Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm not sure I would believe this review if it hadn't happened to me. There are so many positive reviews of the Fiskars X7 hatchet that I can't imagine that the one I received represents the typical quality of the product line. But I'm very frustrated--in fact, angry--with the one I got. Here's why... Upon receiving the X7 hatchet, I thought it was attractively designed, with a sturdy, functional head cover that fits snugly and protects the entire perimeter of the axe head. As soon as I removed the cover, however, I found the cutting edge to be extremely dull. I don't mean slightly dull. I mean dull enough to safely saw it back and forth across your wrist (NOT recommended! I just want to be clear about how dull.... more like a cast metal edge than sharpened steel.) That's frustrating, but not a big deal. I'm very experienced at sharpening edged tools and I own a nice set of large diamond stones in a range of grits. After 10 minutes of work on a 600-grit stone, and a final polish on a 1200-grit stone, the hatchet had a nice, shiny, shaving sharp edge. Then I went in the backyard to try chopping some wood. For experiment's sake, I grabbed a few 4" diameter logs of termite-eaten elm and pine from the easement behind our house. Keep in mind, this is dead wood, perforated through the center with termite tunnels, and actually fairly brittle, though the outer perimeter of each log still had a fair bit of density to it. I wasn't expecting it to reveal anything about the hatchet's cutting performance, but just wanted to get a feel for how the hatchet handles. The first few chops went fine. I liked the length of the handle and the weight of the head, despite the fact that the undersized poll/butt leaves it decidedly edge heavy. I didn't care for the smoothness of the handle, which allows your grip to slide around a little too freely unless you squeeze constantly (which in the long run, will increase hand fatigue, but can be easily fixed with grip tape). So far, it was looking to be a nice little hatchet. But then, before I finished taking only two dozen swings, I found a DENT in the cutting edge at least 1/16" deep! Many older reviews of this hatchet had mentioned that the metal seemed a little soft, permitting the edge to roll when chopping hard materials. But this was something else entirely. After only a few chops into termite-eaten wood (SOFT, almost BRITTLE wood through most of its thickness), the edge had actually buckled inward. To be clear: I was using a tree stump for a chopping platform, and I am absolutely certain I did not strike a rock/staple/nail, or any of the other typical culprits for a chipped/dented edge. The blade did not contact anything except the wood. Yet there it was: not some minor edge rolling, but a sizable dent at least 1/16" deep into the metal, with a bur on either side showing that it had buckled inward. I've NEVER seen that happen to any edged tool without it being struck hard against another piece of metal. I can't explain it. Back to the sharpening stone... After a lot of work, I pulled the edge back to swallow up the dent and restore a nice, shaving sharp edge. Yet several chops later, I find the same problem: another 1/16" dent where the metal had buckled inward! Now I am angry. It's inexcusable for a metal hatchet head--even one this cheap--to buckle while chopping what is undoubtedly the softest wood that any sane person would bother to chop. Trust me, I'm not making this up. The wood was so termite eaten that I could baton a $5 pocket knife through it. So how can the Fiskars X7 that I see praised so often as a great value perform so poorly? Either mine is defective, or all those other positive reviewers are using their hatchets strictly to chop fruit and Jell-O. Regardless, can Fiskars' quality control really be so bad that the quality of the metal/forging in the heads of these hatchets varies this greatly? Another X7 review had suggested that the cutting edge may have excess metal left over from the manufacturing process that is softer than the rest. To test that theory, I decided to pull the edge much further back and reset the grind, hoping to get to better metal. For aggressive removal, I used a benchtop belt sander, pulling the leading edge back and resetting the grind about 3/16" back from where it had been when new. As I started grinding, I noticed right away that, in spite of even pressure and a controlled angle, the metal was coming off unevenly--something I've never seen in all my years sharpening. In fact, I've only seen it with wood, such as when you sand Douglas Fir, which tends to get high and low spots becasue of the significant variation in hardness between the grain/rings and the intervening spaces of the wood. Apparently, there were significant hardness variations in the metal because I applied even pressure on a new sanding belt (i.e., it was not worn or clogged with metal dust, which I realize can cause an uneven grind.) Once I pulled the edge back about 3/16" from where it had been, the metal started to even out again and take a more symmetrical grind, but by then, I had removed enough metal to serve a year's worth of hard chopping and sharpening work. In all my years of buying, using, and sharpening edged tools, I've never had an experience like this. Perhaps the metal was hardened improperly. Whatever the case, I find it unbelievable that this wasn't discovered before leaving the factory, since the unusually dull edge should've tipped someone off that something wasn't right. In any case, after extensive grinding and re-sharpening, I now have a salvageable hatchet that is serviceable enough for light chopping and holds a better edge for longer, but I'm annoyed that I had to invest so much work at stock removal to get it there. Most people would not have the skills or equipment to do what I did. And even after all this work, I don't find the edge holding properties of the metal to be as exceptional as others have claimed. There is still a slight proneness to edge rolling, though nothing like the problems I initially had. I hope this is a fluke, but it's a great disappointment. And since I had to remove so much metal, the protective head cover for the hatchet now fits loosely, allowing it to rattle around (though still secure enough not to fall off). I decided not to try to return this product because at this point I have no way to prove that the head was defective (as opposed to looking like an insane person took a belt sander to a new hatchet and completely reset the edge for sadistic joy). I did take a picture of the second dent, before attempting to reset the entire leading edge... look for it in the product images gallery. For a $25 item, it isn't worth the hassle to waste my time boxing, return shipping, and explaining the problem in order to request a replacement. Instead, I'll just put it in our garden shed and use it to chop stubborn roots and other ground cutting work that I wouldn't want to use my more expensive hatchets for. I felt I ought to report this experience so that others are aware that some lemons are clearly slipping through, or else that the many positive reviews are bizarrely inflated (?). Based on the hatchet I received, I'm not impressed, and more than a little upset that my careful research into a purportedly great value product turned out so wrong. [UPDATE 5-9-2014: Since resetting the edge, my X7 hatchet has held up much better. I can chop extensively--even into hard wood--without significant damage to the metal/edge; however, there is still a minor proneness to edge rolling that requires resharpening more often than it should. Regardless, it appears that only the first 3/16" of the metal head was inexcusably soft--still a major issue, since consumers should not have to grind away almost a quarter inch of metal to yield a usable hatchet. While my substantially-refurbished X7 now works fine as a utility hatchet, I must take issue with those who praise it as 'the last hatchet you'll ever need', or 'the best hatchet on the market', etc. I'm convinced that those reviewers are either not experienced with fine quality hatchets (Gransfors Bruks, Wetterlings, Husqvarna (Hultafors), etc) or do not have a sufficiently disciplined technique to tell the difference between a good and merely average hatchet. Whatever the case, the X7 is a decent hatchet at an excellent value (assuming you don't experience the severe QC issues mine had); but it is not the world's greatest hatchet by a large margin. One last subjective observation I'd like to add since my original review: The head geometry and possibly the coating on the head of the X7 make it unusually frustrating to use this hatchet for splitting tasks. Yes, I know it's designed for chopping, but it's very common to use a chopping hatchet for general camp use, including light splitting of small diameter logs to process kindling. In that fairly common camp application, the X7 frequently fails to penetrate deeply enough to split the wood. That isn't unusual for a light hatchet. What IS unusual is that, due to its flat, slim head shape (and possibly also its coating), the X7 rarely sticks in the wood. While that would be a desirable quality for an axe used for heavier chopping, I consider it very undesirable for a hatchet. If the head tends to stick, it makes small log splitting much easier and safer. If the hatchet slips out, you will be temped to try to swing back into the same cut to continue splitting (a dangerous proposition, and one that should not be attempted without a safe stance and your off hand kept well away from the log, using a stick to support the log if need be). On the other hand, if the hatchet tends to stick in the split, as I prefer, it allows you to simply lift the hatchet and log together and strike back down against a hard surface to continue driving the head through--making splitting go faster and safer. If you're looking for a hatchet for camping/bushcraft specifically, I think there are better choppers that are also much better for splitting because they exhibit a preferable tendency to stick in the emerging split. That tendency, and much better steel, are some of the qualities that make the Gransfors Bruks wildlife hatchet--or its great value discount cousin, the Husqvarna hatchet--so desirable to bushcrafters. (Though obviously you're talking about spending a lot more money in either case. In my experience, that extra money is worth it.)]