Why a tomahawk?

M

MacCairnie

Joined
Jul 17, 2011
Messages
33
I have absolutely no experience with hawks. I've actually never even seen one in person. They're not a common tool here in Eastern Ontario, which leads me to ask- what is a tomahawk good for aside from fighting? Are there any bushcraft applications that it does better than an axe? What, exactly, differs between a hawk and an axe anyway? I guess I'm just trying to understand the tool. Before this forum, I had never encountered people who use them.

Mac
 
I just get them for the fun of working on them, giving to people as gifts, etc. When I camp and hike I just use a little knife, just need to make a fire and open things, after all, so I see no reason to bring axe or hawk out there except for throwing around for fun. I'm not worried about fighting people, and if I were, I'd get a gun I suppose. Just my $.02
 
Not to hijack your thread but where in Eastern Ontario? I'm from Brockville.

Oh yeah, with a hawk you can make a very deep cut into wood with a one handed swing. It's due to the thin head and edge and the extra length of the handle. They're also really light so you can easily get it moving really fast for good penetration. All good qualities for a weapon too I suppose.
 
Hi Mac, welcome to the hawk and axe forum. I'm in Haliburton. I Have lots of hawks that get used for clearing a bit of brush but mainly for throwing. Certain shapes work well for camp work and if you break the haft it can be replaced with a branch.
I enjoy the romance of hawks but have no interest in using one for fighting.

Best regards

Robin
 
I see... they're not really splitters in the same way that axes are, then. They almost sound like a cross between an axe and a machete. They do have a potential for beauty that I haven't seen in axes or machetes, so I can certainly see the appeal from that angle. I'm in Renfrew, by the way, which is a small town about an hour west of Ottawa. We're very rural, but we don't seem to use tomahawks, or machetes for that matter, at all. It's hard to convince people of a machete's usefulness when they've only encountered them in Friday the 13th.
 
Easier to craft a new hawk handle in the bush, than a new axe handle. However, in his book, Mors Kochanski talks about crafting a new axe handle if yours breaks, so I guess its doable, depending on skill level.
 
A hawk has a long, knifelike blade that enlarges rapidly into a large eye. This allows you to slide the handle on and off easily, and is easy to improvise a haft in the field. A hawk head is lighter, which makes it easy to maneuver as a weapon. The large eye makes it a less efficient wood splitting tool, because if you try to use it as an axe, the hawk will not penetrate past the head unless you baton it. I suspect the knife like bit is less efficient at chopping too, especially as the diameter of the wood gets bigger.

A hatchet is a more modern evolution of the hawk, with its wedge shaped head. It has very gradual transitions from blade to eye, and pushes through wood more efficiently. Also, the head geometry concentrates more weight at the head, which makes it bite deeper. If you wanted to process lots of wood, axe is the way to go. I was able to section and split wrist sized wood with no trouble using a hawk, but for bigger stuff, I'd have to start using wedges to avoid wasting energy.

While an axe is an efficient tool, my heart goes to the hawk. After all, it was the tool of the frontier, wielded by mountain men and indigenous people alike. I suppose if it served them well, it's good enough for me. I'm still learning how to best use it. For example, I think to split a log with a hawk, it is better to lean it on another log and hit up and down its length until it splits. It may take 3 blows with the hawk and 1 with an axe.

I will use the hawk whenever possible. However, if someone said, "you have to survive a week in the woods in winter," I'm taking an axe.
 
It was getting out of hand here Robin, thought YA'LL would start talking about hockey pucks. Backwoods guys need hugs too!!
 
Performs better at wood-related chores than a large knife, not quite as good as an axe, but is very light. Longer haft is a performance-booster over a hatchet; smaller blade weakens performance. Carrying an axe is an investment in calories. So if you think of it as: large knife-hawk-hatchet-axe in terms of increasing performance but also weight, then your application can determine which you'll need.
 
I often felt a full tang Tomahawk/war hammer with a curved handled Khukuri are all i needed for doomsday.

To breach,chop,stab with the ultimate force, throw with great efficiency and to delicately slice and skin, a well thought and built tomahawk excels at all.

I have yet to get myself a reliable axe but i could already tell what i have as hybrid tomahawk will be a wonderful tool especially at difficult times.
 
A tomahawk is just a style of axe. They do axe things. They can chop and split wood (here's where a long haft and high speed come into play). Some have hammers on the back for hammering, some have spikes for digging, some have bowls for smoking.

If you think they are just weapons, then you are falling into functional-fixety and missing the boat. It'd be like thinking a kukri is just a fighting blade.
 
They come in handy for Zombie attack's too
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My opinion is that a tomahawk is one of the most versatile tools you can carry. They are lighter and easier to carry than a big knife but have similar wood processing ability. They can be used for small knife chores by choking up on the handle. Depending on beard and poll configuration, they can also be used for dragging logs, pulling vines, and demolition work such as punching out windows or deflating tires. Their reach and multiple grip and striking options make them a good option for self defense.

They generally don't offer supreme edge-holding and cutting geometry nor are they as good for splitting logs or taking down trees as an axe. But they do offer a compromise of those abilities plus I feel they are one of the best defensive or offensive options out there.
 
Cpl Punishment said:
A tomahawk is just a style of axe. They do axe things. They can chop and split wood (here's where a long haft and high speed come into play). Some have hammers on the back for hammering, some have spikes for digging, some have bowls for smoking.

If you think they are just weapons, then you are falling into functional-fixety and missing the boat. It'd be like thinking a kukri is just a fighting blade.
Click to expand...

And a razor is a style of knife. ^___^

As noted, most hawks are concave (unlike a proper khukuri), so they have the same kind of problem as a hollow-ground knife in penetrating into deep material - only worse It's like trying to drive a piece of pipe (the large eye) sideways through the small crack in the wood made by the relatively thin blade. So not good for splitting lengthways as compared to a good hand axe, especially with hard woods (ash) or fibrous woods (elm). However, by attacking the side of a length of wood that's not too thick, you can get there in time.
 
I've had no trouble splitting camping-sized rounds (4" and under) of oak, birch and maple with a CS trail hawk, lengthwise.
 
I like them because they're generally lighter then a hatchet. 90% of the time the hatchet/hawk is being carried and not used so having a lighter woodworking tool makes more sense to me. For the wood work I do it performs fine. Mostly splitting kindling and limbing. It is nice to know you have a good weapon with you at times as well.
 
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