North 49 Mini-Hatchet

North 49 mini-hatchet is on top, Fiskars Sport is on bottom.

This review of the North 49 Mini-Hatchet consists of :

Specifications

Basic specifications :

Keep in mind this is a fairly inexpensive axe, this can be bought for less than $20 (2012).

Initial Impressions

Initial impressions :

Stock testing : main

The initial sharpness was fairly low, any attempt to measure it just recorded zero as it is clearly lower than 5% of optimal (it would just break light baisting thread for example when a push cut was attempted). It could only slice very rigid paper (photocopy) and even then it was rough. However it could still do any utilty cutting required as noted in the shot at the right :

The lower sharpness did however mean that more force had to be used and a longer draw. For example the freshly sharpened MT-151 cuts the pallet wrapping with no travel on the blade whereas the mini-hatchet requires two full slices at multiple times as much force required. For a bit of further quantification, an attempt was made to cut 3/8" hemp, but 75 lbs of force could only just score the rope on a full draw. In short, from a utility perspective the hatchet could benefit from a decent sharpening.

However on wood work the mini-hatchet was capable of generating fine curls but it could benefit from a sharper edge as the wood is being tore a little which means more force has to be used. But again a large difference could be seen comparing it to a sharper tool with a finer edge. For reference the shot on the right shows the pile from the mini-hatchet after 200 slices and one from Buck Hoodlum after just 100 slices.

Before much more work was done the blade was reground :

The resulting bevel was approximately 10-11 degrees per side, the same angle as on a typical Mora. A slightly heavier secondary edge was added back, aproximately 12-14 degrees per side and about 0.015" thick. This was added to increase the strength of the edge to allow it to resist lateral loads when chopping.

With the reground and resharpened edge the hatchet could :

As noted in the picture in the right, another one hundred slices into the same wood showed a vastly increased ability to slice wood in both ease of making fine shavings and also in hogging off large amounts of material. With the work smoothing out the sharp contours of the haft there was also no issue with dicomfort in extended use.

Compared to the Fiskar's Hatchet the North 49 mini-matchet was significantly out powered for heavy work. Even a brief chopping comparison with full swings showed the following :

However when light swings were used the thicker bit on the Fiskar's would fall behind as it needs the power to drive that thick wedge into wood. In comparison the North 49 can work very effectively even with very light chops.

Food

With a freshly sharpened edge the mini-hatchet had no problems cutting meats and fuctioned similar to a heavy ulu.

In the video on the right the mini-hatchet looks to be more awkward than the custom Takach forge however this is just due to experience as much more of this work is done with long blades than ulu's and cleavers. This illustrates how experience can easily dominate performance in different blades.

Of course on thicker vegetables more force has to be used than a decent chef's knife. A few comparative cuts:

While it would never replace a decent kitchen knife, aside from peeling, for which is it fairly awkward as the edge is so far in front of the handle, it works well for just quick and rough cutting such as needed to make a basic stew. It is a lot nicer to use in the kitchen than for example the Wildlife Hatchet simply because the bit on the North 49 mini-hatchet is only 3/16" thick so it can still make functional cuts on thicker vegetables.

Field

Using the North-49 mini-hatchet for some light felling (saplings) and limbing alongside the Buck Hoodlum :

In short, it works well on saplings and small limbs, especially in tight situations, but is many to one behind a decent long blade on limbing such as the custom from Takach forge.

Grip

The rubber handle is decently shaped and comfortable, though the end is a little too thick compared to the forward section. The biggest problem was that the haft was left fully squared and thus the edges on this were broken to make them comfortable for finer work. The more rounded they are shaped then the more work that can be done without discomfort. The only real loss of functionality with this is that there is a reduction in scraping and some hammering (to break) with the haft but it is a personal choice with this over the comfort for forward grips in cutting.

On an issue related to the grip, as the heft of this little hatchet is so light, in order to work with it on wood of any size it has to be held in a rear grip with two fingers. As it is so light and the rubber handle has a very solid level of traction there is no problem with it slipping out of the hand however as there is some movement, after hundreds of chops this will start to produce some hot spotting on the side of the thumb. However from a practical perspective this really isn't a significant downside as it isn't like this much cutting would ever be done with this hatchet outside of stock comparisons anyway.

Edge Retention

A brief examination of the edge retention of the mini-axe on pine revealed the following after 1000 slices :

It is also easily restored to optimal with a minute on a fine stone (4000 grit) to cut off the burr and weakened metal and then restore the edge.

Another quick check of the mini-hatchet is shown on the right using it in the kitchen after the chopping noted in the above (400 chops in total on various seasoned lumbers). A few observations :

Again considering the price of this blade, the ability to chop up effectively 20 2x4 sized pieces of wood and still retain this level of sharpness isn't bad performance. Of course again it is a bit awkward to use for such work but for a flat hatchet (heavy cleaver) it isn't bad when properly sharpened.

Comparing the North 49 to the Buck Hoodlum to check the edge retention chopping, both were used for over 500 chops into various scrap lumbers :

As the wood was outside there was some grit, some of it frozen onto the surface as the weather lately had included freezing rain. A lot of it was also breaking during the cutting as most of the chopping was done in sub-zero temperatures between -5 and 0 C.

The chopping was done with full force, however as both of these are very light both were used with partial or rear grips and basically swung from the elbow as there was no use in trying to drive from the shoulder. As necessary they were also twisted to clear the wood as again since both of them are a bit light they didn't always have the ability to clear fully just through chopping alone. During the chopping there was no noticeable loss of sharpness however wood chopping is only lightly dependent on sharpness and an edge has to be extremely dull to really effect performance. Note as both of these are similar in :

The comparison can be used to infer about the properties of the steels at least in a very general level.

In regards to pure performance based on penetration (inferred from chop count) as noted in the histogram on the right, through over 500 chops (more than 50 pieces of wood cut with each) the performance is basically identical as the results all cluster around 1:1 . Of course there is some spread, there is a lot of variation in wood from one piece to the next, even in the same length of stick but even after just a few cuts it is obvious the penetration is very similar in both blades but that would be expected as again :

are very similar for both.

After the more than 500 chops both were checked for sharpness on newsprint and used in the kitchen on :

Both cut the bacon with no noticeable loss of sharpness, slight tearing of the bread could be noticed and both slipped a little on the tomato on a slice. On the newsprint, with a slow slice with little draw, then some catches could be noted. In short, after the 500+ chops though some sharpness could be observed to be lost, both were still very functional and more importantly, or at least as important, the performance of the North 49 is in agreement with the previous edge retention chopping comparison note in the above.

Sharpening

A little surprising, this little axe sharpened very well :

After the edge was reground as noted above, it was honed on a 200 grit silicon carbide waterstone, then refined with a 1000, 4000 and then 8000 grit waterstone. It easily shaved and would push cut newsprint on a 45. However as shown in the picture on the right, (50X magnification), the grits were skipped past a little too quickly as some of the very coarse scratches from the initial very coarse hone are still present. To maximize durability and edge retention when chopping these should be removed (however they will increase cutting ability and edge retention on a draw, especially through abrasive media).

In closer comparison with several repeated sharpenings, the edge does not show the true benefit of the 8000 grit waterstone and retains a bit of coarseness to the finish. This is likely due to the less than idea heat treatment of the steel which has left the aus-grain of the steel a little too coarse. However again considering the price point and the performance noted which can be achieved in regards to sharpness, cutting ability and edge retention, it is hard to argue it isn't impressive for its price.

Overview

Overview :

In short after some very necessary regrinding the North 49 mini-axe is very nice for a utility/food axe.

Comments and references

Comments can be emailed to North 48 mini-hatchet

Or in the YouTube Playlist.

Most of the pictures in the above are in the PhotoBucket album.

Last updated : 07/02/2012
Originally written: 28/01/2012
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