tomahawks for $50 or less?

[TMFKAMJ]

I think i want a tomahawk    so I thought i'd ask the experts here. i'm looking for something around the  $50 ( £31 ) range. It'll be used mostly for camping stuff like chopping down small bushes to clear a site, chopping small firewood, ect. . I know a hatchet would work better but i kinda just want a tomahawk  . I know about the sog's and that cold steel one anything else im missing? thanks in advance guys cause im helpless when it comes to axes/hatchets/tomahawks

[ironraven]

You can probably get them for less than that if you are willing to go with United Cutlery or the like, but... really? You can do better for not much more.

[Grant Lamontagne]

Hawks aren't the best choice for chopping wood. They are really a weaponized version of the classic wood cutting implements. Because they are designed for fighting they are faster and set up for piercing rather than chopping.

If you want something for light camp chores there are a variety of low cost hatchets available at almost every hardware or outdoors shop.

Def

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[TMFKAMJ]

Hawks aren't the best choice for chopping wood. They are really a weaponized version of the classic wood cutting implements. Because they are designed for fighting they are faster and set up for piercing rather than chopping.

If you want something for light camp chores there are a variety of low cost hatchets available at almost every hardware or outdoors shop.

Def

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I guess maybe if a hatchet would do the job better id be ok with it. stupid question: you can hammer with the back end of a hatchet right? or would it slip or break something?

[Sparky415]

If you really want a Tomahawk? 

But I'm not sure if these are available yet? 

http://www.estwing.com/ao_black_eagle_tomahawk_black.php

[Gareth]

I like the look of the British Belt Axe as sold by Ragnar: http://www.ragweedforge.com/ThrowingCatalog.html



No idea about the quality or if it would really suit your needs though.

[Sparky415]

That looks nice Gareth  also reminds me of the cold steel version

[ironraven]

I don't know if I agree with the statement that 'hawks are weapons, any more than I agree to a similar claim about a one handed folder when I hear it. They aren't as heavy as a hatchet, but they don't both fill quite the same niche- the comparison is like comparing a Mora to a big blade like the RTAK. The 'hawk evolved in a culture were a chipped stone axe would be used for limbing and the detail work with wood, along with processing meat, in much the same way that we would now use pruning shears. The heavy wood processing we westerners associate with a full sized axe, iron axe was more done with fire and wedges.

Trying to use a 'hawk with a sub-pound head at a substitute for a hatchet with a pound and half worth of head can be done, but remember to let leverage be your friend with chopping and if you want to split a lot make some wedges. Same as you would with a large fixed blade and a baton; personally I say a 9-12 large knife is in a very similiar niche and is in many ways interchangeable when working with wood. But if you want it to be a substitute for a smaller axe, say in the 2-2.5 pound range, irr... no, the 'hawk will fail worse than the hatchet will.

The "weaponization", well, thats something that everyone here should know is a matter of intent. I'd rather hit someone with a hudson bay or boy's axe (or a flanged mace) than a tomahawk.


Oh, and Jack- yes, you can hammer with the back of a hatchet. It's not the best hammer, but you can do it.

[TMFKAMJ]

I like the look of the British Belt Axe as sold by Ragnar: http://www.ragweedforge.com/ThrowingCatalog.html

(Image removed from quote.)

No idea about the quality or if it would really suit your needs though.

oh I like the look of that! i like the viking ship builders one too  there both under $50 but the viking ship builder is out of stock

Oh, and Jack- yes, you can hammer with the back of a hatchet. It's not the best hammer, but you can do it.

ok thanks i was thing mostly for pounding tent stakes into the ground or the occasional macgyverish quad or go kart fix 
 BTW how well does a machete baton through wood?

[ironraven]

Depends on the machete- they are designed for clearing brush and vines, not chopping wood. I've broken or bent a couple of cheap machete's batoning, but that is the fault of the user. It can be done, but I'd get a good one and, honestly, a shorter one- IMO the length and the flexibility is what got me.

[TMFKAMJ]

Depends on the machete- they are designed for clearing brush and vines, not chopping wood. I've broken or bent a couple of cheap machete's batoning, but that is the fault of the user. It can be done, but I'd get a good one and, honestly, a shorter one- IMO the length and the flexibility is what got me.

Where i camp/ride (california  high desert area if that matters to anyone) i guess from what ive learned now i think a hatchet would be better because it might not be as good at bush clearing but i don't want to bend a machete batoning through firewood. maybe i could get a sog entrenching tool too 

[Travis Autry]

How about a half hatchet?  Axe head with hammer back.  Eastwing calls theirs a Carpenter's Hatchet.  It would seem to be a good compromise for stake driving and occasional chopping.

[TMFKAMJ]

How about a half hatchet?  Axe head with hammer back.  Eastwing calls theirs a Carpenter's Hatchet.  It would seem to be a good compromise for stake driving and occasional chopping.

that looks good for what i wanna do! and its $40 so when i get some more knife money ill definitely look at it as were going back into riding/camping season 

[AimlessWanderer]

I'm a bit in getting to this thread  but ...

I like the look of the British Belt Axe as sold by Ragnar: http://www.ragweedforge.com/ThrowingCatalog.html

(Image removed from quote.)

No idea about the quality or if it would really suit your needs though.

... it says they're cast in 410 stainless, which for me is two big negatives ... cast and stainless ... when it comes to any kind of axe type tool. I did some work with some very large stainless casting many years ago, which I'd been assured had been subject to a special heat treatment process which increased the ductility for high pressure applications. Unfortunately they were bent, and an attempt to straighten them caused one to break violently sending several tonnes of stainless casting several metres in three different directions. I no longer trust stainless castings, no matter what the boffins say. Thankfully no one was hurt, but one guy probably wished he brought a spare pair of clean underwear to work that morning 

Otherwise it looks very nice 

[Styerman]

For your use , I'd just get an Eastwing hatchet , preferably with the blue handle . Cuts well , and very usefull . The stacked leather handle is OK , but doesn't like water very much . The hammer works OK , but wouldn't be my choice for protracted nail driving .

Chris