CRKT Woods Nobo T-Hawk

With a few mods it makes a great camp tool. It's lighter than most hatchets but heavier than some T-hawks and gets a good chop. Not ideal for splitting but will do for most camp purposes.

A few mods are necessary for this to be a great tool.

1) (Most importantly) put a much better edge on the head; it comes very dull.

2) Refinish the handle. It has some horrible varnish on it, but with some sanding and some boiled linseed oil it feels much better and handles much better (there's a reason it's the go-to finish for working tools).

3) It would have been nice if the mask weren't sold separately, but these are easy enough to make.

With these modifications (an overstrike guard from leather or paracord is simple enough to put on as well), the Nobo is IMO a great compromise between lightweight and usability. I've not come across a lighter hatchet, but it still is meaty enough to be functional for camp tasks which is definitely not true of many t-hawks.

I would not want to fell any big trees with it, but for small trees, limbing, light bucking, and light splitting it does great at camp, and doesn't break the bank or the back on the way in.

Background

I have owned a fair few hatchets and axes.