Continuing our weekly series on vintage tools, we bring you a Vintage Estwing No 1 Hatchet with a matching Estwing sheath. The hatchet, which was (and is still) made in the USA, has beautiful leather grips that are custom-wound by hand. When new, the 3-1/4โณ head and handles were fully polished, and the steel was forged in one piece. The total length of the tool is 14 inches, and it weighs around 2 pounds.
What gets us about this hatchet is that Estwing still makes it! Itโs now dubbed their โSportsmanโs Axeโ. They also have a line of leather carpenterโs hatchets, which are nearly identical, except that they changed the head so that you can choke up on it and use it as a knife. These are tools that practically define the words โdurableโ and โlong-lasting,โ and itโs great to see a decades-old hatchet still running strong (though this one is desperately in need of some polishing and sharpening!)
