I just got one ... so far very impressed with the design of this thing.

http://yhoo.it/1uBb9Wj

It is a realtively small lightweight tomahawk which can function both as a survival tool and a personal defense weapon. It's about 14-inches long, and reasonable lightweight (1-1/2 pounds). It feels good in the hand, and is not clumsy or bulky.

If you do get one, be aware that the spike on the reverse side of the head can impact your own body during a backswing with the tool. So be careful! they also have a different design variation that has a hammer instead of a spike.

talk to me if you are considering the purchase.

cheers,
Pete

My knowledge of tomahawks is seriously lacking. Is a tool like this usable for splitting wood and other bushcraft activities, or is it primarily a thrown weapon?

I would not suggest this tomahawk for either of the above activities. it would be fine for small chopping - like kindling. and splitting of small branches into fine kindling. but it is too small, and does not have enough weight, for serious chopping.

in principle it could be thrown. but if you are after a real throwing tomahawk - I suggest that you get one for that purpose.

its value is as a lightweight extraction tool, as a small camp axe, and for close quarters self defense where you keep the weapon in your hand. unlike most tomahawks and axes, it does not feel too heavy to carry. I would have no problem strapping it onto my belt, or tossing it in a daypack. I usually wind up leaving "heavy steel" at home, but this one is light enough that I would carry it for general purpose.

just my $0.02

Pete

It does look like it would be a superb weapon. A tomahawk is really more weapon than tool isn't it?

This one is. It's short, light, has a sharpened top edge, and is spiked instead of poled. Something like the larger Woods Chogan T-Hawk or one of the CS pole 'hawks (Trail, Pipe, or Rifleman's) is more of a tool then a weapon.

well .. its a good point that the Kanjee will be perceived as a weapon. so if you are carrying it in your hand - better be prepared for the fact that people might see it that way. e.g. if planning to use it as an extrication tool - explain to the folks around U that you are NOT re-enacting "The Last Of The Mohicans". I see the Kanjee as a valuable multi-purpose tool. but I also don't dispute what Mark said ... its a very effective weapon as well.

Pete

A throwing hawk should probably have a blade without much temper, to discourage shattering on impact. A general purpose hawk would have a harder temper for edge retention. Some hawks have a soft iron head with a steel insert welded at the face, permitting the best of both worlds. but that method has largely disappeared due to the economics of cheap steel, drop forging, and mass-produced cnc blade making. My brother had a skatchet,



a survival tool designed to be useable as a knife, hatchet and hammer, but fitting a branch into the coarsely threaded socket resulted in an implement that was a great danger to the user. I like hawks, made one out of a shingling hatchet, and use it for all sorts of light woodworking applications in the shop. Most photos of old time folks carrying hawks have them tucked under a sash, unsheathed, which seems problematic in a number of ways. Maybe I should wear a sash more often...

nursemike ... creative ... pretty smart :-)

Pete

Doe anyone actually know how to fight with a tomahawk?

There are some problems I see with the "fighting tomahawk." It is heavy, and thus slow. It is certainly heavier and slower than a machete/bolo/short sword, which has about the same reach as it does. Even though axes have more chopping power, it only shines if you need to get through armor. A machete is powerful enough to kill. Second, the geometry is tricky. You'd need to know how to grappling with it. Close up, someone can easily grab the haft, whereas you can't grab a machete. So that means you need to know how to fight somebody grabbing on to your tomahawk. The shape of the axe means you can hook with it, but that also means (1) you need to know techniques to make that feature count, and (2) your tomahawk could get caught on something if the chop is not successful. Finally, the tomahawk is not a thrusting weapon. That's a disadvantage when grappling. It's hard to slash or chop when close up. (On the other hand, I wonder, with the mass and geometry, perhaps you can sink the axe into flesh more easily just with the wrist.)

How about throwing the tomahawk? Bad guys who are worth their salt band together. After you discard your primary weapon by throwing it against the first bad guy, what will you use against the other two bad guys? How many tomahawks do you plan to carry?

If I had to choose a weapon, I'd probably not take the tomahawk, no matter how black and "tactical" it is. But that may just be because I never studied the tomahawk. People did use axes for fighting in the Middle Ages, but the fact that Vikings could do it doesn't mean that we can do it also.

The reigning mall-ninja authority on tomahawk fighting is lynn thompson, cold steel renaissance man...and lots of native americans, spec ops warriors, and martial arts instructors. Axes are venerable weapons: celt means axe and named a whole culture of pre-armor axe-wielders. It is probably reasonable to throw a hawk, if you are carrying several, similar to knife-throwing logic, and having an axe thrown at you is probably discouraging. One theory of hawk fighting involves having a knife in the other hand, which would overcome some of the weakness of using a hafted weapon. The strengths of the hawk are probably extended reach and increased torque, tho it could be fought using short sword technique. There was a canoe camper guru who habitually carried a light belt hatchet in lieu of a knife, contending that the axe did everything a knife could do, and lots more besides. Tools are just tools, and any tool can become a weapon, and a scheme for fighting it can be devised: I have seen frightful damage wrought upon wayward men with frying pans of hot grease.

You make some excellent points. However there is no weapon that can be relied upon to be effective without any skill from the user. I doubt anyone here would choose a 'hawk as a weapon unless they were prohibited by circumstances or law from having a better weapon. An axe or knife is probably better viewed as a tool that can be pressed into service as a weapon if the situation warrants it.

It would be possible for someone to grapple and grab a tomakawk by the handle but I think most people will try to avoid a weapon, not close with it. Distance is key for striking weapons as a rule; getting in close is an effective way to negate them but it's often counter-intuitive for most people.

Personally I wouldn't have a lot of use for a tomahawk. It wouldn't be a very good tool for my uses and I prefer to carry a firearm for defense. And no, I don't really know how to fight with a 'hawk aside from the strategy that is obvious to all (ie to simply whack someone with it!).

Does anyone actually know how to fight with a tomahawk?

Hahahaha! these days very few people know the skills. I suppose that's a VERY good thing. but 200-300 years ago it was a completely different story in North America. they were commonly used by the Plains tribes of the Native Americans. also used quite a lot in some battles during the early wars of America - before Independence. and have been used on the battlefield ever since then. I think the US Army does still teach a few tomahawk methods to this day - not sure that regulars see this though.

practically speaking - would you even stick around if someone picked up a tomahawk. I wouldn't. HAHAHA!! I expect most people would get running pretty quickly. :-)

Pete

I am sure that more than a few of the Marines and Soldiers that Peter LaGana taught how to use his tool (and even more of their students) are still around. Many of these people had to opportunity to "try" it in serious situations. They certainly know how to use one. I had the opportunity to spar with and against one in the 60's against a student of LaGana. I will tell you that they can be used well and have a place in combat. For a non soldier, they have less use. I would not carry one outside the military. There are usually better civilian defensive tools around and most are poor for more ordinary use. A good lightweight axe is much superior for bush use.

The CKRT looks like the fire axe not often seen but present on commercial airliners and in airport fire equipment. Designed to open aluminum cans quickly. If the opener on your beer fails, it should be a great tool. They can certainly open an aircraft quickly.

Seriously, it looks like an excellent version of a small fire axe. I carry a much older (and heavier) one hand fire axe (WWII British Aircraft axe) in my car. It has helped in a number of extractions. I would expect the CKRT to be equally useful.

Respectfully,

Jerry

There certainly is some utility to a hawk in the woods. Some are more utilitarian than combat in function. The cold steel trail hawk appears to be kinda useful although I don't see it being more useful than my wetterlings Axe.

That being said I certainly wouldn't want to square off against anyone swinging one at me. If push came to shove I would rather have a tomahawk in my hand for self defense over a knife. Even in untrained hands it would be a rather intimidating weapon.

I can honestly say the fear of finding myself in a fight to the death against multiple opponents using any kind of edged weapon (zombies excluded) is not something that keeps me awake at night.

If you get one of these Kanjees, consider wrapping the spike with some duct tape or a piece of rubber hose. something that protects you against impalement by the spike (!). could be a useful training tip that might save a few stitches at the ER. [NO .. it has not happened to me yet - but close :-) ].

Pete

From what I've seen of Dwight C. McLemore books, his techniques seem to be legitimate. I've seen similar techniques in fighting codex's from late medieval and renaissance periods.