I have seen a few folks having hawks as a part of a survival kit/ BOB or whatever. At least one of them is a person who knows his stuff and whose opinion I value. I did some looking and got to wondering. I fiddled around online looking at reasons folks choose them. One of the biggest reasons was that they are 'lighter' than a hatchet. I got to looking and the weight didn't seem to measure up to that claim at least on the models I compared.
I know hawks are cool and a lot of folks own them. Some folks like them for defense or fighting or whatever. That is a reasonable point however I am not really concerned about it. First any situation where I would have a hawk I would have a pistol and probably a rifle. Secondly yes, Rogers Rangers carried hawks as backups but they didn't have 30 rd mags for rifles and 17 rd mags in pistols. Third I wouldn't exactly want to get hit with a hatchet anyway.
My questions are as follows:
Does anybody uses a hawk for practical woods stuff like chopping a few limbs to make a shelter, cutting firewood, etc?
If so how does it compare to a hatchet for these purposes?
Other than the cool and theoretical tactical factor what makes a hawk better than a hatchet?
Input would be appreciated.
I know hawks are cool and a lot of folks own them. Some folks like them for defense or fighting or whatever. That is a reasonable point however I am not really concerned about it. First any situation where I would have a hawk I would have a pistol and probably a rifle. Secondly yes, Rogers Rangers carried hawks as backups but they didn't have 30 rd mags for rifles and 17 rd mags in pistols. Third I wouldn't exactly want to get hit with a hatchet anyway.
My questions are as follows:
Does anybody uses a hawk for practical woods stuff like chopping a few limbs to make a shelter, cutting firewood, etc?
If so how does it compare to a hatchet for these purposes?
Other than the cool and theoretical tactical factor what makes a hawk better than a hatchet?
Input would be appreciated.
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13 comments:
They are considerably more companionable than a hatchet, though gloves are mandatory. A distinct positive is that they are generally able to feed themselves, at least when game is abundant.
On the downside, I have had no luck at all using them to chop wood or even medium branches, even after removing the hood.
In extremis, they are edible.
@2:30, Thanks. I changed the title of the post for you.
I am reading War On The Run, about Rogers, and they use hawk and hatchet interchangeably. John
@2:58, You are right. I have heard both. My understanding of the designs of the era are that what they carried was probably more like what we would consider a tomahawk. Then again I am not an expert.
I originally picked up a tomahawk for the cool-guy CDI factor, and as a one-time martial arts aficionado, I even studied Dwight McLemore's first book on the subject. Strangely, in the end, I sort of developed a hack and slash kind of motif, firmly grounded in the spirit of the bayonet. I still prefer a tomahawk to a hatchet however, for bushcraft. A tomahawk is a bitch to split wood with, but it seems to me at least, based on my experiences with them, that chopping limbs (as in trees, not as in arms and legs) and the like is much quicker with the narrower blade profile of a hawk....and besides, they do look pretty fucking high speed bro....
Interesting timing. I've been looking at both of them to add to my mobile preps.
Tomahawks win with the cool factor, IMO, but that's about it. It seems like they're a one-trick pony: Defense. Hatchets tend to be stouter, can chop, cut and hammer.
I'd love to hear comments from those who have them if they have additional utility.
Ryan, several paintings depicting that era, including the one in the book on Rogers, show Indians holding what we call hawks. And they are very small. John
IMHO it's what you like or are used to. I carry a kukri, myself.
Down side of 'hawks (or at least spike 'hawks) is the spike. When chambering the 'hawk you have to be careful not to stick yourself with the spike. Sounds like it should be easy, but when chopping something vigorously that spike can get pretty close.
Also consider that most 'hawks have a round pol, vs. the elliptical pol of hatchets. Much easier to carve a branch to the hawk for a replacement handle.
The tiny mouse hawks might even be considered to carry the head alone in a kit, hafting it when / if it is used.
+1 on gloves, having a cut branch come back to bite the hand is no fun at all. That is my main complaint with all short chopping implements, though the Spetsnatz type of shovel or mil. surp. shoves have quite a bit of utility as well, more than the hafted hawks and hatchets alone.
I guess it just depends where you find yourself, desert country with predominant hardwoods, chopping is important.
I live in Southeast Alaska and live rather remote (over an hour from the nearest paved road). I hunt, trap, fish and pursue many outdoor activities. Since I live in the Tongass national forest the woods can get pretty thick at times and as such, I always carry one of these three... a Hatchet, a Tomahawk or a machete/kukri. Personally I like a hatchet for more "woodsy" type work, such as splitting or hacking limbs. Most of my 'hawks (I own 4) have a short blade length whereas the hatchets have a longer blade and more of a wedge shape. The wedge helps in splitting and the wider blade aids in actually hitting your target when swinging. Its hard to hit a 1'' limb in full swing on the trail with a 2-3'' hawk blade, much easier with a 4-6'' hatchet. If your into throwing, a 'hawk is the ticket, but I feel a hatchet lends itself to being better at camp and trail chores. Tomahawks are awesome and fun, but they were a tool designed for fighting. Still, I don't want anyone swinging a hatchet at me for any reason.
There are some hatchets like Fiskars or Gerber that are as light as tomahawks with the chopping power of a hatchet. Don't know how durable the synthetic handles are though.
AM, The thing is that the weight of the arbitrary hawk (a cold steel) and hatchet (Estwing) were almost the same.
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