Customer Reviews

Benchmade Black ClassKillian Tomahawk

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I received my Killian Tomahawk yesterday, and am very pleased with it!

And since the only other review of this product mentions RMJ Tactical's Eagle Talon Tomahawk, which I also own, I decided to do a little side by side.

First of all, quality of construction:

The Killian is a well made hawk, cut out of a single piece of steel. The Eagle Talon is as well. Both hawks are cut with a plasma arc, and both have the striations from plasma cutting. The striations on the Killian are more pronounced than on the Eagle Talon, but not significantly so. The edges of both are rounded for user's comfort, and both are otherwise equal in craftsmanship.

The Killian hawk uses G10 handles with a diamond texture. The Eagle Talon has micarta handles, mine is laced with paracord to improve grip.

The Killian is shorter, and heavier in the head than the Eagle Talon. However, despite the shorter length, the added weight gave the Killian just as much cutting power as the Eagle Talon.

I tried both of these hawks on a number of palo verde and mesquite trees in my back yard. As I mentioned, the Killian and Eagle Talon performed equally well with respect to direct cutting power. With a single hand blow, with full rotation of my upper body (I'm 6' 2", 235lbs) I was able to get cut depths of 1 1/2 - 2 inches from both hawks.

When using the point of the hawks, I was able to achieve penetration of 1-1 1/4 inches with the Killian's point, and 1 1/4- 1 1/2 inches with the Eagle Talon. It is significant to note the the point on the Eagle Talon is a narrow, tapered one, while the Killian's is twice the width. I feel that, while the Eagle Talon can penetrate deeper, the wound channel caused by the Killian would be much greater.

Using both hawks in a back hand sweep, the Eagle Talon's more pronounce beard proved to be formidable. I was able to achieve great penetration and cutting with the Eagle Talon's beard. The Killian's less pronounced, and less sharp, beard still delivered significant damage, but not as much as the Eagle Talon's.

One important advantage to the Killian is the size of the grip. The grip on the Killian is significantly larger than that of the Eagle Talon. As I was testing both on trees, the Killian's grip was very comfortable, and allowed no slippage of my hand. The Eagle Talon, with the smaller grip, became somewhat uncomfortable after a while due to its smaller size, and the fact that I had to grip it that much tighter to maintain my grip on it. I think this would be amplified by the user wearing gloves while using the Eagle Talon.

Over All Feel:

The Killian is a great product, but in my opinion, is more of a breaching tool, than outright weapon. The balance of it is superb, and I would feel very comfortable with it in a hand to hand combat situation. The one thing I dislike about the Killian is the "pry-bar" bevel at the end of the handle. This doesn't strike me as a practical use for the weapon, and I dislike having the pointy ends of weapons pointed in my direction. This is my one and only gripe about the Killian.

The RMJ Eagle Talon is a fighting hawk first, and tool second. It is several inches longer, and quite a bit lighter, than the Killian, which makes it a faster weapon, with better reach. However, while the Eagle Talon would do a fine job of hacking into, or out of, any place/thing I wanted to, I would look to the Killian first, as I feel it is the better suited tool.

My one complaint about the Killian is the sheath it comes with. There's no nice way to say it, it's pretty crappy. I'll be having a custom made sheath made for it very soon.

The Eagle Talon comes with a kydex sheath that is very functional and fast to draw from.

Bottom Line:

Both the Benchmade Killian, and the RMJ Tactical Eagle Talon are superb weapon/tools, but at roughly half the price of the Eagle Talon, the Killian is a great deal! I am very happy that I purchased mine!

I've owned, and loved, my Benchmade Tomahawk since I got it early in the summer, around the time of its release. It is, as mentioned in another review, a breaching tool, and most of the characteristics noted as "flaws" by those using it as anything else are ones which exist as part of the flawlessly designed, compact breaching tool that it is.

Personally, I have a fascination with the modern, shorter tomahawks being produced by a few companies at present, and bought mine before setting off on a trip around the country. The trip involved a lot of camping, during which I used my Killian pretty much the way in which a more practical person would use a hatchet and/or large fixed blade like the Ka-Bar/Becker BK-9. While not the most efficient tool for my application, it was most likely the most fun, and a good excuse to finally drop the $150+ you need to if you want to buy a modern tomahawk that will actually hold up through heavy use.

This is the only "nice" tomahawk that I own, and its superiority to cheaper ones like the SOG Fusion or the Cold Steel Trench Hawk is not something that you'll ever find yourself debating. The only other Tomahawk I considered was the American Tomahawk CQC-T, but my loyalty to Benchmade won out in the end.

Simply put, this is a compact, heavy duty breaching tool, and if used as anything else one will likely find either the weight excessive or the reach to short. Not to say it can't be used as a camping tool, but you'll have to accept that its heavier than many other options and it is no chopping axe. When thinking strictly of efficiency, I'd much rather carry my Fiskars Hatchet when in the woods and maybe BK9, if not just my BK2. The build quality is incredible, as one would expect from any blade produced by Benchmade, and if taken care of, you won't find yourself replacing this thing at any point in your lifetime. As others have mentioned, it does not come very sharp at all, but its hard to complain about having to do a little bit of work to finish off perfecting such a great tool.

I read the 1 star review and thought it a bit unfair.
Examining he product one can see it was laser cut from 3/8 plate steel.
The blade and point were shaped on a mill. (actually I'm pretty impressed by that)
Correct, it is not sharp enough to shave with, but if that sharp it would provide a poor edge for what this tool is intended.
I tested this tool on some well aged hedge/bodark wood which is some of the toughest wood you will come across and it performed wonderfully keeping its edge and point.
I would suggest putting a wrist lanyard on it in case your grip slips.
I'm 100% pleased and give this product an A+ / 5 stars.

This is NOT a cheaply made Hawk. The "saw marks" the one star review stated are in fact ridges due to the hardening process. The main edge is what is known as an apple seed edge. Basically a convex edge to increase edge retention while smashing through concrete, brick, and block walls, or while tearing into metal doors on cars or buildings. The other edges are also sharpened but not to a razors' edge, they do not need to be.
That being said for the purposes I need a tomahawk for, such as bushcraft and camping, I was able to rework the main edge to a traditional ax edge easily by gently and slowly (so as not to ruin the temper of the blade) using a benchgrinder. I then worked it to a hair splitting edge with wet stones. That was four camping trips and countless backyard uses ago and I have not had to resharpen the edge beyond a quick 2 minute touch up. It splits seasoned firewood with one swing, and can make short work of branches if necessary. I was able to make a lean to shelter out a 4 inch thick recently fallen branch with no problem. While splitting wood into kindling to start a fire I struck the fire ring twice and did no damage to my edge. In fact I put a gash into the ring.
Now for the fun stuff. The weight of this hawk will bury it deep when thrown and swung. While throwing softly I easily buried the top part main edge 2 inches into a dead tree. Be sure to only throw at dead trees otherwise you'll kill the tree. I also recommend tying a lanyard to your hawk with a bright colored paracord while using it out in the field. Given its weight a miss will easily bury it in fallen leaves or soft sandy soil. Swinging it will create large and deep gashes with little effort and the beards' edge will can opener out of any door or panel it goes through.
In general I highly recommend this hawk for whatever your use for it may be. Made out of hardened steel right here in the USA it will endure a lifetime of use and will be there to pass down to your children.

I have always loved Benchmade products. I carry a benchmade pocket knife every day, own another and have given several as gifts. Always well made products. I purchased this tomahawk because I had been looking a hawks for several months. This one has the qualities I was looking for--single piece steel construction, well sized and has the reputation of Benchmade standing behind it. I looked at RMJ Tactical hawks as well, but they are really expensive and there is a long wait period (like months and months). This looks pretty indestructible and feels really good in the hand. It is not sharp--but purposefully so. I wouldn't call it dull, but the blade is not razor sharp--that way it won't chip when you hit something hard with it. Great looking, tough product at an amazing price.

I thought this was an American made product, but the quality is like it was made in China! It still has band saw marks in it and no finished edges and it was unsharpened. Benchmade knives have a reputation for having sharp, brand new knives. What happened? Save your money, buy RMJ Tacticle. It may be a four month wait but it is worth it.