Small Swiss Axe 15.75" Overall, 1.6 Pound Head - M4328

After reading the mix reviews, I decided to order it myself. After all, I could always return it. Having just received it and looked it over, I will cover what has been discussed and complained about.But first about me. I have restored knives and hatchets in the past. I have a collection, IE: Al Mar, Ek, Randall, Fallkniven, Kabar, Glock, Cold Steel, Plumb etc, etc.. And, I know something about sharpening, being part of a generation that was taught that skill set.Now to the review:The steel: Its not Stainless, it's Carbon Steel and is magnetic, with a 3.25" face.The handle appears to be Ash and from top of head to bottom is 15.50". It is not lacquered. As to smell, if I put my nose to it.... It does smell. I shall repeat, IF I put my nose to it.The specimen I received, as you can see by the pictures, the handle's orientation and the head mounting are excellent.The Edge: Dull. I would not even consider it sharpened. I took no points away from this. Why? The profile was fine, and I would rather have a profile that was not destroyed by being poorly sharpened.The head being carbon steel - will rust... if you do not take care of it! I have my old fighting survival carbon steel knife of 50 years, been with me in all types of climates. Not a spec of rust. I prefer Carbon steel over stainless. You take care of your tools, your tools will take care of you.I'll rub some linseed oil on the handle, sharpen the edge and place a cover on it for protection. If you do not know how to sharpen or lack the proper tools, a local professional restaurant supply or Cutlery store usually offers this service.Finally, I am well pleased, and for thirty dollars, it would be heresy for me to knock off points for what I received.

This is one of those reviews that could be given 5 stars or 1 star! First to be honest I had ordered one and when it came it was hung very poorly wedge was not right head wasn't seated right and it was in safe to use in its current state. Besides doing any sharpening or shapeing it would need a new handle completely because there was no salvaging it. So I ordered a replacement. Ok second one came and it was better bit the head was put on wrong and it was off to one side horriblely. So I had to rehang it and correct it. Ok now on the the head. No useable edge. Definitely not usable out of the box unless your buying it to hang on the wall. These hatchets are over 30 years old and vintage. They were made between 1980 to 1985 from my understanding and research.The steel is very good and tempered well its carbon steel not stainless which I'm completely fine with and prefer. Filed sanded and stoned to get a razor sharp edge of my preference. Handle and head both are covered in heavy clear coat. Sanded the handle and applied boiled linseed oil and the wood soaked up quite a bit . replenishes the wood and adds protection and strength and beauty. I also blackened the head or forced patina. Helps keep rust off and gives it a nice look and was my preference. So after about two days of off and on work its a awesome performing hatchet. Holds an edge extremely well and has nice wieght for some thicker chopping and with the work put into it I can also carve and feather stick among other similar task. Ok so its a project if you want a reliable and a workhorse vintage 30 plus year old hatchet. I'm completely happy with the second one after the work put in. 5 stars. Now if your buying just to wall hang you'll be happy maybe. If you want to use it out of the box and don't like doing a lot of work on a tool before use you'll probably hate it and never use it. So 1 star... So that's my reasons for it being 1 star and 5 stars

Very neat hatchet. Head is very heavy and big. Heaviest hatchet head I've ever seen. This hatchet can chop for sure. I had to grind at the edge for about 15 mins to make it sharp and usable, but after that it worked good. Surprisingly this hatchet is a excellent throwing hatchet. I'm not a pro at throwing and I get it to stick 90% or the time. Handle is straight so it starts to hurt your hand and wrist when you're chopping. For the price I think there is a lot of better deals out there, but in my opinion this is a neat hatchet and holds a edge well. I would recommend if you have the extra money and you just want to have a mess around/fun hatchet then get it. I hit a couple rocks with it with the edge by accident when I was throwing it and it held up way better then expected. 4 stars for performance and the grain. -1 for the edge and how much work you have to put into it when you get it. Not taking away any for the handle because you can see in the pictures that it is a straight handle and that's enough to know it won't be that comfortable after chopping for a bit.

Incredibly solid feeling axe but it's not perfect. It's a fixer upper or at least mine was. Completely dull out of box with alot discoloration on the blade. That being said the steel is decent as it took a bit to get an edge on it. I used a dual sided King stone because that's what I had and this was my first hatchet so this was a learning experience. The head profile is more of a splitter than chopper but if you have the patience and skill maybe you can alter that. The handle grain orientation was decent so no complaints because more expensive axes have been sent out with worse handles. Straight profile so if you are constantly choking up or down on the handle it's very ergonomic. Thick enough to get a good grip but not too thick that you feel you are holding the business end of a baseball bat. I'm not sure if this was actually made for the Swiss army or if was even in the same room as Swiss military personnel but if it was I'm happy with it. No sheath so you have to make or buy one but it comes with a rubber edge cover so you can work without immediately getting one. If the handle breaks you can try different lengths as the head is pretty significant that you can put a 20in or so handle and have a pretty good small axe for splitting without a mail.