the spend. Glad I bought one.Also I think the adze is more useful than either a hammer or a spike in a hatchet.After using this around the camfire to cut oak Heartwood I can say this hatchet is amazing. The edge is still mirror flat razor sharp after some hard use. And the adze is so handy for cutting the sharp spots off of a log bench around the campfire.And it's like chopping with a razor too.

After putting this through its paces at my “camp” I can say that this tool virtually makes hatchets obsolete. The combination of the hatchet blade with the adze blade make this little beauty a must have for anyone who spends time in the woods! Comes razor sharp. Handle is smooth and shaped nicely. It is unfinished but a coat of lynseed oil will have it looking great! You won’t be disappointed!

Definitely a great hatchet for sculptural work. For me it is one of the basic elements of a lightweight bushcraft set - Almost like Nessmuk :-)Best regards,KonradPOLAND

I don't do a lot of reviews, but I just got this adze and it's great. I've been carving since not long after I could walk and I've had a lot of tools, some good and some not. I made a mallet today out of ironwood (aka hard hack), which is the hardest wood I have and the edge is as it was before I started. I did have to sharpen the tool when it came, but that's true with all bladed tools. I'm very happy with my purchase.

Before I found this gem of a bushcrafting tool I had been using a cheap Chinese version with a long handle I had to chop down. Unlike the cheaper Chinese one, this one is finely crafted, the metal head and wood handle are both finished smooth, and both the edges of the adze and hatchet came sharpened. And the sharpening is not some lazy double bevel grind, it's a well done convex grind perfect for taking tree limbs to fine cutting. It's also just the right weight to sit at your waist on a belt. This is one tool I will always have with me from the garden to the forest.