Opinions needed on Tomahawk.

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Whitlashflash

Joined
Aug 28, 2011
Messages
86
Hey guys, I'm kinda new to the forum, and especially more so to the tomahawk side of things.

Here's the deal, my younger brother is JUST getting into knives (He's ten years my junior and this is kind of a big thing to me considering all he used to do was play WoW)
He has expressed interest in tomahawks of all things. (Something I know nothing about)

I was just wondering, whats an amazingly durable/good tomahawk? I've owned a few and keep having haft problems such as breakages and slipping heads occur.
It's about a month to his birthday, and I was looking for some kinda hawk for him to chop wood with/ abuse.
He likes both traditional styles and tactical styles. If I were to get a traditional style I want one without a spike on the poll. (He's young and reckless, and I'm trying to keep casualties to a minimum.

Price is not really an issue, I have about 200 saved, and I can work on getting more, if convinced.

-Keigan.
 
The only hawk I have, and I'm new to this also, is an Ontario RD-Hawk w/pick. I guess you could call it a tactical hawk. They, Ontario, make one with a pick and one without a pick. You can get these for around $125, or less, online. I made an first impression post down the page, you might want to read it if you are interested in this style of hawk.
 
Just so you know, in general, traditional hawks allow for the head to slip on the haft to easily remove it for packing and also so the haft will pop free rather than break when throwing. Also understand that throwing is the #1 way to break a hawk's haft.

There are some "tactical" hawks out there that won't break the bank, but I won't comment on their quality, as I don't own any.

I honestly wouldn't go high end for his first hawk(s).

Maybe get him a few lower end ones, like a Cold Steel Frontier or Norse hawk, a Trail hawk and maybe a pipe hawk. That way he can get a feel for several styles and when he finds a style he likes, get a more upscale model.

If you want to start a bit higher up the scale, Fort Turner makes some nice models for not a lot of money, His Norse and Iroquois being among my favorites.

Some of the guys with the lower cost tactical hawks can chime in on those.
 
Oh? Yeah, I figured they were supposed to slip off...
Hmmm... I gave him a machete and a nice fixed blade Jeff White trade knife last month...and told him to carry them around and use them
See how he liked em, and told his Mother to tell me if he cut himself too bad.
Well, he was very responsible with them and very mature when behaving with them (I was told)
So I'm guessing he deserves his Hawk now.
 
Looking at the Jeff White Trade knives, a Fort Turner Iroquois, may be a great choice

(Pic from Wolf_1989)
HPIM1022.jpg
 
Whitlashflash,

I'd recommend trying out a Cold Steel hawk first. Just an FYI by my experience for wood chopping a decent hatchet will be far superior to most hawks. You mentioned his safe usage of knives and machetes. With hawks/hatchets/axes safety becomes (IMHO) a whole other thing. I've spent hours with knives and machetes and all manner of things with edges, including axes and their ilk. The worst bite I ever got was from a fiskars hatchet, and that was after years of using them. Since I've done some reading and research and discovered that I had used some unsafe techniques for a long time and it finally caught up with me. The result was a deflection into my leg barely above my kneecap, severed muscle, tendon and ligament and an opened artery. All that to say, careful giving someone an axe type tool.


God bless,
Adam
 
If you do dice on getting a tomahawk, go for one without a spike. Spiked tomahawks are very dangerous to use if you don’t have any experience with these types of weapons-tools-
 
jumpmonkey said:
Whitlashflash,
The worst bite I ever got was from a fiskars hatchet, and that was after years of using them. Since I've done some reading and research and discovered that I had used some unsafe techniques for a long time and it finally caught up with me. The result was a deflection into my leg barely above my kneecap, severed muscle, tendon and ligament and an opened artery.
Click to expand...

Adam, if you don't mind telling me, what were you doing when this accident happened? It would be a help to me, as I like axes and hawks.
 
dogstar,

I was splitting a round of wood for the fire with a hatchet. I was kneeled down on the ground with the piece in front of me. It was layed on its side and I was splitting it down the side. Got too far in toward myself, a strike glanced and I was next in line. I've learned a lot since then. Funny thing is how many hours I spent with those tools with no instruction. I'm lucky it took so long to come back on me, and lucky that when it did it was relatively minor. Axes and hatchets are powerful tools, they can easily take a life or a limb. For anyone out there who hasn't had anyone share with them how to properly and safely use an axe, I recommend The Ax book


God bless,
Adam
 
Last edited:
Thanks for sharing that. It's easy to be tired or rushed and compromise safety. Glad you are fully recovered.
 
Dogstar,

I was neither tired nor rushed, simply ignorant, which is just as dangerous. And thank you.


God bless,
Adam
 
dogstar said:
How are the heads secured on the FTs? Friction fit?
Click to expand...

Yes.

But Dana Turner makes the taper inside the eye very subtle; it's only maybe a couple millimeters wider at the top than at the bottom. This makes the fit super tight. Cold Steel's taper is much more drastic and it makes them more prone to slippage.

I've been using tomahawks for nearly 30 years. Ft Turner is my favorite, both for quality and historical authenticity.
 
I just got an Emerson CQC-T yesterday. Amazing but expensive at 300 bucks shipped to Canada. Well worth it though.
 
For tactical hawks that won't break the bank look at the SOG Fast Hawk, Double Hawk, or Tactical Hawk. They are not as heavy as the Cold Steel Trench Hawk. The Cold Steel Vietnam Hawk or the Cold Steel Spike Hawk fall into this category and are relatively inexpensive. Each of these has its pros and cons. I modified a Spike Hawk and really like it now.

Howard
 
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