Just looking to see what some members of the forum thought about tools like these, refered to as box or survival hatchets. Seems like a relatively inexpensive way to get a multi-use tool, but also like buying a something that will not do any of the jobs it is made for very well.

http://www.garrettwade.com/shopping/prod...roductID=111019

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000PVT6X6?smid=A2TYCAWPYW9339&tag=dealtime-tools-20&linkCode=asn

First I'll echo Doug Ritter's comment comment from his Gear recommendations:

"To the horror of many old time traditional outdoorsmen, I tend to avoid recommending hatchets and axes. It is so easy to seriously injure or cripple yourself using these tools that the risks outweigh the benefits, in my opinion. This is especially a problem if you are tired, cold or otherwise not in particularly great shape, not an unlikely possibility for any survivor. An axe or hatchet is not very forgiving of poor or sloppy technique, as many a person, experienced and not, has learned the hard and painful way. For the inexperienced survivor there isn't the time to learn how to safely use these tools, which have been known to bite even those with plenty of years handling them. A saw is simply safer."

Second, I tend to prefer simple more than complex. While certainly survival gear that provides multi-purpose functionality is a great thing (think bandana), when the complexity gets in the way of the original purpose, then the benefit starts to be reduced.

If you need to pry and pull nails, I'd you carry a ripping bar. Since my survival focus is on the outdoors nails aren't really in the picture. I'd focus more on carrying a good knife and a small saw - such as the Pocket Chain Saw.

Lately I've been noticing that my axe has mostly getting used for splitting wood, so I've started carrying a small "kindling" maul rather than an axe (except for the one carried to train Scouts), but I don't count that as a survival item.

i think the first one would look smart hanging on the wall in the garage - right next to the hammers, nail pullers, pry bars, and axe. very cool.

one for the trunk of the car, too.

Looks like it would be good for small demo projects, or to keep
in the shed for an access tool after an earthquake.

I'm not inexperienced when it comes to swinging an axe or hatchet, but I could not imagine wanting to use either to fall a tree, unless the circumstances were dire. Other tools do a far better job of bring down trees of any size. I've done a pretty fair job going to town on my fungal-infested dogwoods with a pruning saw, but I need to finish the job.

When I have used either an axe or hatchet, it's to reduce the size of a piece of wood or to remove some branches sticking out of it. For keeping with my BOB, one of these seems to be well-suited enough, and not a huge investment. For some of the tasks one might encounter during such a scenario, it seems like it might be just enough, especially with strong fixed blade knife and a multi-tool.

I would never want to work on wood that was fairly large and relatively green, with one of these. I prefer not to try and break my own b____s. If I am heading into the woods with a hatchet or axe, it wouldn't be one of these. For a BOB in my NYC closet, I like it.

I picked one of these up at a hardware store last year. Off the shelf, the blade wouldn't have easily cut cardboard, but after a few minutes with the angle grinder, it was quite functional. I felled a small tree, and it still held a good edge after i was done. I certainly wouldn't get rid of my regular hatchet and hammer, but as a general camp tool it's alright. It's currently living in my car.

Around here we call that a "Lender"!

When someone drops by asking to borrow your axe to fix the electrical problems in their house, a hammer to fix that noise in their swather or something to pry their kids frozen tongue off the street sign outside you just hand them one of these.

Once they leave you start filling out their application form for the Darwin Awards and stop worrying about your good tools getting trashed or permanently borrowed.

Take it from me, this thing is a terrible, appalling POS.

It's the multi-tool that does absolutely nothing well.

The prybar at the top is always in the way, for any job. The handle is too short to give you any kind of leverage. But that's because the steel is lousy -- I bent the thing pulling out a 4" straight nail from a fir plank. I was able to bend it back by stepping on it with my big boot.

I finally cut the top prybar off with an angle grinder. It's sitting in my garden shed, waiting for the unwary to pick it up.

You'd be much, much better off with a good shingling hammer.

On the other hand, it's a perfect way to mentally torture people who borrow and wreck your good tools. Just lend it out, stand well back and enjoy the cursing. Payback is so very sweet.

Thanks for saving me the time of writing that.

Closest thing to a multi-use hatchet would be a rig axe/riggers axe/half hatchet/whatever you want to call them. Good steel in most of them, take and hold a good edge, hammerhead that really works, and the ability to pull a nail (assuming that 1/2 inch or so is sticking up. As a kid I felled 12-15" in diameter trees (on my uncles place, at his request) with one...

I think mike myers said it best in his scottish brogue "It's CRRRAP"

Very good. Droll, I like droll.

IMHO humor, the ability to look squarely at the full range of power misused, stupidity rampant and futility on all fronts -and to see it within your self and laugh- is a very powerful survival tool. In the end 'If you can laugh at it can't keep you down'. That, and it rattles cages. Rattling cages is a good thing.

It is always good to have a few 'lenders'. I usually demote my worn out or less liked tools to this status. They aren't useless tools, plenty of work left in them, but I'm less likely to worry about it if they come back beat up. Or not as all. I never lend out working tools. Call me paranoid and over sensitive but they never seem to work the same after being lent.

Besides, lenders and beaters, have a place. I would never use my good circular saw to cut concrete with an abrasive blade. It is messy work and the powder-fine dust inevitably gets into the motor and bearings.

I'm always a bit leery about multi-function tools. This combination of hammer, pry bar and hatchet is a good example. using a pry bar it is often necessary to use a hammer to pound the blade in. Also using a hatchet in an emergency it is also handy to hammer it to split or wedge things apart. Neither are possible when the hammer is part of both the pry bar and hatchet.

Which is why in my one kit I have separate tools. A solid but light pry bar, a separate light-weight hatchet (suitable for pounding), a USGI tri-fold shovel and a saw. Along with a couple of pairs of sturdy gloves. If and when it comes down to forcing entry or exit from a building or vehicle or extricating someone they can be used in concert or by multiple persons.

Having a box hatchet would be better than having nothing at all. But as soon as I have separate dedicated tools the box hatchet gets demoted to lender status.

Humor? That was me being grumpy!

It was back to -30 C yesterday morning and my neighbor, unannounced, borrowed my metal snow shovel and snapped the handle trying to pry open his frozen garage door. He thought it would work better as a pry bar than his plastic shovel.

He offered me his crappy plastic shovel as a replacement but I told him he could just clear my sidewalks and driveway until I have time to find a shovel of similar quality to the one he broke. According to Punxutawaney Phil it will take me at least six more weeks to find a quality shovel!

http://www.groundhog.org/