Thursday, December 2, 2010

COLDSTEEL riflemans hawk.

I got this thing a couple years ago. Part of the reason was because it seemed like a good tool, the rest was purely because tomahawks are cool and this one looked like the classic "pipe" design. I know it sounds juvenile of me, but I can't help it, they are just so awesome!

This one fit the bill, however, I should point out that hawks are not hatchets. They do not have the comfortable, rubber, curved handle. They are all about effectiveness. The solid wood handle has proven to take a beating and if the event of a broken handle in a survival situation comes up, I can simply whittle a new handle from any branch available.

The hammer feature has proven use full when putting up the tent when I go camping. It isn't as comfortable as a hatchet for chopping, but I can easily slip it into my belt for when I am out on the trail and may come across some firewood.

Throwing this is a blast! Problem is, trying to find a target that can repeatedly handle being smashed by this thing. Cold steel has put  nice feature in the blade in the form of a allen screw that tightens the grip of the blade to the handle.

Overall, this is a good purchase when you spend much time in the woods and may be in a constant search for wood. The edge retention is great and it is easy to sharpen. I have chopped wood from pines in Utah, and cottonwood in upstate Nevada, and everywhere in between.

It also makes a handy home defense tool that hits with devastating force either with the blade or the hammer, and will not run out of ammo. If thrown and doesn't stick I am sure that the weight will still do quite a bit of damage.

Five stars as a tomahawk but keep in mind, if you aren't going to spent a lot of time in the woods, this may be to much weight to  carry for the one or two very small branches you may want to chop.




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