tomahawk/kurki for survival

T

ThomastaylorIII

Joined
Jul 27, 2007
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For you all, does the weather change what you bring. i am a kurki lover, and in alabama it goes through a lot of different uses from dry forrest to swamps and thickets so it gets used as a machete and an axe from time to time, but i was thinking about carrying a hawk once it cools off and there is less under brush. so i would be carrying a hawk and a small knife instead of kukri and small knife. i love to primitive/minimalistic backpacking. so who carrys a hawk (Ive never used one.... sadly and kind of suprising). and what are its advantages over my current choice(Kukri) for fieldcaft and survival?
 
For one thing, a tomahawk can be used as climbing aid if the need arises...

And it can drive tent stakes.

But tomahawks aren't as good for machete use or brush clearing as khukris are. Multiflora-rose beware!

As for use as a weapon, either the 'hawk or the khukri will do as a vicious self defense item. Both are good choppers. Both fill the light axe role.


For me it depends on what I expect to be doing, or often just what mood I am in at the time.


Lately I've gone back to carrying my old Camillus "kabar" clone to compliment my tomahawk. Sometimes I'll carry my Ontario RAT-7 or one of my BK&T's.

But yeah, I tend to carry a khukri in the woods more often in the spring and summer, and a tomahawk/knife combo in fall and winter.


One thing to consider though... other people you might encounter out there especially in a public camping area will probably freak out at the sight of a khukri. It is a strange, exotic, and intimidating blade to many people here in the western world.
 
Wolf_1989 said:
One thing to consider though... other people you might encounter out there especially in a public camping area will probably freak out at the sight of a khukri. It is a strange, exotic, and intimidating blade to many people here in the western world.
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And they won't freak at the sight of a tomahawk?

Doc
 
If you want to use a Tomahawk for a change I can quite understand that, but a good kukri is one of the best all round tools you can have IMHO
 
I camp off my Harley and I always take the hawk. And a large bowie and a pocket knife, have the bases covered there.
 
kukri does have the shock and awe factor dosent it.... lol. so lets carry a kukri in the state park and brandish it as much as possible. but on a serious note i rarely see people where i camp. so thats not that much af an issue.
 
it compleatly depends on where you are, but I would supect the hawk to be more sheeple friendly, but it is only an idea to keep in mind, after concidering use-ability vs. task-at-hand and weight
 
Young male walks up to you pulls out a switch blade and say "give me yo money" you reach back "as to get wallet and pull kukri straped blade up across your back "thats not a knife son, this is a knife, all seventeen inches of powder coated high carbon steel that is sharp enough to cut the peach fuzz off your face" lol i crack my self up............
 
DOC-CANADA said:
And they won't freak at the sight of a tomahawk?

Doc
Click to expand...

Not like they will compared to a khukri. A tomahawk is a hatchet. Most people know what a hatchet is.

Many people of this era are under the influence of government propaganda to fear large knives.
 
With all do respect, a tomahawk is not a hatchet. A tomahawk is more of a weapon with a spike in place of the poll. Also, the tomahawk is traditionally lighter and not as effective as a chopping tool as a hatchet. You are more likely to have glances with a tomahawk than a true hatchet. Both can be unsafe if used incorrectly so exercise caution and watch your follow through area.

If you want a tool that will fly under the radar, get a small hatchet with the "hammer" poll. It looks like a tool, not a weapon. You'll even be better off if you get a hatchet with a wooden handle and a nice leather sheath(i.e. Gransfors Bruks) because it looks unthreatening.

Can it be used as a weapon? Anything can but at least this tool has the appearance of true utility.
 
Not all tomahawks have a spike. Most of them back in the old days did not. The ones which did are believed to be variations on naval axes.

"Tomahawk" comes from a native word originally applied to stone headed axes or warclubs and eventually the term was applied to lightweight metal-headed axes too. What a tomahawk is today, is an old-fashioned style hatchet/light axe based on forms which were common in the 18th century. What distinguishes it from the common hatchet of today is the shape of the head and (sometimes) the handle length.
 
the sheeple factor dosent apply here, 90% of my camping is on private lands that i have acess too. i have about 12-15,000 acres of land to camp on all over alabama. i get to hunt with the longbow and back pack all i want. the owners like to have the property walked to keep tresspassers and poachers off the land. if anything i might enjoy the scare factor should the need arise.
 
Sounds nice. There's some pretty country in Alabama.

I'm in a similar location here - rural appalachian foothills of southeast Ohio.
 
ThomastaylorIII said:
yep and oncce one person deems you worthy to watch his land, you get permession to go on his friends land also.
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Yep. That's the way I get to use this one farmer's field for a rifle range when it's not currently producing.

He appreciates the groundhog population being thinned out.:D
 
On the practical side, anything a tomahawk can do a kukri can do, but a tomahawk cannot do all a kukri can do. As for the fear factor, when camping you want to be left alone. The kukri ensures you are.

Kukri wins!!!!!
 
One thing about a khukuri that I'm not hearing mentioned: the curved shape makes a sheathed khukuri look almost like a pistol. Accordingly, I'd anticipate reactions akin to those you'd get carrying either a large, foreign-looking knife OR a pistol--and, if pistols are frowned upon where you'll be (e.g., some public lands), don't be surprised if you get asked some pointed (pun intended) questions about your knife.

What you really need, of course, is a full-sized kora slung across your back. Too bad Himalayan Imports doesn't make those!
 
Return of the J.D. said:
One thing about a khukuri that I'm not hearing mentioned: the curved shape makes a sheathed khukuri look almost like a pistol.
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Really? That's something I've NEVER heard before. What kind of pistol. The only pistol the size of an average size kukri (15-16"), would be a BFR or Encore/Contender.



Return of the J.D. said:
What you really need, of course, is a full-sized kora slung across your back. Too bad Himalayan Imports doesn't make those!
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What is a kora? I Googled it and came up with musical instruments. Did you mean Kobra? if so, Himalayan Imports does make rather large ones (up to 30"?).


As to the original question, variety is the spice of life. I don't have anything against a good 'hawk. But. . .the only thing a 'hawk can do that a kukri can't is be used like a hammer (assuming it doesn't have a spike). As a fellow southeasterner (Florida), IMO the kukri is a far better tool for our environment, being able to handle soft and hard vegetation. For real life survival, I'd rather have the kukri, but if you're just having fun in the woods and want to switch things up a bit, by all means have fun with a 'hawk.

Re political correctness. While it's true that people may react better to a 'hawk than a kukri due to being unfamiliar with kukris and movies like The Patriot and Last of the Moicans popularizing 'hawks, there's also the factor that "sympathizing" with indians is popular. So you can do the en vogue thing and claim that you have .0542% [insert indian tribe here] blood and are trying to "get in tune with" your roots. ;)
 
man, i envy you guys... i live in maryland, and most of my 'survival weekends' were done illegally. good thing no body noticed.
i have a khukuri and a hawk, and usually i carry them both (and the only other tools i usually carry are a pocket chainsaw, a trenching tool that can be used both as a pick and a shovel and two small knives. and, of course, fire starters.). i find my self to like the khukuri more in most cases but im not so willing to use it for fire wood as i am with the hawk. perhaps its because i made the hawk myself and i know i can make another one... =P
 
A 'kora' is a northern indian/nepalese sword with a characteristic forward curving blade which terminates in a somewhat fishtail shaped point.

ph-0.jpg

http://www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=1786
 
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