If you can stand to spend less than $50 for a Swedish blade, I've had this little Husqvarna for a year and a half now and it is perfect for splitting and shaving kindling (what I use it for) and would likely be just dandy for taking off limbs or bringing down small trees. Came with a leather blade guard but a full sheath wouldn't be hard to put together. The blade was straight and sharp right out of the box (haven't touched up the edge yet and it is still sharp enough to shave pine for fire-starter) and other than a bit of linseed on the handle there isn't much that needs to be done before the choppin' starts grin

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$41.04 at Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Husqvarna-57...mp;sr=8-1&keywords=husqvarna+hatchet