Stihl Pro Splitting Hatchet

Extremely high quality base camp tool for processing wood.

The STIHL Pro Splitting Hatchet features a premium ash handle, oversized neck, and a drop-forged steel head. The hatchet measures 19.75" with a 2.75 lb. cutting head.

I am a Natural Disaster First Responder as well as a SAR tech. I am a chainsaw instructor and was looking for a more compact yet heavy axe mainly for driving felling wedges with occasional chopping   This is worn on my belt. I also wanted to use this tool at base camp for processing wood. The PA20 is perfect for this, almost.

The handle is oversized and simply awesome, however the paint and lacquer will cause blisters so I decided to sand it down, coat with boiled linseed oil, and add a paracord loop.

I always hand sharpen my axes or knives and upon inspection this could use a little softer profile to help with chopping. This is specifically a splitter but I wanted a little more cut. I use Pherd files to sharpen. Lanskey is good too. I stone finish.

While I was at it I decided to get fancy and polished the head. I didn't want this much bling so I coated with yellow mustard to etch the metal which turned out great.

When I removed the paint on the head I found the forge who makes this axe for Stihl, the oldest forge in Germany. http://www.ochsenkopf.com/en/

So how does it cut? I've been using this for a few months. The weight and balance are perfect. While I can chop a tree down if needed this really shines in splitting. No matter the size from logs to kindling and tinder this works great.  

If if you have needs similar to mine or just appreciate great hand tools give the Stihl forestry tools a look.