Hawk vs Camp axe in real world use

[Runs With Scissors]

I'm more of a tomahawk lover myself. I've got about half a dozen of them, along with a Wetterling mini.

The previously mentioned Cold Steel Trailhawk is pretty nice for a "carry alot/ use a little" kinda hatchet. it cuts deep, breaks up ice, and pounds tent pegs and such quite well. I've also carved some pretty nifty cups, bowls, and spoons with it's nice narrow bit.

What sucks is accuracy. When you're kinda tired, and ready for bed (like alot of us tend to be by the time we're cutting wood) that narrow bit can be a little harder to hit with, especially thinner stuff. Or, maybe my hand and eye coordination just suck....

The Norse hawk is another favorite. Very powerful cutter, with a nice wide bit. a little heavier than the trailhawk, but a little better for out and out cutting, and it chokes up nicely, if you want to use it more like an ulu.

Both of them are pretty light, due to relatively thinner heads, and can knock the piss outta stuff due to the 18" handle.

They do need help from the factory though. knock off all the crappy black paint, get the edge better profiled, and make the handle purty.

For $30 or so, you aint got much to lose, and alot to gain.

 

[Ankar Sheng]

I haven't been impressed with hawks as woods tools. They're terrible at splitting because of the blade profile (very thin, then suddenly balloons around the haft). During chopping the one I was using would get wedged really frequently compared to the GB axe, I think it was a Cold Steel hawk. I prefer the wider bit and curved handles a lot more too. And there's something about the shape of the edge too that I cant quite put my finger on, just the way the hawks edge curves, doesn't seem to hit as flushly...