Hatchet

Uncommon card · No. 138201

A hatchet (from the Old French hachete, a diminutive form of hache, 'axe' of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be used for hewing when making flattened surfaces on logs; when the hatchet head is optimized for this purpose it is called a hewing hatchet. The earliest known use of the noun hatchet is in the Middle English period (1150—1500) Although 'hand axe' and 'hatchet' are often used interchangeably in contemporary usage, 19th and 20th century American manufacturers and retailers (Collins, Kelly, Vaughan, Warren, Mann; Simmons, Shapleigh, Sears, et al.) unanimously distinguished hatchets from hand axes in their product catalogs, listing them in separate groupings. A hand axe (also known by terms including "camp axe", "belt axe", "hunters axe" and others) is a short-handled woods tool. A hatchet is a short-handled construction trades tool with multipurpose head...

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