- Joined
- Jun 16, 2005
- Messages
- 586
Since I paid regular retail price for my K5 Tactical Hawk-Spike, one might ask why I would then set out to see if I could destroy it. The answer is simple. In that I will probably be buying more, I had to be sure that what I was putting into the hands of family, friends, and professional associates, was up to almost any conceivable task thrown at it. This tool is also so well suited to a subject I hold near and dear, that in this instance, I felt justified in trying to trash it.
The subject? Expedient Breaching, or, the ability to breach with what you EDC on your person. Granted, sledges, rams, crowbars, large fire axes, Etc… are better suited for breaching than a tomahawk, they are also a PITA, if not impossible, to try and EDC. I cut my teeth on this practice about 20 years ago, as the CO of a security detail at an explosives production plant, where we occasionally needed to dismantle shacks or take down deer stands in the outback. Even, on occasion, force our way into a room where a cap loader had detonated. Ironically, this facility produced Det. Cord. and caps, which is a really fun part of breaching, but obviously not deployable on site for use there.
I used a slightly modified Air Force crash axe at the time, that was very spike-hawkish in nature. When it wasn’t on my belt, it was with me in the truck. In the years after, there were a number of instances where the shoulder, or kick, to a door was greatly facilitated by a couple of whacks to hinge and bolt area of the door, with the ol’hawk. This along with making kindling, and the dismantling of various pieces of old furniture and appliances, have constituted my use over the last two decades. Those that wield hawks, axes, or spiked war hammers, can tell you that there’s some primal pleasure in demolishing things made in the modern world.
As time has gone on, the tomahawk has come back in vogue, to a greater diversity of operators than ever before. As an EW it’s exceptionally deadly. In modern times however, when transitioning to an EW means you’re in it deep, no matter how deadly that EW may be, it’s real strength lies in the demolition abilities of such a compact package.
I ordered my Hawk-Spike from K5 Tactical with nostalgic eagerness. Eddie got my nod primarily because of the price. Are there other tactical hawks out there? Yup, but with the K5 Tactical Hawk-Spike, your getting a lot, while paying little. For someone no longer ‘in the field and moving at high speed’ this is an important consideration. While my life probably won’t ever depend on this tool, it’s nice to know that if it did, the hawk’s up to the task.
My Hawk-Spike arrived on a Tuesday, so, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to ‘ring it out’ until the weekend, I took it to work to show off. I now work as a security project manager, in support of a facility management operation, so we have a pretty good mix of security guys and mechanic type tool guys. As soon as I walked into the Security Control Center, attention was riveted on the Hawk-Spike. I passed it around, and amid mock attacks mounted on monitors and cabinets, there were many admiring comments. At this point, a peer manager walked in and said “Uhh… when I told you we didn’t have keys for every door on the facility, I meant, umm… we needed more keys”. This was a telling remark, because, despite being funny, it is exactly the image this thing projects. It is made to deconstruct things, pure and simple. Animate or inanimate, animal, vegetable, or mineral. This, I can now say, it does very well.
The picture above, is from the K5 Tactical Website, and illustrates how mine looked on delivery. 3/8” 1050 Stock, 16.5” Total Length, with removable aluminum scales. 7.5” Head, and 3.5” Edge Face. Right out of the box, the only thing I immediately did, was remove the powder coating from the edge face and hone it. The edge is not hair popping sharp, nor should it be, but it is doggone sharp for it’s intended use.
For my first test, I mounted a hasp to two pressure treated 2X4’s. I used double length screws, as is my practice when it’s a security application, and put on a decent quality padlock, then mounted them in a heavy door frame. When breaching, even when you’re engaging one material, chances are good your going to hit something else too. If the blade badly chips, tips break, or the edge rolls to deeply whenever encountering screws, nails, Etc… it’s going to be a worthless tool pretty quickly.
Phase 1 was to attack the wood around the hasp, reducing the material on the sides of the screws, and creating a gap to undercut the hasp. I went in about ¾” and actually sheared some of the screws before I was ready for Phase 2.
In Phase 2, I engage the side of the hasp from underneath, with the spike, and then wrench up. This resulted in easily popping off the upper half of the hasp as at least one screw had already been sheared. At this point, I took a couple of hard swipes at the padlock with the edge face, just to see how it held up.
Test # 2, defeating the 1” side of a cement block. Admittedly, this job is better suited to the Hammer Poll, but the Hawk-Spike is what I had at hand, and I was curious to see if I could break the tip, before going through.
As you can see from the above picture, the spike penetrated on the fifth swing (3 direct hits, 2 slightly off the mark). The third on target swing, actually blew the 3/8” thick plug out from the back, that is lying against the Hawk-Spike handle. While it is somewhat difficult to see (it had started raining, and I was hurrying), the tip of the spike rolled over about 1/16”. Obviously, the heat treat did not over harden, or the tip would’ve been a goner.
I once actually had a practical application for this setup in Test # 3. I’m not going to describe it here, as doing it improperly would most likely get you hurt or killed. Suffice it to say that the Hawk-Spike is able to take 700+ Lbs. on the hook with tremendous shearing power. This is the first hawk I’ve ever had, able to be used this way with out some modification. Again, if you try to use it simply as a grapple, it will probably kill you, so don’t.
After all is said and done, the edge face held up remarkably well. The worst ¼” long roll came from hitting the hasp screws, and the 1/8” roll while taking an experimental swipe at the lock. After this picture, I broke up a lot of kindling, and an old stump. Later, 15-20 minutes of filing pretty much cleared up the edge face. I had the feeling that if I wanted to, a little more work would've had the face shaving sharp (no, I'm not doing that test). I’m saving the spike repair for a later time, but expect it will not be too difficult either.
One thing I had been concerned about was shock absorption, as this was my first all metal hawk. To my surprise, shock transference was negligent. As Eddie has advertised, the hardening differential and handle taper apparently contribute to the head not conveying undue vibration to the handle and hand.
Also as advertised, the sheath is top notch. I belt carried it for most of the weekend, and while carrying anything weighing this much is never entirely comfortable, the ergonomics of the sheath make it better than you would expect. I also like the straps that allow for maximum security, yet can be disengaged for a faster draw mode of carry.
I have already been asked a number of times how the Hawk-Spike throws. Unfortunately, that’s not my forte, So I leave that to someone else. I do suspect however, that getting hit by one, no matter what part hits you, is going to ruin your whole day.
What did I get out of my review? K5 Tactical Tomahawks are up to hard target take downs. To me, that’s important. I now know I’ll be ordering from them again. This time a Hammer Poll, which will become my company’s EDC demolition tool.
If you want something darn near indestructible, for a price that won't destroy your budget, try www.k5tactical.com. Tell'em Bladewolf sent ya!
Thanks for your interest.
Keith
The subject? Expedient Breaching, or, the ability to breach with what you EDC on your person. Granted, sledges, rams, crowbars, large fire axes, Etc… are better suited for breaching than a tomahawk, they are also a PITA, if not impossible, to try and EDC. I cut my teeth on this practice about 20 years ago, as the CO of a security detail at an explosives production plant, where we occasionally needed to dismantle shacks or take down deer stands in the outback. Even, on occasion, force our way into a room where a cap loader had detonated. Ironically, this facility produced Det. Cord. and caps, which is a really fun part of breaching, but obviously not deployable on site for use there.
I used a slightly modified Air Force crash axe at the time, that was very spike-hawkish in nature. When it wasn’t on my belt, it was with me in the truck. In the years after, there were a number of instances where the shoulder, or kick, to a door was greatly facilitated by a couple of whacks to hinge and bolt area of the door, with the ol’hawk. This along with making kindling, and the dismantling of various pieces of old furniture and appliances, have constituted my use over the last two decades. Those that wield hawks, axes, or spiked war hammers, can tell you that there’s some primal pleasure in demolishing things made in the modern world.
As time has gone on, the tomahawk has come back in vogue, to a greater diversity of operators than ever before. As an EW it’s exceptionally deadly. In modern times however, when transitioning to an EW means you’re in it deep, no matter how deadly that EW may be, it’s real strength lies in the demolition abilities of such a compact package.
I ordered my Hawk-Spike from K5 Tactical with nostalgic eagerness. Eddie got my nod primarily because of the price. Are there other tactical hawks out there? Yup, but with the K5 Tactical Hawk-Spike, your getting a lot, while paying little. For someone no longer ‘in the field and moving at high speed’ this is an important consideration. While my life probably won’t ever depend on this tool, it’s nice to know that if it did, the hawk’s up to the task.
My Hawk-Spike arrived on a Tuesday, so, knowing that I wouldn’t be able to ‘ring it out’ until the weekend, I took it to work to show off. I now work as a security project manager, in support of a facility management operation, so we have a pretty good mix of security guys and mechanic type tool guys. As soon as I walked into the Security Control Center, attention was riveted on the Hawk-Spike. I passed it around, and amid mock attacks mounted on monitors and cabinets, there were many admiring comments. At this point, a peer manager walked in and said “Uhh… when I told you we didn’t have keys for every door on the facility, I meant, umm… we needed more keys”. This was a telling remark, because, despite being funny, it is exactly the image this thing projects. It is made to deconstruct things, pure and simple. Animate or inanimate, animal, vegetable, or mineral. This, I can now say, it does very well.
The picture above, is from the K5 Tactical Website, and illustrates how mine looked on delivery. 3/8” 1050 Stock, 16.5” Total Length, with removable aluminum scales. 7.5” Head, and 3.5” Edge Face. Right out of the box, the only thing I immediately did, was remove the powder coating from the edge face and hone it. The edge is not hair popping sharp, nor should it be, but it is doggone sharp for it’s intended use.
For my first test, I mounted a hasp to two pressure treated 2X4’s. I used double length screws, as is my practice when it’s a security application, and put on a decent quality padlock, then mounted them in a heavy door frame. When breaching, even when you’re engaging one material, chances are good your going to hit something else too. If the blade badly chips, tips break, or the edge rolls to deeply whenever encountering screws, nails, Etc… it’s going to be a worthless tool pretty quickly.
Phase 1 was to attack the wood around the hasp, reducing the material on the sides of the screws, and creating a gap to undercut the hasp. I went in about ¾” and actually sheared some of the screws before I was ready for Phase 2.
In Phase 2, I engage the side of the hasp from underneath, with the spike, and then wrench up. This resulted in easily popping off the upper half of the hasp as at least one screw had already been sheared. At this point, I took a couple of hard swipes at the padlock with the edge face, just to see how it held up.
Test # 2, defeating the 1” side of a cement block. Admittedly, this job is better suited to the Hammer Poll, but the Hawk-Spike is what I had at hand, and I was curious to see if I could break the tip, before going through.
As you can see from the above picture, the spike penetrated on the fifth swing (3 direct hits, 2 slightly off the mark). The third on target swing, actually blew the 3/8” thick plug out from the back, that is lying against the Hawk-Spike handle. While it is somewhat difficult to see (it had started raining, and I was hurrying), the tip of the spike rolled over about 1/16”. Obviously, the heat treat did not over harden, or the tip would’ve been a goner.
I once actually had a practical application for this setup in Test # 3. I’m not going to describe it here, as doing it improperly would most likely get you hurt or killed. Suffice it to say that the Hawk-Spike is able to take 700+ Lbs. on the hook with tremendous shearing power. This is the first hawk I’ve ever had, able to be used this way with out some modification. Again, if you try to use it simply as a grapple, it will probably kill you, so don’t.
After all is said and done, the edge face held up remarkably well. The worst ¼” long roll came from hitting the hasp screws, and the 1/8” roll while taking an experimental swipe at the lock. After this picture, I broke up a lot of kindling, and an old stump. Later, 15-20 minutes of filing pretty much cleared up the edge face. I had the feeling that if I wanted to, a little more work would've had the face shaving sharp (no, I'm not doing that test). I’m saving the spike repair for a later time, but expect it will not be too difficult either.
One thing I had been concerned about was shock absorption, as this was my first all metal hawk. To my surprise, shock transference was negligent. As Eddie has advertised, the hardening differential and handle taper apparently contribute to the head not conveying undue vibration to the handle and hand.
Also as advertised, the sheath is top notch. I belt carried it for most of the weekend, and while carrying anything weighing this much is never entirely comfortable, the ergonomics of the sheath make it better than you would expect. I also like the straps that allow for maximum security, yet can be disengaged for a faster draw mode of carry.
I have already been asked a number of times how the Hawk-Spike throws. Unfortunately, that’s not my forte, So I leave that to someone else. I do suspect however, that getting hit by one, no matter what part hits you, is going to ruin your whole day.
What did I get out of my review? K5 Tactical Tomahawks are up to hard target take downs. To me, that’s important. I now know I’ll be ordering from them again. This time a Hammer Poll, which will become my company’s EDC demolition tool.
If you want something darn near indestructible, for a price that won't destroy your budget, try www.k5tactical.com. Tell'em Bladewolf sent ya!
Thanks for your interest.
Keith
