How well would A-2 tool steel work for a single bevel hatchet? I have several pieces from the office(obsolete tooling) that already have the start of a single bevel. what would be the best angle for the edge? any suggestions on attaching a handle?

Well the edge angle will depend on what you are using it for.

A2 is severe overkill for an alloy though.

It can be done though.

will be using the hatchet for basic wood working, mostly red oak and maple(removing bark and fine splitting). the reason for using A2 is cost, none in this case. material has already been heat treated to 60hrc.

Are you planning to mill the eye?

I have not worked with A2, but I have the impression that it's reasonably tough stuff compared to simple carbon steels with similar carbon content (though not nearly as tough as some other tool steels). If it's free . . .

part of the puzzle is how to attach the head to a handle. will take some pix of A2 pieces and post so i can get help.

Typically the handle is inserted through a hole in the head. Some of them are milled into the steel but not many. And if that was the option it would have to be before heat treat. More often the hole his punched through while the steel is at the proper heat for that operation. This of course would change the heat treat on your steel. That leaves you with a couple of options:You can obtain slitters and drifts so you can hot punch through your steel, You can send them to someone else to do that,which I am sure will be pricey if you can find someone that will do that. You can also think about an axe that will do your work and buy one. I suggest the last simply due to the fact that this , to me, seems like like you are not set up to forge yet. If you change that there is information on here on how to get started, tools etc thta may help you a lot.

As an A alloy heat treat should be fairly easy---perhaps easier than trying to work it at 60 Rc

If you are working hardwoods vs softwoods there is a suggested bevel; I'd have to dig into my old books for it; might be faster looking at woodworking sites---though I've noticed a range of angles from the few I skilled!.

I figured anyone with chunks of hardened A2 lying around might also have access to a mill with carbide tooling, which is what sprang to mind when you hinted that you don't want to mess with the existing heat treatment. If'n you're going to have to slit and drift this stuff to make an eye, I doubt I'd bother with it. Forging air-hardening steel -- by hand, in any event -- doesn't sound like my idea of a good time.

John Cohea makes a style of tomahawk that you could try. Personally, I have doubts that it'd hold up to hard use. But it'd at least allow you to keep the existing heat treat and avoid forging (although you'd still need to drill several holes in hardened A2).

http://jmcknives.blademakers.com/Image_Knife.asp?Ident_Value=3280

I guess you could also form a mild steel eye behind an A2 edge, and rivet the whole mess together. I'm just throwin' out ideas. At a certain point it may make more sense to just use a different steel. ;)

60 on the RhC scale is a bit hard, I agree Rich, buy an axe if you worry about being cheaper. but .... Have fun