mdauben
Member
Most "tactical hawks" are spiked, but I know at least CRKT makes their's in both a spiked and hammer pol version (see below)A tac hawk has a spike, which can be used piercing, but it won't hammer, and you have to pay attention on the back stroke, just the same as hammering with the butt of a knife.
Actually, it you look closely the CRKT has both a sharpened beard and a sharpened top edge, too. If I had an actual need for a "tactical hawk" I would look seriously at the CRKT Kangee or Chogan .The CRKT would probably be the best of the bunch for putting holes in sheet metal and the like due to the edge geometry (the m48 spike looks as if it would dull quickly with a 4-way grind), but the m48 is the only one with a sharpened beard, which is pretty useful for large game.
So as not to sound like a total CRKT fanboy, I'll say that for a general purpose outdoor tool, I would pick a Cold Steel Trail Hawk (which is currently hanging from my daypack, actually). It's relatively light, inexpensive and durable. Its not my first choice for major wood processing, but for occasional light chopping and splitting it works fine once you put a good edge on it.