They're sure nice to look at.
I'm not certain that is the case. I would be concerned with any 'hawk or axe where the haft is thicker than the thickest part of the axe head. What happens when the blade enters the wood up to the depth of the haft? I'll answer that. You'll start beating the crap out of your haft. I haven't used one so I can't say for sure that the haft wont take such a beating. I'd just be pleasantly surprised if it could.
I've seen some other 'hawks where the head sticks thru the haft instead of the other way around. You know darn well those are gonna fall apart as soon as you use them. They might look cool on the wall but they would be of little use in the field, IMO.
At the top of the haft/handle, the steel is 3/8" thick. The scales could be cut, burned, or broken of, but I think the tang will still be in tact. I'd like to meet the human that could break that with their own strenth.
I have a GG&G Battle hawk, a full tang, 3/8" thick S7. The G-10 scales are screwed on, therefore the weakest part of the hawk. I have thrown this hawk at dead trees, beat the living crap out of it, punctured sheet metal, I've hit square on the g-10, with no damage, and there is no way I'm strong enough to break the steel tang.
The thinnest part of the Winkler's tang is in the butt of the handle, and there it's 1/8" thick, and this end is away from the impacts. In most of the pics, you see a profile shot, from the top you would see how thick they are where the head meets the handle scales, they are stout.
Great looking hawks by the way! I almost chose the Combat Axe over the Winkler-Sayoc RnD, it's still a very tempting axe.
Right after I got my Winkler Sayoc, I thawed out a Turkey breast that had been in the freezer since 05'. I hung it up with some string and took a few swings, WOW! I only had to swing from my elbow to slice through the entire rib cage. A slicing swing felt little resistance from the breast, yet cut 3"-4" deep and about 6"-7" long of a gash.
The same slash from a knife would take more effort, as the Sayoc hawk has more weight at the end of it's 13" length.
The only thing that stopped it from sinking further in was the handle, just due to it's shape. The handle ergonomics and mass distribution are quite impressive on my hawk, it really feels powerful and alive in hand.
I ordered the WK II Combat Axe and Stealth Axe each with rubberized handles; the grips are tacky to the touch, and extremely sure handling. I wouldn't want to be on the business end of either of these tools. Both axes are exquisitely crafted. Mr. Winkler makes an amazing product line ... many thanks to him ... and he is a true gentleman to deal with. Photos as soon as I can post them ...
