Cold Steel recon hawk?

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y53p

Joined
May 11, 2022
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I’m looking for a full tang hatchet/hawk, preferably with a prying spike. The recon hawk seems to fit the bill, but how good is it in actual camping use with chores such as chopping and splitting? A similar option seems to be the warhawk, but it’s not full tang, it’s more expensive and the top of the handle converges right on the middle of the axe head, which doesn’t seem to make it ideal for chopping. The best option for the price and construction would seem to be the Estwing Sportsman/Camper’s axe, but neither have a back spike.
 
There are a few YouTube videos showing the recon hawk doing camp type chores. It seemss like a solid tool. There are great deals for them right now so you may want to strike while the iron is hot.
 
What do you want the spike for ?.

Looking at it online, I wouldn't recommend the recon hawk because it's thin and flat so it's not going to split very well or really be the best performer in general.
I see there was a recon hawk 2 that's built like an estwing of drop forged steel which isn't just flat and would be far better, but it's discontinued.

If you have to have the spike, I'd forget about the full tang nonsense and get the Cold steel spike hawk or maybe the condor 16" spike axe.
 
Hickory n steel said:
What do you want the spike for ?.

Looking at it online, I wouldn't recommend the recon hawk because it's thin and flat so it's not going to split very well or really be the best performer in general.
I see there was a recon hawk 2 that's built like an estwing of drop forged steel which isn't just flat and would be far better, but it's discontinued.

If you have to have the spike, I'd forget about the full tang nonsense and get the Cold steel spike hawk or maybe the condor 16" spike axe.
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I’d like it as a rescue/emergency tool, which is why I’d prefer for it to be full tang and have a spike. If I don’t have to buy two hatchets and can have one that works both for that purpose and outdoors it’d be nice, but I am concerned about the thinness of the recon hawk. Also, it’s a shame they dc’d the recon 2, it would’ve been perfect. Do you know of any similar hatchets in terms of construction and shape, even by other brands?
 
Recon hawk was designed by Demko, whom I trust. I personally would not buy it today because of the country of origin.
 
y53p said:
Do you know of any similar hatchets in terms of construction and shape, even by other brands?
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Estwing has their spike tomahawk that you may want to look into.
It's still pretty much flat, but the head does look like it's a little thicker than the neck so maybe it'll be better ?
You can even get in in the stacked leather if you like their classic sportsman hatchet .
It's only about $45 too.
 
Hickory n steel said:
Estwing has their spike tomahawk that you may want to look into.
It's still pretty much flat, but the head does look like it's a little thicker than the neck so maybe it'll be better ?
You can even get in in the stacked leather if you like their classic sportsman hatchet .
It's only about $45 too.
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If you have any experience with it, how’s the cs spike tomahawk in terms of handle strength? Would hickory endure eventual hard use/prying? Also I saw it apparently comes pretty dull (which ain’t a problem), but does it split nicely once sharpened?
 
I have the CS trail hawk, frontier hawk and norse hawk.
I have handled a CS spike hawk, and out of the 4 CS hawks it has the most wedge-shaped bit, which would probably make it a slightly better splitter than the others.
No hassles with the hickory handles so far.
None of them are particularly good at splitting though..
 
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y53p said:
If you have any experience with it, how’s the cs spike tomahawk in terms of handle strength? Would hickory endure eventual hard use/prying? Also I saw it apparently comes pretty dull (which ain’t a problem), but does it split nicely once sharpened?
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Is this vehicle carried, go-bag, other? I would think any hard use/prying with a tomahawk is somewhat outside its intended use.
Pry bars are cheap, readily available and can be found in almost unlimited sizes/variations.
 
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