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For the improvised variant, see Improvised Hatchet.

A small one-handed axe. Good for splitting wood. Can be used to hack meat in a pinch.
In-game description

The Hatchet is a tool in The Long Dark, primarily for woodcutting and self defense.

Overview

The hatchet can be used to harvest sticks from branches and some Scrub Brush, Cedar Firewood from cedar limbs, and Fir Firewood from fir limbs. It can also be used to break down many wooden objects such as shelves and crates into Reclaimed Wood. Hatchets can also allow the player to cut down maple and birch saplings without a Hacksaw.

Hatchets are repairable with Whetsone or at the Milling Machine.

Uses of Hatchet:

  • Self Defense during a Wolf Struggle.
  • May be used to harvest frozen carcasses (Knives are faster harvesting carcasses 50% frozen or less, as well as guts and hides. Hatchets are faster harvesting carcasses 51-100% frozen).
  • Harvest downed tree limbs (for Fir Firewood or Cedar Firewood).
  • Open or maintain holes in the ice for Ice Fishing (bladed tools break ice faster, but take more condition loss).
  • Breaking down Furniture and Crates (for Reclaimed Wood or Cloth).
  • Crafting Arrow Shafts.
  • Breaking Scrub Bushes.
  • For the Whiteout challenge's objective, an improvised hatchet may substitute the requirement of a hatchet.

When carried and selected for self-defense at the start of a Wolf Struggle, Hatchets deal high damage with a low chance per-hit to cause the wolf to flee, as well as a moderate chance to inflict Blood Loss on the Wolf (which is lethal over time). Hatchets take low damage from being used in a struggle, and are superior to Improvised Hatchets when used in this way. For more information on Struggles, see: Wildlife Struggles.

Obtaining

Hatchets may be found in all regions, usually near frozen corpses or structures.

In Interloper mode hatchets will never spawn; requiring forging to create an Improvised Hatchet.

Spawn-points

Pleasant Valley

Repair

Hatchets may be repaired using a Whetstone and the Sharpening skill, restoring 3% condition to the hatchet and causing 5% condition damage to the whetstone.

The Milling Machine in Bleak Inlet or Blackrock may repair a non-ruined hatchet to 100% condition for one scrap metal, during an active Aurora. N.B. The knife has a breaking threshold at 15% condition, usage below this number risks ruining it for good.

Trivia

  • A broken Hatchet is the icon and logo for The Long Dark on all platforms, including the official Hinterlands website, forums and merchandise.
  • Like the Improvised Knife, the Improvised Hatchet is a flattened metal pipe with cloth for a grip.
  • Unlike hand axes, hatchets feature a hammerhead on their back; despite this, the hatchet is never used for this purpose in-game, even suffering a condition penalty when used to break ice for being a 'sharp tool'.

Gallery

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