Carving Hatchet

[Elijah A.]

Hey, My grandfather recently passed away and I found these 2 hatchets in his barn. The light handle has TruTemper TFH stamped into it. The dark handle one doesn't have anything other than an "8" stamped into it. Does anybody know anything about them or how old they are? They are special to me regardless and I have been wanting to get into spoon and bowl carving and I thought about fixing them up to use. Would one of these be better than the other? The dark handle one is shorter which might be good. Any information would be appreciated! Thanks!

Eli

[jppierson]

Looks like the axe on the left is a shingling hatchet, the other looks like a camp hatchet.  Here is a link to a blog where the writer creates some new handles and also talks about shaping and sharpening to create the carving hatchet you desire. Good luck!
http://timmanneychairmaker.blogspot.com/...nding.html

[Elijah A.]

Thank you so much!

[Stwood_]

I've got an almost identical camp hatchet like yours. Been intending to make a new handle as it needs one.
Belonged to my FIL

[hbmcc]

You may find the shingle hammer to be more hammer than hatchet.  After roofing it was a universal camping tool. The balance was always awkward for me. They were designed for minimal wood shaping, and soft wood at that.

Yours also has a mismatched handle. They had a standard straight hammer handle. If my poor memory is any good.

[Elijah A.]

Can i assume that the steel on the camp hatchet is decent quality? I'm not sure how old it is but it could have belonged to my great grand father.

[hbmcc]

Can i assume that the steel on the camp hatchet is decent quality? I'm not sure how old it is but it could have belonged to my great grand father.

You can never know for sure. It has been sharpened a few times. It could be even newer than you think. For a kid any axe his size was a draw, and the Surplus Store, better than Wally World, was not above obtaining sand molded pot metal--which that looks like--for parents who know it will be lost before winter. My memories include heating metal in fires to bright red temperatures. Neat! Keen!!! Best test is try it out on hard wood.

[Alan S]

I have modified a shingling hatchet to make it into a carving hatchet. To me, that means it is lightweight, has a fairly shallow edge bevel, and preferably allows your hand to be close to the head. That's why "bearded" axes are desirable for carving, since the edge can hang down lower than your fingers on the handle.

Using an angle grinder, you can cut off the hammer head to lighten the tool, and enlarge the shingle notch into a place for your fingers behind the edge. This can become a quite functional carving axe.

I don't have photos of mine, but there are various versions online. Here's one: https://arivinghome.wordpress.com/2016/0...rving-axe/

[Elijah A.]

Very cool! Would the steel on the tru temper be better quality than the camping axe?

[AHill]

Hard to say which hatchet has better steel.  I'd lean toward the Tru-Temper one being better, simply because it has a name on it, but a shingling hatchet was not meant to make fine furniture, so it probably is only one step up from a pallet tool.  If a hatchet doesn't have a name on it, it's usually just a common item made in masses for generic hardware stores.

As far as carving hatchets go, my standard of excellence is Gransfors Bruk.  If you only use one hand to wield the axe, then a single bevel with the bevel to the outside of your carving hand is more useful.  As well, you will want to be able to choke up on the handle for better control.  A good carving axe has a broader blade than the "8" axe you have shown (see my pic of the Gransfors below).  You can reprofile the edge.  Make sure you have a convex bevel and not a flat or concave bevel.  I find it easiest to use a mill file to rough out the bevel.  You can do it on a grinder, but it takes some skill, and you'll need to be careful about not ruining the temper on the axe.  Cool it off with water often.  It it's too hot to touch, then you need to plunge it in water.  If you get it too hot, then plunge it in water, you'll create a brittle edge.  For sharpening tips, you can download The Axe Book from the Gransfors Bruk website.

Gransfors Bruk Swedish Carving Axe