Tomahawk uses?

Stormstaff

Stormstaff

Joined
Dec 14, 2007
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Ok, sorry to be such a noob but what are you main uses for a tomahawk? Do you use it instead of a hatchet? Is it just for throwing? If used for outdoors (camping/bushcraft), what are the advantages over a hatchet?

Thanks for you time and answers!
 
I throw mine a lot. While i'm hiking i throw it into stumps. Use it sometimes for axe duty
 
:) Throwing
:) SD
:) Camp Work
:) Trunk Tool
:) Re-enactment
:) Deterrent

But most of all...

:) D R O O L I N G !
 
Throwing, throwing, throwing and whackin branches off dead trees for yet another throwing tree ;-). Filling my need to collect.
 
Throwing. Construction related destruction. Camp chores. Deanimating the occasional zombie. Throwing some more.
 
In was using my V-Tac as a carpentry tool today.I made a small bench for my lean-to shelter.I had far better control than using my full sized axe.
 
I've been using mine and think it's a decent camp/bushcraft tool. I find that a hawk can be about as reasonable chopping tool as any comparably sized hatchet. The difference between the hawk and hatchet really is academic. None of my hawks or hatchets split wood as well as a full sized axe. Some of my hatchets throw just as well as any hawk. And my hawk is better profiled than most hatchets and axes I've ever come across.

Hawks are pretty fun to throw. I also throw some of my hatchets. I have a nice hatchet I'd rather not risk breaking the handle on by throwing, so I don't, even though it is balanced quite well.

I know, some folks are quite adamant about tomahawks being weapons and such. All*I can say is that when push comes to shove, if I had a hatchet in my hand and needed to defend myself, I wouldn't take it back to the shed and exchange it for a hawk out of some kind of belief in using the right tool for the job. Either one will put a hurt on a bad guy just as easily and severely. In any event, my use of a hawk as a weapon is an extremely rare possibility. So rare, I find it ridiculous to ponder seriously.
 
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At least one of the guys over in W&SS has used a hawk like a rabbit stick, to kill small game.

You can also field dress game with one, especially if it has an ulu-shaped blade.

And don't forget the smoking feature, with the right hawk.

DancesWithKnives
 
DWK2 said:
At least one of the guys over in W&SS has used a hawk like a rabbit stick, to kill small game.

You can also field dress game with one, especially if it has an ulu-shaped blade.

And don't forget the smoking feature, with the right hawk.

DancesWithKnives
Click to expand...

Huh? I don't understand
 
There's a neighboring thread in this forum on a fully functional pipe hawk forged from a ballpeen hammer. You can smoke with it.

Over in W&SS there's a thread on wilderness shelters and one of the guys posted a photo of himself smoking his pipe hawk.

DancesWithKnives
 
sleep with my vietnam tomahawk under my pillow on the other side of my bed . also chopped with it and tried the cold steel test of smashing it into a 44 gallon drum(abt 30 times with the spike) , yes it worked and no no damage . this tomahawk would only be good for SD IMO , makes a useless chopper
 
Savagesicslayer: Thanks for adding that. It was your thread and photo on shelters to which I was referring Stormstaff.

zombie_killer: I've tried brush clearing with a CS Vietnam hawk and you are right---doesn't chop very well. On the other hand, my top-of-the-line Next Generation Ranger Hawk has a MUCH better edge profile for chopping (or anything else, for that matter).

longfletch27: I've heard that most folks are generally more careful with pipe hawks. However, those forged from ballpeen hammers and mounted on a quality haft ought to be pretty darn sturdy. I too have always wanted a pipe hawk!

DancesWithKnives
 
One other unusual use for a hawk: Opening bottles of champagne.

Several well-known restaurants of the West used to make a show of opening champagne bottles at a guest's table by taking the very top off with a hawk. I have a cheap bottle of sparkling wine sitting on my counter and next time I have a BBQ I'm going to hawk it. None of the historical accounts that I read described exactly how to hawk a champagne bottle so there will be a little trial and error involved! I don't have a digital camera so I'll try to get a guest to bring one.

DancesWithKnives
 
DWK2 said:
One other unusual use for a hawk: Opening bottles of champagne.

Several well-known restaurants of the West used to make a show of opening champagne bottles at a guest's table by taking the very top off with a hawk. I have a cheap bottle of sparkling wine sitting on my counter and next time I have a BBQ I'm going to hawk it. None of the historical accounts that I read described exactly how to hawk a champagne bottle so there will be a little trial and error involved! I don't have a digital camera so I'll try to get a guest to bring one.

DancesWithKnives
Click to expand...


That might make a good vid. It'd be either way, if it goes well or you miss and the bottle just explodes. hehe

No offense
 
None taken! I was thinking the same thing.:D

I figure on using some protective glasses and gloves. I'll wrap a heavy towel around the bottle, leaving only the neck exposed. I'm assuming that the technique is to use a firm, sharp blow to the raised lip right below the cork. I'm also thinking that it's important to hold the bottle firmly, so it doesn't move and absorb the energy. I believe good follow-through would also help. If you used a hit-and-retract type blow (a "witik" in Filipino Martial Arts) I feel it would lower your chance of success.

Anyway, it ought to be good for a few laughs! If it works on a few cheap bottles, when I move out of CA to a more rural West area I may try to entertain a date with the maneuver. At the very least she ought to be flattered that I'm risking life and limb for her amusement!:eek:

DancesWithKnives
 
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