I have a Cs pipe hawk I used to split 1/2 a ton of Australian Ironbark and was impressed, believe me Ironbark is not a soft wood. The Cs hawk did a good job. luckily as it was my only cutting tool a the time.I use my Trail Hawk all the time. It's a light hawk but does most things well. The edge is tough and still easy to sharpen. This is obviously not the tool to split a cord of wood but it's a fun capable hawk that I enjoy.