Estwing tomahawk

Posted on by

Well, it took about six years but I finally came across one of those Estwing tomahawks in the wild. I could find one on eBay or Amazon, of course, but I was curious when I’d run across one at Lowes or Home Depot. The answer, it seems, was six years.

I am just underwhelmed with the whole tactical tomahawk niche. Yes, if your defending Alexandria from zombies it’s probably a decent tool. But, short of that, or doing some sort of heroic ‘last man standing’ in a Mogadishu hallway, they seem fairly useless. From a weapon standpoint, I kinda like those long-necked framing hammers.

I’m sure theyre useful for opening ammo crates, breaking windows, forcing entry, and that sort of thing…but so are a dozen other multitaskers. I realize that when youre diddybopping through downtown bazaars and narrow hallways in a ‘stan somewhere you’re going to want something to chop/pry open doors, bust windows, cut cable and wire, etc,etc. And I suppose the tomahawk does that…I just can’t imagine theres other stuff that doesnt do it better and more efficiently while still maintaining the high-speed-low-drag qualities we all know and love.

Nonetheless, it appears to be a solid little item that will stand up to whatever it is that is was designed to do…which still kinda escapes me.

For a general ‘multipurpse’ tear-stuff-up-tool…I have two. For when space and weight aren’t a big deal, one of these will pretty much get me out/in to whatever it is I’m trying to get in/out of, and when space is at a premium and your limited to something one-handed…I like this guy.

But, what do I know?, perhaps someday when I’m in a partially collapsed building or have to hack someone out of a car wreck I’ll think “Man, this would have gone a lot better with a tomahawk”. I doubt it, but could happen.

And ‘Tomahawk Axe’? WTF? That’s like having a ‘Pebble Boulder’ or some other equally diametrically opposed term.

16 thoughts on “Estwing tomahawk”

    • I was looking at the roofing hatchet and it was a tie between that and the framing hammer.

      • Masaad Ayoob wrote about the aftermath and inevitable trial after a fatal self defense encounter.

        I would much rather be in the position of my attorney saying ‘…he was in fear of his life and grabbed the first thing close at hand with which he could to defend himself, a 28oz Vaughn framing hammer he used in his work…’ rather than the prosecutor telling the jury ‘…he carried this evil killing hatchet for the sole purpose of inflicting harm upon the poor economically disadvantaged home invader. When he finally got to use it, he chopped the now deceased pillar of society into mincemeat with malice and forethought…’

        • I’ve heard a few variations of this “evil prosecutor” trope over the years. I’m not sure I buy it. In most cases, the DA has prosecutorial discretion. He’s either going to bring charges against you over killing an intruder in self defense, or he isn’t. The degree to which your use of force is warranted given the circumstances will have a lot more to do with that than whether you smashed his skull with a framing hammer or a medieval morning star.

          People will say “don’t use a tomahawk” or “don’t use hand-loaded ammo” or “don’t modify the trigger on your carry gun.” B.S. Use what is most effective but use it only in a judicious, measured, reasonable way.

          PS- I do like your creative writing style. Kudos.

          • thanks. The thing is, a jury made up of people who couldn’t get out of jury duty will be deciding my fate.

            And most of them are not judicious or measured, they are emotional. Both the defense and the prosecutor use the emotional angle because experience has proved that it works. Not facts, common sense or scientific reasoning.

            I have regretted more than a few times not listening to the experts. If folks like Mr. Ayoob, who has participated in hundreds of trials, says not to use handloads, tomahawks or modified triggers, then I will listen to him. YMMV.

            PS: I buy vintage, made in USA carpenter hatchets and axes on ebay for under $10. They are ten times the tool that tomahawk appears to be.

  2. Wow, some things do move slower up yonder.

    Homeless Depot was carrying them here in Califrutopia like two years back. Maybe because we have a lot more braindead zombies here pretty much 24/7/365, I dunno.

    I also picked up a pair when I first saw them, if only to reward the thought.
    If I could change anything, I’d have filled in that silly hole behind the edge, but it seems sturdily constructed for light tasks, and I like the spike at the back for opening stubborn things.

    But given the reverential awe still commanded by the rinkier VN War-era “combat” ‘hawks, it was a niche that needed to be addressed with an updated, modern product. (Then again, I’m sentimental like that: I’m still hoping some enterprising soul will make a full suit of classic silk-wrapped Samurai armor, except sneak titanium panels and Kevlar into the thing to make it NIJ Lvl IV rated, just because they can.)

    I certainly wouldn’t feel under-served if I took one of these hatchets out into the backwoods on a camping trip, although I already have a pair of working hatchets, both Craftsman, with the actual hammer head on the butt, for that sort of thing.

    But if somebody like Estwing wants to make deadly implements and zombie-killing tools, that’s a corporate impulse I’m willing to reward for the relatively small price of a couple of examples.

    Knowing how things work, I also won’t be too surprised if some number of these start showing up in the toolkits of grey-painted government-owned airframes, for either survival or “rescue” work.

    And BTW, if someone like Stihl or Husqvarna wants to make a totally badass zombie-killer chainsaw that also happens to be strongly built, reliable, and work great for everyday woodcutting tasks and the occasional call to re-open a suddenly tree-closed road, I’m in the market too. Paint a P-40 shark mouth on the bar for all I care. (Better yet, provide a socket at the handle to mount your metal and leather wrist gauntlet, in case you ever have to replace a hand before the Evil in it takes over your entire body. Just saying.)

    Anyone want to take a wild guess how many gurneys the Stryker Co. sold to real paying customers after they gave twenty of them to E.R. for free, which were then used weekly in every episode of the then-newest hit show on TV?

    Some tools are tough to improve.
    People still hunt with lever-action carbines; the M1911 is going strong at 107 years, the .50BMG is a century old, and the C-130 is entering its 64th year of service.

    So at that point, it’s about marketing, and being cool.

    This is a cool “tomahawk axe”, even if their packaging clowns can’t figure out proper nomenclature.

    Perception is reality.

  3. I found one of those SOGs at a McCoy’s lumber / hardware store during Christmas ’17 for very little money – $20 closeout. I guess the contractor’s did not have much use for this either (we’re building, not wrecking !) I bought it any way because ‘such a deal – half off !’.

    My terrain is thorny scrub, not much for hatchet – tomahawk work, more machete (I have a lot of those). Dense hard woods, no soft wood pine-like trees grow here (at least to my knowledge) Mesquite – ebony is more the norm. So this is more urban tool, at least around here.

    I think SOG just sort of threw this one together and hoped it would sell. Compared to CRKT Chogan, the CRKT has more utility if removing the head for more compact tool is wanted. I’m not sure the SOG has been torture tested on YouTube (probably has), I need to check that out and see if Bubba beat this down or not.

    Thanks for the review.

    • And shit, its too early in the morning and no coffee in my brain. My product is the Estwing, not SOG, dammit ! Totally screwed the pooch there – sorry ! Insert Estwing where SOG references are above.

      (slinks away in shame …).

  5. I got curious and had a look at the Tomahawk on the Eastwing site. The description starts with “American-made Black Eagle Tomahawk Axes are designed for sportsmen and military professionals.” I’m Not sure about what a military professional would think about one of these since I got out in 1980, but I suspect the pros wouldn’t be too interested in carrying one. For example, I guess you could use one of these to breach a window, but from my experience it’s a lot easier to do that with a spring-loaded center punch.

    I have to wonder what sportsman would carry one of these verses a hatchet that could be used around camp? From a sportsman’s point of view, every task I could do with one of these Tomahawks, I can do with a hatchet as well and safer, with the addition of being able to use the hatchet as a hammer.

    Looking at these Tomahawks my opinion can be summed up with two words… No thanks.

  6. Cheap fun. I have had an Estwing Camp Hatchet for a long time. I consider it an essential piece of kit. I also stumbled across the tomahawk at Home Depot. Estwing stuff is always well made. I went ahead and bought it. Do I need it? Probably not. But, I watched enough movies to know that as a red-blooded American male, I was probably supposed to have one. Just watch “Last of the Mohicans”. Now it sits in a tool chest drawer, waiting on the call. Along with the tomahawk, there are kukris, machetes, various fixed blade knives and the like.
    The most useful by far is the Cold Steel Kukri machete. That thing is a serious brush hog. And it was only $20.

    • For movie representation try”The Patriot” tomahawk scene and it may be useful in fight especially if it is balanced for throwing

  7. Cold Steel Kukri – beats a hatchet or tomahawk any day, as a tool or for defense. I had a tree blown over from a storm. Used the Kukri on about 70% of the tree for cleanup. Used a Stihl chainsaw for the large braches. Cold Steel’s cheapest model is easy to sharpen and has great balance. I tried their “magnum” version and did not like it as well, though it is still a formidable tool or self defense weapon.

Comments are closed.