Ring/Hatchet start?

[[Y2EZ]triplej]

:LoggersHatchet::GuardianRing::RunesOfTheBlight:x2

Are these bad starting items for a melee mid?

[Phase6Macha]

Yes, they are.
No early survivability at all.

[Dustbin]

Against another melee maybe not, but vs range you will probably get spanked.

[Pogona]

I've been doing this with Gemini, with reasonable success. However she also has relatively high starting armor, which the ring augments. A quick ring of the teacher means you have like 7 armor at level 2. You aren't really that easy to harass with that much armor, and the runes should be enough unless you're up against a Sill or Arachna.

It might not work with anyone else, though.

I think it's a situational build, at best. You have to be confident that you will only be facing moderate harassment or you are likely to get pushed out of the lane.

[[PonE]FIuttershy]

If you are a melee carry, get :IronBuckler::RunesOfTheBlight::LoggersHatchet: OR :IronBuckler::MinorTotem::MinorTotem::MinorTotem: :RunesOfTheBlight:.
Either one is fine, but if you go hatchet you need to use it, otherwise you will be wasting its potential. (To double attack a creep, or get a creep that is too far away).