So what do yall think about

Hawks made a lot of sense in the era of single shot muskets and lightly clothed combatants.

Now? Not so much. Too much flash and not enough utility for the weight.

Classically, the hawk was paired up with a long knife in the off hand for the obvious reason of giving the user two different weapon speeds to work with and some hope of offside defense against counterattack.

In escrima at least, having two sticks is usually more effective and versatile than having just one. Hawks, with their weight in the head, are even slower to recover than a tropical hardwood stick.

The sweeping arcs of a hawk are enhanced when an offside knife keeps the vulnerability down due to a committed strong side extension on the attack.

Used singly, the hawk is weak on defense, and slow and limited on offense. An experienced spear wielder, (rifle with bayonet), will defeat a hawk wielder given comparable skill levels due to the reach and better attack angles offered by a weapon that can both slash and thrust.

A light axe with an ergonomic handle, (see the Roselli axe for a short three hold style example), one that could be pressed into defense if it had to be, and had a useable hammer poll rather than a back spike, would be much better for the real world. In the earliest fur trade on this continent, trappers carried what were called "half axes," from which tomahawks evolved.

Axe strikes and depressed skull fractures are just as lethal as hawk strikes and spike penetration, but hammering in trap stakes, fish weirs, shelter poles, and cracking nuts with the flats of a hawk would suck compared to having those jobs to do and be able to use a hammer poll.

Not that I ever suggest copying, but the utility hawk is a better deal for the money spent than the flashier war hawk.

hawk40.jpg
 
An example of an historically accurate bearded "half axe" of the Nordic persuasion, circa 950 AD.

pole213b.jpg
 
I love the idea but I think I am not alone when I hope for a longer cutting edge and thicker after the edge to aid in splitting (doors,door jams,) I don`t kniw how I feel about the back spike I have the sog with the spike and it freaks me out when I use the thing like I might puncture my head on it.but the damn thing looks wicked as hell.I think if RAT CUTLERY makes one it will be better thought out and not all about what how cool it looks .
 
Bearding it is about the only time tested way to get more cutting edge without a lot more added weight.

A totally convexed head would make for more of a splitter and give greater mass, but with lesser penetration per strike. Upside is it doesn't get stuck, downside is that a chopping job will take a little longer and use more energy going cross grain.

It's an interesting discussion. A "tactical hawk," a "crash axe" and a "belt axe" are all different animals that might not be amenable to effective cross breeding.
 
one piece hammer poll hawk w/ pry bar tip, nail pull notch, powder coat, removeable micarta scales, and the best damn sheath i know you guys can and will make, lets say 16 or 18 inches, .25 stock 1095
 
Haha, I'd buy one of those, especially if it were bearded.

But it wouldn't really be a Vietnam/tac/war hawk anymore, would it? Reminds me a bit more of the Busse/Swamp Rat crash axe style.

-j
 
R.A.T. said:
The real using ax is still in the works to be made. This is totally a different project than the small hand ax we're working on. Personally, I don't care for tactical tomahawks but we have been approached about producing a high-quality, USA made tactical tomahawk for them. We're contemplating it and just wanted to run it by everyone here. If we do this thing then we may well change up the design a bit to make it more rescue/crash ax while maintaining the cool look to it.

Jeff
Click to expand...

Just reading through the older threads and this one caught my interest.

Not really interested in the tactical tomahawk but any updates on the real using ax or small hand ax mentioned above? Havent found any chatter other than this thread.

Dont even have my RATs in my hands yet and already hooked...
 
No official word as of yet, but Jeff and Mike have all kinds of cool projects going that they're not even telling us moderators about.

Stay tuned my friends......
 
I'd buy one just because it is a RAT, but, that is only me. Although I believe they are picking up a lot of popularity as of late.
 
Granted, tomahawks aren't the greatest choppers, but they do offer alot of utility in a pretty compact package and they are hell as a weapon if used properly.


Not saying I have any idea how to use one properly as a weapon but I am half native american so I guess it would just come to me as soon as I picked it up.:D
 
I would like to see a Tomahawk that was more like the type used in the old War of the Worlds TV show. Knifemaker Jack Crain made them. You can make that basic design of 'Hawk into a very aggressive camp hatchet and it would have a bit more weight so it would make a better hatchet and with a tweak, you could also make a run of them with a spike on the backside easily so you could have two models that would be great.

One of my favorite camp hatchets has always been an Estwing Shingler's Hatchet...those Shingler's Hatchets were used as Boarding Hatchets back in the late 1700s through the 1800s.
 
I talked to jeff about this a few weeks back and it is on the honey do list but it will be down the road and maybe a GB type hatchet ? not sure yet maybe waiting to see what peoples desires are ,I am not sure
 
I would really like to see a miniature pulaski axe or maddock. The tomahawk blade would be great for chopping, and the other flat blade could be used as an adze (if you put a nice edge on it), or for digging (if you put on a utility edge). This would be a great outdoor tool IMO.

I wouldn't go for a Vietnam hawk, but maybe a trail hawk with a small hammer pole, like guitardemon said.
 
I think it's an interesting idea, and I'd love to see the kind of utility that RAT could pump into such a design. Not a huge fan of spikes, though.
 
I would buy a RAT camp hatchet or hand axe in a heartbeat over getting a larger 6"+ blade for chopping and batonning (even though I seldom need such a tool). I can already imagine how nice canvas micarta handles would look on a hatchet!

"RAT Hatch" is awfully catchy ;)

Tactical tomahawks don't do it for me, though I'm sure they would sell well.
 
I may be in the minority but hell everybody's talking smack. I would love to see some sort of rescue/saw/can opener like thing along with the axe edge . This would be for cutting into cars in an emergency. Would I ever have to do it? No, but its nice to know I would have the ability. Plus it would give me an excuse to keep one in the car :).

Tactical but practical?
T
 
Personally, I would use a smaller camp style axe in place of a tactical tomahawk. Not that I wouldn't mind having a light duty R.A.T. made axe handy :D
 
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