Estwing

To me this is downright embarrassing. Renowned Estwing Tools of USA has made first-class durable tradesman-specific tools for almost a century and their solid reputation has been based entirely on that. Lawsuits in the 80s revolved around their integral steel frames which were indestructible but which made for 'ergonomic bad vibes' handles. Now all of a sudden Estwing is going forth with actually marketing "fantasy" implements. Likely these are very well made too (as can be, when you consider the entirely 'fashion-focused' and naive clientele of potential buyers) but it really is a shame that Estwing has elected to enter into this 'frivolous toy' fray. These are not real working tools. Staplers and air tools have taken over in the construction world and have mostly alienated manual hammers from the work force but that doesn't mean we (us oldies) have to go out and buy into 'new wave Estwing stuff' just to pretend we are still savvy.
 
300Six said:
To me this is downright embarrassing. Renowned Estwing Tools of USA has made first-class durable tradesman-specific tools for almost a century and their solid reputation has been based entirely on that. Lawsuits in the 80s revolved around their integral steel frames which were indestructible but which made for 'ergonomic bad vibes' handles. Now all of a sudden Estwing is going forth with actually marketing "fantasy" implements. Likely these are very well made too (as can be, when you consider the entirely 'fashion-focused' and naive clientele of potential buyers) but it really is a shame that Estwing has elected to enter into this 'frivolous toy' fray. These are not real working tools. Staplers and air tools have taken over in the construction world and have mostly alienated manual hammers from the work force but that doesn't mean we (us oldies) have to go out and buy into 'new wave Estwing stuff' just to pretend we are still savvy.
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these hawks are designed for primarily breaching an defense, they are used by alot of our soldiers over seas, no real fantasy about it, a fantasy weapon is one that is not usable, this is very much usable and very well forged with their quality. so i do not really see your point.
 
Highlander 20026 said:
these hawks are designed for primarily breaching an defense, they are used by alot of our soldiers over seas, no real fantasy about it, a fantasy weapon is one that is not usable, this is very much usable and very well forged with their quality. so i do not really see your point.
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I'm an older guy with no military service but if a simple hard practical choice had to be made: mere issue of an additional handgun with a couple of clips of ammo VS the equivalent-weight "defense and breaching hawk", then there would be no argument from me (nor likely anyone else) about which way to go if staying alive was a priority. That hawks are used by '"alot of our soldiers over seas" just doesn't cut the mustard with regard to 'lifesavers', not then nor now, even if we go back 200 years when guns could only be fired once.
 
I have the same one. Love it. The exposed metal edge will get a little rusty. After use i clean it and put a thin (thin) coat of grease on it.
 
Interesting to watch and hear how this thing works. I have two Estwings with the traditional stacked leather handles, and one with a blue nylon handle. Stacked leather: claw hammer and geologist's pick-point rock hammer — and nylon: geologist's "blade" rock hammer (for sedimentary rocks).

These new things are very different!
 
300Six said:
I'm an older guy with no military service but if a simple hard practical choice had to be made: mere issue of an additional handgun with a couple of clips of ammo VS the equivalent-weight "defense and breaching hawk", then there would be no argument from me (nor likely anyone else) about which way to go if staying alive was a priority. That hawks are used by '"alot of our soldiers over seas" just doesn't cut the mustard with regard to 'lifesavers', not then nor now, even if we go back 200 years when guns could only be fired once.
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i think you should check out RMJ tactical, their hawks have saved many lives in the line of duty over seas
 
estwing axes and hatchets are well made , very tough and durable ,but the tomahawks they made are not designed well enough.
 
dingy said:
estwing axes and hatchets are well made , very tough and durable ,but the tomahawks they made are not designed well enough.
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Well enough for what? they are good choppers and throwers, will they beat a 500$ rmj? no but for 40$ you get a great product
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Not a machete, despite what Estwing says. Stupidly heavy, and the design is kind of an embarrassment. Note the raised lettering immediately behind the saw...not gonna' do much beyond shallow notching with it. Clearly designed by someone who understands neither machetes nor saws.
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^ :thumbup: Looks very "Mall Ninja" ish to me.............
 
dingy said:
estwing axes and hatchets are well made , very tough and durable ,but the tomahawks they made are not designed well enough.
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The opening in the head is a debri catcher-get your hawk stuck nightmare. The spike might be cool to smash stuff but if you need it to pry open or bust open a chained padlock entrance it will not fit in the lock-Strong hawk no doubt but for serious breaching-nope
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Note the spike size
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This spike is a little short but it works
As for 300six he's knowledgeable of axes and woodworking tools but knows nothing of emergency military,LE breaching-That's why he would choose a spare pistol mag over something that will allow you to enter the building to get into the fight.
I do use these tools for real. . .
 
300Six said:
I'm an older guy with no military service but if a simple hard practical choice had to be made: mere issue of an additional handgun with a couple of clips of ammo VS the equivalent-weight "defense and breaching hawk", then there would be no argument from me (nor likely anyone else) about which way to go if staying alive was a priority. That hawks are used by '"alot of our soldiers over seas" just doesn't cut the mustard with regard to 'lifesavers', not then nor now, even if we go back 200 years when guns could only be fired once.
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Sir, I'm almost an "oldy" as well-retired with 29yrs and on my next LE assignment-The hawk is a real breaching tool. Staying alive is important but the job requires protecting others which sometimes jeopardizes the staying alive part. Your lack of knowledge in this area is apparent. Your constant unrationalized criticism of the subject boggles the mind.
Your ridiculous statements do however keep these threads interesting. Carry on. (This is "military speak_ for-continue to do what you do)

Back to the subject-Estwing could and should make a good breaching hawk-their current ones more of a "breaking things" design
 
i never said it was the best tool out there, it is what it is for 40$ it is great, i have thought about reprofiling the spike for this purpose of better breaching, but i cant complain, i still have more expensive hawks that are primarily designed for breaching and defense, but i must say for an american made company at this price range it is hard to beat
 
Their drop forging capabilities really do give them a huge opportunity for some fantastic tools for the modern market...but their grasp of building a tool that BOTH appeals to that market AND is a solid, high-performance tool is a little off the mark.
 
Estwing hammers with stacked leather handles have been my favorites for years. Recently, I picked up the leather-handled camp hatchet. I had to take down a couple of 4-inch Chinese elms, and thought to try it out. It was pretty slow going on the first tree, so I turned to my Condor Golok with about 3/4 of the tree left. It finished off the tree in about half the time it took to do a quarter of it with the hatchet.

I know, that's not really what the hatchet is supposed to be for, but it isn't supposed to be the machete's forte either. Anyway, I got to have my fun, and then got out the chain saw to finish the other tree and cut them up.
 
FortyTwoBlades said:
Not a machete, despite what Estwing says. Stupidly heavy, and the design is kind of an embarrassment. Note the raised lettering immediately behind the saw...not gonna' do much beyond shallow notching with it. Clearly designed by someone who understands neither machetes nor saws.
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True that brother, I have seen United Cutlery crap that looks like it spawned than knifling.....
 
I think 300Six's point was more that there is an awful lot of ugly, impractical tactical gear around, and that it is far in excess of the number of people who really do need breaching axes/hatchets/hawks.

I myself found that in between HALO jumps I had very little need for my more survival/tactical/indestructible gear. That's why I sold my Busse knives. I just didn't need a knife that was indestructible so long as you left it with an obtuse edge.
 
sometimes it is more then useful, i am a collector and a user, i admire a good blade whether its 500$ or 40$, some people collect useless things, blades are the one thing you can collect that can keep you alive, no matter how they look, most knives have some form of functionality
 
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