Was up in Acadia this last weekend. Had a GREAT time. 3 nights of camping. Learned how to make a proper campfire. Cooked over a campfire on a cast iron skillet for the first time. Learned the value of a good camping hatchet, which I just bought today. Though I think it came with a bad blade angle that would need finishing.
No. It doesn't operate like a knife or saw blade. A good part of its job, especially on the splitting side=its weight+your strength.
Great pics, Ron. Looks like an amazing place. Meantime, sorry to hear you had to reach adulthood to learn the joys of camping. PS: I think your hatchet is fine. Use it for splitting and honing, and it'll do the job.
What's the make of your hatchet, BTW? I have a cheap Gerber (a small 'Bear Grylls' model) for hiking, and it's very handy. Small and light enough to carry in belt but with enough weight in head to split reasonably hard woods and/or hammer in tent pegs. For occasional use you shouldn't need to spend hundreds.
its a little heavier than i wanted, but i really liked the anti-shock handle and the space in the blade for allowing wood to pull away
will they accept a return if it's been used? I mean any use will dull the blade .. it's not like returning a shirt which has been tried on and doesn't fit.
even though I saw a dude who was able to shave (not kidding you, shave) with a hand axe, the better angle is at least 25% and 30% for harder woods. AG Russell-an expert on knives and owner of a major knife company suggests 15% on most knives and double that for axes. His knife sharpeners using two crock sticks are 30% which means a 15% angle on the blades.
meaning staff are clueless? well yeah, that would work! I buy my gear from speciality stores (I use high tech, ultralight stuff, which is outside the price range or interest range of ordinary department stores), and staff are painfully 'expert'. they'd know instantly that it had been used :/
should be but I cannot really tell the angle from there. it also depends on the wood. Softer wood you can go with a sharper (shallower angle) blade. the harder stuff, more like a wedge. I found a saw easier to cut down firewood and an axe for splitting it-often using a sledge or a mallet to split the wood with the hand axe
Don't buy a tactical tomahawk like the M48 if that is where your mind takes you because it is lighter weight and tactical sounds so much cooler. That pointy other end (the spike end) will put your eye out (among other things) if you are not accustomed to keeping pointy things away from your body.
Camping was such a joy until the kids turned into teenagers. They huff and puff now not impressed with the great outdoors.
haha ... so true! the trick is to cram it into them up to about 14, then let 'em opt out. That knowledge and appreciation (of living with and in nature) will come back in spades in their adulthood.
that is excellent advise, I have a couple LaGana tactical hawks and have some training with them but they are first a weapon and a distant second a camping tool. A real camp ax is almost as good a self defense weapon but its far more useful for just about any other task
Can I ask why you would need a weapon while camping? Are you camping in places lousy with carnivores?
i traded in my big stupid one for this baby: its lighter, sharper, and much more popular. and prettier.
