There is provided an improved hand tool having a body portion with an axe blade attached thereto. A knife blade extends from the body portion and a sheath is pivotally mounted on the body portion so as to be movable between first and second positions. The sheath is configured to cover the knife blade when the sheath is in the first position and to cover the axe blade when the sheath is in the second position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The invention relates to an improved handtool and more particularly to a 
handtool having an axe blade and a knife blade which are alternately 
covered by a pivotally mounted sheath or cover. 
The patent literature discloses a variety of tools usable as axes, hammers, 
knives or some combination thereof. For example, Williamson, U.S. Pat. No. 
2,280,463 discloses a combination tool having an axe head and a knife 
having a pair of opposed side cheek plates swingably mounted on a pivot to 
sheath the blade and provide a hand grip for the helve of the axe head. 
Hayes, U.S. Pat. No. 3,581,326 discloses an underwater utility tool 
including a knife blade and a pick having a head portion. A handle 
assembly is provided to slide along the knife blade to the pick or hammer 
portion, thus alternately providing cover for each. 
A variety of other tools usable as axes, hammers, knives or the like are 
disclosed in a number of U.S. patents, including Ivan, U.S. Pat. No. 
3,321,783; Holtzscheiter, U.S. Pat. No. 83,499; Steinecke, U.S. Pat. No. 
440,990; Truesdell, U.S. Pat. No. 2,559,689 as well as others. These and 
other devices suffer from one or more of several disadvantages or 
limiations. For example, many of the tools have detachable segments which 
must be removed or detached prior to changing the use of the tool. Other 
devices fail to provide a cover or sheath for one of the working blades, 
such as an axe head. Still other devices have a considerable number of 
moving parts or hinged portions which result in segments of reduced 
strength thus limiting the durability of the tool. 
These and other limitations and disadvantages are substantially reduced if 
not eliminated by the present invention. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Generally, there is provided a handtool having a body portion with an axe 
blade attached thereto. A knife blade extends from the body portion and a 
cover is pivotally mounted on the body portion so as to be movable between 
first and second positions. The cover is configured to cover the knife 
blade when the cover is in the first position and to cover the axe blade 
when the cover is in the second position. 
More particularly, there is provided an improved handtool having a body 
portion, an axe formation, a knife formation and a pivotally mounted 
cover. The body portion has a cutting surface along one periphery. The 
cutting surface constitutes an axe blade formation. An elongated knife 
formation extends out of the body portion and has at least one sharpened 
edge. A cover is pivotally mounted on the body portion so as to be movable 
between first and second positions. The cover is configured to cover the 
sharpened edge of the knife formation when the cover is in the first 
position and the cutting surface of the axe formation when the cover is in 
the second position. 
In one embodiment the cover is pivotally mounted at a point near the 
juncture of the body portion of the knife formation. The cover may be an 
elongated body with a first recess configured to cover the sharpened edge 
of the knife formation when the cover is in the first position and a 
second recess opposite the first recess. The second recess is configured 
to cover the cutting surface of the axe formation when the cover is in the 
second position. The axe formation preferably has a contoured extension 
configured to provide a smooth transition extension into the sharpened 
edge of the knife formation. 
The body portion may be equipped with a plurality of finger grips. The 
cover may be equipped with a plurality of arcuate surfaces along one edge 
such that the arcuate surfaces are alignable with the finger grips when 
the cover is in the second position covering the axe formation cutting 
surface. The handtool may also be equipped with locks for alternately 
locking the cover in the first and second positions. Guards or internal 
stops may also be provided to aid in securing either the sharpened edge of 
the knife formation or the cutting edge of the axe blade formation. The 
knife formation may be equipped with a false edge. 
A hammer formation may also be provided. The hammer formation may extend 
from the body portion at a point substantially opposite the axe formation. 
The hammer formation may also serve as a handle. To this end the hammer 
formation may include a neck portion extending out from the body portion 
opposite the axe formation and a head portion attached to the neck 
portion. The head portion is broader than the neck formation, thus 
allowing the hammer formation to serve as a handle. 
In a more detailed embodiment there is provided a handtool including a body 
portion having an axe blade attached thereto. The working edge of the axe 
blade is a shallow arc with respect to the longitudinal axis of the body 
portion and extends a relatively short distance from the body portion. A 
knife blade extends from the body portion substantially along the 
longitudinal axis of the body portion. The knife blade is equipped with a 
cutting edge on one side and a false edge on the other. A cover is 
pivotally mounted on the body portion at a point near the juncture of the 
knife blade and the axe blade so as to be movable between first and second 
locking positions. The cover has a first recess for covering the cutting 
edge of the knife blade when the cover is in the first position. There is 
also provided a second recess in the cover for covering the working edge 
of the axe blade when it is in the second position. Finger holes may be 
provided and the cover may be contoured to align with the finger holes 
when the cover is in the second position.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
In accordance with the present invention there is generally provided an 
improved handtool having a body portion such as handle 10, an axe 
formation such as axe blade 20, a knife formation such as knife blade 30, 
a cover such as sheath 40 and a hammer formation such as hammer 60. The 
cover such as sheath 40 is pivotally mounted to the body portion such as 
main handle 10 such that it is movable between a first position so as to 
cover a sharpened edge of the knife formation such as knife 30 as shown in 
FIG. 1 and a second position to cover a cutting surface of the axe 
formation such as axe 20 as shown in FIG. 2. The body portion such as main 
handle 10 may be equipped with finger grips such as apertures or holes 12 
and the cover such as sheath 40 may also be provided with finger grips 
such as arcuate surfaces 42 which are alignable with the finger grips on 
the body portion. The hammer formation such as hammer 60 may be attached 
to the body portion such as main handle 10 opposite the axe formation. The 
hammer formation may be made up of a neck portion extending out from the 
body portion opposite the axe formation and a head portion attached to the 
neck portion with the head portion being broader than the neck formation 
so that the hammer formation may also serve as a handle. 
Referring now more specifically to FIGS. 1-2, the body portion may be a 
main handle 10 which is equipped with a plurality of finger grips such as 
apertures 12. Alternately, the finger grips may be recesses which are cut 
into the main handle 10. The main handle 10 may be made up of any of a 
variety of materials including wood, a hard plastic or metal such as 
steel. 
The main handle 10 has a cutting surface 22 along one periphery. The 
cutting surface or working edge 22 is preferably integrally mounted onto 
the main handle 10 along interface 14 and constitutes axe portion 20 of 
the handtool. As shown in the drawings a substantial segment of the 
working edge 22 of the axe portion 20 is substantially parallel with the 
longitudinal axis of the main handle 10 such that it extends in a shallow 
arc along the lower periphery of the main handle 10 for most of its 
length. Additionally, the cutting edge 22 of axe portion 20 preferably 
does not extend a substantial distance below the sharpened edge 32 of 
knife portion 30, thus facilitating the alternate coverage of the cutting 
edge 22 and the sharpened edge 32. For example, the sharpened edge 32 may 
be in the form of a shallow arc such as shown in the drawings. 
Although the cutting surface 22 of the axe portion 20 preferably does not 
extend substantially below the sharpened edge 32 of knife portion 30, the 
axe portion 20 may be of more conventional construction such that the 
distance between the cutting edge 22 and the interface 24 between the main 
handle 10 and the axe portion 30 is substantially increased as would be 
the case if the axe portion 20 was comprised of a hatchet. 
As with the main handle 10 the axe portion 20 may be made up of any 
suitable material, such as steel or other metal, as would be known to one 
skilled in the art having the benefit of this disclosure. For example, the 
axe portion 20 and the main handle 10 may both be forged from the same 
steel piece. 
Although the axe portion 20 may vary in configuration, in accordance with 
the present invention its configuration should be such that it may be 
covered by the cover such as sheath 40 when the cover is pivoted into the 
second position for covering the cutting edge 22, for example as shown in 
FIG. 2. 
As shown in the drawings the knife formation such as knife portion 30 
comprises an elongated segment extending out of the main handle 10. The 
knife portion 30 has at least one sharpened edge 32 and is connected to 
the axe portion 20 through contoured segment 16 of main handle 10. Thus, 
there is provided a smooth contoured transition between the sharpened edge 
32 and the cutting surface 22 which in turn facilitates the pivoted 
movement of the sheath 40. 
The knife portion 30 is preferably equipped with a false edge 36, thus 
reducing the area of the knife portion 30 to be covered by the sheath 40 
and avoiding the need for a covering flap or some type of overlap to 
ensure complete coverage of any sharpened edges on the knife portion 30. 
Alternately, if the knife portion 30 is not equipped with a false edge, 
but rather has another sharpened edge, then the sheath 40 should be 
equipped with a movable flap or other appropriate mechanism for covering 
the additional sharpened edge as would be known to one skilled in the art 
having the benefit of this disclosure. 
Any variety of materials may be employed for the knife portion. For 
example, the knife portion may be comprised of a steel blade. The shape of 
the knife portion may also be altered. For example, the knife portion may 
be a larger dagger blade. Alternately, the body portion may be equipped 
with an appropriate recess and lug to accommodate a bayonet. 
The cover such as sheath 40 is pivotally mounted on the main handle 10 so 
as to be movable between first and second positions. By way of example, as 
shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 the sheath 40 may be pivotally mounted at the 
juncture of the main handle 10 and the knife portion 30 near the contoured 
segment 16 by means of a pivot screw 44 which passes through pivot holes 
46 and 48 and is secured by means of pivot nut 49. The sheath 40 is 
preferably equipped with grooves or recesses indicated generally at 52 and 
54. When the sheath 40 is in the first position as shown in FIG. 1 then 
the sharpened edge 32 of knife portion 30 is covered or cradled by groove 
or recess 54 in sheath 40. Alternately, when the sheath 40 is pivoted into 
the second position as shown in FIG. 2 then the cutting edge 22 of axe 
portion 20 is covered by the groove or recess 52. 
Any one of a variety of devices or means may be employed to hold the cover 
40 in place when it is in either the first or second positions covering 
the sharpened edge of the knife formation or the cutting surface of the 
axe formation, respectively. For example, as shown in FIG. 1 a catch 56 
may be employed to hold the sheath 40 in place. Alternately, the 
configuration of the recess 54 in relation to the knife portion 30 and the 
type of material used to form the sheath 40 may be such that the sheath 40 
tightly fits over the knife portion 30, thus avoiding, at least in some 
cases the necessity of using a separate catch such as catch 56. 
Additionally, an edge guard such as internal stop or spacer 58 may be 
provided depending upon the configuration of and the type of material used 
for the sheath 40 in order to prevent the sharpened edge 32 of knife 
portion 30 from piercing the end of the sheath 40. As shown in FIG. 1 the 
stop 58 may be held in place by cath 56. Alternately, as in much the same 
fashion as the sheath 40 the internal stop 58 may be configured in 
relation to the sheath 40 and the knife portion 30 such that it tightly 
fits on the edge of the knife portion 30, thus in some cases avoiding the 
necessity of using the catch 56. 
As shown in FIG. 2 when the sheath 40 is in the second position the cutting 
surface 22 of the axe portion 20 of the tool is recessed and hence covered 
by recessed groove 52. As with the knife portion 30, the sheath 40 may be 
held in place by means of a catch 59. Alternately, the configuration of 
the material used in the sheath may be such that the sheath tightly fits 
over the cutting surface 22 of the axe portion 20, thus avoiding the 
necessity of using a separate catch or lock in all cases. Additionally, in 
similar fashion to the knife portion 30 a cutting guard such as an 
external stop or spacer 57 may be used to prevent penetration of the 
sheath 40 by the cutting surface 22 of the axe portion 20. 
A variety of modifications may be made to the cover such as sheath 40. For 
example, the edge guard such as internal stop 58 and the cutting guard 
such as external spacer or stop 57 or both may be made an integral part of 
the sheath 40. Additionally, the contour of arcuate surfaces 42 may be 
varied, though they are preferably alignable with the apertures 12 or 
other finger grips. 
The hammer formation such as hammer 60 may take on a variety of 
configurations. Preferably, the hammer 60 extends from the main handle 10 
at a point substantially opposite the axe portion 20 as shown in the 
drawings. Also as shown in the drawings, the hammer 60 may be provided 
with a neck portion 62 and a head portion 64 with the neck portion 
extending out from the main handle opposite the axe portion 20 and with 
the head portion attached to the neck portion. The head portion 64 is 
preferably broader than the neck portion so that the upper portions of the 
main handle 10 and the lower portions of the head portion 64 form spaces 
66 such that the hammer portion 60 may serve both as a hammer and as a 
handle. 
The hammer portion 60 may be comprised of a wide variety of materials as 
would be known to one skilled in the art having the benefit of this 
disclosure. For example, the neck portion 62 could be comprised of a 1/8th 
inch steel blade and the head portion 64 could comprise a steel segment 
approximately 5/8ths of an inch wide. 
Further modifications and alternative embodiments of the apparatus of this 
invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art in view of this 
description. Accordingly, this description is to be construed as 
illustrative only and is for the purpose of teaching those skilled in the 
art the manner of carrying out the invention. It is to be understood that 
the forms of the invention herewith shown and described will be taken as 
the presently preferred embodiments. Various changes may be made in size, 
shape and arrangement of the parts and materials. For example, equivalent 
elements or materials may be substituted for those illustrated and 
described herein, certain parts may be reversed, and certain features of 
the invention may be utilized independent of the use of other features, 
all of which would be apparent to one skilled in the art after having the 
benefit of this description of the invention.