Best Fighting Hawk on the planet?

Those hawks are very nice to look at and very expensive. I like a more practical hawk. My personal choice would be a Cold Steel Trench Hawk in combination with a large knife. A fighting hawk should have a long beard, for hooking and trapping. Spike instead of a hammer, allows you to penetrate most body armor. A long handle (20-24 inch) handle, reach gives you an advantage.
 
I'll take a Chinese Bronze/ dagger axe any moment for leverage fighting. It's proven in the field.

Unless you accessed all the hawks in the world, this thread has yet to see much light.
 
Square_peg said:
If we start by being honest with ourselves about why we want something then we're more likely to end up with the thing we really want.

Everyone here has stated that they never really expect to use their hawk in combat. But beyond that no one here or anywhere else can really say what the 'best fighting hawk' is. There isn't enough fighting done with hawks for anyone to know that. And the skill of the wielder is likely a much larger factor than whatever difference there is between hawk A and hawk B. All the opinions expressed here amount to essentially "I have this hawk and I like it so it must be the best". And there no reason we should expect more than that.

There are members here that can tell you which makers use the best steel and which have the best reputation for getting their heat treat right. They can report on the toughness of various hawks and on how comfortable they are to wield. These elements make up the 'mystique' of a tomahawk. But more importantly people choose a hawk based on its appearance. Does it look like what you think a fighting hawk should look like? In the end that's what going to matter the most to you.

Buy the one that looks cool to you because in the end that is what will make you happy.
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I agree with square_peg. I'd rather have a tomahawk against a knife, but a .357 trumps both. 97% one shot stops is hard to beat. It's hard to split wood with a revolver, but there are better tools for splitting wood than tomahawks. I appreciate tomahawks but they are not the best defensive tools. I also live in a state where anyone that's not a felon or mentally defective can get a concealed carry permit.

This is a good thread.
 
Storm Crow said:
Jay, you have any pics of such? I'm curious.
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James,

It's an improvised version of Halberd:

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Fasten this onto a spear and you've got leverage, pull the enemy over with the axe and make holes in him.

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The use of the weapon involve thrusting the vertical spear head against the enemy's head as a feint. Then the user may cut the foe by pulling the scythe-like horizontal blade backwards. The cutting blade is angled optimally to behead the enemy.-Wikipedia
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Thanks, Jay. Had not seen those before. It would be quite effective against cavalry, I'd say.
 
crossada said:
Without a doubt to me this is the best design. Many of the modern full tang breachers are unbalanced and heavy for a fighting weapon if you are up against another equally armed opponent. Vec put a lot of work into the design. The others that I would be interested in but havn't owned would be from Laci Szabo.

I recently got a rattlehawk and eventhough it is lightweight it has funky weight distribution to me.
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Thanks I was wondering why it wasn't brought up. The ones I played with seemed very fast.
 
I also cannot speak about combat-proven facts, but have owned quite a few hawks. I have no use for them other than I like them. I don't carry them or wear them or even really use them. I just think they are cool, so I buy them....I also have way too many guns I never use/carry....but I like my RMJs more than I liked my Winkler. They just fit me better. I don't like the Busses much...they aren't my style. I also have owned quite a few traditional-type hawks from various makers that I like. I guess it's really just what you are comfortable with. Same as guns...what you shoot best with is what you should use.
BTW- I usually cut wood with a chainsaw....I'm lazy!
 
I cannot comment on the combat effectiveness of a tomahawk but I can say that its a much more useful camping, hiking, hunting tool than most give it credit for.
I have a growing collection of hawks that I really don't need, but I love the designs and what they bring to the table for the above mentioned tasks. I have a couple of Cold Steel hawks ( great for the money ), a ATC hawk ( amazingly light and effective ), a couple of custom's fromCoal Creek Forge ( awesome hawks and powerful cutters - on wood ), and a couple of RMJ's- a Shrike ( full size, not S13 ) and a Jenny Wren.
They make quick work of skinning and field dressing deer, are fun to throw when bored, cut small trees quickly and easily to make hunting blinds or make shift shelters, split the wood easily, can be used like a knife to whittle- again when bored while waiting for a deer to volunteer, and work pretty much like a large knife in a package that is often much lighter.
I'm not trying to debate the knife versus hawk thing, just stating that for me there are many uses for a hawk in the woods, one of my favorites is as a pickaroon so that I don't have to keep bending over to pick up firewood, a spiked hawk excels at this type of work- weird, maybe, but useful just the same.
Out of all the hawks I have I have to say tat my RMJ's are my favorites to use, partly because of the awesome sheath and the many ways that it allows you to carry the hawk ( shoulder strap rocks ! ) but mainly because of how extraordinarily tough mine are- I'd trust them with my life, and although that may not mean much to you it is as high of praise as I can give it.
My favorites to own are my Coal Creek Forge hawks. They're not only very tough and can chop like a machine, but they're just beautiful to look at and are works of art in my opinion.

As far as combat effective goes, let me ask any naysayers this. If things went sideways and you were out of ammo, the other guy had a knife or some type of bludgeon or melee weapon, and he was closing in on you, would you feel as concerned if you had a hawk? Anyone that can trim branches and chop would most likely be proficient enough to side step a swing and end an attack. Is that combat effective ?
 
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Got a cold steel trench hawk on it's way to me. Never used one so can't say how good or bad it will be. But if intruder climbs into the home plan to have the hawk in one hand and a glock in the other. Take em down with glock and do the rest of the work with the hawk.
 
mc5aw said:
"Best" is a subjective adjective, but I think topping the list is a Winkler, followed closely by RMJ. That said, I think the skills of the person with hawk in hand are far more important than the quality of the hawk. A more skilled person will use a lesser hawk far better than vice versa. Same thing with firearms ... a 1911 by Ed Brown, STI, etc. may be deemed to be the "best" fighting .45 in a magazine article, but isn't worth much beyond the purchase price in the hands of a novice shooter.
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Spot on.

Even though this isn't Prac/Tac, certainly the "hardware" factor is important, but it's only a "tool". Tools get broken, lost, become obsolete or non-functional in certain specific contexts.

A well-made hawk like Winkler's is excellent but at the end of the day, the tool only serves to enhance the "software" (skill).
 
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I guess for most of use who aren't going on a raid to take out some drug dealers a fighting hawk is either something we don't need and want for fun, to throw, chop a bit, just have it and be proud about it. The second reason is what I always call the airbag. Why would you need an airbag when you don't have the intention to crash your car into a tree? Because it could happen... same goes for (fighting) hawks. You don't want to start a fight but if it happens, you got it ( same goes for zombies ;) ) A hawk is a jack of all trades. Even most fighting hawks (except spontoons) are as good in making firewood as "normal" hawks - because a hawk is already a fighting tool. it doesn't chop as good as hatchet/axe does but it can do other things better than a hatchet. I'm from germany, to obtain a gun here you have to be either in the law-enforcement, working for a security company, be a hunter or in a gun club. And even then you're only allowed do carry a gun when you're "officially" threatened and the court allows it. But I can carry my trail hawk wherever I want because it's a tool, but works fine as a weapon, too. My 2 cents.
 
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mach 5 said:
Yeah yeah move along. Lots of enthusiasts here professionals and intelegent people who don't deserve to be called "mall ninjas". Most of us own our guns also and are not looking to start fights with Tomahawks vs glocks. Go spread you valuable wisdom on a gun forum.
Said with love;)
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intelegent = intelligent

glocks = Glocks
 
Last time I looked at the title of this thread the subject was Hawks, not spell check. Lets try to keep it more "on topic" and less "each other", less fuel for a fire that way.
 
I was under the impression that this was a Tomahawk thread posted under a Tomahawk discussion forum. Did not realize it was necessary to justify ones appreciation for hawks here before a question could be answered. I also did not see anything in the original question about firearms compared with hatchets. Anyone care to share thier thoughts on snow tires or can we sorta maybe stay a wee bit more focused?
Anyway, The term Fighting Hawk is relatively new and there has been an increase in the amount of Tomahawks for sale to the public under this genre. Hawks were originally trade items exchanged for loyalty and later for plews during the Colonial expansion then the fur trapping era. If you couldn't fight or defend with it, it was worthless. All tomahawks from that timeline were 'combat' hawks be it man or animal as adversary. The best had a hammer poll on the opp of the blade. The worst were glorified peace pipes. So very few had spikes. A blade with at least a 2 1/2" edge was worth 3 plews. Quite valuable. Look at some of the period weeping heart iron heads. Notice the distance from handle to edge? That 'long face' was so the blade could penetrate the chest cavity. That weeping heart cut out was so you could pull it back out quickly. (Holes in blades break vacumes.) In cojunction with a Longknife the Tomahawk is a formidable weapon in its own right even now in the age of school shootings and plastic pistols.
Head down to the big box hardware store and pick up an Estwing Roof Shingler's Hatchet. While your there pick up a California Framer relacement hickory handle. Saw off the Estwing head and afix it to the replacement hickory. File the waffle grid off the hammer face and for $20 & 30 minutes you have quite a defensive tool. I guedd with a bit more time and patience you could fashion a rear point.
Solid one piece units less than a 1/4" thick with sculpted scales and potmetal rivets look like they do because they sell. And that is the type of hawk people want to buy. Enter Cold Steel, SOG, Shrade, et.al. But movie props out of Vin Diesels dressing trailer maybe aren't the best actual things to pack away in your bug out bag. Any axe that rings like a bell when struck is not balance and certainly not a true hawk. Can you chop with it? Can you hammer with it? Can you dress game with it? Can you make the bad man go away with it? When you drop it on the ground do you here a bell teal off a C flat?
Recap; 20"-24" Wood handle. Long Face (at least 4" from edge to handle) 3" cutting edge. Hammer poll.
Now We're talking. Incedently, (and this is merely my opinion, before the hate mail bandwagon rolls) isn't a spike on one end and a blade on the other a double bladed axe? Just asking.
 
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