Boy Scout question

[Hawkmoon]

I've been scouring my house to see what I already have that can be repurposed for duty in/with a bug-out bag. One thing I came up with is my old Boy Scout hatchet. Made by Bridgeport Hardware Manufacturing Company, probably in the late 1950s. Looks just like this one, except that mine is in better condition and I have the original leather sheath:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/123146426588?rmvSB=true

The Bridgeport Hardware Manufacturing Company was bought out in the early 1960s and no longer exists (as far as I know). So the question for those of you who are currently involved with scouting or who may have offspring who are currently in scouting -- what's the official BSA hatchet today? Do they even have one?

[Hawkmoon]

Oh, dear God!

I just looked on the BSA web site. THIS is what they are selling now as their camp hatchet:

https://www.scoutshop.org/9060-camp-axe-600605.html

What a piece of junk. There's just no comparison between my scout hatchet and this Coughlan dreck. What are they thinking? Does Coughlan pay the BSA to endorse and sell their crap?

[230RN]

A:  What's wrong with that hatchet?

B:  Without accusing anyone of anything, I would not be surprised if there were some kind of pseudo-partnerships going on between most non-profit orgs and various businesses.  Non-profits capitalize on their reputations/respect/public images in this manner.

C.  In the long term, I have found (YMMV) that a machete is a far more useful camp implement than a hatchet. (YMMV).  Over the years, about the only thing I used a hatchet for was removing hub caps from my car wheels (YMMV) and I kept one in the car specifically and especially for that purpose.  But one problem with machetes is the OMG ! ! ! factor.

D.  YMMV.

E.  I don't know if there are still tomahawk throwing contests, but it's probably easier to throw a hatchet than a machete:

https://youtu.be/7l1PBP0It4Q (0:45)

This is the famous incident where Ed Ames, the singer, demonstrated tomahawk throwing on the Johnny Carson show.

(ETA:In the "Daniel Boone" TV series, Ed Ames co-starred as Mingo, Boone's Cherokee friend, which was the background for the tomahawk-throwing demonstration.)

Terry

[Hawkmoon]

A:  What's wrong with that hatchet?

Aside from its being a piece of crap in general, a friend has one. The head won't stay on. The handle is just a piece of hollow tubing. It's junk.

[RoadKingLarry]

The root of your problem is that you accept that the piece of crap is actually a hatchet.
It is not.
It is a hatchet shaped piece of "Hencho en China" junk.

[French G.]

The swedish surplus hatchets are the way to hachet for the buck.  But I gave up on hatchets, moved on to limbing axes, much more useful, not much heavier. Or a khukri. That is a wonderful piece of personal history though, deserves to be shined up and displayed.

[KD5NRH]

Aside from its being a piece of crap in general, a friend has one. The head won't stay on. The handle is just a piece of hollow tubing. It's junk.

This.  I've seen the handle bend on one trying to hack through a ~4" limb.  Tractor Supply has a much better "camp axe" for the same price, too.  

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/product/truper-camp-axe?cm_vc=-10005

Pretty close to the same size, but holds a much better edge, and you're going to have to try pretty hard to break that handle.

[charby]

Estwing hatchet is what I had in scouts and still what I use today. I prefer a Sven saw over a hatchet.

[Hawkmoon]

Estwing hatchet is what I had in scouts and still what I use today. I prefer a Sven saw over a hatchet.

I want to get an Estwing. And I probably will, but I don't know whether to get the 12-1/2" model or the 13-1/2" model. To my astonishment, the nearby Lowe's has the 13-1/2" model for less than Amazon.