Barrel, Produce, & Packer’s Hatchets
There was a time (not that long ago) when workers in almost every shop, grocery store, warehouse, and even restaurant would regularly use hatchets.
Barrel, produce, and packer’s hatchets were designed for packing and unpacking goods shipped in wooden barrels and boxes. They combine a strong narrow blade for chopping and prying, a hammer, and often multiple nail-pulling slots. They were made and used from the late 1800s into the 1970s.
I’ve combined these similar hatchet types in a single article because they were all used for similar jobs – and all the different manufacturers had slightly different features, designs, and names that can make an “official” designation tough.
There are a few specific features to look for (more on that further down), but size can also be a good way of telling one apart from another.
In comparing many catalogs, I found there was often a size variation between Produce, Barrel, and Packer’s hatchets. Produce hatchets were typically the smallest, barrel hatchets were in the middle, and packer’s hatchets were the largest. However again, models and manufacturers varied.
| Weight: | Edge: | Handle: | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Produce | 10-12oz | 2″ | 10-11″ |
| Barrel | 12-14oz | 2.25″ | 11-12″ |
| Packer’s | 16-20oz | 2.75″ | 12-13″ |
Check out the Encyclopedia of Axe Types for information on over 120 different kinds of axe.
Barrel Hatchets
As late as the 1970s things like produce, fish, hardware (and of course liquids) were often shipped and delivered in wooden barrels.
Barrel hatchets were used for opening and sealing barrels. They typically had a curved head or canted hammer to account for the curve of a barrel when hammering the hoops on and off. They also have a narrow but strong wedge-shaped blade for prying, and 1-2 nail-pulling slots.
The curved head is the most common and easily distinguishable feature of a barrel hatchet. But, they also tended to have a shorter more wedge-shaped profile than some other packer’s hatchets, with a wider hammering surface for hitting the rings.
depending on the goods the barrels might just need to be opened for unpacking and sale, but they could also have to repack the barrel for extended backroom storage as well.
Packer’s Hatchets
Packer’s Hatchets were used for packing and unpacking wooden boxes or small crates of goods. The thin blade could be used to pry boards a part as well as chop through slats. They also have a hammerhead for nailing boxes and crates closed again.
These were the largest of the packing hatchets. They typically had a straight flat top head, but there were variations with tilted hammers or a curved shape to be capable of working on barrels too.
These hatchets often get mistaken for lathing (drywall) hatchets or unique roofing hatchets. But while the shape can be similar the blade of a packer’s hatchet blades will be a little more wedge-shaped to give it strength, and not as square.
Produce Hatchets
Produce hatchets were a smaller variation of a barrel or packer’s hatchet designed specifically for produce merchants working with various smaller barrels and boxes of produce. They can either be curved or canted like a barrel hatchet, or more flat-topped like other packer’s hatchets.
Companies like Plumb added distinct features like a nail-pulling slot in the top of the head.
I have seen speculation that the top slot was somehow for pulling stems, but that largely seems to have been debunked as a purpose. It’s just another nail slot.
Nail Pullers Everywhere
All these hatchets can have nail pullers in the bottom of the blade, top of the blade, and even in the blade itself. These different nail slots give the user different ways to leverage a nail out depending on the angle and positioning.
Having a small nail puller in the blade allows you to easily dig in under smaller nails or dig up a nail that has been driven too deep, and it started for one of the other nail slots.
The notch in the blade would also allow you to work around a nail when prying up boards, protecting your edge. But most accounts only ever mention the slot in the blade as a nail-puller.
Larger slots in the top or bottom of the head are stronger and can pull up tougher nails, and let the user get extra leverage with the handle.