American Tomahawk Company?

I have their Rogers' Rangers spike tomahawk, made before production switched to Bear Mountain (whatever happened to them?). It's a good tomahawk. Very rugged!
 
Spontoon said:
On this CQC-T. Why does mine only have 4 rubber rings on the bottom part of the handle and I see some with a total of 8, with 4 more on the top part?
Click to expand...

They did away with the top 4 because the recesses required for them were weakening the handle design, AFAIK.
 
Spontoon said:
So then the 4 recesses on mine have weakened the handle on the new one I've got?
Click to expand...
Technically, yes, it's a trade off between grip and making the haft as strong as possible. it's just that the ones by the top were needed less and probably causing more issues by being so close to the point of impact (the head).
 
Spontoon said:
Then out of the three ATC offers, which is the best one?
And why is the CQC-T so much more expensive than the LaGana?
Click to expand...

That I can't answer, as I only own (and have only handled) the LaGana. It may just be a different tools for different purposes thing. Best for what use? The CQC-T is probably a better general-use hawk.
The LaGana is terrible for wood uses. as a fighting hawk though, it's super light and fast.
Prices would be a question for ATC directly. could just be steel/machining/finishing costs are higher on one than the other.
 
The vtac is a breacher meant for punishment. It changed a lot design wise from what Peter Lagana originally developed but he still endorsed it. The CQC-T was designed by Emerson to be used as a weapon first, tool second. It is made of a better steel in a thinner design so it is light and manuverable.
 
As far as price goes, it makes sense - the vtac is drop forged and the edges are ground, where the CQC-T is machined from billet. They are both made from good steels, the machining definitely drives the cost up. Well, that and paying royalties to Emerson.
You'll do fine with either hawk.
RMJ
 
Did I not hear that ATC has been bought by Cold Steel? Or have I heard wrong? That might be the problem with your email delivery failure?

I would have bought the same hawk, out of their offerings. The CQC-T has the thickest head, and the better spike for deeper punctures. I haven't held any of them, so that's just based on pics and descriptions.
 
Spontoon said:
Does anyone know of different contact info other than the email and one phone number they list on there web site?
I emailed them twice and got a delivery failure notice both times and no one picks up at the number with no answering machine. :confused:
Click to expand...
Try contacting Fehrman as they are the guys making them for ATC. They have always had great customer service which ATC has always been slower to get back to you in my experience.
http://store.fehrmanknives.com/

I think Cold Steel merely owns the name American Tomahawk Company but has no affiliation with the ATC being discussed here.
 
Cold Steel and ATC had an extensive legal battle over the name - one of the things that hurt ATC in the long term. There is no affiliation at all. Fehrman knives are the folks to contact.
 
The original version of the CQC-T had the 2 sets of o-rings - at the bottom and near the head. If your one has only 1 set of rings then its newer production - the update happened a few years ago but lots of pics show the original version.

As mentioned the change was due to some of the handles breaking where the o-ring cut outs were. Obviously needed to be some serious abuse before that happened though!
 
Placement is everything - the higher the groove is the more stress is on it. Also, they may have changed the shape of the groove which can make a big difference - I guessing on that one though. The handle material is very, very tough. I wouldn't worry about it breaking.
RMJ
 
If I had that CQC-T, I would go outside and chop the hell out of some wood, I mean a large piece that won't move. Put as much power behind them as you can safely manage. That will show any weakness, as it stands right now. That's no guarantee of how it will act when super cold, or if left in the sun for a year, etc..
I have one of those SOG Fasthawks, and many reviews of those handles said the early ones had some air bubbles. Those were the weak spots, and that's where those broke. SOG has "fixed" the issue, and newer ones don't have the bubbles. My point is, I've taken all my hawks outside and used them very very hard, on wood and or dead trees. If they can survive what I've put through them so far, I think they will be just fine in the future. This includes my Fasthawk, composit handle with 10 cutout rings, and my Ranger Renegade with a hickory handle.
If you break the handle, then you should be under warranty, and you've avoided it happening during an "emergency" situation. Use it hard and you'll gain more confidence in the hawk.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top