I've been looking into tomahawks lately for some reason or other. You all know how these things suddenly jump into your consciousness. So, scouring the internet and studying the various styles and uses, it breaks down to the same kind of thing that knives went thru.
In the beginning, steel was scarce and expensive. So, hatchet and hawk heads were the steel part only. Early trade hawks reputedly made as boarding weapons for the British Navy were likely chosen because they could ship without a handle, or certainly, broken down separately to take up less space. It wouldn't be implausible to assume they were packaged into a barrel to keep them from rusting in the months long voyage.
That's the traditional hawk, a replaceable handle is part of the essence. BUT -
Moving to much heavier, even abusive use, just like knives, the handles could not take it. They fail. Another strike against them is being fitted into a socket in the head, which usually leaves a knob protruding from it. If you are using the hawk as a prybar with a spike inside a gap and rolling the head for leverage, the knob is in the way. So is any upturned edge or concave shape. A tactical military hawk gets used as a pry bar, it needs a rolling head design to do the work better.
Because of that, the handle inserted into a socket quickly become a weak point, as it has the majority of stress against the socket where it is left bending against it during levering. With an 18 - 20 inch handle, it's more likely to break than a shorter hatchet, and has already evolved into an integral design even more.
That's where the tactical tomahawks are changing the design to meet the newer uses - the are picking up features based on tools used in building deconstruction as a higher priority than just chopping light firewood or skulls The traditional hawk may have been first adopted from older designs and simply reissued, but in the future, and from the quick acceptance, it's obvious the tactical hawks are integral one piece with rolling head designs.
One not mentioned is the Condor Tactical Rescue, which also features a sharpened beard under the blade edge. That feature has a purpose, to prevent someone attempting to pull the hawk from the hands of the user. On the other side of the edge, however, it's upturned, which creates a concave stop point for it's use in prying. That's important because the other end of the handle isn't - it's a rolled and welded tube. The Gerber Downrange hawk is shaped for nail pulling on the handle end.
Such features are arguable - what would a soldier need in a situation can be environmentally different in a third world country vs urban US/Euro. That means there are lot of way to look at the features according to the users specific requirements, and we do not all share a universal set. What one user prefers in his hawk may be entirely useless for another. That's where decisions need to be made - hammer head, spike, or just flat, concave or convex rolling head, length of handle, what tool might be terminating the handle, what grip, is the handle fully insulated from electric shock, will it retain noxious or hazardous chemicals? You can see how the same attributes of a combat soldiers knife are still important.
Nope, no perfect hawks out there, although like usual, you get what you pay for. Then, of course, is the justification for whether one is needed at all - they aren't issued across the board to everyone. I could see the short gunner of a sniper team with one, an MP maybe one per team. It's another piece of gear, with the same issues soldiers already have - too much much of it. I can and do see why some do have them issued, I can and do see where the design will evolve away from the traditional style to perform more rugged duty. Just like knives - which have changed a lot, too, from the early days.
So far, I'm looking at the Condor, with the idea that it's going to need that upturned edge ground down. I don't like buying something that needs further modification, I'll keep looking to see if there are other designs with similar features in the same price range. Of course, a high end hawk like the RMJ would fit the bill, but I have also paid those bills. In something that isn't critical, just a "nice to have" item for me, I'll keep from cluttering up the waiting list.
