I don't understand why the "loose head" is a problem. Tomahawks are designed specifically to allow for the head to be removable. You can remove the head with a couple of taps on the bottom of the handle to enable it to be packed or to use the head as a knife without the handle. The handle is a "field replaceable item" that is not expected to last as long as the head. Throwing the tomahawk is very tough on the handle. Over years of hard use and exposure, the wooden handle is going to fail and break. They sell replacements exactly for this reason. If you're in the field and can not get a replacement, you can find a sturdy branch and make one yourself pretty easily.
I don't have the Pipe Hawk, but do have the Rifle Hawk and two Trail Hawks. I like the Trail Hawks best because they are light weight and give a lot of performance on backpack trips. I don't chop trees down, but do process firewood for startup fires. Thanks for the video.
Trail hawk with a folding saw could probably work well. Tbh though I have two schools of thought: If I'm camping in a set location, I want a heavy 2-3lbs tomahawk and maybe a pocket chainsaw to build a nice large fire. If I'm thru-hiking, I'm probably just talking a large 7 or 8 inch butcher knife (ie: Hudson Bay camper or a bull nose butcher knife) and doing light batoning for a twig stove. No need to build a large camp fire when you'll only be in one spot for an evening
I’ve owned and used the Trail Hawk for over five years. The coating is almost gone and I’ve replaced the handle twice, but it’s STILL a very tough and reliable tool. Compared to other hatchets and axes, it’s probably the best camp axe I’d recommend for anyone. You should DEFINITELY get the sheath and longer handle when buying one.
I have the Trail Hawk. The head retention really isn't an issue. There is the set screw which will keep it from sliding down the shaft. Or, you can feather the shaft at the point of contact with your knife or sand paper so it fits tighter, which I have done. It never comes loose and I don't need the set screw. Although, over time and use, it will need to be done again. These are very rudimentary hawks, and can tolerate a bit of refinement. One attribute to having the ability to remove the head is that if - or when - you break the shaft, you can whittle any small sapling into a new one on the spot - using the head, which also makes a fine firewood processor by batoning with any bigger piece of wood. Caution: The eye on these hawks are not hardened, so go easy on batoning. Never use a steel hammer or you can widen the eye.
I have owned my Pipehawk for a number of years and after I properly fit the haft I can't say I have ever had any wobble issues. I did trim it to 18" to make it handier on my belt.
Same here. Took a file to round off just a bit the top inside of the eye and now it fits every handle like a glove. Sometimes too well where I really need to smack the head to loose it off the handle. My Pipe Hawk will outpace most hatchets. Really, I love the thing. It's also my number 1 farming tool around the homestead. It's really a nice feature of hawks how quick and easy it is to replace a possible broken handle and I've yet to break the original yet and it's been beat on for years now. I've yet to try it out on winter outings and camps. I wonder if it would do decently or be a PITA in a winter setting because usually I take along my GB Scandinavian Forest axe for those trips but I'm always curious if the PH could work well for me.
@@pennsyltuckyreb9800 not sure how the winters are in your AO but here in Alberta if you are processing winter wood an axe with at least a 2lb head is a beautiful thing!
@@turtlewolfpack6061 It depends. I'm in Northern PA which is a totally different winter world than Southern PA and further South, obviously. Some winters are mild but some winters can be pretty rough and long...totally random. Lots of snow systems off the Great Lakes, temps down to 0° F and sometimes a bit below (certainly nothing like Canada gets!) but that would be a real bitter winter for us. Normally floats around the teens to 20's Fahrenheit in January through mid March. I mean to try it out one time but everytime I get the opportunity to test it out I get paranoid last minute and grab my GB instead...😁 I spent one winter outing using my ESEE Junglas for firewood processing just to see and I'll never do that again! I could definitely get away with that living back in South Carolina but not up here. Batoning frozen hardwoods is for the Flippin birds....🥵🥶 Real axe please!
@@pennsyltuckyreb9800 amen to that, even frozen knotty pine is pretty hard to bust apart with a good knife! If I am packing the load I will usually stick to about a 2-2.5lb axe with no more than a 28" haft but if I can I do love the heavier ones. One axe that really shines in hard use (yes I know it is sacrilege next to my classics) are the Fiskars series. I am still trying to kill my first one after twenty years. In all honesty they are probably my favorite working tool and I own various classics like Walters, Hults Bruks, West Germans and even triple brand True Temper Kelly Works Flint Edges and a True Temper Welland Vale pulaski that I absolutely adore.
The best review bec shows how they chops tnx. Using this things like a survival multitool choping-carving-selfdefense-cooking-splitting-crashing-fielddressing they beat any big survival knife, in mi opinion.
Александр Бушкрафт the tomahawk doesn’t get the respect of the axe, but I’m trying to show people how useful they are. Thanks. I have to reprofile the edge to a razor scandi, but man do these things cut when I get through with them. Please visit my website and have a look around. 👍
Just ordered a pipe hawk. Wanted the rifleman but I couldn't find one at the moment. Didn't know about the fitment issue but I'm happy to diy if needed.
Thanks for the video, I've been shopping around and have been wanting to compare these exact 3 models. Online specs can be useful, but you never know how a tool will preform until you test it out, and your video has helped immensely in that regard. Will probably go for the smallest trail hawk since i already have an old 26" estwing camper's axe which would do the heavier tasks, but its nice to be able to see and compare anyway. (Though you do show a compelling case for the pipehawk, smaller eye notwithstanding. Might get it alongside just as a backup option.)
Thanks Scott, for posting this excellent demo vid on the ever popular CS hawks. I've got 2 modded Trail Hawks and have been toying around with the idea of possibly upgrading in size/weight to the Pipe Hawk, but after seeing this, the second review vid involving poor head retention issues with that hawk (probably due, as you indicated, to the smaller eye "lug" handle contact surface area), i'm gonna scrap that idea and will stay with my lighter Trail Hawks, using my "beater" one for hard use around the backyard and at bushcraft camp, while the other, better one will continue to go everywhere else with me to "the ends of the earth and back". Thanks for doing this honest and practical assessment/demo which helped me decide which way to go here. BTW, the handles on all your hawks look awesome. ATB
North Woods Rat thank you for your kind remarks. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Please see my website for my current hawks coming out www.montanabushandtool.com. I’m busy with a remodel, but I’m hoping to be up and running very soon. You may be interested in the the new Cold Steel Hudson Bay Hawk. I have 5 in inventory, but my shop is upside down right now. I’ll be modding them next. I’m excited to see how they perform. Please stand by for videos one them. I’m also working on a brick and mortar store for a small blade shop, along with archery and tomahawk range. 👍
@@scotthansenmtbt4110 Thanks for your reply and sending me the link to your business. Man, those handle mods - wow. I've bookmarked both the business homepage and your YT channel for future shopping and vid viewing. Just checked out the Hudson Bay Hawk over at Cold Steel - nice, and only 1oz heavier than the Trail hawk, but with a longer cutting edge! Will be giving this one some serious consideration, and will keep my eyes open to see how your mods turn out. So glad to see that C.S.finally wised up and started selling their hawks unpainted, presumably to save $$ while also making life easier for us hawk enthusiasts to mod them. Looking forward to watching the rest of your vids soon. Thanks again Scott, and all of God's best blessings to you in your future endeavors.
They’re called cheeks, it’s the same on hammers and axes. It’s really just an appearance thing, the thing that’s affecting your handles is the fit of the eye. Tomahawks are wedge fit, they’re meant to be removable just not quite as easy as yours was. I would say make a new handle that’s just a little bigger and it’ll be fine
chris sanwald thank you. I’m buying the handles. Some fit better than others. I don’t have a problem with the handles coming loose other than the pipe hawk. The new Hudson Bay head that I’m playing with now will cut every bit as well as the pipe hawk, but about double the metal the wood handle contact area. I’m working on a batch now, very soon they will be for sale on my website. Thanks for watching and commenting. www.montanabushandtool.com/
@@scotthansenmtbt4110 Hear Fly-N-Ryan See some video's of ZEUKI1. Or others ruclips.net/video/-3cmPDBFKgs/видео.html&ab_channel=WBF777 ZeukI1 ruclips.net/video/hrSEVScYzuc/видео.html&ab_channel=ZEUKI1 They all need some work, not a few, but all of them. Not a big deal.
Have you used the Hudson Bay hawk? I’ve been thinking I need that one. I have the trail hawk and the frontier hawk . So I think the Hudson Bay would make up anything I’m missing. Ya know? How are your hawks holding up?
The best tools for they cost.They also out perform similar tools that cost almost 10× what you pay for cold steel hawks.Yeah you have sand the eye and the handle so they fit perfect but that keeps them at a good price.I don't pay extra for something to be pretty.
I LOVE my rifleman hawk. beat the crap out of it. i do have one (major) complain to it: hammer is crappy as hell. i've broke mine off after few miss-hit with rocky grounds. head itself is fantastic, heavy enough for effortless chopping. not biggest fan of tear shaped handle either. replace mine with custom made, its almost perfect now. if CS would make rifleman hawk with trailhawk's hammer....
My thought as well when looking at those hammers. Trail hawk has a much stronger one, the Rifleman's has a very narrow part behind the hammer . That shows to be a weak spot..
Of the 3 in this video, I personally use the Riflemans Hawk the most. I would say it’s a favorite for wilderness use and survival. For bushcrafting smaller projects, I like the trail hawk with a shorter handle. It’s light and handy, and is quick as a whip. The pipe hawk also has merit, although I don’t use it as often. The pipe hawk is a cutter though. If we talk about hawks for throwers, that’s a whole different deal. There really is no “one” tomahawk that is the best. Match the tool to the job at hand. There are a few custom tomahawk builders out there that make great product. I like Cold Steel hawks for 4 reasons. 1) they are an affordable “base” to build a great hawk,2) the handles are very comfortable, affordable and plentiful and 3) they have great heat treat and edge holding ability, 4) they are well designed and the choices are many! Thanks for watching! I hope this answers your question.
Kiwi Bushcraft And Survival for lighter work, I like the Trail Hawk. Its quick in the hand with about a 16 to 17” handle. I have received the new Hudson Bay hawk, but haven’t had time to play with it yet, but it look real promising. I will have them on my website www.montanabushandtool.com when they are ready.
Really, tomahawks arent made to drop trees. Fine for making kindling and camp chores, but not for doing what an axe ought to be doing. That being said, 'hawks are excellent for doing what's more difficult to do with an axe : Shaping wood. Like cutting stakes, or shaping mauls or gluts.
Dude you really made an effort to push the handle of the pipehawk forward to make a point which is not there. Feat and friction remember? More hard your press in and more hard to take outbye bye
I was thinking maybe it's because he is left handed and it just seems odd to me, but I think he is really trying to overkill these trees and look tough. He could have chopped some wood that was already down. Everyone knows steel cuts wood. Man has had a love for his steel tools and weaponry since they were first introduced to us by the fallen angels.
Wait, why are you ‘killing’ trees?, green wood doesn’t burn well, and you’re not clearing land with these, so I’m not sure what your title is getting at?
I think the title is just a joke. Also, the small trees he chops down are taking nutrients from the larger trees they’re attached to like parasites, so removing them helps the larger tree.
@@DyersburgTennessee I don't think a tree is considered a parasite if it is growing near or on another tree. I would just say that the Earth is very nutrient rich and is capable of supporting the two until nature says otherwise by one possibility blocking all the sunlight. Don't mind my comment. I'm bored. LOL!
I don't understand why the "loose head" is a problem. Tomahawks are designed specifically to allow for the head to be removable. You can remove the head with a couple of taps on the bottom of the handle to enable it to be packed or to use the head as a knife without the handle.
The handle is a "field replaceable item" that is not expected to last as long as the head. Throwing the tomahawk is very tough on the handle. Over years of hard use and exposure, the wooden handle is going to fail and break. They sell replacements exactly for this reason. If you're in the field and can not get a replacement, you can find a sturdy branch and make one yourself pretty easily.
Locust here in nc. Or a good hickory.
Your mom is a field replaceable item.
I don't have the Pipe Hawk, but do have the Rifle Hawk and two Trail Hawks. I like the Trail Hawks best because they are light weight and give a lot of performance on backpack trips. I don't chop trees down, but do process firewood for startup fires. Thanks for the video.
Trail hawk with a folding saw could probably work well. Tbh though I have two schools of thought:
If I'm camping in a set location, I want a heavy 2-3lbs tomahawk and maybe a pocket chainsaw to build a nice large fire.
If I'm thru-hiking, I'm probably just talking a large 7 or 8 inch butcher knife (ie: Hudson Bay camper or a bull nose butcher knife) and doing light batoning for a twig stove.
No need to build a large camp fire when you'll only be in one spot for an evening
I’ve owned and used the Trail Hawk for over five years. The coating is almost gone and I’ve replaced the handle twice, but it’s STILL a very tough and reliable tool. Compared to other hatchets and axes, it’s probably the best camp axe I’d recommend for anyone.
You should DEFINITELY get the sheath and longer handle when buying one.
thanks so I will look for which one to buy and probably a trail hawk
I have the Trail Hawk. The head retention really isn't an issue. There is the set screw which will keep it from sliding down the shaft. Or, you can feather the shaft at the point of contact with your knife or sand paper so it fits tighter, which I have done. It never comes loose and I don't need the set screw. Although, over time and use, it will need to be done again. These are very rudimentary hawks, and can tolerate a bit of refinement.
One attribute to having the ability to remove the head is that if - or when - you break the shaft, you can whittle any small sapling into a new one on the spot - using the head, which also makes a fine firewood processor by batoning with any bigger piece of wood.
Caution: The eye on these hawks are not hardened, so go easy on batoning. Never use a steel hammer or you can widen the eye.
I have owned my Pipehawk for a number of years and after I properly fit the haft I can't say I have ever had any wobble issues. I did trim it to 18" to make it handier on my belt.
The same with my Pipe Hawk, i also did fit it properly and since no wobble, it is even hard to take out handle without hammer.
Same here. Took a file to round off just a bit the top inside of the eye and now it fits every handle like a glove. Sometimes too well where I really need to smack the head to loose it off the handle.
My Pipe Hawk will outpace most hatchets. Really, I love the thing. It's also my number 1 farming tool around the homestead.
It's really a nice feature of hawks how quick and easy it is to replace a possible broken handle and I've yet to break the original yet and it's been beat on for years now.
I've yet to try it out on winter outings and camps. I wonder if it would do decently or be a PITA in a winter setting because usually I take along my GB Scandinavian Forest axe for those trips but I'm always curious if the PH could work well for me.
@@pennsyltuckyreb9800 not sure how the winters are in your AO but here in Alberta if you are processing winter wood an axe with at least a 2lb head is a beautiful thing!
@@turtlewolfpack6061 It depends. I'm in Northern PA which is a totally different winter world than Southern PA and further South, obviously.
Some winters are mild but some winters can be pretty rough and long...totally random. Lots of snow systems off the Great Lakes, temps down to 0° F and sometimes a bit below (certainly nothing like Canada gets!) but that would be a real bitter winter for us.
Normally floats around the teens to 20's Fahrenheit in January through mid March.
I mean to try it out one time but everytime I get the opportunity to test it out I get paranoid last minute and grab my GB instead...😁
I spent one winter outing using my ESEE Junglas for firewood processing just to see and I'll never do that again! I could definitely get away with that living back in South Carolina but not up here. Batoning frozen hardwoods is for the Flippin birds....🥵🥶
Real axe please!
@@pennsyltuckyreb9800 amen to that, even frozen knotty pine is pretty hard to bust apart with a good knife! If I am packing the load I will usually stick to about a 2-2.5lb axe with no more than a 28" haft but if I can I do love the heavier ones. One axe that really shines in hard use (yes I know it is sacrilege next to my classics) are the Fiskars series. I am still trying to kill my first one after twenty years.
In all honesty they are probably my favorite working tool and I own various classics like Walters, Hults Bruks, West Germans and even triple brand True Temper Kelly Works Flint Edges and a True Temper Welland Vale pulaski that I absolutely adore.
The best review bec shows how they chops tnx. Using this things like a survival multitool choping-carving-selfdefense-cooking-splitting-crashing-fielddressing they beat any big survival knife, in mi opinion.
Александр Бушкрафт the tomahawk doesn’t get the respect of the axe, but I’m trying to show people how useful they are. Thanks. I have to reprofile the edge to a razor scandi, but man do these things cut when I get through with them. Please visit my website and have a look around. 👍
В этом видео и есть ответ по рукояткам и их разбалтыванию, доработка не особо поможет.
Just ordered a pipe hawk. Wanted the rifleman but I couldn't find one at the moment. Didn't know about the fitment issue but I'm happy to diy if needed.
Thanks for the video, I've been shopping around and have been wanting to compare these exact 3 models. Online specs can be useful, but you never know how a tool will preform until you test it out, and your video has helped immensely in that regard. Will probably go for the smallest trail hawk since i already have an old 26" estwing camper's axe which would do the heavier tasks, but its nice to be able to see and compare anyway. (Though you do show a compelling case for the pipehawk, smaller eye notwithstanding. Might get it alongside just as a backup option.)
When I’m at garage sales, and I find hatchet heads that are twisted. I know who was prying with it now.
Thanks Scott, for posting this excellent demo vid on the ever popular CS hawks. I've got 2 modded Trail Hawks and have been toying around with the idea of possibly upgrading in size/weight to the Pipe Hawk, but after seeing this, the second review vid involving poor head retention issues with that hawk (probably due, as you indicated, to the smaller eye "lug" handle contact surface area), i'm gonna scrap that idea and will stay with my lighter Trail Hawks, using my "beater" one for hard use around the backyard and at bushcraft camp, while the other, better one will continue to go everywhere else with me to "the ends of the earth and back". Thanks for doing this honest and practical assessment/demo which helped me decide which way to go here. BTW, the handles on all your hawks look awesome. ATB
North Woods Rat thank you for your kind remarks. I’m glad you enjoyed it. Please see my website for my current hawks coming out www.montanabushandtool.com. I’m busy with a remodel, but I’m hoping to be up and running very soon. You may be interested in the the new Cold Steel Hudson Bay Hawk. I have 5 in inventory, but my shop is upside down right now. I’ll be modding them next. I’m excited to see how they perform. Please stand by for videos one them. I’m also working on a brick and mortar store for a small blade shop, along with archery and tomahawk range. 👍
@@scotthansenmtbt4110 Thanks for your reply and sending me the link to your business. Man, those handle mods - wow. I've bookmarked both the business homepage and your YT channel for future shopping and vid viewing. Just checked out the Hudson Bay Hawk over at Cold Steel - nice, and only 1oz heavier than the Trail hawk, but with a longer cutting edge! Will be giving this one some serious consideration, and will keep my eyes open to see how your mods turn out. So glad to see that C.S.finally wised up and started selling their hawks unpainted, presumably to save $$ while also making life easier for us hawk enthusiasts to mod them. Looking forward to watching the rest of your vids soon. Thanks again Scott, and all of God's best blessings to you in your future endeavors.
one of the best reviews I have seen maybe change the title
They’re called cheeks, it’s the same on hammers and axes. It’s really just an appearance thing, the thing that’s affecting your handles is the fit of the eye. Tomahawks are wedge fit, they’re meant to be removable just not quite as easy as yours was. I would say make a new handle that’s just a little bigger and it’ll be fine
chris sanwald thank you. I’m buying the handles. Some fit better than others. I don’t have a problem with the handles coming loose other than the pipe hawk. The new Hudson Bay head that I’m playing with now will cut every bit as well as the pipe hawk, but about double the metal the wood handle contact area. I’m working on a batch now, very soon they will be for sale on my website. Thanks for watching and commenting.
www.montanabushandtool.com/
Sand the handel down so there is maximum area touching the wood vs metal, these are cheep tools. They need some personal upgrading
@@scotthansenmtbt4110
Hear Fly-N-Ryan
See some video's of ZEUKI1.
Or others ruclips.net/video/-3cmPDBFKgs/видео.html&ab_channel=WBF777
ZeukI1 ruclips.net/video/hrSEVScYzuc/видео.html&ab_channel=ZEUKI1
They all need some work, not a few, but all of them. Not a big deal.
That is definitely not how you take down a tree properly. Fighting off more than the cold, possibly a sapling too 8:35
Really cool tomahawk range, I can't wait for the weather to get warmer!
Gosh, i would love to live were you live! Love your videos btw
Have you used the Hudson Bay hawk? I’ve been thinking I need that one. I have the trail hawk and the frontier hawk . So I think the Hudson Bay would make up anything I’m missing. Ya know? How are your hawks holding up?
Heard that tree was trying to organize a rally at Yale university.
I go back and forth between my condor heavy duty kukri and my pipe hawk
The best tools for they cost.They also out perform similar tools that cost almost 10× what you pay for cold steel hawks.Yeah you have sand the eye and the handle so they fit perfect but that keeps them at a good price.I don't pay extra for something to be pretty.
I LOVE my rifleman hawk. beat the crap out of it. i do have one (major) complain to it: hammer is crappy as hell. i've broke mine off after few miss-hit with rocky grounds. head itself is fantastic, heavy enough for effortless chopping. not biggest fan of tear shaped handle either. replace mine with custom made, its almost perfect now. if CS would make rifleman hawk with trailhawk's hammer....
My thought as well when looking at those hammers.
Trail hawk has a much stronger one, the Rifleman's has a very narrow part behind the hammer . That shows to be a weak spot..
Good work on your video 👍👍👍
One of the best reviews I have seen don’t you change that title
Great video! Thanks for the review. Greetings from Serbia. 🌲🌲🌲
Ivan'sChronicle thanks for watching 👍♥️
Pipe is the best option 👍
Какой томагавл из трех,практичней для бушкравта,ответь.
Can someone please translate this for me?
@@scotthansenmtbt4110 what is the best tomahawk? Understand me?
Of the 3 in this video, I personally use the Riflemans Hawk the most. I would say it’s a favorite for wilderness use and survival. For bushcrafting smaller projects, I like the trail hawk with a shorter handle. It’s light and handy, and is quick as a whip. The pipe hawk also has merit, although I don’t use it as often. The pipe hawk is a cutter though.
If we talk about hawks for throwers, that’s a whole different deal. There really is no “one” tomahawk that is the best. Match the tool to the job at hand. There are a few custom tomahawk builders out there that make great product. I like Cold Steel hawks for 4 reasons. 1) they are an affordable “base” to build a great hawk,2) the handles are very comfortable, affordable and plentiful and 3) they have great heat treat and edge holding ability, 4) they are well designed and the choices are many!
Thanks for watching! I hope this answers your question.
Kiwi Bushcraft And Survival for lighter work, I like the Trail Hawk. Its quick in the hand with about a 16 to 17” handle. I have received the new Hudson Bay hawk, but haven’t had time to play with it yet, but it look real promising. I will have them on my website www.montanabushandtool.com when they are ready.
Really, tomahawks arent made to drop trees. Fine for making kindling and camp chores, but not for doing what an axe ought to be doing. That being said, 'hawks are excellent for doing what's more difficult to do with an axe : Shaping wood. Like cutting stakes, or shaping mauls or gluts.
I wouldn’t recommend standing in front of the trees fall path. Safety first!
Dork
Pipe hawk
You seem to be calling the Pipe Hawk the Trail Hawk sometimes, but otherwise very informative.
Dude you really made an effort to push the handle of the pipehawk forward to make a point which is not there. Feat and friction remember? More hard your press in and more hard to take outbye bye
You tree killer! 😆
any difference.
well hell, Theirs your problem! Their all right handed hawks. you need some left handed ones.
Can someone please teach this man how to use the tools he's reviewing??
What exacly do u mean ? How to hit with tomahawk or something else ?
Enlighten us please?
Lol
I mean, Billy isn't wrong
I was thinking maybe it's because he is left handed and it just seems odd to me, but I think he is really trying to overkill these trees and look tough. He could have chopped some wood that was already down. Everyone knows steel cuts wood. Man has had a love for his steel tools and weaponry since they were first introduced to us by the fallen angels.
Buy a axe
Lol.... Learn to actually use an axe before showing others how
Wait, why are you ‘killing’ trees?, green wood doesn’t burn well, and you’re not clearing land with these, so I’m not sure what your title is getting at?
I think the title is just a joke. Also, the small trees he chops down are taking nutrients from the larger trees they’re attached to like parasites, so removing them helps the larger tree.
@@DyersburgTennessee I don't think a tree is considered a parasite if it is growing near or on another tree. I would just say that the Earth is very nutrient rich and is capable of supporting the two until nature says otherwise by one possibility blocking all the sunlight. Don't mind my comment. I'm bored. LOL!