Cold Steel Trail Hawk vs. Wetterlings 16" Hunters' Axe

desmobob

desmobob

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I have a Wetterlings Hunters' axe that I really like. It's carried with a Trail Saw take-down bow saw for fall camping trips where plenty of firewood will be burned.

I like the look and light weight of 'hawks. How would you compare the performance of the Trial Hawk compared to a good hatchet like the Wetterlings for use in camping trips?

Thanks,
desmobob
 
Unless the hawk has been sharpened like a hatchet, and is as heavy as a hatchet... the hatchet will chop wood better... a good 'working edge' on a tomahawk (for use as a defensive/offensive tool) will be convex and not as sharp as a hatchet... that way it is less prone to damage, but is sharp enough for chopping 'humans'...
Hatchets and tomahawks are apples and oranges...
 
Glock17JHP said:
Unless the hawk has been sharpened like a hatchet, and is as heavy as a hatchet... the hatchet will chop wood better... a good 'working edge' on a tomahawk (for use as a defensive/offensive tool) will be convex and not as sharp as a hatchet... that way it is less prone to damage, but is sharp enough for chopping 'humans'...
Hatchets and tomahawks are apples and oranges...
Click to expand...

I keep a convex edge on my hatchets.

I know the 'hawk and hatchet are apples and oranges, but I was wondering whether a lighter but longer 'hawk (19") might be as useful as a shorter but heavier hatchet (16") with a similarly sized face; anything to save a little weight in the backpack!

I didn't realize a tomahawk was purely a weapon. I had guessed it was an wood chopping tool that could also be used as a weapon, or was modified to make a specialized weapon. I don't know a thing about 'hawks. I just read the thread about modding the Cold Steel Trail Hawk and that suddenly got me interested! :D

I might buy one anyway! :)

Thanks,
desmobob
 
I recently got a CS Trail Hawk. I'm a bit underwhelmed with it as a chopping tool. An Ontario 12" machete works better for chopping down small trees, for example. The Trail Hawk is handicapped by having a cutting edge of only 2".

That said, the Trail Hawk is still pretty neat and will probably make a good thrower.
 
Trail Hawks have quite a following and with a bit of modification they are slick little guys to be sure, but I think the Frontier Hawk is a much better chopper for only a little bit more weight. For your use, I don't think you'd find the TH a good substitute for your Wetterlings, but the FH might be. I took a FH and a 12" Ontario out trail clearing a couple years ago and found them to be very close in chopping ability. I wound up using the Ontario more, mostly because the longer edge was more forgiving on a day when a lot of awkward cuts had to be made.
 
desmobob,

You said:
"I was wondering whether a lighter but longer 'hawk (19") might be as useful as a shorter but heavier hatchet (16") with a similarly sized face; anything to save a little weight in the backpack!" ...and... I didn't realize a tomahawk was purely a weapon."

I think you are correct with the idea that having a hawk LONGER can be a good way to make it chop 'better'... it would make sense (all else being equal)... as to the comment about a tomahawk being purely a weapon, maybe a better way to say it is that although you can 'multi-task' with a hawk, it is best used 'primarily' as a weapon...
 
If you work on the edge of the trail hawk a little, I think you will really like it. Especially because you can pop the head off. I usually carry the head in my butt pack and find a place to slip the handle into my pack. The bit on the trail hawk is narrow and thin so you can get it knife-sharp and use it for many different things around camp even without the handle.
 
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