Prandi German Style Hatchet - PRA0306TH

After looking at a lot of axes on line and reading the bad reviews, I selected this one because I like the German style cutting surface the flat top for say, hammering in tent pegs etc. and the fact that it was made in a factory that makes nothing but striking tools, not chain saws (as I said I looked at a bunch) Then after seeing that a lot of the fiberglass handle survival types break at the handle in cold weather (just what you need in a survival situation) and even the $150. jobs either occasionally crack their steel or break, at this price what was there to lose. Ordered mine with the nice leather sheath (necessary and more money but quality) and it came out of the box with an edge that could chop wood but I honed it and it was nice. Took it out and did a few medium branches 2 to 3 inch, really had a nice bite. I liked the handle nice wood and oriented the correct way. Could have cleaned up the front a little better where it was plugged but I could hit that very slightly with a grinder. All in all a great blade but new so we have to see.

Nice hatchet. The German styled head is well-suited for all smaller chopping/splitting needs and will be the perfect companion for camping and backpacking. The handle is thicker than I thought it'd be, which I prefer, and the grain orientation is perfect. The handle is semi-finished and not varnished, so you can have some fun sanding it down and applying your favorite oil and/or finish. Looking forward to throwing some BLO on and seeing that straight, hickory grain pop. Came more than sharp enough to do some serious work with it, and the metal is really nice and should be easy to work with once it requires some honing. Nice work, Prandi. Also, great fast shipping and the hatchet arrived undamaged and in perfect shape.

As you can see, the hatchet itself is beautiful to look at, but it definitely needed work. It arrived dull, which is logical from a safety perspective. The handle comes vanished. The grain is so so. But with a little work, I am completely happy with the results! The handle came with a short but very sturdy leather lanyard. I replaced it with an adjustable paracord weaving that closes somewhat tight around the wrist for added safety. The sheath, or edge protector, is of excellent quality. Very thick and deep brown leather. I love that smell. I spent a couple of hours on the edge with a lansky puck. Might sound like a lot of tedious work, but sitting on the couch with a little Netflix makes the time go by nice and easy. I sandpapered the varnish off the handle to help with the grip, then oiled her up top to tail. Basically, I started at 9am and by 2pm I had a swell little hatchet that should last for quite a while -- and that includes weaving the paracord lanyard! I call her "Zelda".

Item was great, but Amazon needs to not put upc labels with cheap adhesive on items where it leaves part of the tag on the wood after you pull it off. Yet another reason why their customer experience is deteriorating. I don't know of any place to leave feedback for Amazon so I'm doing it here (not the carrier, not the delivery guy, not the 3rd party seller).

Just got it today. Will be using it regularly, but I feel from first impressions that it will chop well. Edge is a little rough but still sharp enough. Some swipes on a whetstone will bring it to razor sharp quickly. Heads on tight. Has heft to it. Will be a good splitting hatchet as well.

The axe arrived completely dull, to the point that I would describe the blade as rounded. I understand axes aren't supposed to be knife edge sharp, but this head has a blade radius not degree. It was easy enough to get a serviceable edge though, so I took it out for some testing. I assumed it would split kindling well, but it did not. It bites into wood when chopping, but it can't split. The same dead wood I was splitting with other axes was now chopped into shards rather than splitting evenly along the grain. No idea why, perhaps it's the head shape/angle, but it was noticeably worse than other traditional camp axe heads I have used. The handle became loose after about 2-3 sessions of preparing fire wood. This entails splitting ~1ft sections of pre-cut 2-4" dia logs, about 5-8 sections each session. I have tested this on several different types of dead wood as well to eliminate any variations. Overall it will work as an axe, but maybe not as well as some other axes on the market. Worth the price, looks cool, and the leather sheath you get is pretty nice. If you plan to use this axe a lot, I wouldn't recommend it.

This is a great little hatchet for doing rough dimensioning of wood. I have also used it to split small logs into kindling for the fireplace. Good value for the money.

At the price of this axe, I had higher expectations for quality. The handle is nice but fittted loosely and sloppily to the head. Even the lanyard hole was drilled leaving splinters behind. The head itself has rough grinder/saw marks and a mold seam on the butt. The blade was shipped dull. I will put the effort into making this a serviceable axe, but don't want anyone else making the same purchasing mistake I did. You'll get a better deal on a $20-30 hardware store axe.