i have an atax, and it does what it says it does, you can chop with it, it will serve as a knife, it has a bearing for a fire bow and the handle slabs contain fishhooks and a small ferrro rod. it is a very sturdy tool, would take some serious abuse to break it, the edges are very sharp.
when this was designed it was seen as a compact tool that could easily be carried while on horseback in a bush plane or 4 wheeler where a large blade might not fit, it gives the user a bunch of tools in a small package. it was meant to be accompanied by a smaller knife like a swiss army knife or leatherman tool that would complement it uses. all on a belt easy to enter and leave vehicles with, so that you would have it on your person if you needed to make a hasty evacuation.
for this purpose it does well, more than a few of these have been sold to bush pilots. since i carried a brown bear combo for a while this was a very similar tool set. have used mine for awhile and it is handy for belt or backpack use when you dont want to carry an axe or large chopper. i skinned a couple of white tails with it to see how it did for that and it was a little heavy, but got the job done easily. it does take off leg bones and sever neck vertebrae easily. i have no tried to hammer any nails with it,
it is made by tops does hold its edge well, and all in all i find it useful to do the things i like to do it also does not scare the bejeebers out of some of the camper folks out there.
alex
