SOG Tactical Tomahawk- Throwing Hatchet, Versatile Survival Tactical Axe and Emergency Breaching Tool with Sheath (F01TN-CP)

I purchased this tomahawk as a small campfire and hiking axe, as well for the fun of having a throwing tomahawk. I bought it at $30 and have to say it is worth it, given the price. PROS: --The hard plastic handle is ridged, making it easy to grip, even while wet or grimy. --The axehead came with a strong edge, and can be easily finished to a very sharp blade that lasts. (I used a Smith's pocket Pal <$10 to fine tune the edge). --VERY light. the axe can be added to a hiking bag without being a burden. --The rear spike on the back is pretty wicked, and can bite into very hard wood easily. CONS --This is a SMALL axe, you won't be chopping down trees with this, and my attempts to break open a broken log with a 24 in. diameter were pretty futile. I was very successful chopping up branches, and chunks of firewood under a foot in diameter, but heavy use on large logs loosened the axehead. The steel of the head goes about a third of the way down the handle, and even though it is reinforced, I managed to loosen the screws. If you don't have the right sized screwdriver bit (T10 bit fit well enough) to tighten everything, you might ruin the tomahawk. --The sheath does its job, but i wouldn't call it excessively secure when you need it to be or quick-draw when you'd like it to be. It has a double stitched vertical strap that you can run your belt through, but in my experience that made it a bit awkward to re-sheath. It DOES have grommet holes along the top front and top rear edges of the sheath (I did not expect that from the pictures) that allow you to tie it to a backpack or wherever you'd like to secure it. These have been a mixed blessing as they allow flexibility in where you secure it, but depending on the shape of the bag, the tension on the sheath makes it difficult to draw the tomahawk from the sheath. So a little experimenting is in order here. --I managed to chip the blade this past weekend while throwing it. The shape of the blade makes the top edge of the axe blade more susceptible to damage, and if it lands on a rock you might have chipped your an otherwise. This speaks more to my abuse as an owner than it does the axe's construction however. FINAL THOUGHTS So overall, it performed well. There are some issues I have with the sheath, but given the price I really can't complain. If you intend on using it heavily for chopping wood you may want to find another, more solid axe. But if you just want a light axe for light wood cutting or occasional hiking use with the perks of having a throwing tomahawk, you'd be very hard pressed to find a better buy than this. I would highly recommend finding T10 bits for your screwdriver as the head will likely start to loosen after some time. I will likely be wrapping the handle in paracord to improve comfort as well.

This is a very well made tomahawk and well balanced and ergonomically designed. I choose this tomahawk after reading several reviews on SOG tomahawks and other brand tomahawks. I wanted to purchase one for my 16 year old son who is interested in tactical weapons and self defense. This item is light enough for him to manage and well balanced. What I like about the tomahawk based on the comments from the reviewers on this site was its durability, design, quality and value. Many stated that their tomahawk held up to various forms of throwing and use. It is not meant or designed to be used as an axe, but as a self defense weapon or tool. My son loves it because it not only looks "cool" but is well built and has the safety sheath for it. He loves the look, design, and feel. His hands are smaller than mine and the handle on this tomahawk is narrow enough for a comfortable and stable grip for him. He has limited use of it since he just got it, but we have thrown it several times at 3/4 inch plywood and a few trees and it held up. He likes the non-axe end which is spear like because it enables him to punch holes into metal containers with ease. I did show him how to throw it and how to handle it from a safety perspective so he would not hurt himself or others. I also made sure he understood that this was not a toy, but a tool and he was to respect its potential to harm or hurt someone by accident. So, no monkey business with it when he handles it and he can not allow his friends to use it or handle it without me there initially. Basically, I am making him follow what I call our gun safety rules. It is also important to know how to position you arms and how to place the tomahawk in your hand to throw it. Most of this is common sense and through practice you can refine the hand and arm placements based on personal comfort. If the tomahawk fails in use I will up date this review to reflect that, but for the value this tomahawk is a steal (no pun intended). For those interested in learning more about tomahawks and their use, there are many books available at the library and some videos on you-tube. We did research for our information on tomahawks under keywords like, tomahawk, tactical self defense weapons, hand to hand combat weapons, military self defense weapons, etc. There is a lot out there for adults and youths to read and learn about these tomahawks. I may even purchase one for myself and carry it as a tool in my vehicle since it can have many useful applications in times of an emergency. The sheath that comes with it not only protects the tomahawk, but is an excellent safety cover so no one would get cut by the sharp axe end of the tomahawk. This makes it easier for me to store it in the vehicle without concern for an exposed axe end.

Why did I buy this Tomahawk? I had previously purchaed a SOG machete and was pleased with the quality and performance. But, I needed soemething that was less for bushwhacking and more for hiking and camping. If that's what you are looking for this may be the tool for you. So far, I have taken it on one weekend camping trip in Virginia and it was great. I used it to chop up some firewood. Some of what I cut were logs about three inches in diameter. It took a few more whacks than a traditional axe, but this Tomahawk cut right through. Trimming branches away from the bigger logs was very easy, it sliced them off with ease. I also used it for some finer work, nothing highly detailed but I used it to fashion a walking stick. I cut a dried branch to size, trimmed the other branches and little knots away (a lot easier than I would have with a knife) and there I had it, my walking stick for the weekend. One day, I did a six mile hike along the river with my trusty Tomahawk in its sheath. It was lightweight and easily carried on my belt. That's the best thing, lightweight but heavy enough and it has a very sturdy feel that gives you confidence in it as a tool and if need be a defensive tool. I really like the way the handle attaches to the head, very well made. No fear of swinging this and cracking the handle where it attaches. Plus, it was sharp right out of the box, maintained its edge through three camp fires and one improvised walking stick. I bragged on it so much that one of the guys that I was camping with without and bought his own. Yes, it is great, but don't expect it to chop down trees, it has a smaller blade than you would find on an axe, but for chopping smaller logs and clearing brush, this Tomahawk is a winner!

This is a very well balanced weapon. It is very fast to maneuvre. It is made for fighting first and utility second. I practice techniques with it and it is very good for parying and traping arms and wrists of your opponent.It is good for hooking and pulling elbows, knees, and the neck of your opponent to disrupt their balance as part of take-down techique. The spike is perfect and easy to use for vital targets like major arteries and the skull. The axe edge is good for hooking and breaking collar bones , knees, and the skull. Possibilities and techniques are endless!The light weight of it is what makes it so handy as a weapon. Its light but devastating. For utilitarian purposes,it has a few limitations. It can be useful for chopping wood for fire, but you must only choose small branches and logs no wider than 4" to split. You could probably chop up bigger wood, but it would take more energy on your part. It is very light for hiking, though. Lighter than a true hatchet. It is also useful for notching wood for shelter building and animal traps. Throwing it and sticking it in wood is fun and easy to learn. That skill would be useful to hunt small game. In the city and inside buildings, It is very handy to keep in your car for self defense and window breaking. Inside a building, you can use it to escape in a dissaster by chopping through the wood of a locked door near the striker part of the doorknob to weaken it enough to shove or kick the door open. (dont try to open a door that has a hot doorknob or heat radiating from it during a structure fire.) If you are not a person who owns firearms, You can keep this handy near your bedside for those pesky home intruders. Get one!

Recieved this tomahawk from Amazon, im located in WA state (PNWguy, get it?) so the delivery was extremely fast (about 2 days) upon opening the package noticed a few descrepancies as fas as marking on the head of the tomahawk vs what the picture on the site showed. head is etched "SOG" not "FUSION" as the picture shows, this is due to the fact that the photo shown is a marketing concept photo, not an actual photo of the product, nearly every manufacturer does this and it was really no issue for me. As far as quality, i was a little concerned that this product was not made in the U.S.A as are my other SOG products, but, "Fusion" is a value line and the trade-off for the lower price is the fact that the manufacturer is off-shore. this tomahawk is very sturdy, i have personally run the spike into the side of a 55 gallon drum and was almost frightened at how little effort it took. head stayed tight, handle didnt "shatter". a little akward to throw, but, can be thrown if you know what you are doing, and if you dont know what you are doing, you have no business throwing it in the first place. several of the reviews on this site report "the handle broke when i threw it" or "the head came loose on the second throw", my advise is to completely dis-regard these reviews as they are nearly 100% B.S. these "reviews" are mostly from arm-chair outdoorsmen, who have little-to-no idea how a tool such as this is supposed to perform. IT IS A GOOD TOMAHAWK FOR THE MONEY. if you dont think so, dont buy it, or maybe ask "mom and dad" to buy you a different one next time but i dont think they will want to spend the $150.00 for a tomahawk that will stand up to your "testing", or better yet take the other route, do the honest thing and dont review a product you dont understand. it is not as tough as the Benchmade or Laguna tomahawks, but this is VALUE targeted product. SOG did a fine job putting this product together, regardless of where it is manufactured, and under normal use this tomahawk will last a very long time, and has done nothing but impressed me rite out of the box...

This tool warrants a review. This is an impressive tool, especially for camping/backpacking. I was able to easily take down a tree 5 inches in diameter in a few minutes. After a week of using it making fires, cutting down two smaller trees, trimming the branches, and even cutting small wood for tinder, I haven't noticed any sign of the blade dulling or any form of wear on it minus a few scuffs black of the blade. SOG has this Hawk extremely sharp! The lower end of the blade is like a needle - I did stab myself with it when putting it back into the sheath and immediately drew blood. I briefly scratched the fire starter - it sparks just like any other similar product. Others noted it didn't fit flush, I had to insert it 180 degrees from the way that didn't fit flush and it was fine. Minor inconvenience.. or rather not really. The handle is may be a little thin for large/larger hands but adding some additional paracord or modifications tailored to your needs will fix that. Much easier fix than it being too thick to begin with. I didn't toy with taking off the paracord wrapped handle though it looks and feels like a good quality cord. The sheath holds securely - the sheath is attached by inserting the handle into the sheath, sliding it up and around the blade. From there, a flap wraps over the top of the blade and secures with a single button. This is a cost effective sheath that serves the intended purpose.

Another solid product from SOG. I also have the Fasthawk.

This first one I received I sent back due to damage. The outer box was fine, the product box however was crushed, the Tomahawk itself appeared fine initially. But when viewed head on, there was a bend to it. The head of it was slightly bent along it's mounting surface to the handle.. Amazon should have noticed/not shipped it that way. But enough about that. The second one delivered was/is fine. It's sharp, came with a nice edge. The protective coating on the blade edge is a bit hard to remove. I suspect it's there to protect the blade from corrosion en route from China, where made. Not a big fan of items like this that are made there. Often times with inferior material & workmanship I have personally found/experienced. However, considering the price, what you get, it's sharp, seems to hold an edge. I think for the money, it's a keeper! I had mine delivered in late Summer, and just had to rush out to the woods to try. I found that after a 20 minutes or so hacking away on an old downed limb; that my hands were pretty sweaty. I would switch hands to get the feel for this new tool. It seemed a bit slippery. The handle that is, despite the serrations in the handle, it was still slippery. I did not have gloves on. I would think they may help IF the proper type. Some gloves may make matters worse. The handle is a somewhat smooth hard plastic. This is what I thought of, here's my tip/suggestion: This only took a trip to the local Home Depot in the plumbing aisle, I had my 12 year old son with me who was curious as to what my idea was. I had the Tomahawk IN A BAG with just the handle exposed. (Didn't want to appear as a Mad Man! I advise you taking the same or similar precaution. However, no need to take it, I will tell you what you need!) I grabbed a set of Rubber O-Rings, Dango Brand #96732 1" O.D. x 3/4" I.D. x 1/8". I placed a side of the O-Ring into a groove to check fit for width, and protrusion. I wanted something that wouldn't move, and that would protrude for a decent hand hold grip. This size seemed perfect. With a little bit of playing with, stretching with my index finger as I went around the handle. I got these to fit onto the handle & into the (13) grooves. When applying, go all the way to the last slot. This way you don't have to try and go over them applying the remaining ones. It took all of about 5 min. max to do, and I now have an awesome non slip grip handle! Gloves or no gloves, sweat, doesn't matter... Just thought I would share! I hope you enjoy this tip! (the O-Rings came 10 in a box, so I purchased (2) boxes $2.27 each x 2, so under $5 for a worthy improvement) I tried to post pics but could not. * Want the matching belt sheath/holster look for your tomahawk: SOG Specialty Knives & Tools HDN-F01 Tactical Tomahawk Molded Hard Nylon Sheath, Black Finish