Bamboo is a brilliant natural material, and many Japanese crafts have evolved tools that allow it to be incorporated into a plethora of traditional trades.

Breaking down bamboo is the first challenge, and refining it's thickness and shape before shaping or weaving is central to achieving strong yet visually delicate material.

Enter the nata-style hatchets that permeate Japan. This example uses a narrower body than many (35mm), and though it is much thicker than a machete (5mm), it is lighter than a Western tomahawk-style hatchet.

This example has a curved blade, which helps to keep it in the cut when splitting bamboo along the length of the plant's stems. However, it's laminated blue steel blade can be sharpened to an extremely fine cutting edge. 

The shaped white oak handle widens towards the base, fitting it snugly in the hand. This hatchet also ships with a vinyl sheath that can be attached to the belt.

Dimensions:

Blade Length: 185mm

Blade Width: 35mm

Overall: 340mm