James Helms-Wrecker-Camping

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WJC01

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Mar 3, 2006
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Took the Wrecker on a tent camping trip at St Andrews Island State Park, Fla- keep in mind this is not a true wilderness adventure by any means- cutting a live branch to secure a hotdog stick is a hanging offense here.
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tent peg retrieval-The spike is great for pulling those stubborn ones

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Found a decent broken limb!
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Splitting-note the massive chopping block (also had a Silky Super Accel folding saw)
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Training

When I started my neighbor(from Missouri) offered me an ax, I told him I was after the challenge and showed him the Wrecker-He was impressed and understood the challenge and showed me a knife he made. He forged and ground it by hand,no electricity used in the making!

This hawk did a great job for camp task-The top of the handle slabs do get in the way a little when splitting but they are pretty tough and held up fine. If I had to use an ax or hatchet it would never have held up to this hardcore abuse-In this environment a heavy duty tactical Hawk such as this Helms Wrecker, RMJ, Winkler,Swamp Rat etc is your only tool option. . .-you copy that 300SIX!!!
 
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I copy! Looks to me like you had fun and had some quality family time. And bringing a wood saw with you definitely was smart thinking. You'd never had got very far in the firewood-making process otherwise.
 
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Nice pics and review! That looks like the 12", did you ever feel the need of a longer Wrecker? Like the 15 or 18"?
 
Great stuff. I love these threads. Quick question... I'm thinking about switching from my Bahco Laplander to a Silky. What teeth size on your saw do you guys go with (medium, large, or extra large)? Thanks.
 
Gotta love the Helm Hawks. Looks like you had a fun time preparing your wood for fire.
Thanks for sharing
 
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Ahhh! No "s" on "Helm"! :eek:

:D

The 12" does have a bit of clearance issue at the top of the handle slabs if you're splitting firewood. I designed that size with the need for compact carry in mind, such as on a MOLLE vest. It's a bit of a tradeoff, but not much of one, I think. The 15" and 18" use the same handle slabs but don't have the clearance issue. With the new TeroTuf handles (the one you have is canvas Micarta), I think it'll be a bit less of an issue.

Good to see it being put to work. Looking forward to more feedback! Thanks!
 
Jonnyt16- I went with the large teeth for the super accel and medium on my pocket boy- really depends on what you cut. I got the pocketboy for Christmas(and have used it alot) and the medium teeth seem to be a great all around set up-Its a constant trail companion-where the big one now resides in my truck.. When you get one buy an extra blade or 2. If you get sloppy you can break the blade:D, and shipping cost on the blade alone is brutal.

MattinLA-For me I like the compact size (I'm 5'7 165). I open carry usually on belt or shoulder on my typical daily excursions near my house(4-6x a week) so the compact size does not get in my way. I access it constantly to keep my trail system clear - The Helm (without the S) sheath system is great for that. (I will cover the sheath system more in depths later).When I go into a more public setting where the trails are maintained the hawk sometimes rides in a Maxpedition Pygmy Falcon II. I also put it in my drybag when kayaking so for my task compact is the key or it'll stay in the truck!

Snakebreaker-In comparison to the Shrike the Wrecker is more at home in the woods, Its weight & cutting surface make it a better chopper- The smooth handles are definitely easy on the hands as well. A Jenny Wren has been my woods hawk since last June but I need gloves for heavy cutting due to the textured handles on my delicate meathooks.
The sharpened beard on the Wrecker (which I thought initially was too short on cutting surface) is perfect for pull cutting thorny vines and small vegetation.

Thanks for the feedback-I've strayed from BF for quite awhile and have posted my Hawk stuff on a facebook(RMJ Tactical)site due to the ease of posting pics (having to go through tiny pics to download is a pain) and general lack on activity on these pages. Time to keep the Hawk threads revived and give the ax threads a run for their money.
More to come. . .
 
I love the photo of you showing your daughter how to chop. That is priceless!


jonnyt16 said:
Great stuff. I love these threads. Quick question... I'm thinking about switching from my Bahco Laplander to a Silky. What teeth size on your saw do you guys go with (medium, large, or extra large)? Thanks.
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I recently replaced the medium teeth on my Silky 270 with fine teeth. I like it much better. No more chatter. The medium teeth work well on green branches but the fine teeth handle the dry hard woods better. Surprisingly, I think the Tajima 240 9.5 teeth per inch saws cut just as well as the more expensive Silkys. The Tajimas have stamped blades with set teeth. The Silkys are bevel ground to get some set in the teeth.

Sorry about hijacking the thread.
 
jonnyt16 said:
Great stuff. I love these threads. Quick question... I'm thinking about switching from my Bahco Laplander to a Silky. What teeth size on your saw do you guys go with (medium, large, or extra large)? Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hey jonnyt16

Smaller teeth are for dead wood while larger teeth are for green wood.
 
Went out on a 4.5 mile excursion to reclaim some old trails. Machete did most of the work-but not all. . .
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Wrecker takes care of business
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A find on the creek bank
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Large rock cascade fall in background-"Moonshine Falls"- I named it for the 4 old still sites on this branch
A heavy rain capped off this trip-The hawks coating does a great job protecting the steel-(not to mention when the hawk jumped in the creek a couple days ago. . . .
 
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They are showing for me !Hopefully I'll be ordering a 12" Wrecker in a week or so...
 
Mattin-You order the wrecker yet? Tiny Pics down right now:mad:-about to post a Month in the Field AAR with the Wrecker. . .
 
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