If you want light check out the Gransfors Bruks Mini Hatchet The Mini has a thin 2 1/2" edge and mine weighs in at all of 11.5 oz w/o sheath. I'll take the GB mini over a 'hwak any day for use as a lightweight chopping tool.

I have the Cold Steel "Trail Hawk". The shape of the head prevents it from being a good wood splitter. Get a hatchet that has a good wedge shape.

When you try to split wood with a Tomahawk the thin part of the blade goes in OK but when it get to the flared out part close to the handle the head just rolls out of the split. It does not have a wedge shape to keep the split going.

Better yet, just carry a good fixed blade knife. Works great for most things!

You said it. I'm pretty hand with a full-sized axe, if I do say so myself, but I've came within millimeters of losing a toe or a finger to a hatchet more times than I like to admit. I think I'd go with something like the "Hudson Bay" axe - a light head, but a 17" to 20" handle for control.

I don't see a short handled axe or hatchet being inherently dangerous. Where does this idea come from? Mors Kochanski? If they were inherently dangerous I'd have damaged myself years ago. Maybe it's the user of the hatchet that is inherently dangerous and not the inanimate object.

Yeah, I have used small, packable hatchets for a few decades, and thank the Lord, somehow I have retained all of my fingers and toes (Maybe just better to be lucky than good, I don't know)

I think sometimes they are considered more dangerous because people try to use them to do things that they really need a full size axe, or saw, or maul, or whatever to accomplish. They use more force than they should, and something bad happens. That can happen with a lot of tools. People try to use knives to do things that really require a more substantial tool, and they get hurt doing that too.

Well, for sure it depends on what you want it for!

As others have written, a 'hawk is not a hatchet. Tomahawks are first a hand-to-hand weapon and second have some some limited chopping capabilities (best on small diameter stuff that you can chop with one or two blows against a log). I've never used one for butchering so cannot comment other than to say that chopping bone is hard on thin edges (I don't butcher that way any more). I suppose that some designs could be slipped off the handle and used as a skinner (think ulu), but am just guessing. I've used both CS 'hawks and hand-forged ones but choose not to own any. They can be fun to play around with.

If wood is on the menu and the trip is not too arduous, I like a hatchet. Gerber/Fiskars is cheap and works well. GF and Wetterling are better quality but cost more. A "boys axe" is even better than a hatchet and weighs little more (I prefer double bitted). Don't discount brands like Plumb - they're good hatchets/axes with better steel than Fiskar/Gerber. A point for any of these is to carry good edge protection on the blade and keep them sharp - dull hatchets are miserable. I currently carry a Gerber hatchet if it is appropriate. The steel is a little soft IMHO, but otherwise I like it OK. Maybe Santa will bring me a GF or Wetterling.

For tougher/longer trips, a decent fixed blade knife is what I carry. I have also found a machette very very useful many times, but am less likely to routinely build fires anymore on backpacking trips (LNT is making more and more sense to me).

A really good kuhkri can cover about everything but throwing ('hawk) and splitting difficult wood (hatchet/axe). The really good ones are at least as heavy as a hatchet, though. The CS LTC, while not a true kuhkri, has proven extremely versatile in our trips and I now prefer it over a machete or corn knife.

As for digging, I have many times in the past carried a US military tri-fold entrenching tool. The knock-offs are not as good as the real item. It remains the best capable light-weight digging tool available. Handles light duty chopping OK but not great. The CS "Spetznatz" shovel might be more appropriate for your tastes, though. Wooden handle, better choppers than 'hawks (sharpen one edge specifically for that), and boy, are they easy to learn to throw! We have two and they are useful for some things. Not great at splitting wood, though, because of the curve or belly. Digs well; not as easily as tri-fold only because of handle (D handle superior on shorties). Much scarier weapon than a 'hawk after fooling around with both - your opinion may vary, but this is the one to bring to a shovel fight. Get an extra handle if you are going to practice a lot of throwing (or carry a meter of duct tape).

I usually carry a U-dig-it all the time these days - sort of a folding handle stainless steel gardening trowel. Besides field sanitation, it handles a few other odd chores - none of which involve cutting, chopping or combat.

Is the Woodsman's Pal sort of what you are looking for? They are being made again. I have very limited experience with them a long time ago and don't trust my recollections.

HTH,

regards,

Tom