Choosing the Best Hatchet for Splitting Firewood: The Power of the Amenoma Bushcraft Nata.
The Bushcraft Nata series are hatchet born for splitting firewood for camping. Their greatest feature is their excellent balance, and they are designed to be optimized for splitting firewood for bonfires.
Traditional nata axes were made as forestry felling knives, and were large, heavy, and mostly single-edged, for cutting down branches. This design is not suitable for splitting firewood for bonfires. Due to their weight and single-edged characteristic, the firewood does not split straight, making them difficult to master.
The Bushcraft Nata series was born from users' requests for "something a little lighter and more portable." This series is the result of thoroughly pursuing ease of use when actually splitting firewood at a campsite.
Unlike forestry axes, we re-evaluated the weight distribution, double-edged design for straight splitting, and overall size necessary for splitting firewood while camping, considering portability. This achieves a balance that is easy for beginners to handle and satisfying for experienced users.
Firewood is broadly divided into two types: "softwood" and "hardwood."
Softwood is easy to split and ignites easily. It provides strong heat quickly, making it useful when you need warmth fast. However, because it has low density, it burns out quickly and requires frequent replenishment.
Hardwood is hard, difficult to split, and requires force. It also takes longer to ignite, but its high density allows it to burn steadily for a long time. It is ideal for bonfires at night or when you want to maintain a fire for an extended period.
The amenoma Bushcraft Nata is a nata ax specially developed for splitting hardwood. It is ideally suited for those who want to enjoy bonfires all night long or maximize their bonfire time.
Hardwood is tough and requires force to split, but its high density allows it to burn steadily for a long time. The amenoma Bushcraft Nata has thoroughly pursued the optimal blade angle and weight distribution to handle this hardness. Its double-edged design allows the blade to bite smoothly into the wood, splitting it straight and efficiently.
Unlike traditional forestry nata axes, this series is the result of thoroughly pursuing practical usability at campsites. It achieves a balance that is easy for beginners to handle and satisfying for experienced users.
The secret to the amenoma Bushcraft Nata's toughness and long-lasting sharpness lies in its meticulous handcrafted production. Ikeuchi Hamono Co., Ltd., a blacksmith workshop in Miki City, Hyogo Prefecture, Japan with 70 years of history, manufactures it using traditional forging techniques.
The highest quality "Aogami" (Blue Steel) used for the blade material is thoroughly purified of impurities through forging, resulting in steel that combines high strength and tenacity. This process is one of the reasons why the blade does not chip even when continuously splitting hard hardwood and maintains its sharpness for a long time.
Through the artisans' years of knowledge and skill, the thick 6mm steel is crafted into a blade that is both robust and sharp. The full-tang construction also prevents the handle from breaking, making it a reliable design for use in harsh outdoor environments.
The process of shaping the forged blue steel into a blade is where the craftsman's skill truly shines. Since a nata is swung down with force, a thinly sharpened blade risks chipping. Thus, the craftsman tackles the difficult challenge of achieving both robustness and sharpness with a thick 6mm steel.
Based on years of knowledge and experience, the blade is sharpened to achieve both the strength to withstand splitting hard hardwood and the sharpness for smooth cutting. This blade crafting is another reason for its long-lasting sharpness. Furthermore, the full-tang construction ensures that the handle will not break, allowing for confident and long-lasting use even in harsh conditions.
This uncompromising sharpening is why the amenoma Bushcraft Nata can effortlessly split tough hardwood and is the source of its reliability for long-term use.
The birth of SANZIN (山神).
The balance of the wooden sheath, leather band, and forged nata captivates the connoisseur.
A tough nata is housed in a traditional Japanese wooden sheath. The 6mm thick blade, combining robustness and sharpness, is crafted from blue steel with a forged black finish. Its full-tang construction allows it to effortlessly handle batoning hard hardwood.
The paracord-wrapped handle offers an excellent grip, and its reflective design makes it easy to find in the dark with a light. The wood and leather change over time, allowing you to enjoy the aging process, which is another charm of "SANZIN."
Attaching a genuine leather strap to the wooden sheath securely holds the nata in place. The design with a belt loop makes it easy to carry outdoors, accommodating belt widths up to 45mm.
Wooden nails are driven into the four corners to prevent the sheath from splitting due to warping wood. The wood and leather change color over time, allowing you to enjoy the aging process, which is a feature of "SANZIN." The deepening texture over time tells the story of its history as an outdoor companion.
The Bushcraft nata and wooden sheath are an excellent match. Beyond its aesthetic beauty, the design prevents the blade from chipping even when striking the inside of the wooden sheath, ensuring long-lasting reliability. It is a true masterpiece where practicality and aesthetics are perfectly integrated.
The amenoma Bushcraft Knife series currently features 10 popular products, including both ken-nata and nata types. With a lineup that meets every need, the nata series introduced here is active in outdoor fields such as mountains and streams for tasks like clearing branches and splitting firewood.
The "amenoma Bushcraft Nata," allowing rugged campers to thoroughly enjoy splitting firewood, is the ultimate partner for those who love all-night bonfires and want to maintain a fire for extended periods. It is a masterpiece packed with a design that tackles the hardness of hardwood, reliability crafted by artisans, and the aesthetics of enjoying its aging process.
We invite you to make it a key item in your collection.
Bushcraft nata
165mm / 180mm / 180mm SANZIN
※When purchasing, please proceed to each product page, change the currency to your local currency, and then add to cart.