Posted: 9/12/2011 9:37:26 PM EDT
| Whats the best tomahawk to get for the money? |
| ^^Probably RMJ, and as much as I'd like to have an RMJ, I'd recommend Cold Steel or SOG hawks because of better pricing. |
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The cold steel look good but I am apprehensive on using a cast hawk for...well anything.
http://www.hbforge.com/products/tomahawks.php |
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A while back a handful of people were touting a specific brand of tomahawk. It was hundreds of dollars. Completely ridiculous. You'd swear it must've been hand made by a Nepalese sherpa. Can't for the life of me remember the manufacturer. Probably the GG&G product.... http://www.gggaz.com/battle-hawk-tactical-tomahawk.html Id love to own one but too expensive..... |
Craig Barr at deer mountain forge made mine. Not "tactical" but it holds an edge, looks great and is handmade by a fellow American.
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Craig Barr at deer mountain forge made mine. Not "tactical" but it holds an edge, looks great and is handmade by a fellow American.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCS1CNjhhnY&feature=player_embedded Do want, and very affordable!
Thanks |
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I have an American Tomahawk because you can run it over with a truck and the handle just bends. That's all! I haven't done any extensive testing with it.
Running it over on youtube http://www.americantomahawk.com/ It doesn't make my bug out bag though... it would make a short range kit depending on the situation. |
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Craig Barr at deer mountain forge made mine. Not "tactical" but it holds an edge, looks great and is handmade by a fellow American. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCS1CNjhhnY&feature=player_embedded Do want, and very affordable!
Thanks Very nice stuff there! Impressive use of their hawk as a cold chisle. I want to see one of you thy that with one of your Cold Steel hawks. |
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As a Fighting tool next to my Ka-Bar for Doomsday. Main reason i want a tomahawk is for the longer reach so i dony have to get so close and personal Honestly, and I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but that's what a gun is for. If you get in a knife fight, you're going to get cut. Having seen what a blade does, I don't want any part of hand to hand fighting. Now that I've said that, I do want to find a strong, light hatchet. To take care of the zombie bodies, yeah, that's it. |
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I have an SOG fusion. It's pretty much bullet-proof. http://www.outdoorpros.com/Prod/SOG-F01T-Tactical-Tomahawk-Nylon-Handle-Nylon-Sheath/10636/Cat/17?gclid=CLLcrYaFnKsCFYTs7QodHC_Vgw |
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Quoted: The cold steel look good but I am apprehensive on using a cast hawk for...well anything. http://www.hbforge.com/products/tomahawks.php According to their website, CS hawks are drop forged, not cast. |
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The cold steel look good but I am apprehensive on using a cast hawk for...well anything. http://www.hbforge.com/products/tomahawks.php According to their website, CS hawks are drop forged, not cast. Thanks for the correction. I have only seen one CS hawk in person and (although I do not know what vintage it was) I would have said that it was cast. I will look around locally and see if I can find a current production one. The problem with cast is the voids/pockets that can be present in the item which could result in a fracture in the piece with hard work, drop forging eliminates/greatly lessen chance of that happening. I have seen it said that Drop forging is 20% stronger that cast, and I would say that on a impact tool (hammers etc.) I think that this makes for a good tool. Drop forging makes for uniform grain structure throughout the piece and here is where I feel make the forging (such as some of the examples posted above) makes for a better cutting edge. Forging the cutting edge of a knife or a hawk compacts the grain structure of the metal along the cutting edge making for a stronger edge (when coupled with proper heat treating). For many out there, drop forging or even cast, is probably good enough, but in a survival situation I would like something better. In full disclosure, my view may be biased because of having taken courses in blacksmithing  . YMMV.
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Quoted: Good way for a life threatening injury if SHTF. I am glad you said something though, because I am in the market for a hawk, and never really paid attention to how they were made. When I read your post, I was like, "duh, probably a good idea to look." I am a firm believer you get what you pay for.Quoted: Quoted: The cold steel look good but I am apprehensive on using a cast hawk for...well anything. http://www.hbforge.com/products/tomahawks.php According to their website, CS hawks are drop forged, not cast. Thanks for the correction. I have only seen one CS hawk in person and (although I do not know what vintage it was) I would have said that it was cast. I will look around locally and see if I can find a current production one. The problem with cast is the voids/pockets that can be present in the item which could result in a fracture in the piece with hard work, drop forging eliminates/greatly lessen chance of that happening. I have seen it said that Drop forging is 20% stronger that cast, and I would say that on a impact tool (hammers etc.) I think that this makes for a good tool. Drop forging makes for uniform grain structure throughout the piece and here is where I feel make the forging (such as some of the examples posted above) makes for a better cutting edge. Forging the cutting edge of a knife or a hawk compacts the grain structure of the metal along the cutting edge making for a stronger edge (when coupled with proper heat treating). For many out there, drop forging or even cast, is probably good enough, but in a survival situation I would like something better. In full disclosure, my view may be biased because of having taken courses in blacksmithing . YMMV. |
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A Hawk is a good tool. There are many well made hawks out there that you don't have to spend a ton of money on. Cold Steel hawks are good and so are SOG (great price range). I own both. I also own around a dozen more that I have had for the past 30 years or so that I used at blackpower events and in the army. I don't think I have paid over 30.00 for any of them. Most of my blackpower hawks don't have any makers mark on them. I have never broke a hawk before and I have abused them a lot. LOL They have there place in kit. Shop around and use your google foo.
RLTW |
RMJ Tactical makes a great Tomahawk. Carrying it in the field can be a pain in the ass. Much of the deployment scarabs aren't very effective in my opinion. I stow mine in my pack. I have no grandiose thoughts of slaying hoards of zombies with it. Think of it as an arm extension. My only gripe I have about it is the sharpening stone inside the handle. That promptly broke during actual use. I went to get it out later on and found it to be in 20 pieces. |
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http://www.silencertests.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=456766
Check out this link.. It was this summer. I too have the RMJ.. |
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These were issued the cold steel Kukri by the Air Force for something we did for them and the hawk was made by a guy just north of Pittsburg and given to me by my CO when I retired.
My normal carry on the ATV or woods walking is a Cold Steel Rifleman's Hawk with a 36in handle with a spike in the end to use as a walking stick or longer swing cutter. Sorry can't find a photo of it. 
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| Check out self reliance essentials Here I have a badger claw tomahawk (its one in the pict under badger claw). I used it a couple times camping and cutting out drywall for a remodel project. |
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I have an SOG fusion. It's pretty much bullet-proof. http://www.outdoorpros.com/Prod/SOG-F01T-Tactical-Tomahawk-Nylon-Handle-Nylon-Sheath/10636/Cat/17?gclid=CLLcrYaFnKsCFYTs7QodHC_Vgw My local Wally world is selling those now for $20 may not be the best quality, but they are light as hell, and handle great. |
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I totally agree with you, cuts and stab wounds are inevitable, but
I want a hawk to. They are just cool. Quoted:
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As a Fighting tool next to my Ka-Bar for Doomsday. Main reason i want a tomahawk is for the longer reach so i dony have to get so close and personal Honestly, and I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but that's what a gun is for. If you get in a knife fight, you're going to get cut. Having seen what a blade does, I don't want any part of hand to hand fighting. Now that I've said that, I do want to find a strong, light hatchet. To take care of the zombie bodies, yeah, that's it. |
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I have one and really like it. It has super limited use in normal life, but for demo work, its awesome. I used it to help me tear down a home made pool my fraternity built for a party, and it worked great for that. For chopping wood, it is not anywhere near as good as an ax.
I have refinished mine several times, and just finished forcing a patina on it a few days ago. Mine is a K5 tactical hawk. He recently sold his design to benchmade, that is why theirs looks so similar. 
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My opinion is that unless you have trained, and trained well, using a 'hawk as a weapon, you are asking for trouble if you suddenly find yourself needing to use it as a fighting tool. Same thing for most weapons, I reckon.
Shoot, an 8-10 oz ball-peen hammer makes a pretty good fighting tool, and doesn't break the bank, nor gets you arrested for carying a weapon, either. Won't chop much wood, but neither will most fighting 'hawks, either. |
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These things look awfully similar to a drywall hatchet or shingler hammer. Yup. I was looking at hawks, but bought a Vaughn rigbuilders hatchet for $23 instead and made some mods. It serves me well as a light hatchet for camping chores. Before 
After 
And yes, it holds an edge just fine after the mods. It is heat treated to the same hardness throughout. |
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These things look awfully similar to a drywall hatchet or shingler hammer. Yup. I was looking at hawks, but bought a Vaughn rigbuilders hatchet for $23 instead and made some mods. It serves me well as a light hatchet for camping chores. Before http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/Tomahatchet_2.jpg After http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/Tomahatchet_5.jpg And yes, it holds an edge just fine after the mods. It is heat treated to the same hardness throughout. Great idea! I'm stealing your idea and design! Did I mention great idea? 
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For those of us not willing to drop some serious cash on a serious tomahawk, there are a few decent alternatives out there, but one must remember that a hawk is not necessarily a hatchet. Chopping wood and smashing windows and beating off doorknobs are very distinct tasks, and asking one tool to them all equally well is not realistic. Aside from the usual offerings from Cold Steel, SOG, United etc etc, here's a couple more that I think are worthy of being mentioned.
Condor makes some decent hawks, single bit with a spike or double bit, plus their new ERT tomahawk. I only have experience with the throwing hawk. It needed some serious edge work to actually chop, and I couldn't get it to stick into anything I threw it at due to the lightweight head. As for a smashing tool, it wasn't up to much of that either, as there just wasn't a lot of reach with thing. But as a weapon, I thing it's agile enough for that, and I could get it scary sharp and it held an edge well. Smith & Wesson (aka Taylor Cutlery) also has a hawk that is sub $100. I haven't tried this one out, but it's on the short list. A few reviews have said that a chopper this is not, and it's a bit on the heavy side. I'm betting that this one can be modded to decrease the weight and the edge geometry improved enough to make it a worthy tool. As it comes, I'm not a huge fan, but being made of 1070 steel it makes a decent starting point. I'm not an expert by any means when it comes to hawks, but I've seen what our boys do with them downrange. When it's my turn to go back, I'll prolly take a hawk with me as well, but I'm not sure I want to be beating the hell out of a $250 blade. At least not on my dime. |
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My Cold Steel Hawk has served me in two capacities- on the trail and as a throwing hawk. It is still in its original handle and only has a few scratches to show for it. I linseed oiled the handle and thats about it. I've throw it hundreds of times and it is a VERY good throwing hawk. Here in the northeast I found limited field value in carrying it. Maybe thats just me but I bet some others will be along to throw in their .02.
In the woods, a machete can do everything a 'hawk can but better and more efficiently. To be fair I only took it into the woods for 2 trips- 1 a 3 day and the other just an overnight. |
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I have seen the Two Hawks brand (actual maker) in person at a gun show, they are very nice. http://www.2hawks.net/ |
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I started out with a Cold Steel Trail Hawk, for the money you'll find it difficult to beat, $22 bux shipped from Amazon. It is pretty tough
I used mine quite often, mostly camping, outdoors. I stumbled on a few threads on the Craig Barr Hawks (on a knife forum), everyone was impressed, especially again, for the investment. Well I have $110 with a spare handle in mine. I love it, craftsmanship is pretty decent, great edge retention, and tough beyond belief. His videos are a true representation of what the hawk can do. Now I would love to have one of those tacticool hawks, but just can't afford the investment... Not sure what the benefit would be, but they are cool.. Quoted:
Craig Barr at deer mountain forge made mine. Not "tactical" but it holds an edge, looks great and is handmade by a fellow American. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCS1CNjhhnY&feature=player_embedded |