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+--- Thread: knife vs tomahawk, all comments welcome (/showthread.php?tid=8822)
knife vs tomahawk, all comments welcome - Hiddenpanda - 25 October 2017
tomahawk vs knife
please give an in depth explanation on why you chose one and why you didn't choose the other, pros and cons and all comments are welcome please go into as much detail as you can give.
RE: knife vs tomahawk, all comments welcome - Straight Shooter - 26 October 2017
I have both....if i had to loose one.....i would keep the tomahawk , the main reason ...you can get more stuff done over the knife ....you can always create a knife from a piece of flint or bone ....even a axe.
RE: knife vs tomahawk, all comments welcome - Mortblanc - 27 October 2017
(25 October 2017, 19:41)Hiddenpanda Wrote: tomahawk vs knife
please give an in depth explanation on why you chose one and why you didn't choose the other, pros and cons and all comments are welcome please go into as much detail as you can give.
Sounds like an argument in the making.
Gentlemen, the grenade has been thrown!
I am assuming you mean tomahawk vs "big knife", because there would be no comparison between the tomahawk and the SAK, and more specifically the tomahawk rather than the standard hatchet?
There is a difference between the tomahawk and the hatchet, believe it or not. The tomahawk is the obsolete version of the much better designed modern hatchet.
As an outdoorsman and a re-enactor of the American frontier I own and use high quality examples of both instruments.
First I will start by saying that I do not use just one cutting instrument. I rely on a series of cutting instruments at home and in the field.
The system begins with the pocket knife I use as EDC, which is a high quality Case Stockman style 3 blade knife that would be legal for EDC, even in the UK. An SAK or Boy Scout Knife would be equally as suitable.
Above that is a "field blade" knife, which some would call a bushcraft knife, that has a slightly heavier blade from 4"-6" and varies from task to task. Sometimes it is a fixed blade knife, sometimes it is a folding lock blade. It just depends on the task and my mood.
The next tier is a hatchet or tomahawk for heavier tasks. Those would include splitting kindling, loping off branches or saplings and the task of field dressing game.
Heavier cutting calls for an ax or saw of some sort from the folding bow saw up to the gas powered chain saw.
My use for "big knives" is and always has been limited and it is a style of knife I can live without due to the presence of the hatchet or tomahawk and the smaller and more versatile field knife. Also my location does not lend itself to the use of a "big knife" or machete. My forest is hardwood and needs a real chopping tool that has 5,000 years development behind doing that task.
I do own large blades, just do not use them much and even then it is for clearing brush and specific tasks and not as a general or primary cutting tool.
And there are a few large and fancy big knives I use as decorations to various costumes for my re-enactment roles. The actual applications one would have for a Bowie knife or a hunting sword are very limited in the forests of today and I find them more cumbersome and in the way than other tools.
So If I was forced to choose one over the other I would chose the hatchet for my woods needs rather than a "Big knife". I could even get along well with only the hatchet and the pocket knife, and have done so many times. I have dressed out many deer with only those two items.
I would probably chose the hatchet over the big knife even if I was allowed only one cutting instrument.
As for "justification" of my choice???
That comes from more than 60 years of running the woods and working a homestead as boy and man, student and teacher. I know what I can do with each tool and I know what my preference is. It might not be the same choice another would make.
They do not have to agree with me.
But do remember that for 1.5 million years the human animal survived with nothing but the hand ax as his primary and only tool. Few other artifacts exist from those eras, and certainly not a "big knife".
RE: knife vs tomahawk, all comments welcome - CharlesHarris - 9 November 2017
I agree with MB that if forced to choose between a BIG knife, something similar to a Cold Steel Trailmaster,
http://www.coldsteel.com/trail-master-in-01-steel.html, or
A "hawk", similar to a Cold Steel Trail Hawk http://www.coldsteel.com/trail-hawk.html or a really good hatchet,
...similar to the Gransfors Bruk Wildlife Hatchet 13.50 Inch https://www.gransforsbruk.com/en/product/gransfors-wildlife-hatchet/
The hatchet wins hands down.
But realize that I also carry other "tools and sharps", besides the usual hatchet, the other kit includes:
Mil-K-818, NSN 5110 00 162 2205 KNIFE, GENERAL PURPOSE
https://www.colonialknifecorp.com/collections/tactical-and-military-knives/products/military-scout-knife-2205
Gerber multi-tool or similar
Fiskars Woodzig 10" Folding Saw
USGI entrenching tool or similar.
RE: knife vs tomahawk, all comments welcome - Mortblanc - 10 November 2017
That puts me to thinking about the realities of survival training and what is used by more people than can be imagined.
The 4 blade general purpose knife has been around for over 100 years and was adopted by the Boy Scouts of America in 1911, one year after the BSA was founded. It has been in constant use and has been issued to U.S. military troops in one form or another since 1914.
I have a half dozen of these floating around and I keep them in the vehicles in addition to the multi-tools that are on board. Every major knife maker offers a "scout knife", and some of the cheap knock off models are even usable. When I carry one in my pocket on purpose it is generally the copy of this knife offered by the SAK people.
It is one of the two knives issued to every member of the U.S. armed forces that goes through the Air Force administered survival school at a rate of 20,000 per year. The school has operated at this rate since 1957 when it was mandated that all air crew members be survival trained. That totals more than a million men and women issued this knife just for the survival school.
The second knife they issue is the standard "pilots survival knife". It is a fixed blade knife with a stacked leather handle and a blade 5" long and 1/4" thick.
http://www.usmilitariaforum.com/forums/index.php?/topic/134069-the-jet-pilots-survival-knife/
It is not a large knife or "big knife" as the OP called it, but it has proven sufficient over the 65 years it has been used.
One might also note that the original knife was designed with a 6" blade and within a couple of years the instructors requested that the blade be shortened to 5" for efficiency.
It might also be noted that one of these knives is included in the survival kits under the ejection seat of every U.S. aircraft.
It is not perfect, since each person has his own view of perfection, but I own two of them and it is one of the models that I carried in combat and I respect it highly even if I carry another knife on my belt. The choices we have today give a wide selection, but the knives I carry most are inspired by both this survival knife and the butcher knives that were the primary edged weapon that opened North America.
A sturdy blade no more than 6" long. A full-tang handle of generous size. Steel with good edge holding ability and ease of sharpening in the field.