If you prepare enough, you’ll find that the hand tools you use every day in a normal situation take on a whole new meaning.
Tools that will help you efficiently prepare wood are essential for a number of reasons. You’ll need to build and maintain a fire to keep warm, avoid exposure and cook your food. Hatchets are a staple in every survival kit.
The hatchet, like its bigger cousin the axe is an incredibly versatile chopping instrument that’s optimized for whatever task you have in mind.
The hatchet is capable of handling everything from cutting small branches and felling trees to splitting the firewood that you have worked so hard to earn. Its compact size makes it ideal for traveling or storing in an emergency bag.
To use your hatchet safely and effectively, you will need to regularly sharpen it.
You’ll want to make sure your hatchet is sharp after you have done some chores around your home or spent a long time collecting wood.
You will be drained, lose time and risk serious injury if you use a dull hatchet. This article will show you how to sharpen a hatchet.
Power vs. Manual Methods
There are several ways you can sharpen your hatchet and other cutting tools. Most likely, you already know how to do this.
We can divide the methods into two categories. Hand sharpening and those that use a power tool.
As you’ll see in this article, both methods have their pros and cons.
Heat buildup on your workpiece is a universal factor in the use of sharpening techniques that utilize power.
The friction created by any powered sharpening technique will cause the steelhead to heat up as you sharpen.
It is possible, if you’re not paying attention or are distracted, to overheat the head of the chainsaw. This can cause the blades to become irritable and even damage your hatchet. You don’t want this to happen in the middle a survival situation.
It is not difficult to remove heat from a room.
If you are using an electric tool to sharpen, take a break periodically to allow the head to cooled down. Or, if there is a container of water or other convenient body of water near by, dip the head into it to quickly cool off before proceeding. It’s that simple to reduce heat!
These are the Methods
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The most popular and effective method of sharpening hatchets is to use a file. This method’s effectiveness is only limited by the quality of your files and how well you use them.
Hand filing has the advantage that you can do it anywhere. You don’t even need to be at your workbench, as long as your grip is good and your hatchet is braced properly.
Some people can restore the edge of their hatchet by simply holding it with their other hand or clamping it up between their legs.
You can sharpen your hatchet by using a file. Simply push or pull the file along the edge in a cutting motion, being careful to maintain the same angle.
The number of strokes required to sharpen a hatchet edge can vary from half a dozen up to twenty-four depending on how aggressive the file is, the force used and the condition of its edge.
Before continuing, it is a good idea to periodically clean out the teeth of the file.
Heat buildup in most methods of hand-sharpening is negligible. Most files give you excellent control and feel, but you’ll need to use a specialized file to get a sharper edge.
Sharpener
Even those who are good at sharpening edged tools by hand may not be the best.
A sharpener or a system for sharpening knives is often the best way to reduce frustration and save time. There are many such systems available for purchase, in all configurations you could imagine and some you couldn’t.
Some are simple, others more complex. They can be used to sharpen many different cutting tools including hatchets, axes, and other blades.
WorkSharp is a comprehensive system that combines the efficiency and speed of power-sharpening with the accuracy of alignment guides. This takes the guesswork out of sharpening any tool to a stunningly high standard.
It is important to always align the tool correctly with the surface before you begin. It can be difficult to do this with heavy tools like a hatchet head compared to smaller knives or pocket knives.
If you want to sharpen your hatchet, the best way is to do it in small increments.
Don’t continue if you don’t see any improvement in the configuration of the sharpener. Assess, adjust, and try again to see if there is any improvement.
As always, if using a sharpening machine, be sure to control the heat in your hatchet’s head.
Whetstones
Many of us learned how to sharpen pocket knives on the whetstone that sat atop granddad’s workbench.
The same whetstone can be used to sharpen your hatchet. However, you will need a much coarser stone than you might use when repairing your pocket knife’s edge.
It is because hatchets, axes, and other tools are designed with a wide and chunky edge that can withstand abuse.
The majority of whetstones only remove a small amount of metal with each stroke. This means that you will be working on your whetstone for ages trying to get the bevel and edge of the hatchet back.
Whetstones are also useful if you want to sharpen up an existing edge or retouch a worn-out one. The sharpest edge you can achieve with a hatchet is achieved by using finer and more finer stones.
Angle Grinder or Bench Grinder
There are many types of grinders that can be used to sharpen hatchets. Angle grinders are a common tool in the toolboxes of those who work in construction or automotive.
A bench-top grinding wheel is a must for any well-equipped workshop. The two tools will both work but you must be careful and use a steady, focused hand. This is the most dangerous tool to have around your hatchet.
These tools can remove large amounts of material quickly, regardless of the discs they come with.
They are perfect for restoring a severely damaged edge. You can quickly reprofile the edge to prepare it for finer grinding.
To make any grinder perform well, you should use as little pressure as possible with the finest grit you can find. Use a cut-off disc that is not aggressive.
To keep your edge straight, use the same amount of passes on both sides as you did with the sharpening method described in the article.
Take care! Grinders can generate a lot of heat. This is more than other tools and it will quickly destroy the temper on a hatchet that was otherwise salvageable. Allow your hatchet to cool down between passes, or quench the blade if possible.
Dremel
Dremel or another brand of rotary tools is the easiest and most nimble method of sharpening a hatchet head. However, it will also require the greatest effort from you if your goal is to avoid wasting time by removing unnecessary material.
These tools are all about speed. They have speeds that can reach tens or even hundreds of thousands of RPMs. A moment of inattention, or one slip, could result in a nasty gouge on your edge.
They are also light and easy to use, as long as they’re held firmly. Others have angle guides attached that can help you with the task.
These tools are so fast that even mildly abrasive accessories can remove an astonishing amount of material if not used carefully.
Use the slowest possible speed, but with an attachment that is milder than sandpaper. For example, aluminum oxide-impregnated grinding or polishing stones.
This tool is small, so you might not think that you need to be concerned about the heat. However, it can produce a lot of heat in a very small area.
As always, you must be attentive, patient and cooling off the workpiece.
Belt Sander
Belt sanders are a popular choice for those who know how to sharpen hatchets. Belt sanders are fast, effective, and consistently good.
You will need two hands to control this beast if you use a belt sander.
The wide belt rotates quickly and evenly, so you can restore the bevel on your hatchet or apply a preliminarily edge in a very short time.
You must be careful to make sure you are making the same number of passes on both sides of the edge.
Don’t use brute force on this tool, as you will only create heat and eat through more material.
To achieve good results, apply light pressure and stroke the edge with the same speed.
The conclusion of the article is:
In a survival situation, a hatchet can be incredibly useful. Hatchets can be used to chop firewood or for other tasks. They are lightweight, portable and very effective. However, they only work as well as old as the hatchet is.
Sharp hatchets are safer to use and less time consuming than dull ones. Use the above methods to maintain your hatchet’s edge.