I have been buying Axes and Hatchets for some time now. I will usually try to pick them up cheap from family, garage sales and Craigslist. I originally started wanting a nice hatchet when I paddled the Withlacoochee with my brother. It would have been helpful multiple times and I also like the versatility of it as a camping tool. I have always had a few axes that I used for various projects but never a good hatchet. I was lucky enough to receive a Snow & Nealley Penobscot Bay kindling axe for my birthday in October. This hatchet has become my go to and I couldn’t be happier. I still need to put a better edge on and remove the varnish but overall this is a powerful hatchet and I love the feel of it.
Snow & Nealley Penobscot Bay Kindling Axe
This new hobby brought me to my recent project. I found a discarded hatchet outside and vacant home I was looking at for a client. I was extremely excited and figured this would be a perfect first project. I thought originally I would polish or paint the axe head but after cleaning, sanding and grinding off rough edges I felt like the patina and rugged look of the hatchet added to its character. I had a new hickory handle that I had ordered months back of amazon. I was going to try to save the original handle but it was terribly warped and felt strange when swinging it. So I removed the original handle and installed the new one. The two things I do not like about the finished product is the extremely small swell at the bottom of the handle and the fact that when setting the axe head the shoulders on the handle were small and I couldn’t set the head as deep as I would like. All in all it turned out well. I soaked the head in boiled linseed oil and the handle and really like how it brought out the grain in the hickory. I will oil it a few times and but a nice new edge on it shortly. Take a look at my gallery and let me know what you think. I may decide to sell this on Ebay and start back up the Upwards of Twenty blog. But for now I am going to play with it for a little while. I also wanted to give a shout out to Wranglerstar for giving me inspiration and a something to enjoy on YouTube.
Thanks,
JB
Upwards of Twenty 