I have a little Swedish Wetterlings axe. The handle is a foot long piece of hickory, and the head is forged with a razor sharp polished edge. I put it in my hunting daypack in case I need a little help with the deer pelvis. It is sharp enough for skinning.
I was surprised to see on another forum a picture of one of these with a chipped blade. The poster said he was just chopping away and a chunk of the blade came off. No sound indicating he had hit a nail or bullet or anything hard.