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Earlier this year on American Handgunner, I reviewed the Fremont Farson Blade, placing it the category of Super Useful Blades That Really Aren’t Knives Or Hatchets But Can Be Both. While very handy, it’s only improvement was to fashion a makeshift handle so that it could do duty as a hatchet. Now Fremont has released its Farson Hatchet which essentially puts a full-tang handle on the Farson Blade. In this new configuration, the Hatchet might put the Blade out of work.
My initial review explained how the Farson Blade came to be and how to sharpen it. The Farson Hatchet of course has the same heritage but reflects Fremont’s response to customers who wanted a handle on the Blade. Simply: You asked for it, you got it.
The overall length of this new tool stretches to 9.5 inches with the handle again wrapped in Paracord and featuring the same thumb serration for added leverage. Created from 1095 Carbon Steel, the blade sports a Titanium Nitride coating. That simply translates to sharp and durable. Handle all blades with care but really handle the Farson Hatchet with extra special care. Slicing and cutting is way easy with this tool. In fact, it would require fewer words to report to you what I could not cut through instead of what I could cut through.
The new handle obviously makes the Farson Fremont Hatchet a larger or longer tool than the Blade, but the payoff is much greater leverage and maneuverability. Not that you’ll be wielding the Hatchet like some kind of Samurai, but all basic cutting motions improved with the use of the new handle. If you really can’t spare the space in your pack or simply want the smallest but most useful blade for your backcountry trip, then the Blade is for you. If you have the room for the Hatchet, however, it’s worth the extra weight and inches.
The Farson Hatchet retails for $79 and comes with a structurally reinforced nylon sheath — a great improvement — that easily attaches to belt or pack.
Blade or Hatchet — what’s the better tool for you?
— Mark Kakkuri
