Carpenter’s Hatchet
By Benjamen Johnson
What makes this hatchet from Stanley a carpenter’s hatchet? Probably the fact it has a hammer head rather than a flat for striking and a notch in the blade for pulling nails, but it’s still primarily designed for cutting wood and driving stakes.
Forged from one piece of steel and rim-tempered to prevent chipping, this 13″, 28oz. hatchet uses a tuning fork design to dampen vibrations, and the grip is covered with rubber to further cushion your hands.
Stanley’s hatchet will run you about $30. The solid metal construction and the anti-vibe technology make this look like a nice hatchet for camping even though it’s categorized as a carpenter’s hatchet — does anybody have any experience with this hatchet?
Carpenter’s Hatchet [Stanley]
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February 8th, 2010 at 11:16 am
I always heard that called a half-hatchet or rigging axe. I’ve got an Estwing and I love it. They used to be common as dirt for framing.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:27 am
The real issue I would have with this tool is that when using it as a hammer, you are swinging a sharp hatchet blade back towards yourself. I can see a huge potential for injury with this.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:29 am
@David Bryan:
Half-hatchet it is - or was.
Hatchets were common on jobsites when I started working. Plumb (now part of Cooper) was one common brand - and you saw folks using their Lath Hatchet (#3025) - their Shingler’s Hatchet (#565-1/2), and their Half Hatchet (FAPH2). Drywallers - also used a hatchet-like drywall hammer like the one made by Goldblatt which had a convex bulls-eye striking face - and a hatchet end opposite.
February 8th, 2010 at 11:54 am
Jerry, how often do you hit yourself with your hammer claw?
February 8th, 2010 at 12:53 pm
For 30 bucks to can get a Estwing hatchet with a curved, ergonomic leather handle. Plus the round head would dig in to your side will getting to the campsite. There’s got to be a reason all the hatchets I’ve collected over the years have square heads.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:06 pm
I’m with Jerry - at least if, by crazy accident, you hit yourself with a hammer claw, you’d still be around to feel stupid about it!
February 8th, 2010 at 1:08 pm
@ David Bryan:
Pal, you drive enough nails and eventually it’ll happen to you. I’ve bopped myself pretty–a hatchet would leave a mark.
More likely is I’d leave this thing on top of a ladder and end up dropping it on my head or foot.
February 8th, 2010 at 1:25 pm
I’m with you on that, Dave, but there’s a difference between “eventually it’ll happen” and “a huge potential for injury”. You’ve got to be careful with any tool.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:14 pm
I knew a guy once who hit himself square between the eye with one of these. Even since he has had a split personality!
February 8th, 2010 at 2:48 pm
Having driven tons of nails by hand I would say I never once came close to hitting my face/head with a claw or a hatchet. (kind of under the heading of cutting miles of lumber with saws and never cut myself, + shooting thousands of rounds and never shot myself)
Years ago the only well balanced hammer framers could get were Rigging Axes so that was what we used- when balanced claw hammers became available most of us threw the Rigging Axe into the camping box because they drive tent stakes and split kindling.
February 8th, 2010 at 2:53 pm
Okay - now you make me feel stupid at best. How often do I hit myself with the claw on my hammer? you ask. Well, More than once for sure as I have a strange tendency to hammer in some odd places - under things, etc. I recall the pain I suffered swinging the hammer from up between my legs to hammer something under a ledge. The hammer “bounced” back and the claw hit my knee with some heavy force. I was on crutches for about 2 months. Maybe that memory is why I feel this way about the hatchet - I can visualize how much more damage a hatchet would have done - considering only the curved edge of the claw actually hit me. Believe me, I used some words that would make the toughest “toolmonger fan” blush!
February 8th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
I was looking at the face of my framing hammer one time, just hanging out after work. My wrist twitched real bad and whacked myself rightin the kisser–I broke my left incisor in HALF. My buddies were amazed, they thought I had done it on purpose.
I still get crap about that and it’s been almost 8 years.
February 8th, 2010 at 5:05 pm
Shoot, Jerry, I should’ve said that different. With all the stupid things I’ve done to myself over the years you can’t be any stupider than I am. I think I might have even hit myself with my hammer claw somewhere in there– I guess my point was it just doesn’t happen real often, and same as you, I really would’ve had to work at it.
February 8th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
I do know? I may have to check snopes.com for some of these stories. If they are not on there, maybe they are destine to be…..
February 8th, 2010 at 8:00 pm
T one time when wood shakes were THE shingling product they used hammer backed axes for trimming the shingles as needed but those had knotches in the top for measuring the setback of each layer of shingles. I am not sure what you would use this for.
February 8th, 2010 at 8:37 pm
I think LarrY Haun writes about these in one of his books. About how they really became widely used in the building boom after WWII.
February 9th, 2010 at 2:07 am
Rigger’s axes were the go to tool during the post-war tool building boom Gough speaks of, and they remained popular in areas where a lot of rough-sawn lumber was (is) used. The axe is used more as a hewing tool or chisel than as a cutting axe. A high spot on a beam or rafter could be dealt with “up in the sticks”, rather than sending something back down to the sawyer. NOT the tool to use in tight spaces or close company!
February 10th, 2010 at 10:31 am
I have an old one that I use for camping; great for pounding in tent stakes (as well as pulling them out) as well as chopping fire wood etc. A tip though is to wrap some reflective tape around the handle so you can easily find it around the campfire at night.