Why would I want to use a spike hawk camping?
- Thread starter tirod3
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I used an ATC Roger's Rangers spike hawk for years until I switched to a Vec Hawk. I found where I used the spike the most was dragging some fallen dead wood up embankments to the campsite. It was much easier to drive the spike in then trying to carry the wood up uneven terrain. Not to mention it kept all the creepy crawly stuff off of me
I framed with a rigging axe's for years. When you swing back handed(and yes you need to) it was not unusual for the bit to touch you. I never had it sharper than it needed to be. It needed to be just sharp enough to bite into a nail. If you bent a nail driving it you simply swung the hatchet parallel to what you were nailing it into. The bit would cut into the nail far enough to grab it and expel it. No need to pull it with a claw hammer or a cats paw. Very fast. You just needed to be sure nobody was in the line of fire because that bent nail was sent flying with some authority. It did not damage the bit either.
A spike hawk is much more problematic with a back hand swing. Its going to hurt you. And you will probably never use it enough to get a feel for were that spike is.
A spike hawk is much more problematic with a back hand swing. Its going to hurt you. And you will probably never use it enough to get a feel for were that spike is.
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I've felt the same way for years. Never even felt like I was close to hitting myself. Then, I got the Ranger Renegade Hawk. I has a long spike, and the handle is just long enough that on the back swing the spike is aimed right at your face. Bend over to chop some wood, and it's a bad recipe. Sure, it's not made for a camp axe. I'm just pointing out a potentially dangerous combination of spike and handle length, with a bit of bad technique.
I've spent many hours "fighting" a swinging fence post with spike hawks. I still do it, and have never came close to hitting myself, not as close as trying to chop some wood.
One of the worst cuts I ever got was from a Swiss Army knife. On the other hand, I've been fortunate not to injure myself with a Fubar, crowbar, pick mattock, double bit axe, or my larger knives. I have broken both big toes on plywood when it slipped straight down onto my boots. You can get hurt from some stupid stuff.
I'd be more inclined to use a spike hawk than hammer with the butt of a medium blade. It's more a matter of knowing the hawk would likely be used more to one side to get the full swing when dropping the stroke with my hand near my ear.
Carry in a belt is something else. It's the same as carrying a knife simply shoved under the belt, no scabbard. Not my cup of tea. Even the American Indians made scabbards for their blades. They carried the hawk in their hand, or cradled. In that position, it became more symbolic, as an expression of rank - the same as the mace of royalty, which became more presumptuously known as a scepter.
As for whether a digging stick should be fashioned on the spot, nothing wrong with that. It depends on if or when it's available, too, and it also ignores a benefit of the one piece hawk with integral handle - the end of it could be used in exactly the same way if fashioned appropriately. The Gerber Downrange has it's nail puller on the end of the handle, so does the Stanley FUBAR. Some hawks leave the end exposed in a spike,too. In the case of the Condor TRT, I can see beveling the end of the rolled steel handle to create a digging implement. No need to search out and trim down a stick, just get after it already. It's a bit redundant tho, literally. You have a spike on the other end, if you are so inclined.
No sense that it come back to hurt you. In that regard, even a small blade becomes dangerous, and the military exercises due regard to test sheaths and see that the user isn't injured by something as rough as the tumble from a parachute landing fall. If your gear is so difficult that it could hurt you even when it's holstered, take precautions. Plenty of the CCW crowd does by only carrying a pistol with an appropriate safety. Tripping over a root that more likely needs a hawk takien to it just to be injured by the tool itself in the fall would be an embarrassing end to a trip in the woods.
I'd be more inclined to use a spike hawk than hammer with the butt of a medium blade. It's more a matter of knowing the hawk would likely be used more to one side to get the full swing when dropping the stroke with my hand near my ear.
Carry in a belt is something else. It's the same as carrying a knife simply shoved under the belt, no scabbard. Not my cup of tea. Even the American Indians made scabbards for their blades. They carried the hawk in their hand, or cradled. In that position, it became more symbolic, as an expression of rank - the same as the mace of royalty, which became more presumptuously known as a scepter.
As for whether a digging stick should be fashioned on the spot, nothing wrong with that. It depends on if or when it's available, too, and it also ignores a benefit of the one piece hawk with integral handle - the end of it could be used in exactly the same way if fashioned appropriately. The Gerber Downrange has it's nail puller on the end of the handle, so does the Stanley FUBAR. Some hawks leave the end exposed in a spike,too. In the case of the Condor TRT, I can see beveling the end of the rolled steel handle to create a digging implement. No need to search out and trim down a stick, just get after it already. It's a bit redundant tho, literally. You have a spike on the other end, if you are so inclined.
No sense that it come back to hurt you. In that regard, even a small blade becomes dangerous, and the military exercises due regard to test sheaths and see that the user isn't injured by something as rough as the tumble from a parachute landing fall. If your gear is so difficult that it could hurt you even when it's holstered, take precautions. Plenty of the CCW crowd does by only carrying a pistol with an appropriate safety. Tripping over a root that more likely needs a hawk takien to it just to be injured by the tool itself in the fall would be an embarrassing end to a trip in the woods.