SOG hawks

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Charlie_K

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Jul 16, 2012
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Alright I've recently taken a heavy interest in tomahawks and am looking around at the various models, trying to separate the good from the junk.

The SOG brand tomahawks look good and have a number of good reviews to them. But who here has one and can provide a detailed explanation of its worthiness to own? To the synthetic handles still have the same breaking issue as the older wooden ones? What kind of 420 steel is used in its construction? Can it really smash cinder blocks like shown and not suffer significant edge/point damage?
 
From what i have read the SOG hawks are not very well liked in this forum. Cold Steel hawks are very popular.The use of 420 steel on a tomahawk is a bad idea. The head of the tomahawk is subjected to a lot of force so a tomahawk head preferably is made from a carbon steel or a high end tool steel. You can opt for a wooden handle that can be replaced, or a full tang steel handle. A head bolted on a handle with bolts is not a good idea. You also should think about what you are going to do with your hawk.Is it used as a woodsman tool? Is it used as a tactical tool? Or will it be a breaching tool to demolish things. This is important to consider before you purchase something that doesn't do well what you need. Do some research and buy a cheap Cold Steel hawk to get a feeling what a hawk can and can't do. Then you can go for a ATC VTAC, CRKT Kangee ora K5 tactical ( Benchmade), and then you could go for a custom Winkler or RMJ ( or any other high end hawk).

If you narrow your needs down the forumites in this specialised section of BF can steer you in the right direction.
 
Jim malone said:
From what i have read the SOG hawks are not very well liked in this forum. Cold Steel hawks are very popular.The use of 420 steel on a tomahawk is a bad idea. The head of the tomahawk is subjected to a lot of force so a tomahawk head preferably is made from a carbon steel or a high end tool steel. You can opt for a wooden handle that can be replaced, or a full tang steel handle. A head bolted on a handle with bolts is not a good idea. You also should think about what you are going to do with your hawk.Is it used as a woodsman tool? Is it used as a tactical tool? Or will it be a breaching tool to demolish things. This is important to consider before you purchase something that doesn't do well what you need. Do some research and buy a cheap Cold Steel hawk to get a feeling what a hawk can and can't do. Then you can go for a CRKT Kangee ora K5 tactical ( Benchmade), and then you could go for a custom Winkler or RMJ ( or any other high end hawk).

If you narrow your needs down the forumites in this specialised section of BF can steer you inthe right direction.
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:thumbup: Agreed.
 
What about converting drywall hammers into a makeshift tomahawk? Some have all steel construction, a vaguely tomahawk shape, it wouldn't take much to put a good edge on one side.
 
I agree with Jim Malone's post in many ways. Yet, I own a SOG Fasthawk and it has held up way better than I thought it would. I have been throwing mine for about a year and a half, at an old dead Black Locust tree. I expected the handle to break, at the bolts, or just in half, but it hasn't. I've cut holes into a steel folding chair, the edge didn't take too much damage, and the head stayed on the handle.
It's not that sharp, the edge nor the spike. It doesn't chop wood well at all, nor does the spike really pierce or puncture wood or steel. I have not tried to cut through a cinder block, or breech a door, nor cut into or out of an aircraft.
Although I wouldn't stake my life on the Fasthawk, or other similar bolt on tomahawks, it's been a fun $20 hawk. It's got very similar dimensions to some other serious tactical integral hawks, like the Winkler Sayoc. My opinion of the Fasthawk is that it's a good intro level/fun toy/thrower/beater/waster/find out if I really even want a hawk type of a hawk.

Keep in mind there's lots of types of hawks, with different steels and different tasks in their designs. Breaking cinderblocks in just one trick, hammers can do that as well. There are cutting tools and there are breaching hawks, and lots in between. You're not going to find one that cuts well and breaches without damage. Cinderblock will damage the edge of any steel, some just handle it better than others. Something like S7 or H13 can probably take on cinderblock with the least amount of damage, but you'll still feel the dings with your fingernail, but you won't "break" the hawk either.
 
Foxx-

What about the Cold Steel trench hawk? If the SOG has held up for your applications can the TH do the same thing for similar applications?
 
I have the Larger SOG hawk and it is fine for what it is ,it seems plenty durable and holds an edge decently. A lot of people get caught up in edge holding for hawks and hatchets but they are made pretty soft for a reason. If you can get a decent price on any of the SOG hawks I would say go for it. I also have the Cold steel trail hawk and I find it too narrow in the bit (short cutting edge) and the handle is too thick for the size of the head but otherwise an enjoyable tool. The Norse,spike,pipe hawks all have better dimensions and weight . Just go with what appeals to you both in style and comfort and you can always get more to fill you needs better later as you understand them better. No one here has one hawk,axe or hatchet .
 
The trench hawk is more of a battle axe - massive, heavy, unwieldy, etc. Don't even think of throwing it, if you hit your target with the rubber handle it'll bounce back (and that spike is massive!) Mine flew back 15 feet then bounced around 2-3 times.
Save your money.
 
Since not all tomahawks have spikes what about the Estwing tools? Solid steel, good name reputation, a considerable cutting face and a hammer face pommel. Would they serve as good tomahawks for all around duties?
 
Charlie_K said:
Since not all tomahawks have spikes what about the Estwing tools? Solid steel, good name reputation, a considerable cutting face and a hammer face pommel. Would they serve as good tomahawks for all around duties?
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Estwings have a tomahawk and a double bit hatchet now. There are a few threads about them, I don't own any so I can't say. At one time I had a few Estwing hatchets and the 20" long axe. I prefer to either use a wooden handled axe or a integral tomahawk. It's a difficult task to make a hawk that is all steel, yet have great ergonomics and keep the weight where it needs to be, in the head.

All round hawk duties can still vary from person to person. Are you an outdoorsman or looking for an apocalypse tool?
 
foxx said:
All round hawk duties can still vary from person to person. Are you an outdoorsman or looking for an apocalypse tool?
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A bit of both actually. Primary use would be tending to the weedy undergrowth trees that are tenacious and grow inside and around the cinder block walls, as well as low hanging branches and overgrown brushes. But if it can be used for effectively smashing a window on a crashed car to rescue a passenger then all the better.
 
Are you worried about hitting the cinderblock wall with the hawk? That's tricky, a good cutting edge will take more damage if you hit the cinderblock, but too thick and you won't be cutting. Have you tried loppers?
I use a Silky saw to prune branches too thick to chop through with one swing from a machete. Otherwise, all my trees are trimmed with one of several machetes.

I'm not trying to talk you out of getting a hawk, I love them and own many. Yet, for landscaping and yard work I usually grab other tools. For my uses, a hawk is for fun, practice fighting, throwing, or camping/backpacking. And if need be, I would use any of mine for breaching when a life is on the line. For "fun" destruction I have the GG&G Battlehawk, it's thick and heavy, but can't cut anything. It could just take down the cinderblock wall, but the woody weedy stuff would still be there.:)
 
I moddeo the spike and reshaped the blade and mine is great for what it is. These are tough little starter hawks that will holdup to rough "play" and light work. Tactical hawks aren't practical at all...unless you are a bad ass"ops" type, in which case, the SOG falls a bit short. :-)








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Maybe it's time to ask the newbie question: what's the real difference between a tomahawk and a hatchet?
 
Weight, size of the head and length of the cutting edge, shape and size of the eye and a lack of a wedge(on traditional hawks). Hatchets have an edge designed to chop wood, as a primary function. A good hatchet should always out perform a tomahawk as a wood tool, not counting cheap hatchet shaped objects at most hardware stores today. Not counting the Estwings, most hatchets are wood handles with a large eye and a wedge(some are fiberglass). The heads are larger and heavier than hawks, and get thicker towards the hammer poll.
Hawks are usually smaller, lighter, and faster for fighting. They are/were a back up weapon with some function as a chopping tool. The eye of a hawk is thicker than the front "blade", but most often get thinner again for the spike or hammer.
 
Alright I think I'm getting a bead on it now. The hatchet is the agricultural tool designed for more brute force than finesse but can be pressed into a combat roll is necessary, the tomahawk is the dedicated weapon designed more for speed and fighting capability but if needed it can function as a hatchet.

That said the Estwing tomahawks are looking more promising with that revelation. Is there any reason not to buy one of them apart from the lack of throwing balance?
 
There are hatchets with good balance, but maybe more for chopping wood, too heavy for fast fighting. A fighting hawk needs to start, stop, and change direction as fast as possible. Hatchets with good weight and balance are still too heavy, IMO for the most effective fighting. Yet, a good hatchet can also do delicate carving, due to the sharpness and edge geometry.
Ryan Johnson, of RMJ Tactical, has said that the best throwing hawk/hatchet is the short Estwing. They have many many hawks lying around the shop and throw all of them. One of the first hawks/hatchets I ever threw was an Estwing. I have thrown one on many occasions, and it gave me the impression that I was a natural. It is very easy to stick, time and time again.

They are pretty tough, I'd breach with one if it's what I had and needed to do. As an axe, there's better designs, ones with better steel, and balance.

Charlie, did you look up the Estwing Tomahawk, or the Estwing hatchet modified by RMJ, into a spike hawk?
 
I looked up the Estwing Tomahawk on amazon. I can't really say that I see why the black version is worth the extra money compared to the blue version though. Besides aesthetics is there anything that really makes the ETBA better than the E6-TA?
 
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The black and the blue Estwings hawks seem to be the same price where I looked. Only the stacked leather handled version was more expensive. I'm not saying their hawks are what you should get, just that they are at least looking at. I imagine their edges are too straight, short, and thick for a good wood chopper.

My favorite full tang/integral hawk/hatchet is the Camp Axe from Winkler Knives 2. It's 5160, has a full tapered tang, micarta handle scales, and a hammer poll. The weight is mostly in the head, where it should be, and it feels like a tomahawk in hand.
http://www.winklerknives.com/knives.asp?id=159
 
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