Any thoughts on this axe from mil-tec?

[C_Claycomb]

TLM,
It could be debated whether certain makers are decent, and whether they have succeeded in making a hatchet-like-thing from plate, but quite a few have tried it and sell such things. A quick look finds plate made choppers by: CRKT, Boker, TOPS, Silky, Gerber, Fiskar, Cold Steel, Muela, Condor, Maserin....I dare say there are more. Some are aimed at outdoor users, but most have a tactical flavour.

A plate made chopper does not need to be thick to be effective. What is needed is that the stock and design and purpose are all aligned and well thought through. The weight needs to be in the right place. Joining the handle to the head so that it is strong can also be a challenge. I made a couple versions of the Finnish bilhook and while they have stood up so far, I am still a little nervous about the join. Think they were 5/32 stock.

Project complete: Finnish Billhook Jungle Tools

Nine years ago Stuart showed me a tool that he had acquired on a trip to Sweden, which he thought was possibly the best jungle blade he had seen or used. It was a Finnish military issue billhook. These were out of production then, and those that are now in production are missing one of the key...

bushcraftuk.com

What sort of shape did you have in mind? Will you be giving it a try? Would be an interesting project for you to document and post here.

 

[TLM]

I have seen a few but they were for wannabe soldiers and not interesting, I had no idea so many known companies had tried.

As you said earlier the Miltec one is too thin to have strength especially in the handle, using thicker plate like 6mm will more than double it.

As the handle has very little damping the thingy has to be tuned so that the sweet spot in hitting is in the spot naturally used. Vibration tuning.

I have never really used a tomahawk in trekking but some friends that have were not impressed so copying one probably would not be a good idea. So something with a lot longer and more curved cutting edge is the starting point. Also it would have to have different properties from something like a Skarama or some of the heavier machetes. I'll have think about it and do some drawings.

 

[oldtimer]

I think there is a reason that the traditional axe designs have followed basically the same pattern over the centuries, with slight differences depending on intended use. Change is not synonymous with better.

If you need something for the battlefield that could be jettisoned after one use, it might suit.

It reminds me of something I heard about fishing tackle: some tackle is designed to catch fish but a lot is designed to catch fishermen.

 

[TLM]

I think there is a reason that the traditional axe designs have followed basically the same pattern over the centuries, with slight differences depending on intended use. Change is not synonymous with better.

I guess the reason is that they work. As I see things a "plate axe" would not really be an axe but a slightly different kind of tool.

I don't now how much use all the present day "tactihawks" have actually seen but I suppose sometimes one has to look cool if nothing else.

 

[Jakob.sievers]

Just a brief unsurprising update: the 'axe' is good for one thing: throwing
I took it out for a spin in the forest and while I DID manage to carve up a few pieces of wood that I had sawed up, the main take-away was that the handle with paracord would start coming off after each 3 strokes meaning that you had to stop every 3 strokes to re-adjust it to avoid it coming off all together. Complete ****. Certainly not produced by anyone intending for it to be used in ANY context that I can think of. So I might try to fix the handle with a basic solution and call it a fun little throwing axe, and that's it.

As I mentioned elsewhere I already ordered the Fiskars X7 which had enough highly positive reviews that I am at peace with the purchase. I am also at peace with this learning experience

 

[Laurentius]

Made the mistake of buying what I thought was an original German Army Knife thinking it was made by Victorinox, turned out to have been the Mil Tec version, and almost unusable. Not a company I would trust.

 

[Erbswurst]

In the USA a lot of people seem to spend their time with tomahawk throwing.

Perhaps this design is really made for this sport?