Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatches

Developed by Lennart Pettersson (LP) at Gränsfors Bruks in Sweden. Lennart, axe smith, knife smith, back-packer and fisherman has created a little hatchet which can be used as an axe and a knife. The poll, slightly rounded, functions like a "priest". The roots of Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatchet go back many thousand years. In the old days in Europe it was common to carry a belt axe which could be used as a knife and an axe, a valuable tool and a weapon. A nice belt axe was also a symbol of status. In the 16th and 17th century, the French began trading axes with the American Indians. The small Belt Axe, light and narrow, become the "trade axe" and was transformed into the tomahawk. But Gränsfors Mini Belt Hatchet is neither a tomahawk nor a scaled down axe. It is a functional new design by Lennart Pettersson. It is hand forged of high carbon Swedish steel and tempered at the bit to a hardness of 57 Rockwell C. To forge a small axe with the hole in the head requires great craftsman skill. This little hatchet has a 2½ inches cut-ting edge, a 10 inches hickory handle and weighs only about 12 oz. The hatchet comes with a grain-leather sheath.

GRÄNSFORS AXES ARE FORGED by very professional smiths. The proof of this professionalism is that they are able to forge axes with such precision that no supplementary work, to hide mistakes in the forging, is needed.At Gränsfors Bruks the forging craft is allowed to take its time. The smiths do not work by the piece. They take care and do the right forging from the beginning. There is no need to stone or grind or smooth or paint the axes in order to hide or eliminate imperfections in the forging. A smith at Gränsfors Bruks has nothing to hide and he is proud of his professional standards. When he is satisfied with his work and has accepted his axe, he marks the head with his initials beside the company’s crown label.