What other tomahawk manufacturers do I not know about?

C

Chopaholic

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Aug 20, 2018
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I love tomahawks, always have. I've used several of Cold Steel's models as outdoor tools for many years.

Cold Steel appears to have a monopoly on practical tomahawks. CRKT has been making some that have become popular, but they're too heavy for my liking, more like tomahawk-shaped camp axes. Same goes for Condor's offerings' though they are somewhat better. SOG's Walmarty-looking things and the all-steel "tactical" tomahawks that seem to be everywhere these days don't interest me, and most are too short anyway. Some nice ones go for absurd prices, like RMJs that cost as much as new handguns. I'm not poor, but you'll never see me spending that much dough on an axe, just plain silly. Cold Steel tomahawks have always been the most reliable for me.

But I recently discovered 2hawks. Haven't bought one yet, but they look promising. Sensible designs at reasonable prices. I'm quite surprised I haven't heard of them before. That makes me wonder what else I'm missing out on. Googling usually just leads me to custom knifemakers who charge thousands for works of functional art, which isn't what I'm into. Does anyone know of any other companies offering "working" tomahawks that I might be interested in and haven't heard of, stuff similar to cold steel but better quality?
 
I can vouch that 2Hawks makes an excellent tomahawk. I have one of their Longhunter models and it holds a good edge and gets through moderately sized limbs like a champ.

I have heard good things about Beaver Bill and Walk By Faith 777 but have no personal experience with either. Likewise Kings Forge & Muzzleloading and North River Custom Knives make attractive hawks but I have no personal experience with these either. Note the latter two sell more expensive hawks (some for more than $200).

I look forward to seeing other recommendations on this thread.
 
2Hawks have been around for a while and there should be a number of threads on this forum, unless they went away when they changed over the forum.

I have two, the Longhunter and the WarBeast and love them Longhunter is a classic smaller hawk that is great to carry when you have to deal with extra weight. The WarBeast is the best named product I've come across in a while, it's a freakin Beast! It's bigger, sharp everywhere, and is hard hitting. Great doing business with Devin and he puts out a great product.

I also have a CS Trailhawk and use it a lot. Great product, especially for the price.

Years ago I tried to buy from some of the other forges that offer hawks but most had very poor communication and no customer service. One of the best guys that used to be on this forum has retired and it's a shame, his Jack Hawk was phenomenal. I think you could chop rocks and not dull the edge.
 
For a mass production hawk, I have zero complaints with the Ontario Spike Hawk. It is a tad heavy for it's size, but is indestructible.

H&B makes excellent traditional hawks, as does Beaver Bill, though his are ~ twice the price of H&B.
 
Are the two hawks Tomahawks cast or are they forged? I'm curious as I've heard they were cast.
 
How about Wolf Creek Forge? I've heard good things about them. I have no idea what their prices are like though, or wait times, product lineup, or anything really. Their website appears to be down.
 
Sometimes I wonder if the Cold Steel/ATC tomahawks can even be meaningfully improved upon at all. I've had several, and they've all been bulletproof, defect-free, with edge retention being typical for chopping tools in general, designs available for every preference too. It's like I just want to spend more money for the heck of it or something. Great suggestions so far though. H&B and Beaver Bill definitely look interesting.
 
If we branch the topic out to pipe tomahawks, there is still only one place I know of where you can get a good functional tool at a reasonable price, and even those must be heat treated and finished yourself. The R. E. Davis company offers some of their cast pipe hawk heads from 6150 steel: http://redaviscompany.com/edgedweapons.html
And even they didn't offer them until we convinced them to, right here in this forum 12 years ago:
https://bladeforums.com/threads/any...-cheap-pipe-hawk-made-from-good-steel.425775/

I've kept an eye out for over 10 years now, & as far as I know, the only other options for a pipe hawk are to get a piece of trash decorator piece, or spend several hundreds (or even thousands) for a custom handmade one.
 
They're proper axes, but check out the smaller sizes by Rinaldi. Italian axes use a slip-fit handle like a tomahawk does.
 
Chopaholic said:
I love tomahawks, always have. I've used several of Cold Steel's models as outdoor tools for many years.

Cold Steel appears to have a monopoly on practical tomahawks. CRKT has been making some that have become popular, but they're too heavy for my liking, more like tomahawk-shaped camp axes. Same goes for Condor's offerings' though they are somewhat better. SOG's Walmarty-looking things and the all-steel "tactical" tomahawks that seem to be everywhere these days don't interest me, and most are too short anyway. Some nice ones go for absurd prices, like RMJs that cost as much as new handguns. I'm not poor, but you'll never see me spending that much dough on an axe, just plain silly. Cold Steel tomahawks have always been the most reliable for me.

But I recently discovered 2hawks. Haven't bought one yet, but they look promising. Sensible designs at reasonable prices. I'm quite surprised I haven't heard of them before. That makes me wonder what else I'm missing out on. Googling usually just leads me to custom knifemakers who charge thousands for works of functional art, which isn't what I'm into. Does anyone know of any other companies offering "working" tomahawks that I might be interested in and haven't heard of, stuff similar to cold steel but better quality?
Click to expand...
I know my comment is many years to late, but I was searching for tomahawk companies people haven't heard of. From what I've seen, tomahawk designs are all about the intended use. I've owned a Cold Steel Trench Hawk for many years. It's an excellent tactical tomahawk, and it does a decent job at chopping wood. However, I certainly wouldn't trust it as a survival tomahawk. Survival tomahawks are what interest me the most. A quality survival tomahawk should be able to chop wood, it should have a spike for prying, and it should be darn near impossible to break. It should also make a decent defensive weapon. So far, I've only found 3 true survival tomahawks: the Benchmade Killian Tomahawk ( full tang1095HC), the Smith & Wesson SW671 (full tang 1070HC), and the Estwing Black Eagle (full tang 1055HC). Aside from the Estwing Black Eagle Tomahawk, the others are no longer produced. The Benchmade is obviously the most expensive, especially on the secondary market. The Smith & Wesson SW671 is the most useful of the 3 for everything but self defense. It's by far the heaviest. It's primarily meant as a breaching tool, but it can chop wood and pry wood apart quite well. The Estwing Black Eagle Tomahawk is the budget choice. It's light, and good for self defense. It actually chops wood pretty well, but the axe edge length is a bit short. The sharp edges of 1055HC also have a tendency to roll and dent in hardwoods and knots. The Smith & Wesson SW671 is being shipped to me. I should have it next week. If I find it's way too heavy to be useful, I can sell it for a profit. The Benchmade is probably the best of the 3. But, it was about $300 when it was in production, so I doubt I'll find one on the secondary market for less than $450. I'm not a big fan of the RMJ tomahawks. They're built solely for combat, and they are insanely expensive for what they are. If a tomahawk can't chop wood reasonably well, it's pretty much a soldier's weapon.
 
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