Hatchet

> Lot of things you can do with a hatchet. And a Nazi.
>
> B.J. Blazkowicz upon collecting his first hatchet., Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

The **Hatchet** is a new melee weapon in *Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus*. It replaces the Knife from *The Old Blood* and *The New Order*, having similar capabilities of using it to takedown soldiers stealthily or throwing them from afar. The hatchet is Captain Gerald Wilkins' melee weapon in *The New Colossus* third DLC: *The Amazing Deeds of Captain Wilkins*.

The weapon makes a return in *Youngblood* as Zofia Blazkowicz's melee weapon of choice. In the aforementioned game, it has a myriad of unlockable skins:

* Tomahawk - resembles a hatchet with a metallic olive-green handle with yellow accents and a black base, with a black head with a circular hole in the bottom right corner
* Fire Hatchet - resembles a fireman’s axe with a wooden handle with painted red accents, and a red head with a slim right side.
* Cyborg Hatchet (DLC) - resembles a metallic hatchet with a black base with 6 holes in its neck, with a square, grey-colored head to match
* Old Blood Pipe - based on the pipe used by William J. Blazkowicz in Wolfenstein: The Old Blood(excepting the fact that it cannot be split apart, like in the aforementioned game)

## General Use

> Hatch is locked, won't budge. Need a tool, something I could use to pry it open.
>
> B.J.'s mission text on the Ausmerzer., Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

The hatchet combines the functionality of the knife and the pipe. It's an efficient and quick melee weapon that can be thrown to stealthily take down targets from a short distance. It can also be used to pry open certain hatches. In addition, the hatchet can dismember a soldier upon doing a takedown (combat or stealth). In addition, the hatchets are extremely sharp and strong, able to dismember a robots arm without breaking on impact. The hatchets are extremely durable, able to destroy the Ausmerzer's claws with three swipes.

## Strategy

* The hatchet can be useful when you want to be stealthy as it can be thrown and be used for takedowns. Takedowns come with a detriment, however; If a soldier is up close, a takedown will get the job done, but the animation of doing so leaves you extremely vulnerable to attacks from other enemies around you.
* Throwing a hatchet is a very reliable method for longer-range stealth/combat kills. That being said, not all hatchet throws are a guaranteed kill against armored enemies (Heavy infantry, for example), often merely bouncing off and knocking them forward or to the side. You can aim for the head or the legs to circumvent this.
* The perk for being able to carry more hatchets is useful when playing on harder difficulties.

## Notes

* You can carry a maximum of 8 hatchets, who replace B.J.'s knife and pipe from previous installments.

## Trivia

1. The hatchet is the only melee weapon so far in the series that has both lethal and non-lethal stealth executions (rarely happens). Non-lethal executions involve B.J, uses the hatchet to tap the enemy's shoulder to get their attention and straight-punch them square in the face, knocking them out or simply using the blunt side the hatchet to bash their heads to knock them out.
2. In a letter found on the Ausmerzer, it's noted that they are carelessly placed. This can be seen as a soldier has one on a dart board or often on the ground in areas.
3. B.J.'s favored method of execution with the hatchet seems to be cutting the opponent's arm and them aiming to a vital organ. We see him do it twice during cutscenes and more times against regular enemies.
4. No enemy soldiers seem to use the an hatchet except for B.J. and Gerald.
5. In terms of appearance, it appears to be a recolored fireman's axe.

## Gallery

### Wolfenstein II: The New Colossus

B.J. collecting the hatchet.Ditto, inspecting the weapon.B.J. axing a Ubersoldat in their energy core.BJ axes an Nazis commander.BJ threatens a Nazis Soldier with a hatchet.B.J. killing Mannheimer.B.J. killing Rip with the hatchet.B.J. readying his hatchet to kill Engel.B.J. hatchets Engel's skull.Same hatchet cracking and splitting Engel's skull.Gerald Wilkins executes Wolfgang Schwarz.
### Wolfenstein: Youngblood

Zofia throws a hatchet at a Nazi soldier.