handleless hatchet

[susanlani]

Could someone hold on to that hatchet head and use it without a handle?

[Audrey]

I wouldn't think so-- at least not without scratching and damaging your hands.

[Kat]

Actually I've read several accounts over time that state the handleless hatchet was used without a handle.
It's in error and a misunderstanding when that is printed.
Hope this helps- clears things up.

[Harry]

Could someone hold on to that hatchet head and use it without a handle?

I suppose you could use it to inflict some damage but certainly not to the extent of that which was done to the Bordens.

It is the handle and weight that provides the leverage to the blow. And obviously the force used.

Dr. Dolan is questioned in the trial (p905) on this very thing:

"Q. What, in your opinion, caused these wounds?
A. I should think some sharp cutting instrument, possibly a hatchet.
Q. And this sharp cutting instrument would be with or without the leverage of a handle?
A. It must have a leverage.
Q. Of a handle?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. So you qualify your answer by saying it must be some sharp cutting instrument with a handle?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Would a hatchet be consistent with the nature of the wounds that you found there?
A. Yes, sir."

[Kat]

Thank you Harry- good point, good post.

[susanlani]

Thank you.
I still wonder though, as a heavy object being lifted and swung (in one's hand) can exert pretty much "wham". I know I have to believe the experts as I don't know how much "wham" it would take to cause the amount of damage.

[1bigsteve]

Thank you.
I still wonder though, as a heavy object being lifted and swung (in one's hand) can exert pretty much "wham". I know I have to believe the experts as I don't know how much "wham" it would take to cause the amount of damage.

Hello Susan and welcome aboard! We're always looking for new victims

The HH head found in Lizzie's basement was a roofer's shingling hatchet and weights about 1 1/2lbs. Without a handle you could cut someone up with it, ring their bell and kill a person but it would be extreamly difficult to inflict even half as much damage as we see in the photos. A handle greatly magnifies the leverage and momentum. With a 12" handle you would have no trouble killing someone with one or two blows even if you are not very strong.

Lizzie's HH had a 3 1/2" long edge and was probably 6" long over all from edge to poll. I have a hatchet head just like Lizzie's that has a 4 1/2" long edge and measures 7 1/4" over all from edge to poll and weights over 2lbs. I recently put a 14" handle in it and that is one mean mamma. She could do some major damage in a fast hurry with no effort at all. The larger the hatchet head the greater the damage will be even if the handle remains the same length.

-1bigsteve (o:

[Kat]

How do we know the HH weighs 1 1/2 lbs.?

[Yooper]

A longer handle on a hatchet also increases momentum due to greater velocity from the same amount of force. 1bigsteve is correct, greater weight also increases momentum. The equation is: momentum=mass*velocity. Increasing either mass or velocity (or both) increases momentum.

The reason the velocity increases is the greater distance from the axis of the swing. The hatchet head covers a greater distance in the same amount of time. This is the same reason a larger diameter circular saw blade cuts faster than a smaller blade at the same shaft rpm.

[1bigsteve]

How do we know the HH weighs 1 1/2 lbs.?

I had a shingling hatchet head same style as Lizzie's (and probably older) that was slightly larger and it weighed slightly over 1 1/2lbs. Mine had an edge of 3 13/16" with an overall length of 6 3/8". Lizzie's head had an edge of 3 1/2" so I figure the weight would be a little less than mine.

-1bigsteve (o:

[RayS]

The test is easy, if you can do it safely.
Get a hatchet, and a piece of kindling wood.
Place the piece of wood on the cutting stump. NOT a hard surface!
Then strike using the handle.
Then turn the hatchet around and hold it by the head; now strike again.

See the difference?

[Kat]

Thanks BigSteve. You are giving your opinion the HH was about that weight? I see, but it doesn't say it anywhere?
You had the hatchet? You don't have it anymore?

[1bigsteve]

Thanks BigSteve. You are giving your opinion the HH was about that weight? I see, but it doesn't say it anywhere?
You had the hatchet? You don't have it anymore?

I am giving my estimate of 1 1/2lbs. as the maximum weight.

The blade of my hatchet head was real thick in front of the eye, thicker than the blades of other hatchet heads I've seen of that same style. I think that is why it felt heavier than it looked when I first saw it proped on a shelf in side profile. The edge was also beveled on one side only. I put it on a scale and it tipped just pass the 1 1/2lb. mark. I hope the scale was accurate but it felt about right in comparasion to my hammer heads and weight plates of known weight. There were no marks at all on the head and the weight was never stamped on hatchet heads, like they are on hammer heads, at least as far as all those I've seen. Mine looked like a cheap utility home owner's model. It was brutish and did not have the machined, designed look that Lizzie's Underhill has. It looked more like it was intended to "smash" through a shake rather than "cut" through it. It was older than Lizzie's.

Some of the 3 1/2" shingling hatchet heads weighed as little as 1lb 1 oz. based upon old tool advertisements here in these archives. Some hatchet heads had very short blade lengths, from front of eye to cutting edge, while other's, like mine had a longer length blade. I can't tell how thick Lizzie's blade is but it looks like the blade is on the longer side. So based upon all that I would say Lizzie's head weighed 1 1/2lb. at the max and possibly a few ounces lighter. My other shingling hatchet head, which is the same old style as Lizzie's and looks almost exactly like her's, is about 2lbs. It has an edge of 4 1/2" and overall length of 7 1/4". It is the biggest and heaviest one I have ever seen. I didn't realize it was that big until I pulled it out of it's shipping box. It has a thick blade but it is much better machined and designed. Better quality.

I recently saw one the same length as my big one at a flea market but the octagon poll was a 1/2" longer and 1/4" narrower than mine and it's blade was a 1/2" shorter than my blade and almost half as thick as mine. It was a funny looking thing but it had a brand name on it and was a professional model. Strange.

I threw my small one away a couple weeks ago because it had a sideways bend in it. It was bent at the eye wall. It looked as if someone used it as a wedge by pounding it under something heavy. I kept it as a paper weight. I'm now looking for another one of better quality that I can put a handle in and use. I only like old tools that I can use.

-1bigsteve (o:

[susanlani]

Enlightening answers. Thank you.
I am familiar with the physics of heft and leverage, etc., which is why I wondered about it in the first place. Taking a heavy er...tape dispenser and smashing the bed with it caused quite a wham. Of course that's not a skull.
Thanks for the welcome too. I appreciate it.

[Yooper]

Newton's law of action/reaction would leave a battered and bruised hand if the hatchet head was used without the handle. While it could be done, 29 whacks would likely send the murderer seeking medical attention.

Here's a bizarre thought (ranks right up there with alien abductions), why not chop some ice from the block in the icebox and use that as a "hatchet"? It could be rinsed off and melted in the coffee pot. OK, OK, it's late...I'm tired !