Council ToolSport Utility Flying Fox Woodsman Hatchet (No Sheath)

This is actually the second one of these I’ve purchase. I’ve had the first for a little over a year and have used it both camping and around the house.These are a great size and not too heavy. The handle is short enough to work in tighter spaces but long enough to make chopping of smaller trees or logs easy. The bits come relatively sharp and after a little touch up they are amazing. One thing I really love about these is the hardened pole. Feel free to hammer away in things without risk of damage. Also, the eye walls are thicker than European axes so you don’t need to worry about them spreading.Now, for this specific hatchet. The grain is pretty good. It’s on a bit of a diagonal to the direction of swinging but acceptable for the price and length of handle. No grain run-out and plenty of growth rings. I have no doubts about the strength and longevity of the handle. The head looks great and you can see the discoloration from the heat treatment on both ends. The handle is fit perfectly to the head with a hardwood wedge and additional steel spreader.It chops well out of the box. I honestly believe the sport utility serious from Council Tool is by far the best deal in axes.

I have been researching and experimenting with various hatchets/small axes. I am very pleased with this! It may be a bit heavy for a hatchet, but the grind is fantastic! Some other hatchets in this price range have such a blunt edge that they smash wood rather than cutting it. But the Flying Fox has a great edge. Just a bit of touch up with a stone and you can carve and cut with it. This also has a hardened pole (back end of the axe) so it can be used to drive steaks into the ground without worrying that you’ll bend the eye.

Great hatchet, it's quickly become one of my favorites.I bought it specifically for throwing, so I don't have any input on how it functions as a camping axe, but if you are looking for something to throw, I highly recommend the flying fox.

I haven’t used this axe for it’s true utilitarian purpose, though I think I might buy another one for actual use out in the bush. For competitive axe throwing, it meets IATF requirements and is a good looking hatchet with decent weight to it. I modified mine aesthetically, but it’s otherwise completely the same as when I bought it and works great!

Great axe! Picked the fox as my primary for competition axe throwing and its made a difference! My average has increased with better accuracy and fewer dropped throws. After a couple throws I noticed the head was slipping off. Was able to reattach the head using a 2nd steel wedge along with jb weld. Then cut off the excess wood to avoid drag. Beautiful and solid