Restoring an old Estwing Hatchet and making a new sheath for it.

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Sparky_D

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Decided to bring my dad's old Estwing hatchet back to life.
It spent about a decade in his truck box (that apparently was not watertight) and was pretty rusted. Mostly surface with some minor pitting.
I didn't get any before pics, but the handle was pretty gnarly with cracking and the leather was pretty dried up, so I sanded the lacquer off and reconditioned the leather.

Then I set about making a new sheath for it.

I typically layout one side and then use it as a template for the other side and the center piece.
I cut those a little larger than the first side so when I put them together, there are 2 pieces that are a little proud. I'll trim them before edging to get a smooth edge.

I'll finish it up tomorrow.

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@Sparky_D the handle on your hatchet looks very similar to the one on my dad's old hammer, but I never asked about it. Not sure where it is now.
Nice restoration on the hatchet!

Estwing made nice hammers too :) Maybe it's time to give mine a little TLC.

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I believe them to be stacked leather rings, sanded and lacquered.

That's exactly what they're made of.

I used 120 grit cloth sand paper and removed 90% of the cracked lacquer by hand (I cheated with a sanding drum on a Dremel on the thicker bits).

Make sure you wear a dust mask as it's a very dusty procedure and I don't know how "environmentally safe" lacquer from the late 70's/early 80's was, lol.

I then used a leather conditioning paste which I applied liberally, allowing it to set overnight to allow leather to fully absorb the oils.

This Estwing is going to become my constant companion when I go camping.
Lots of memories with it as well. This was my Dad's hatchet when he was Scoutmaster of my Boy Scout troop back in the early 80's.
 
Well, I finally took a couple hours this morning to finish this project.

Trimmed the edges flush, used an edging tool to break the corners, then used a burnishing tool to smooth the edges.

Applied a sealant coat to the leather, let it dry, then buffed it with a clean cloth.

I think it turned out pretty well.

I'll get many, many more years of use out of this and will likely pass it on to my son when I'm done.


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Good job! You obviously spent some time on it and it shows.

At a yard sale a few years ago they had what was left of an Estwing hatchet. The leather handle was completely gone. I asked what they wanted for it and they just gave it to me.
I made a new handle and a simple sheath for it but I did not take much time. I wrapped the handle with some Mule Tape(flat rope) and then covered that with leather. Its okay.

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Good job! You obviously spent some time on it and it shows.

At a yard sale a few years ago they had what was left of an Estwing hatchet. The leather handle was completely gone. I asked what they wanted for it and they just gave it to me.
I made a new handle and a simple sheath for it but I did not take much time. I wrapped the handle with some Mule Tape(flat rope) and then covered that with leather. Its okay.

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That was a heck of a find! and for free?
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As long as simple is effective, there's nothing wrong with that!


If we are graced with the ability to hold garage sales this year, I hope to find one in similar disrepair. I've always wanted to create a stacked leather handle.
 
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