I stumbled across an article on a special type of a traditional japanese hatchet, the “Nata“. It derives from the use as a garden tool, but it seems to also gain increasing popularity in the bushcraft and knifemaker scene. I liked the form and the unpretentious design and wanted to try my own version.
Now, since this was my first attempt at making one and since various shapes and characteristics exist, I tried to incorporate and combine what i liked best from the ones that I looked at more closely. A traditional Nata seems to be sharpened only on one side of the blade, which I omitted though for better handling.
If it works well in the garden I might make another one and dig a little deeper into the history and peculiarities of this tool. For now, I’m satisfied with the outcome.