Having used it for the past few months, it's been really nice for chopping up the smaller chunks of wood for the fireplace. Now when it comes to the larger pieces I had some trouble. More effort was required and honestly, it might've just been better to grab a full sized axe. I don't know, my last hatchet worked right up until the bitter end when the metal blade was coming off the wooden handle. This is a nice substitute, no wooden handle here, it's just one solid piece of metal. Just be patient with this tool and it'll serve you well. In the words of Conan's father:

"...but in their rage, the gods forgot the secret of steel and left it on the battlefield. We who found it are just men. Not gods. Not giants. Just men. The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Conan. You must learn its discipline. For no one - no one in this world can you trust. Not men, not women, not beasts.

But this? This you can trust."

My son wanted a hatched just in case we were ever in a zombie apocalypse, so I found this one. Well, I can tell you after rigorous beatings, chopping and being mistreated, this thing still looks like the day it arrived. No blade chipping, folding nothing. Glad we made the purchase and thank you.

I was looking for a small camp hatchet to use while camping. This hatchet has really stepped up and filled this place perfectly. It is a small hatchet that has a good weight on the head. It powers through wood effortlessly. It is a great tool for processing small wood for campfires. It does a great job cutting stakes. The hammer on the back of the blade is wide and lands confidently while driving stakes. I really like this hatchet and I have been impressed with its abilities. Looking for a great camp hatchet? This is it.

I ordered this to use as a belt hatchet and for what I wanted to use it for it is a bargain.
First off, you aren't going to cut down big trees or split large pieces of wood with this little hatchet but it will split up to 4 inch diameter pieces of wood easily the way I do it.(I use the "tap" method... Set the edge in the top of the wood billet, then lift the wood up and tap the bottom of the billet on the ground, a rock or another piece of wood until it splits.. If using a rock, be careful that the wood doesn't give and you drive the hatchet edge into the rock).... If you are one of those people that likes to "baton" firewood, THIS is the tool to use...STOP abusing your knives !
The back edge of the hatchet has a shallow curve that makes pounding stakes in a little tricky but not as hard as some hatchets I have used.
I think that the metal used in this hatchet is a good quality and with just a little stone work, you can use this hatchet for skinning deer size animals..
I really like the metal handle for those times that I miss and whack the handle into something while chopping. The lanyard hole for a wrist string is also nice for control in cold or slippery conditions.
The rubbery feeling coating on the handle absorbs the vibrations of chopping well and the shallow finger grooves in the front edge of the handle are nice without being to deep.
The factory edge on the blade is adequate for most uses but it will take a finer edge if you are into that kind of thing.
----- The only down side of this hatchet is the rinky-dink plastic sheath that is included with the hatchet.. I feel that this sheath is just an accident waiting to happen and I made a replacement for it the day that I got the hatchet..
------In My Opinion------
This is a very good SMALL hatchet and well worth the 27 dollars that I paid for it.. I would have taken a star off for the plastic sheath that was included but it was not hard to make a better one .

Bought this instead of the equivalent version by Gerber (item no. 31-002070) because the Schrade version seemed to have a fat spine that I can use as a hammer, whereas I was unable to tell if Gerber also had a fat head. I have two gripes. 1) the sheath is kinda clumsy to open and close, would have preferred the Gerber approach in terms of the sheath. 2) the handle, wish it was fatter and less curvy, the way it curves makes the hatchet aim more down than I would like, and I have to tilt up more with my wrist, which can be fatiguing with repetitive use. But overall it is definitely a good value, solid quality and a keeper.