Customer Reviews

Cold Steel Rifleman's Hawk American Hickory Handle

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I bought this for a buddy of mine for his birthday. Now i don't want to give it up. Pulled it out of the box and was shocked. If you've ever picked up a tool that instantly feels right, this is one. For backcountry, primitive or rough camping or cabin work this is a wonderful wonderful tool. I have a $40 steel shaft axe with a longer handle meant for brush work... and i like this more. One hand chopping it's king. The hammer weight behind the swing means easier chopping than you'd expect and less work than a big axe, yet the light wood handle and minimalist design make it faster and more agile than the Gerber camp axe that can't compare. (Traditional short camp axes always seem limited by the short handle.) And thought it lacks a nail puller having a standard hammer head is invaluable.

Those silly Cold Steel videos are no joke.
One tip. It's designed to be throwable so the handle is smooth, useable but smooth. I wrapped the handle in parachute cord with a loop at the top. By looping my hand securely i can get some crazy powerful swings without fatiguing and the cord serves as cushion and grip.

My buddy is never going to take this thing off except when it's hanging on his wall.

I got this thing a couple years ago. Part of the reason was because it seemed like a good tool, the rest was purely because tomahawks are cool and this one looked like the classic "pipe" design. I know it sounds juvenile of me, but I can't help it, they are just so awesome!




This one fit the bill, however, I should point out that hawks are not hatchets. They do not have the comfortable, rubber, curved handle. They are all about effectiveness. The solid wood handle has proven to take a beating and if the event of a broken handle in a survival situation comes up, I can simply whittle a new handle from any branch available.




The hammer feature has proven use full when putting up the tent when I go camping. It isn't as comfortable as a hatchet for chopping, but I can easily slip it into my belt for when I am out on the trail and may come across some firewood.




Throwing this is a blast! Problem is, trying to find a target that can repeatedly handle being smashed by this thing. Cold steel has put nice feature in the blade in the form of a allen screw that tightens the grip of the blade to the handle.




Overall, this is a good purchase when you spend much time in the woods and may be in a constant search for wood. The edge retention is great and it is easy to sharpen. I have chopped wood from pines in Utah, and cottonwood in upstate Nevada, and everywhere in between.




It also makes a handy home defense tool that hits with devastating force either with the blade or the hammer, and will not run out of ammo. If thrown and doesn't stick I am sure that the weight will still do quite a bit of damage.




Five stars as a tomahawk but keep in mind, if you aren't going to spent a lot of time in the woods, this may be to much weight to carry for the one or two very small branches you may want to chop.

Seems most people do not understand how a hawk works the handle is wider at top to keep the head from coming of. remove the screw do a little sanding to get the head to fit snug and proper and you no longer need the screw. a hawk is a malti-use tool. take head off you have many thinng you can use head for. If you are getting it to just cut wood get an axe. want a tool that can do many things get a hawk for the money and a little work you cannot beat a hawk

Edit: I took this Hawk into to woods last weekend, and it was great. I was camping at Wayne National Park in southern Ohio with my dad and my son at the "primitive" campground. The weight was perfect for carrying on the hike in and the long handle make it perfect for chopping wood with 2 hands, unlike a smaller hatchet. I found a fallen tree to test my Rifleman's Hawk on, and it did great! After chopping up half the tree I switched to my dad's axe to finish the job, but changed back to the Hawk as it was sharper and did a better job. I am bumping this item up from 4 to 5 stars. I rarely if ever give anything 5 starts, but this item deserves it. Great job, Cold Steel!

Original review:
First off, this is a tomahawk, not an axe. Do not buy this and think you'll be cutting down a forest. It was made for throwing. I bought it as a light ax for camping - chopping wood and pounding stakes into the ground. I've used it to chop wood for camp fires and it does the job very well. It cuts deep into the wood, so if you know how to chop properly it will do the job. I was worried about the handle being too slick, but haven't had any issues.

Pros:
1. It is sharp and cuts wood well
2. It is light and easy to carry
3. If the handle breaks, it wouldn't be hard to build a new one if you are out in the woods (you can get extra handles here on Amazon for under $10)
4. Throws well, as advertised
5. The hammer is a nice bonus and has many uses when camping or working outdoors

Cons:
1. It does not come with a sheath of any kind, Cold Steel makes them now, and they run about $5, but this should have come with one
2. The handle is a little slick (for throwing), but not that bad, I put on gardening gloves and had no issues.

If you want to enjoy the outdoors with a light weight tomahawk, I recommend this one.

Recently got this hawk, good balance and overall nice. I'm not a thrower, it's more utilitarian for me. I like it, I've sharpened the edge a bit and it works like a dream.

excellent quality, alot bigger than the trail hawk but thats not a problem with me, like it was posted above, this hawk is excellent as a brush,camp or hunters axe,i have used my trail hawk to break thru the pelvis and sternum of deer, and have no doubt whatsoever that the riflemans hawk wouldnt do the same, the best part about these hawks is you can take the head off to store it in your pack or do more delicate work like de hiding game, thanks to cold steel my search for the perfect bush hawk has ended, if you want simplicity and toughness this is the ticket, indians and pioneers built there civilizations with these tools for a reason, other camp axes couldnt hold a candle to the utilty use of this tool.

I had read other reviews of this product which said that it was a better tomahawk and the head wouldn't come off. Not correct. The head came off on the third throw. You can put it back on and tap it down, but it came off again two throws later. I expected better performance based on other reviews.

I've had my Hawk for a couple years now and I love it! It stays in my truck at all times and had been well used. The only thing I've done to improve it was to wrap some rawhide around the head to insure it stays tight, not because it was loose but just to be on the safe side. If it ever does become loose I plan on using 550 cord to resecure it in place. I have no idea why someone would refer to this Hawk as a wall hanger, it is a strong well made tool that I rely on.

I an totally unsatisfied with the items. I purchased two of them and they both broke within the first hour. The heads were loose to begin with and after each throw at the target the head broke the handle more and more. Very dissapointing.

I bought this tomahawk to take camping and use in place of a small hatchet. First of all, it is well made, and worked well chopping limbs,and kindling. It was a about 20% larger than I thought it would be.The handle is in the white, and I used some 120 grit sandpaper to rough the handle a little to get a more non-slip grip. I will also use some brown stain and boiled linseed oil to give the handle a better finish that will not show dirty paw prints.
On the down side, the other reviewers were correct, the minuscule allen screw is totally inadequate to hold the head to the handle. I am debating how better to hold the head to the handle: 1) drill a hole through the handle and get a real long allen screw to go all the way through the handle. 2) drill a hole all the way through the head and the handle and use a wooden peg like a katana handle, or 3) a small wooden wedge in the top of the handle the way they used to do it.
In all, though, it is a robust, large hawk that will intimidate any intruder, and will take care of all chopping choes out in the woods. Just don't plan on hanging it from your belt. It is probably better attached to the side of your pack to spread the weight.