I spotted this sad little guy at a yard sale on the dollar table. My wife had picked up a couple things and the lady rounded down, basically gave me the hatchet. I'll clean it up and save it. The poll is not mushroomed and the handle is tight. The edge isn't bad. But the rust.
2 minutes with a flap disk on the grinder. More to come when I get to it. I have restored and rehandled several axes and I've got Collins, plumb, gransfors, but my hatchet selection was missing a small all purpose hatchet. This vintage Keen Kutter is going to clean up ok.
Nice! I love to find old tools like that and bring them back when I can. Getting harder to find them now though as so many others are on the look out for them.
Kingcreek Nice job of cleaning up the old Keen Kutter hatchet! I always liked having a small hatchet around to clear out old shrubs and small saplings along with trimming the branches on the yearly Christmas tree. I got this Nordlund hatchet from my Dad when he no longer needed it.
I never get to find cool things like that at yard or garage sales... Normally just find clothes for overweight women who got on weight watchers.
Long time getting around to it but it cleaned up good, still retains plenty of vintage look. I think I’ll make a leather cover with belt slots for it and put it to use.
Oh, and that is not the original handle. After I cleaned it up some more, I realized there were about 4 nails in addition to the wedge so it got a new stick.
I have one that I found somewhere, it says Solingen, Western Germany, on the side. Have a blessed day, Leon
I’m finding reference to Keen Kutter ownership by EC Simmons being 1900 to 1940, so it’s got some years on it. The rust looked bad but once cleaned up, its good hard tool steel. It has a good edge on it now. It’s going to get a leather cover and it might find a new home in the Jeep tool kit.
The Keen Kutter brand made some very fine tools. Good find and good save. There used to be some serious money spent collecting those by a guy that I worked with.
