hammerpoll vs. spike vs. bare

I think it really depends on your use. I ordered my CS pipe hawk to strap to my fishing pack, use to cut bait, small camp fire, pound stakes ect. A spike would be stupid(IMHO) for this and a game warden would just view it as a weapon.

Now if I wanted a thrower/weapon the spike would be choice #1 and I still might get one as a toy lol.
 
Hammer for me. It's essentially just as weapon-ish as a spike, for my uses, anyway. Don't believe it, allow someone to hit your skull with a 1 pound hammer. Unless you spend your days in a Kevlar helmet, you'll never know the difference, And it adds some utility. How much can be argued. I have the SOG FastHawk, and the side of the eye is machined or molded or whatever to give some hammering traction/ability. I got it as basically a throw away, since it was only $20. I'm against no poll on a 'hawk, myself, because I like the better tracking having it affords.
 
Yes getting hit with a hammer would blow I'm just saying its probably better in the eyes of law enforcement to not have a spike haul out fishing:). I normally bring a machete but some D stole it out the bed of my truck.
 
out of curiosity, is it illegal to carry a tomahawk in the field/forest? what about having it in your car?

Red
 
I have all 3 hawks. Norse hawk, Rifleman hawk, and spike hawk.

The spike hawk wins hands down if I am using it as a weapon. From edge to point on the spike it is longer, better for blocking. Longer handle, and lighter than the Rifleman, faster.

It looses points as a weapon for not having a sharper tip (ala the Norse hawk, has a great point on the top of the blade for sticking, and jabbing).

For throwing, the Rifleman sure hits hard!.


As an all around I would probably choose the pipe hawk from CS. Lighter than the Rifleman. Hammer to be useful.



The spike on the spike hawk does have an outdoor use. It is great for tearing apart old stumps looking for fat wood!
 
From a practical standpoint, how many times in your life have you had a need for a hammer like tool? How many times have you or anyone that you know had a need for a spike type weapon for self defense against two or four legged threats?

In my life the hammer wins hands down. I'd most likely hurt myself using a spike like tool.

Double Ott
 
I have a Spike Hawk, a Frontier Hawk and a Trail hawk (and tried a Riflemans Hawk) ;)

I like all three for their regular tasks... the FH comes with camping and outdoor trips and throwing. The SH is in my bedroom next to the bed for defending my home. The Trail Hawk comes very often in wood work and making small firewood :D


Everyone of them has its life and tasks, for what you want to use it.

Kind regards
Andi
 
I've seen it said that the spike can be used against it's owner in close combat; so it's more of a liability despite its piercing capability, when used as a weapon. Seems logical; but I have no combat training with a hawk, so I'm not in the best position to say whether that's a significant enough issue or not.

What are folks thoughts on that?
 
I also use my customized CS Spike Hawk for digging tubers (cattail, etc.), digging hard soil (trenching), can be used as ice axe substitute if you end up on ice or to stick into the ground if you start to slide on loose shale in the mountains. I spend a lot of time in the high country. It makes a good weapon. It will cut fire wood, split fire wood (given it is not the best splitter), and dig out fat wood. I love the hammer surface, but have found the spike to be extremely useful.
 
HandAxeProMan said:
I also use my customized CS Spike Hawk for digging tubers (cattail, etc.), digging hard soil (trenching), can be used as ice axe substitute if you end up on ice or to stick into the ground if you start to slide on loose shale in the mountains. I spend a lot of time in the high country. It makes a good weapon. It will cut fire wood, split fire wood (given it is not the best splitter), and dig out fat wood. I love the hammer surface, but have found the spike to be extremely useful.
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I also use the Spike like this, and for moving logs. It's a fantastic tool that keeps you from bending down as much. I have also seen it used for punching holes in steel/barrel barricades or digging yourself out of a block/brick room. Or digging thru the upper floor when you cant reach the stairs. Or going thru door hinges/locks. Quick draining oil cans n stuff. I cant remember all the uses the spike was used for. But the only person that I knew that had a hammer in my 25 years of the Infantry and Unconventional Units was the Supply Sergeant or Mechanics. The Spike is an essential tool as are the others. It depends on what you are doing. I now have added a few Hammer Poll Hawks to my tools. Volundofforge, what answers or knowledge are you seeking with these non detail questions? Perhaps you should do some research/reading to gain a general background.
 
BlackKnight86 said:
I've seen it said that the spike can be used against it's owner in close combat; so it's more of a liability despite its piercing capability, when used as a weapon. Seems logical; but I have no combat training with a hawk, so I'm not in the best position to say whether that's a significant enough issue or not.

What are folks thoughts on that?
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My thought is that most people are like you, they have no combat training with a hawk. So they won't know how to turn your spike against you. Just the same, I'll take a hammer poll rather than a spike. If I needed to use a hawk as a weapon I'd prefer to use the axe not the spike. It would be quicker to deliver multiple blows with the axe than with a spike that sticks in its target.
 
I don't think all spikes will stick in every target. Wood, sure, it usually does when I drive in my spike hawks. My GG&G Battle hawk sticks in wood. Yet, it punches a hole in sheet metal and bounces back out, all in the same motion. There is a video with Lynn Thompson using the CS Spike Hawk on a pig's head, and that spike does the same bounce. Maybe it's the geometry, the cross section, of the spike, is diamond shaped on both the Battlehawk and the Spike Hawk.
I admit I have no experience sticking any hawk into an opponent. I'm sure there are times when they could get stuck, depends on many factors. I'm sure something like tire rubber, which is grippy, will try to squeeze around a spike.
 
The Jenny Wren by RMJ has a goof spike on it, that can be used for other things other than breaching.


JennyWren_vs_Dyneema_3A_500x414.jpg
 
foxx said:
I don't think all spikes will stick in every target.
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No doubt, I like spike hawks...but I don't like all spikes for my purposes. Some spikes just don't work for me at all.


Double Ott said:
From a practical standpoint, how many times in your life have you had a need for a hammer like tool? How many times have you or anyone that you know had a need for a spike type weapon for self defense against two or four legged threats?

In my life the hammer wins hands down. I'd most likely hurt myself using a spike like tool.

Double Ott
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Never once needed to use a spike as a weapon, I'm not a combatant, and in all honesty I'm not sure I wouldn't rather have a hammer poll as a weapon in a fight over a spike hawk. However in the woods I like that the spike adds something to my hawk that my knives have but my axes do not, and that is a sharp pointed tip. One that can be used for finer work...boring/puncturing small holes, untying knots, chipping through ice to get to water without dulling the primary edge, to aid in climbing, to hook and drag limbs rather than use my hands. I can hammer with the side of the hawk if I need to hammer.
 
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