A hatchet (from the Old French hachete, a diminutive form of hache, ´axe´ of Germanic origin) is a single-handed striking tool with a sharp blade on one side used to cut and split wood, and a hammerhead on the other side. Hatchets may also be used for hewing when making flattened surfaces on logs; when the hatchet head is optimized for this purpose it is called a hewing hatchet.
Although hand axe and hatchet are often used interchangeably, they are not the same thing. A hand axe is essentially a miniature axe with a flat butt or poll on the back side of the head, whereas a hatchet has a hammerhead on the back.
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