What Hachets where most used?

[HistoryNerdB]

I am new to reenacting and am curious on what tools i need to get. I have a bowie knife, But what hachet do i get? or do i need one at all?

 

[Dan Kohli]

I would look at some pictures of what tools they had. The Liberty Rifles have an article on what tools were excavated in federal campsites, it has a lot of pictures of what they had dug up.
I think it would be good to have a hatchet and a wood mallet.

 

[johan_steele]

Impressions - ACW Gear Photos | Reenactors Forum - Join, Drill, See the Elephant

Period correct or original none other need be posted here.

civilwartalk.com

Here is an older thread with originals of the period pictured.

 

[Dan Kohli]

I should probably have added a link for the article that I mentioned.
https://www.libertyrifles.org/research/uniforms-equipment/original-tools

Also here is another one of their articles on Federal Army contracts for tools

US Army Tool Contracts, 1863-1865 — The Liberty Rifles

www.libertyrifles.org

Daniel Kohli

 

[7thWisconsin]

Hatchets didn´t change a lot for a hundred years, from mid 19th century to mid 20th century. Small hand axe with a nail puller, one with a hammer on the back - they´re both good. Carrying one around for pounding in tent stakes and slivering up kindling is worth the weigh. Like any common old tool, they can be had cheaply from antique stores. Just make sure the handle is in good condition or that you replace it.

 

[14NYSM]

I always took a hatchet camping. I always left it out of sight in my tent during the day when spectators were wandering around. It was handy for firewood and I used it for pounding tent stakes only briefly before I decided that using a hatchet in the dark at 11 PM after a six-hour drive was not the wisest choice.
After a while, I picked up a small sledge hammer and that served me well in driving tent stakes when in a hurry as comrades held the tent poles. It was popular with my buddies too.
The hammer stayed out of sight in the daytime. Speaking of tent stakes, I always took two sets. One set was RR spikes for rocky or hard ground. Wooden stakes would split when pounding into the wrong ground. Another set was maple wood stakes, each over a foot long. They were great for sand, loose soil, or muddy ground. Spare stakes of each kind were taken and sometimes lent out when other guys had trouble.

 

[7thWisconsin]

My grandfather was a blacksmith, and he made all the tools my father´s family used. I used to carry a hatchet that he made (circa 1930-1940). Then while packing up to go home from a event, in the near dark, I lost it. I lit a lantern and walked the path between my tent site and the car with 4 friends for 45 minutes trying to find it. Finally I thought ¨I´ll look one more time and give it up as lost.¨ Went all the way back to where the tent had been pitched -10 feet further than we´d looked before - and there it was, lying in the grass where I´d put it down. I still have it. I take another one camping, though.