Prandi German Style Hatchet - PRA0306TH

This hatchet is very nicely made. The head has a nice taper to the edge which makes it easy to put a good sharp edge onto. Since I intend to use this hatchet for the shaping of wooden bowls and the like, I will be maintaining a way sharper edge on it than one would for the usual camp hatchet use. It took a good edge quite easily. Time and use will tell how good the temper is; I'm assuming it is good.The handle of this Italian-made hatchet is U.S.-grown hickory, which is known to be the best wood for impact tools such as axes, hatchets, hammers and the like. The handle is very tightly attached.Therefore, I rate this hatchet as excellent.

CAme sharp out of the box, although i touched it up. Hickory orientation was nearly dead on. Sanded off the finish and added boiled linseed oil. Unlike the pics of Prandi being painted on, this was engraved in the blade. I will add my own sheath and neck coller..Outstanding value!

As you can see, the hatchet itself is beautiful to look at, but it definitely needed work. It arrived dull, which is logical from a safety perspective. The handle comes vanished. The grain is so so. But with a little work, I am completely happy with the results! The handle came with a short but very sturdy leather lanyard. I replaced it with an adjustable paracord weaving that closes somewhat tight around the wrist for added safety. The sheath, or edge protector, is of excellent quality. Very thick and deep brown leather. I love that smell. I spent a couple of hours on the edge with a lansky puck. Might sound like a lot of tedious work, but sitting on the couch with a little Netflix makes the time go by nice and easy. I sandpapered the varnish off the handle to help with the grip, then oiled her up top to tail. Basically, I started at 9am and by 2pm I had a swell little hatchet that should last for quite a while -- and that includes weaving the paracord lanyard! I call her "Zelda".

The wood grain is nice and straight on the handle. It's actually a bit closer to a 60 degree offset. Which some believe is better than absolute straight grain. The bottom seat is pretty consistent around. You can see a slight gap around the back side. That will cause problems later. But acceptable for the price. The top seems cut low but the size of the wedge and the set ring gives me confidence. As always, time will tell. But on its face, looks like a really well made took and at a really cheap price point.

In a world of mass produced hatchets at about the same price point, this one is undoubtedly the best. It came pretty sharp; sharper than you expect if you aren’t familiar with good hatchets, but not sharp enough if you are.Haft has decent grain and was aligned very well. Overall finish was pretty good, but not perfect. You can spend a little time and make this much nicer looking and better finished if you want.Balance is excellent. I took it out of the box and since I was heading to the woods to clear some fallen trees anyway, it came along. Worked excellently to de-limb some fallen trees and chop a couple through that were about 6-8” in diameter. Personally I’d like an extra couple inches in the handle length and maybe .25 lbs in the head, but this works wonderfully for what it is.I felt it would be great for throwing due to the balance, so I did that. Stuck it three times in a row to a dead tree trunk at 12’ on my first attempt. I’m not a recreational thrower and don’t practice outside of when I happen to be using a hatchet. But I might start doing it more due to how easy it was with this bad boy.I purchased mine without the sheath and bought the hide and drink Brand sheath from amazon. It is a “wedge it in” tight fit, but works. Should stretch a little with time. Very nice sheath overall and keeps the hatchet from bouncing around. To remove it takes two hands currently.I’ve used a lot of hatchets over the years and would say this one is above average for the price. Not Granfors nice, but way better than the average big box store cheapos available today.The edge held up to about 1 hour of constant chopping and limbing with several dozen throws, half of which missed their target and landed the hatchet in the dirt. No chips or rolls. Haven’t sharpened yet as I want to see how it holds up first before I put a fine edge on.I’ll probably get another one. It’s great!2/22/2019 updateI no longer give this 5 stars due to the handle breaking off the head. I will add a photo later, but here are the two issues:1. Wood appears to be infected with anthracnose. It is hard but still spongy looking and flakey. If you aren’t familiar, look it up.2. It looks like the kerf was cut to the bottom of where the head was seated. The break is sick that it looks like the wedge is still there, but it is part of the handle.I can’t say that this effects all handles or other axes, but it effected mine. One issue is a natural disease you won’t be able to detect and the other is a construction process issue.I was using this hatchet at the same time and in the same manner as a 50 year old craftsman hatchet with an original handle, and the head sheared off. I was working on a pile of bucked branches to split kindling. I also had a pine round I was occasionally throwing both hatched into. I have about a 70-80% success rate with throwing at this point, don’t throw hard, and only from about 10-20 feet away. Misses hit a woodpile or the round awkwardly.Sure this sounds like misuse to some, but comparing a 50 year old hatchet and a month or so old hatchet, I’d argue it isn’t abuse. There was a handle failure. The craftsman even has a much thinner handle on it than the prandi.Bottom line: prandi head is great so far, handle is bad. I will re-haft it and probably be better off. For the time/ money/ time value to re-haft you could hypothetically spend more and get a better hatchet.

As advertised. Italian manufactured.

Great quality for the price. I have used a few cheap axes for my camping trips but this one is the game changer.

Alex is ideal for wood carving. Holds a good edge. Excellent for its price. And.

Nice Nice nice,and great handle shape,it stays in the hand