Introduction

As one of my first endeavors into bowl and spoon making, I decided to purchase a nice hatchet. A hatchet would both suffice as a carving tool, but also as an outdoorsman’s tool. Further, it well made hatchet should last me for the rest of my life with good maintenance and careful use.

I learned about Aaron Cergol while researching hammers, but soon found his axe-work to be quite impressive. Communication with Mr. Cergol was easy and 16 weeks later, I had a hatchet in my hand. Let’s take a look at it.

Specs

Maker: Aaron Cergol
Materials: 5160 Steel and American Hickory
Weight: 2 Pounds
Length: 14 Inches
Place of Manufacture: Milwaukee, WI
Price: Varies

Packaging

The hatchet was shipped USPS priority, insured of course. The box was branded with a small “Cergol Tool & Forgeworks” stamp above my address.

Inside the box was an excess of packing material. This is a good thing. When I first saw the package and shook it around (as always), I heard no rattling.

The hatchet itself was well wrapped in the red paper and did not suffer any damage during transit.

Ordering and Design

Cergol Tool & Forgeworks usually has a few items in stock on their website (here). They will have occasional sales that are posted on Instagram (here).

However, when I wanted to order a hatchet, I did not find a model on Aaron’s website that I wanted. Instead, there were a few examples on his Instagram that I liked. So, I sent him an email. Aaron was very helpful in the ordering process. He explained all the choices that I had, giving both pros and cons for each choice. He was never pushy and always responded quickly to emails.

My particular hatchet is made from 5160 steel. Aaron explained that 4140 would be tougher and would be better for a general purpose hatchet, but since I wanted something that could be used for carving, the finer edge that 5160 could take would be better. As for the handle, he makes them out of American Hickory. I was given the choice of an oval or octagonal handle. I chose an octagonal handle as it is a bit smaller and is supposed to be easier to hold.

If you’d like to order a tool from Cergol Tool & Forgeworks and don’t see what you want on the website, I’d highly recommend contacting Aaron Cergol directly. You can email him at: cergolforge@hotmail.com.

Fit and Finish

The hatchet comes in a nice leather sheath that is secured with rivets. It is not the most secure, and the hatchet can shift around in the sheath, but it cannot be wiggled out in any way.

The hatchet is held in by a snap enclosure affixed on a leather strap that goes over the open top. The snap is firm and secure, though the long strap makes undoing the snap a breeze. There is no belt loop on the sheath.

The inside of the sheath does is raw leather. One can see the trace marks that were drawn in for the sheath. On one side, there is a deep cut into the leather. I am not sure what these are from, although I don’t believe this detracts from its function.

The hatchet has a nice satin finish to it. I preferred this look over a blackened look and had asked for the hatchet to be made this way.

The handle is 12 inches long from the end knob to the shoulder and is fitted securely.

There is a bit of space near the poll of the hatchet, although the handle is much to wide to ever wiggle into that area.

The maker’s mark is a simple “CERGOL” near the poll. It is not obtrusive and, in my opinion, adds to the hatchet rather than takes away from it. It would appear as though the “L” was partially cut off either from the initial strike or from polishing.

There are file marks along the hatchet head adding to the “working finish”. They are deeper in some areas than others, but, overall, do not stand out.

Functionality

I couldn’t wait to take this guy out and give it a good swing, so I headed into my suburban neighborhood backyard and took it upon myself to destroy a 4×4. The weight of the head is well suited for one handed swinging and I found the hatchet doing much of the work.

When I  split the 4×4, the hatchet impacted a small pebble in the ground, giving the edge its first battle scar. The cutting edge folded a little. It was an easy fix though, with my Opinel Sharpening Stone (review).

I choked up on the handle and worked at getting a few controlled cuts along the edge. I was happy to have chosen an octagonal handle as the handle was just right for my hand. Any bigger and it would have been harder to control the cuts.

I’ll do add onto this review after I get some more time to use the hatchet.

Conclusion

Buying this hatchet has been a very personal experience for me. I was able to give input from the very beginning and, after receiving the hatchet, feel like “this is mine”. I have no doubt that the hatchet will service me very well in the years to come and will definitely be going back to Aaron Cergol for other hand-forged tools.