Tactical Tomahawks Vs. A Regular Axe

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Browning

Browning

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Have you guys seen some of those tomahawks advertised by Wilson Tactical, GG&G, SOG and American Tomahawk? I've seen a bunch of ads for them. In just about every gun magazine that I've read lately at least one tomahawk is advertised somewhere in it and usually there's more than one.

These are the one's that I'm talking about.

BattleHawk-Gray.jpg


http://www.gggaz.com/index.php?id=141&parents=113

http://www.wilsontactical.com/detail.aspx?ID=101

SOGF01T.jpg


http://sogknives.com/store/F01T.html

sibert_long_lg.jpg

http://www.americantomahawk.com/products/comanche.htm

So has anybody actually bought one of these?

Does it really have an advantage over a regular hatchet? Or is it mostly for looks?

I've glanced at the ads that have been sandwiched in between gun magazine articles, in the SGN and in gun ads for a while now and I just don't get it. Why pay a couple hundred bucks for a tactical tomahawk vs. paying less than $40 for something from Gerber, Cold Steel or Fiskar?

Personally I can't see any advantages over something like this...,

ST_062705_axe.jpg

r533.jpg


....except for the fact that the tomahawk may look a little more tactical or cool or something.

Somebody has to be buying these as I keep seeing them advertised, so I'm just wondering if I was missing something (an actual use for tomahawks not covered by just a regular axe that costs $39.95 vs. $100 to $250 for a tacticool tomahawk). I don't know about you, but I much more likely to chop my way through some woods on a hunting/camping trip than I am to try and chop my way through a wall of human flesh with my tactical tomahawk.

So what's the deal anyway?

I'm not against the idea of having a tomahawk (for whatever), but I'm just wondering what would prompt someone to spend several hundred dollars on one of these when they could just go to Home Depot and buy something that would do the same thing for far less.
 
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Based on the "real" tomahawks that I've owned and seen, a tomahawk is generally more lightly constructed than a hatchet. You can use one to chop wood and such, but one that is supposed to be primarily a weapon is light in order to be fast. The ones with which I'm familiar also all had straight handles with no contours like your Gerber example shows.
 
Hatchet vs. Tomahawk

Well I think many people do get confused about having the right tool for the right job :neener: .

A Hatchet is a cheap tool that can usually be had for under thirty bucks. Should be able to use brute force to crack wood or flip it over and pound nails. Should be large enough to even be used as either side of a wedge.

A tomahawk was originally used by outdoors people as an extra tool/weapon when raiding/warring or hunting. Needed to be light, there was never an intention to build much more than an emergency lean to and a fire with it.

Now would I pay the three hundred bucks some companies are charing for their tacticool hawks? No. I do have the SOG which is pretty nicely constructed. But due to the advantage of a hammer I actually carry a Cold Steel Trailhawk more frequently. It's small light and as Joe Demko said has a straight handle.

For the record I got to play with one of the American Tomahawk company's hawks recently. Would I pay 200 bucks for it? It's now about number fifteen on my list of must have toys. :D
 
There are a couple of inherent problems with axes.

1. Limited striking surface - penetration is great on an axe, and wounds can be horrific, but unlike a sword or machete, or even a kitchen knife, you've usually got about four inches of ideal striking surface. A purpose built fighting axe can overcome this issue. Fighting axes can have horns / beards to lengthen the striking surface, and add hooks and thrusts to your tactical options.

2. Weight - Utility axes are heavy, as they should be to split wood. This is not the case with a fighting axe, which is more like a long handled meat cleaver than a wedge, though even light hawks are still "mass at distance" tools. This weight comes at the cost of speed and strain on the wrist, and unlike chopping wood, in a fight you're probably going to want the ability to change your angle of attack in midswing. Try this with a woodaxe; you'll be inneffective, and if you do it with the gusto required for fighting, you'll sprain your wrist. Of course because hawks are lighter, they can operate with less mass at longer distances (read: reach) and further increase your survivability.

If I had to fight with a modern tool axe, I'd go with an Estwing. They are relatively light and fast, and you can sharpen the haft :cool:. I would still be tempted to grind it down further to make it faster.

Just my opinion, of course.

Edit: yeah I've looked at these "tactical" axes - they are insanely overpriced. Get a cold steel norse hawk for $30, and put it on a 24 inch ash haft.
 
Mall-Ninja Gear!

A good man with a fighting knife would take you apart in little pieces.

1224.jpg
rcmodel
 
"A good man with a fighting knife would take you apart in little pieces. "


A lot of the "tactical" hawks are silly, gimmicky, and overpriced, but a "good man" is subjective. 8 to 14 extra inches of skull splitting reach is quantifiable.
I wouldn't bring a pistol to a rifle fight, either.
 
hrgrisso : Well I think many people do get confused about having the right tool for the right job. :neener:
Click to expand...

That leads me to the question of what job do you think that it does better than a hatchet?

Is there one?

For the record I got to play with one of the American Tomahawk company's hawks recently. Would I pay 200 bucks for it? It's now about number fifteen on my list of must have toys.
Click to expand...

And once you get it, what are you going to get for your extra $160 that you wouldn't get with a $40 hatchet?

Or are you basically gonna just have it up to look at?

That's not a sarcastic question either.

I'm just curious what people do with this kind of stuff other than just pick it up and play with it while they're watching TV or something every once in a while, until you get bored and put away until the next time. Is that seriously it? Am I close? Or is there some other purpose for it that I'm not seeing? If so what is it?

Are you going to put it up for display in your gun room? You were the one person who said you were going to buy one at some point because it's on your list (#15), so you must like them and think that they have some sort of purpose above and beyond the common hatchet.
 
One of the biggest differences between a traditional tomahawk and an axe is that the tomahawk shaft can be quickly replaced in the field.

The heads are mounted differently. An axe is mounted in a similar fashion to a hammer, where the tomahawk is a friction fit. This also allows for the head to be removed for other uses like skinning.

The tomahawk is more of multipurpose tool. It’s not a dedicated wood cutter.

As far as the new breed of all steel tomahawks, I don't like em.

I like traditional. For a starter hawk, the Cold Steel Trailhawk is good

- D
 
"My dad with his knife can whip your dad and a tomahawk!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Huh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"



geez.......


:cool:
 
meef : "My dad with his knife can whip your dad and a tomahawk!"

"Can not!"

"Can too!"

"Huh-uh!"

"Uh-huh!"

geez.......
Click to expand...

I sure hope that it doesn't turn into something like that.

I'm just genuinely curious about why people buy them and what actual purpose they serve.

I see a bunch of ads for them so I figured I'd ask.
 
the advantages of a tactical axe vs a utility axe is one question, why people buy stuff and what they do with it is a completely different thread.
 
They're the new black in the knife world.

If you're in a situation where you're busting into things they are purported to do pretty well. To date I've not read of anyone using one as a weapon, but then I've not read everything.

I'd check the mil forums and ask there. "enthusiasts" forums aren't likely to produce a straight answer.
 
They're the new black in the knife world.

If you're in a situation where you're busting into things they are purported to do pretty well. To date I've not read of anyone using one as a weapon, but then I've not read everything.

I'd check the mil forums and ask there. "enthusiasts" forums aren't likely to produce a straight answer.
Click to expand...

As always, HSO said a mouthful.

I carry a hawk in the woods when I'm backpacking or bowhunting and keep it by the bed. Though I reach for my 357 first, of course.
The biggest advantage to the tacticool hawks that I can see is weight loss. When you're packing for a trip and doing things like cutting the handle off your toothbrush, only bringing one small titanium cooking pot, wrapping your duct tape around your water bottle (so you can toss the spool), etc., weight matters most. And, it's measured in ounces and grams.
Every gram off the weight of a hawk is less energy burned and less food consumed. Less food you have to pack or farther you can stretch what you have.
Would I rather have a hatchet? When I'm splitting wood or doing some mundane task with it, yes. But, I don't even build wood fires much anymore in the backcountry, so it's really a non issue.
What would I want if I had to use it to defend myself from man or beast? I'd say the lighter, stronger, more easily deployed piece will win. Whichever it may be.
The flaming picture really brings the purpose into perspective I think.
Battle-Hawk%201.jpg


All kidding aside, they're interesting designs. It says something about the hawk that years ago the natives and mountain men were seldom seen without a hawk in their hand, no matter where they were or what they were doing.

Hawks are handy. I'm not sure how handy these are since I'm not schooled in the dark arts of Grand Master CNC milled 'hawk techniques, or whatever. They seem as useful as a camping tool as many of the cheap things I've seen dragged into the woods that pass for hatchets and such.
*shrug* If you like it and you can use it, then buy it.
 
just do this, Google "US SPECIAL forces, pictures" and start looking, when you find a single professional soldier who thinks enough of that gimickry to carry one, post it.

Until then, they are just a way to separate a fool from his money.
 
I'll check this weekend

My friend gets back from Afghanistan today. He took a K5 with him. I'm supposed to get up with him this weekend. I'll see if there was any practical use of it (for him and his situation) and get back on Monday.
 
I think if you got to hump it 24/7 in a war zone, it ought to have some practical use besides being a conversion piece, or getting the point stuck in some BG's head.

A sharpened entrenching tool makes a fine battle ax if it gets down to hand-to-hand combat, and you can also dig a foxhole or slit trench with it.

Personally, I'd rather carry another pound or two of 5.56 ammo & a K-Bar then a hawk that would in all likelihood, never be used for anything!

1224.jpg
rcmodel
 
I've used the SOG tomahawk and almost lost an eye. Having a spike on the back takes some getting used to. It was far less useful than a small hatchet for camping. It would probably be marginally better in a fight, although I'd worry that spike gets stuck somewhere, not necessarily in the bad guy.
 
RCModel, I don't really know anything about them but on the surface I'd sure be tempted to agree with you. I figure if it ever got to the point where I had to fight with one of those things I'd already be in a world of poop. I do have a couple of good axes by Gerber. A 2 handed one which is still in the original pack it was shipped in. Never needed it. The other one is a 1 handed axe (axe, not a hatchet) which I'vd used a couple of times, although I could have easily done the job with the saw blade on my Leatherman Super Tool, or the Wyoming saw which is still in it's original packing along with extra wood blades and some bone blades taped to the package, just the way it was shipped to me..I have several knives, mostly fixed blade sheath knives, except for one large bone handled 2 bladed folder made by CaseXX.All my knives are made by CaseXX and Kabar eccept for one Hen and Rooster. Of all the knives, (and I'vd damned sure got a few) I carry and I use exactly one, It's the only one of them all I have ever used and it will probably serve me well until I die and then serve someone else after I'm gone. Why did I buy them here and there? Hell, I don't know. I couldn't wear out all those knives in 25 lifetimes using them every day. But I will say, I chose them very carefully (They're all basically shaped the same way) and they are all good steel. I remember several years ago I was bound and determined I just HAD to have a Randall fighting knife. What for? Hell, I don't know. Sure as hell didn't plan on ever fighting with it for sure. Clean a deer? A couple of squirrels? A few fish here and there? That's probably all the use I would ever have gotten out of it. Thankfully, I ran into a guy from somewhere down here that was up there antelope hunting and he had one. He let me look at it, and I did NOT find it all that impressive. Yeah, I'm sure it was good steel and all, but still...I'm sure glad I didn't waste my money on it. Yeah, I guess you can fight with one if you learn how. Hell, you can fight with a claw hammer if you learn how. But it's like Karate. It's all well and good 'til you start in on somebody with it and they snatch out a .38 and blow a hole in your ass. Whatcha gonna do then? ...Okay...
 
They must work. Didn't you guys see "The Last of the Mohicans" and "The Patriot"? Oh wait, that was during single shot days. Yep, to paraphrase the guy answering Gecko45, if my plan B is to use my tactical tomahawk, I need a better plan A.
 
A hawk has a small striking zone about 18" in front of the holders hand and 4" wide....Anything inside or outside of that 4" zone is relatively safe. A guy with a knife can get inside and cut the hawk wielder apart, a guy with a gun can shoot him. Kinda like a baseball bat, if you get in close enough or far enough away it's not so harmful.

I don't get the new lines of tactical tomohawks. Like I said they have serious weaknesses in CQB. They'd be almost impossible to draw quickly in a fight, they aren't handy to pack, and you can't conceal them. I'd say a knife is a better weapon is just about every way. Unless you're fighting cowboys, then the 'hawk might work better to back up your spear.

I'd like to buy a few throwers one day for back yard fun where I can't shoot, but other than that I don't see much use for them.
 
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