SFA vs Hawk?

[Dreadhead]

I fancy a tomahawk. i have been looking at the cold steel hawks like the trail or frontier hawk. my gransfors SFA is great but im just curious how it would compare tae a coldsteel hawk or any other tomahawk for that matter. does anyone have both and can offer some knowledge?

the hawks just look like they would be much lighter and more nimble for some reason. you know what its like when something sharp catches your eye...

Hamish

 

[Robbi]

i have a take down hawk from Biker that is brill, so much so that i sold my GB mini hatchet

i find it much better to carry it broken down than to carry an axe and due to the longer shaft, it's much more versatile.

 

[tomongoose]

I have a cold steel hawk and a biker hawk and as sfa, the hawks are great, light weight and versatile but the sfa splits wood much better as the thinner profile on the hawks means they get stuck and you end up battoning an axe

 

[Big Geordie]

I picked up a series of hawks from Cabelas & Cold Steel in the US, and I've got an SFA. The hawks are such fun to use around camp, and the lighter ones better for long walks. For bigger jobs ( which are fairly rare to be honest) the SFA wins. I think most of us make the same mistake of buying the SFA first because its very Mearsy & high quality.

 

[Totumpole]

I dont think you'll be able to resist a cold steel hawk after perusing this thread
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=65970

 

[Dreadhead]

yeah i really fancy a hawk now! i dont think a SFA is very neccessary as for trekking i never have tae split much wood, certainly not enough for the SFA tae make a difference so hawk may be the way....

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

Hamish i have a couple of hawks and if you wish your more than welcome to borrow one for a bit to see what you think.
Good to try before you buy.

 

[Dreadhead]

thanks for the offer but im nae too sure how long ill be at my current residence so ill leave it for now cheers. ill probably just end up buying or swapping for one on here at somepoint

 

[Johnnyboy1971]

No worries but if you change your mind the offer is open.

 

[bb07]

Here's a couple of pics for size reference. The small one is a Cold Steel Trail Hawk and the other is the Rifleman's Hawk, which is much heavier and larger as you can see compared to the Trail Hawk. Unfortunately, I don't have any pics showing the SFA alongside.

 

[Imagedude]

You'd be better off with a billhook.

 

[Jimmy Bojangles]

yeah i really fancy a hawk now! i dont think a SFA is very neccessary as for trekking i never have tae split much wood, certainly not enough for the SFA tae make a difference so hawk may be the way....

I've never needed anything heavier duty than my old MoD knife for wood processing, as it's very rare I'm chopping much over 5" diameter. But after a quick play with a hawk with Dave Budd I had to have him make me one. There are definitely a lot of benefits to them, mine with a 20" shaft still weighs less than my MoD, cross cuts a hundred times better (though obviously a saw is still more energy efficient, but not nearly as much fun! ) and splits and battons far more quickly. The only down side is you can't slash through bits of brush etc, but that's the nature of axes/hawks. Oh, and I love being able to take the head off for carving and sometimes if I'm using it as a splitting wedge.

Cheers

Mat

 

[EdS]

As imagedude said. Get a billhook. The right tool for UK woods and it is clearly a woodland tool not a weapon in eyes of plod and the public.

Plus its more versatile - try digging roots with a hawk or sfa

 

[Dreadhead]

i should maybe have mentioned its for my travels around norway so i dont think a billhook will cut it there. i have a kukri which i would rather take but i think it looks too menacing and gives off the wrong image so a small hawk should be more acceptable i should think.

have sold my SFA and am now looking for a small hawk and will probably end up with the cheapish cold steel trail hawk

 

[Imagedude]

I missed my billhook when in Norway, wish I'd taken one rather than an axe.

 

[Dreadhead]

i do like billhooks they are great tools but if i ever need to fell a dead standing tree id rather do it with a hawk/saw combination rather than using a billhook i think. and a hawk i can use as a hammer too which i like

 

[Treeclipper]

I have the SFA and just ordered the Hawk, I think as it comes from Cold Steel it's not that great , but I've seen so many really good modded Hawks, that it can turn out to be a very good small axe. I also like the take down abilty. Only main problem I see is it having no mask and I have no leather making skills to make one( at the moment...lol)

cheers Andy

 

[Wayland]

My Trailhawk served me well in Norway. This was a 30' dead snagged pine which it sectioned up in no time.

I backed it up with a folding saw, until I cremated it, but it handled everything I really needed it to do.

Next time I'll probably take a bowsaw instead of the folder though.

 

[Dreadhead]

cheers Wayland your norway thread made me want one even more may be getting one of bikers future hawks so ill be patient until the time comes

and treeclipper many folk on these forums could make you an axe mask nae bother

 

[MikeLA]

Other uses for a Hawk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O5qICvHc_nE&feature=player_embedded