Do you carry a hatchet/tomahawk regularly?

And if so, how do you carry it?

A bit of background: my job in the summer is primarily outdoors, and I carry a combination BOB/work bag that has enough stuff in it to stay a night fairly comfortably if need be and also a few things I use pretty regularly for work, like a compass, etc. I've also been carrying a Cold Steel Rifleman's 'hawk because it does come in handy, but I haven't found a satisfactory way of carrying it.

The bag is a County Comm "claymore" bag that is shoulder slung, and has a smaller "admin" type pouch malice clipped to the face of it. When I do carry my tomahawk, I've been just shoving the handle down between the outside pouch and main bag between the clips, but that's not really a great solution. The blade is exposed and the lower blade point rubs and is starting to wear on the bag.

I guess I'm just hunting for opinions...if you carry one regularly, how do you do it? Do you not carry one regularly because you used to but it became more of a pain than it was worth? Did you start packing an alternative instead? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated.

Nope.

I have a hatchet and a saw in my BOB, but I don't carry them around with me everywhere I go. I couldn't even if I wanted to. I work for the Postal Service. I'll lose my job for even having a multitool, because it has a small knife on it.

If you look on the right side of this page you will see a tomahawk with a sheath on the head, you might try PMing "Askdamice" and have him make you a sheath. by the way I carry a small hatchet in my pack with a sheath and so far I have had no problems.

I carry small hatchet (and a khukri) on my ALICE pack, clipped onto the sides. The hatchet rides in a USGI canvas sheath.

When the canvas wears out, I'll make a leather replacement and use the metal clip off of the canvas one as well as provide belt loops. That's a project that I have to do for the kukri now.

Tomahawks are a descendant of the BELT axe.

...and were developed because the Native Americans did not wear belts...

What spike? A traditional tomahawk was a gen purp survival tool You could fight with it, build a campsite with it, dress game, etc. Spiked tomahawks weren't so common, though you will find them here and there. They were more of a special purpose deal.

When I am hunting, I will often carry a S&W hatchet/knife combo. It is not the highest quality, but it works, and works well for me. I used it to field dress an elk, and I keep the edges on both very sharp. The hatchet will dress pole ends quite effectively. I wouldn't use it to go cutting up old growth windfalls for firewood, but it'd sure help trimming lodgepoles and such. It is fantastic for kindling.

Other times, I might carry a small wooden handled hatchet along with an axe if I am doing timber patrol.

I have friends in Iraq and Afghanistan who do or have carried tomahawks. There is a leather holster that the 'hawk can fit into. Now whether those came with the item or aftermarket I can not say. I have seen photos of them on their person and they are not an item conducive to flush, comfortable movement when on the body.

Not my opinion on their operational value just my observation of carrying it on a persons body.

Most combat vets with any experience using tomahawks would recommend not having a spike on the back. It is a danger wielding it for the user. Better would be a hammer face on the back, or preferably a peace pipe, though they make less durable fighting tools.

Cold Steel makes several "'hawks," some with spikes, most without...

I got a Gransfors Bruks axe recently, it's nice. It's the small one, not the TINY one. Works good, high quality steel, and made VERY VERY NICE. It can slice paper, I have a video someplace

I also got the $12 Cold Steel Kukri Machete to compare and it actually chops faster than the axe. However the quality is what you'd expect for $12 and the grip is NOT comfortable... but it's a nice tool too, and I think in the future I`ll get a much higher quality chopper to use around the property as it cuts a lot easier (branches and brush) than an axe.

Each work good and serve a purpose.

I have this hatchet; it’s at least 60 to 70-years old. My dad played with it when he was a kid (he’s 80) I don’t use it much as I have other things that have more weight and chop wood better. But it will chop wood OK it just doesn’t cut as big a path per hit.

I really don’t know much about it or if it’s made for a weapon or just chopping wood. I would think just wood? Those of you that know or have interest in the history of hatchets, what does it look like this thing was made to do?

Probably 20 or more years ago I read an article in a magazine, possibly "Survival," that showed a guy with a small hatchet that he carried in a custom made sheath. He was right handed, the hatchet was in his right kidney area, head at belt level, edge to the rear, handle up. Yes, up. The sheath was constructed in such a way that he could reach back with his right hand, unsnap a snap, and have the hatchet in his hand. He could sit without the handle hitting on anything, and there was no flopping around on the belt, something I really really dislike. I have searched high and low for a similar sheath, with no luck. I even experimented with making one myself, but could not get it to work right. I still try from time to time. One of these days...

Axe in the back of the Car or when I am using a wood stove (for splitting), Hatchet in the field if it is needed. Its alot of weight if you don't require split wood.

I won't claim to know much about hatchets, but the shape/style of the blade and head, and the straight handle remind me of some of the hatchets and axes I have seen in Eastern Europe; some sort of traditional style. The ones I saw were in use in the forest and for cutting wood for fires.

Is it possible it was brought over by some distant relative?

The 'Eastern Woodland' culture utilised various ground and polished stone mauls,warclubs and small slate hatchets. They were somtimes known, and shown in early post Columbus documents carried in waist sashes. When the irontrade entered the americas, The now well known fighting weapon and light utility tool known as the tomahawk came into use. It is a direct descendant of the european belt axe.The heads came in simple polls, spikes, smoking bowls.

I have a Gerber Sport Axe and IMO is one of the best pieces of outdoor gear I own. I'm not against the idea of a "true" tomahawk but it just seems to me that the modern composite handled hatchets and axes would last longer, and run a little lighter in the weight category. Just my view on the subject.

With the time provenance I would email Ragnar @ www.ragweedforge.com and ask for some referals. His website gives a nice short discussion of hawks too.
The now defunct importers of the infamous Spetsnaz survival tool also imported russian axes. Ragnar advised me they were terribly overpriced and of indifferent quality.
This photo is definitely an older hawk.
There are no end of traditional and offbeat cutting tools.It falls into the 'wowee' category and eventually people actually try to use them with various results. And then Lynn Thompson of CS makes a version missing key native design genius details.

Do you find that having the admin pouch on the front sort of tilts the bag away when it's over your shoulder because it's made the bag "thicker" (for want of a better description)? The pouch I have on the front is Maxpedition Monkey Admin pouch and it's made it a bit more cumbersome to carry because it sort of throws the balance of the bag out of whack. Meaning I probably just have that particular pouch overloaded.

I know of a couple of sources for kydex sheaths and thought about ordering one. That means either moving the 'hawk to my belt or getting rid of the pouch on the front of the bag and replacing it with the sheath (not room for both on the bag's front).

Thanks for the ideas/replies from everyone, it's all good food for thought.

I carry the VTAK hawk whenever in the forest. Great tool and self defense weapon.

Gents, I have a well documented affinity for Gransfors Bruks tools, with their small forest axe living in my pack 3 seasons and the Scandinavian Forest axe for winter or longer or deeper trips. I also have a few Estwing hatchets and their axe around, not as good steel or workmanship as GB, but bomb proof. You have to work at it to break them.

I was taught: tomahawk-weapon first/tool second. Hatchet-tool first/weapon second. BTW, spikes on hawks, can be used like the spike on an ice axe in winter and as a probe in summer to break things up while protecting your primary edge. I agree, the hammer poll is more useful, but the spike IMHO is not without utility.

Regards, Jim

I always carry a hatchet. It's heavy but I use it alot. I could fell small trees with a saw but it's hard to split wood with a saw. I could cut little branches off a sapling with a big knife, but it take more time and energy. I could drive stakes with a rock but it's sometimes hard to find the right rock and are riskier to use.

A hatchet is definitely worth its weight to me.

FWIW. I've thought about this because my choice for heavy cutting is a hawk also. The problem is always how to carry, the handle being the real problem. The modern hawks are made to slip off the handle, slip on and tighten with use. That being the case, after cutting some branches with it I'd mark the handle for actual using length and cut off the excess. Then I'd carry the head in a sheath in my pouch, form a metal ring around the upper part of the handle that it will not slip all the way through. Mount the ring on the sholder bag strap, slide the handle into it and tie a loop that is affixed to the bag strap around the lower part of the handle to keep it in line with the strap and in place. The handle can be hung this way from the front or back of the strap. Just a few seconds and it's assembled and ready for use. If you don't expect to meet any bears face to face this should work.
But I will say it's not how I carry my own. My hawk is homemade from a black iron pipe Merchant coupling with a blade made of 1095 steel from a plow disk welded to it. (Yes, I know people will say the weld can fail, but I use them hard and have never broken one.)I don't carry a handle at all. When I need one I use the head as a hand axe and cut one. drive the head into a stump or dead log and screw the handle into place. If I want a better one I can now make it with the first one. I just carry the head in a sheath. Simple, and works for me.

Estwing E24A Sportsman's Hatchet. Rides on my belt.

Good hatchet, I have owned one for over fifty years. The handle is pretty beat up by now, but it still works fine. I don't like carrying it (or any hatchet so far) on my belt at all though. To each his own...

I actually only carry it on my belt when I'm out tromping around in the woods. The rest of the time it's in the truck with my other stuff.