Council Tool Hunter's Axe (Hatchet)

Well I got a couple of these Council Tool hatchets (Council calls it a hunters axe) as gifts for my dad and brother and thought I would share a few pics of what actually shows up when you get one.  There's not much on the internet on these outside the places that sell them so hopefully someone finds this useful.  THIS IS NOT A REVIEW :)  Just a look

OAL      15.25 in.
Edge       3.25 in.
Head Wt  1.25lb.  (as noted by Council, I did not weight it)
Price:  $25-30 (No sheath)

First thing I noticed right away is that it's slightly longer than the 14 inches it's listed as but the overall shape is very nice and the handle is a little thicker than other hatchets I have used but I kind of like a thicker handle so I found it to be very comfortable.

Here's the measeurements so you can see it:

the grain on this one was not good but for a hatchet it'll work.  The other one I purchased had much better grain alignment

the head alignment on both were pretty good

The head profile is very good for what I like in a hatchet.  This will make a great little chopper.  Both hatchets were definitely sharp enough to use right out of the box.  I touched them up a little before sending them off but very good as they come.

Now the only downside I would say is that it does not come with a sheath or edge guard of any kind.  I ordered a couple hatchet sheaths to go with them for not very much so here's the package you can get for about $30-$35 overall with a sheath:

Well this hatchet was perfectly serviceable as it came.  But with that said my brother and I both thought it could have a better look so we decided to do a little makeover with it.  I didn't get too fancy with it, just stripped the paint off the head, had a go at the mustard patina, and decided to put a better handle on it too.  Here's the after pics:

 

For the sheath I wanted to give it a slightly aged appearance so I soaked the sheath in some very strong coffee for a few days and then rubbed a few applications of mink oil deep into the leather.

  

Overall I think this is a great hatchet, especially for it's price range.  This would be an excellent companion for hunters, hikers, backpackers who want to travel light, but still have the versatility a good hatchet offers.  Finding or making a sheath is the only addition this hatchet needs to be woods ready.