>>1465879>>1465897>>1465882I have a bearded hatchet that also had an adze on the back (same as pic). "Spring steel," is a bit of a misnomer half the time. It is only steel that has been tempered to spring hardness. That allows it to flex more, but also not hold an edge as long. That is fine for an axe. Most everything that Cold Steel makes is spring steel hardness and you can see what type of abuse such tools can take by watching their videos. You'll just need to sharpen it a bit more often, that is all. That's normal. One thing to watch out for is the angle of the grind. If it is too thin, the edge will roll. If it is doing this, just use a bastard file in a file jig and make the edge's grind angle wider. That will help prevent the edge rolling.
You need to remember that a long bearded axe isn't specifically made for splitting wood all day. It is meant for wood carving and small amounts of wood processing. Like what you'd be doing while bushcrafting and camping. The reason they are bearded is so you can grip the handle right behind the blade inside the bearded section (metal part of the handle in that first image.) This allows better woodcarving control.
>handleThe one in those two images looks like it may give you a couple blisters. You may need to rasp and sand it a bit after you've used it and find out where to shape it at. Personally, I'd remove the metal guard as it can also give you blisters and isn't needed since you shouldn't be splitting with it, using the beard, in the first place.
If you want to do woodcarving/woodworking and bushcraft around camp then get it. Otherwise, get another axe that is dedicated for the job you want it to do.
