Even today not only can weapons jam and like you said, fully just stop working, but guns give away your position even with a silencer I mean that shit is crazy loud. And while we don’t issue tomahawks to our infantry soldiers as a standard issue, today’s military definitely appreciates the value of a soldier who’s mastered melee fighting and throwing weapons. The way it was explained to me by a scout who led his own battalion is Afghanistan, one of every ten to thirty enemies will “straggle” through the line of fire and reach one of your soldiers up close. At some point, someone will have to fight someone at a close range where guns become too cumbersome to fire.
Here in Wyoming there are no blade length restrictions when it comes to open carry. You could legally open carry a Scottish Claymore if you wanted to. If you conceal an edged weapon then you start running into legal issues. I EDC a firearm everyday, but I also EDC an edged weapon to go with that firearm and if I'm carrying one edged weapon on me you can gaurantee I'm carrying two. New subscriber and love your products. Have you thought about creating a lightweight war hammer the size of the backripper ?
Thank you for the comment and yes we have thought of an EDC warhammer. We held a sort of “crowd sourced” design starting early 2020 during COVID lockdowns, because we assumed business would slow and it would be a good, interactive way to develop a new product. We came up with two different designs, but before we took it further, sales surprisingly picked up and we had to put it on the back burner as we scrambled to respond to the increased demand. I think we will revisit the concept in the years ahead. Best regards, Zac with Wingard Wearables Co.
People who say "just use a gun lol" ignore the vast majority of the rest of the world where firearms are unavailable or incredibly hard to acquire. A tool like this is incredibly handy and effective to us!
The point is,in places where guns are prohibited,any other type of weapon is too. In my country a cop can bring you to court for a 2 inch blade knife (no joke) when walking around,so "carrying an axe for means of self defence" would land me at least 5 years. I gotta go with a walking stick,or hope to never get caught.
@@junichiroyamashita One can be acquired easily and legally and the other can't. What happens beyond that is nobodies business and what they don't know won't harm them. I don't take half measures with defending my life. 👍
@@junichiroyamashita Oh yeah, there are restrictions to blade carry for sure-in the US and most countries it is focused on knives. But I’m sure tomahawks would be frowned on in lots of places. That’s one of the reasons we have branched out into less-threatening looking tools. Check out the Quill. A lot of common everyday uses for it, not threatening in appearance, and pretty potent. instagram.com/p/CMTE696jA8_/?igshid=7rrl78bqocje A number of folks carry them in places that have tight restrictions on guns, knives, etc. Have options! Be edgy.
Not going to lie, this video is making me very seriously consider buying one of your tomahawks. I'm in the middle of moving right now (on the 17th), but when I get to my new place and get my new mailing address sorted. I think I need one. The area I'm moving too has lots of coyote and bobcats, because the property backs onto a conservation area where trapping and hunting isn't permitted. Their are also occasional stray dogs. I have firearms and was under the false assumption, it wasn't a big deal cause I could just shoot them. But you pointing out that if they are already actively attacking someone, especially my children. It wouldn't be safe to discharge a firearm at that sort of threat is chilling. The shear impotence of a firearm in a situation like that never occurred to me. I can't disagree that having something with a hook that can drag them off and kill them with a single blow to the right place, is exactly the perfect tool for that sort of violent encounter with violent animals. Plus your casual mention that you are a fellow brother in christ, only makes me want to support your business more. God bless you. Thank you for bringing attention to the tactical response hole in my self defence strategy for my property and family.
Thank you for this comment and description of your situation. Recently a customer had to use one of our products, the DickPick, in self defense as he was being attacked by a large dog. It’s not a story I will go into detail in public without his permission, but the tool worked quite quickly. Although it’s not a tomahawk, it is a point-driven tool which, in punch grip, has quite deep reach (about 5-1/2”). That’s a lot more than most “tactical folder” knives on the market and it’s very quick and reliable in deployment. I would definitely prefer a tomahawk over a stabbing weapon but when the threat is already on you sometimes you go with the tool that can be drawn a split second faster. Just another option to consider. Trust in thrust.
I'd argue that we're still in the knife age, but I'd call it the gun and knife age. The club, spear, bow, axe, sword, crossbow, matchlock, wheelock, flintlock, cap and ball rifles, m1 garand, they've all come and gone and yet, the knife persist. My guess, the age of the knife will still be going strong when the first plasma canons are issued.
I wouldn’t get too focused on the phrase “age of the gun”-I just mean that small arms are the primary weapon of choice for an individual to be armed in the modern age. In most scenarios, individuals will choose weapons that provide more standoff/range over weapons that require closing in to close quarters. And in the future, gun technology MIGHT be rendered obsolete by direct energy weapons, then we’ll enter into “age of the plasma rifle” or whatever it will be called. But as I point out in this video, there are definitely scenarios where any “distance weapon” (gun or plasma rifle) will be inoperable, inaccessible, or inappropriate to use. In those circumstances, a close quarters weapon (knife, tomahawk, spike, etc) will come into play. I think those close quarters weapons will continue to serve mankind for a very long time. Also I’m a big fan of knives. We will be coming out with our first knife, maybe this year. Thanks for your comment.
@@wingardwearables Great video. The term argue may have been too strong. In my opinion, I think it's fascinating that the humble knife not only massively predates most other weapons, but has outlasted them. Keep up the good work. Also, would love to see you make a hawk with a small hammer head instead of a spike. I have a training hawk with a spike and it didn't work with my Kali training. I can't tell you the number of times I spiked my own shoulder or hooked my triceps during heaven 6.
@@sovcast8760 Thanks for your comment. I think knives and hand axes are going to continue to serve humans for a very, very long time. One day we may make a hammer poll tomahawk-but I have found a well designed spike tomahawk is superior, both as a weapon AND a tool, across most contexts. I also see some drills, adapted from sword and stickfighting, that are inappropriate for spike tomahawks, and the combative techniques often fail to fully exploit the complete capabilities of the weapon. Historic spike tomahawks had spikes of significant length-averaging around 3”, almost never below 2”. When I see spike tomahawk designs by Kali practitioners, the spikes are almost always quite short, little nubbins, which does reduce the probability of self-injury during flow drills, but also greatly reduces the spike’s capabilities. If you go back to the mid 17th through early 19th century, tribes and frontiersmen used tomahawks-especially spike tomahawks. No records of instruction exist for their combative techniques, but when you hold historically accurate spike tomahawks, it’s clear that they weren’t doing Kali flow drills. Magua didn’t know FMA. Other techniques also become obvious. The light and nimble spike tomahawk was used for lighting fast chops with the axe blade, and the spike was probably used to meathook into the opponent to tear to ground. Spikes 2” and up can achieve the penetration depth required to reliably hook into musculoskeletal structures. The historic spike tomahawks averaged 8 to 10 ounces in total weight-crazy fast when thrown, and also easy to rapidly transition from axe blade chops (or feinted chops) to then whip or turn the spike side into the body, hook into body, and push or pull to bring the opponent down for finishing blows. I recommend checking out our tomahawks because the dimensions are driven by historic, battle proven examples. We are also working on a combatives course to fully exploit these tomahawk designs. Best regards, Zac with Wingard Wearables Co
Don't forget some areas are blade free zones, but I agree and I think a blade is an ideal tool for self defense since it eliminates the the huge physical issues associated with firearms. Also another nice aspect of a bladed weapon is the lack of reloading and the fact that it can be a multi-purpose tool.
Fortunately we also sell spikes as multipurpose everydaycarry tools and defensive implements. I remember asking Scott Babb (Libre Fighting) if spikes had any advantages over knives for self defense-his response was spikes would be legal to carry in places that explicitly ban all carry of any knife or blade. I also think spikes can more reliably penetrate the skull to reach the CNS than most “tactical folders” and small fixed blade knives.
@@wingardwearables Very true, a pointy pokey pick tool is a very useful thing! I always have my scratch awl kicking around the house since it is such a good tool for all your pokey metal thing needs. An EDC pokey tool for poking and lifting and also weaponing is useful.
"age of the gun" is a stupid statement since we live in a time where modern professional militaries still choose to do bayonette charges (scottish troops in falkland island conflict and recent middle eastern ones, look it up) with overwhelming effectiveness. The gun doesn't make the blade obsolete, the blade is not considered for other, mostly social reasons, and people just overlook good tools for dumb reasons. Excellent video
Thanks for your comment. I had to name my video something. Also, I collect bayonets and am a big fan, but the trend of most modern militaries is to go away from the bayonet entirely. I don’t agree with it, but the US Army is attempting to replace M16/M4’s with a weapon that has no bayonet attachment requirement whatsoever. The trend is now to put sound suppressors on all our weapons-not really for silence but to reduce hearing damage and improve communication in the squad. Also the bayonet’s effectiveness will be reduced against near peer enemies wearing body armor and equipment that’s impervious to bayonet thrusts. Kevlar and old school flak jackets can be thrust through, but modern trend is the torso covered in ceramic plates and metal magazines full of cartridges. In my discussions with US Soldiers, there has been widespread adoption of blades-usually fixed blade knives-as last ditch weapons of self defense if you find yourself in a grapple with an opponent, say in room clearing. Even interviewed a couple of veterans who fought in recent conflicts and who have had to use blades to kill. Both men used single edged big bellied blades and in both incidents they discovered it was extremely difficult to punch through the ribs or get through harness vests (h-vests that were just holding gear, not even armor). So I do see value in revisiting the medieval era rondel dagger concepts-circumventing the ceramic plates to reach the vitals, and designing the blade to be 8+ inches long, very stiff, and optimized for the thrust “the long way round” (entering through gaps in modern armor). We will be investigating this concept, modernized for both Soldiers and in the civilian context, sometime late 2022 thru early 2023. So be on the look out. Also I’m aware of both those bayonet charge incidents. Agree that both were completely successful. Also, the most recent was 18 years ago, the Falklands was 40 years ago. During that time there have been a lot of close quarters combat incidents that never involved bayonets, so I don’t think the decision makers in the military will be persuaded to keep the bayonet going. I don’t agree with that, but I understand the thinking. I do beleive blades will always be here to stay-just need to be better optimized against what Soldiers will be facing right now and in the foreseeable future. A 5” to 7” long big bellied single edged knife made a lot of sense in WWII and Vietnam, before the adoption of so much cut-resistant/stab proof equipment worn on Soldiers. I think we will see a return of very long, spike-like weapons (starting next year, right here). I appreciate your thoughts. 👍
@@wingardwearables thanks for such a thought out reply! Wasn't expecting it, but i guess im pretty special after all, since im one of the twelve people who watched this video to the end. The adoption of other attachments instead of the bayonette makes sense since they're not doing bayonette charges for the most part, might as well use it for something useful. I know you had to name your video something and its a good name. I just dont like this idea that "you can just use a gun, all other forms of self defence are obsolete", and I hear it from time to time when I tell people I practice martial arts. There's still things like the 21 foot rule and instances where say, police officers put several bullets in an assailant with a knife who kept coming at them. Anyone with a knife looking to make trouble is going to pick a situation where their knife or whatever has the advantage and in a civilian situation getting that close is real easy The interview with the war vet sounds really interesting, is that a story you tell about in detail somewhere? Its one thing to theorycraft and another to hear about how the rubber hits the road I really like how you look to the past for for design inspiration. Modern problems require time tested solutions :P excited to see what you come up with because the tomahawk designs and accompanying videos are really interesting, and once I have a bit more spare cash I'm definitely looking to get one
Enjoyed reading your response and agree with you. As far as the war vets’ and their knife kills, I don’t feel comfortable publicly sharing their stories. It was their own experience, and it kinda feels like sharing it publicly would be like marketing off of what was one of their most stressful, potentially traumatic moments of their entire lives. I feel the same about my own customers-we’ve had several that have messaged me about having to use our products as the customer was attacked by people, and in one case, an animal. But I feel fine publicly sharing the relevant details that can impact a person’s decisions on what equipment and techniques that they trust their lives on. The relevant details on the knife kills seem to be that big bellied single edged knives (think like the classic Kabar, Winkler belt knife, or cold steel SRK) are probably fine for stabbing through common clothing and soft parts of the body, but run into problems penetrating modern load bearing fabrics (like in military harness vests) and even penetrating the rib cage of a man wearing normal clothes. The rib cage incident apparently required the Soldier to reinforce the knife hand to drive it through. I have also found a criminal forensics report that tested the force to stab different blades into cadavers. It also had similar findings-my memory of the report was it required maximum force in a downward ice pick grip to punch a kabar into the chest (through the ribs) and that resulted in injuries to the user’s hand from impacting hard on the sheet metal guard. A combative situation may not allow you to “power up” for the most powerful, yet easily telegraphed stabbing position. But a stiffer, pointier design, with a blade cross section like those triangular or even square/diamond rondel daggers, would have been much more streamlined. I have some ideas to actually make such a design with common utility purposes so that a Soldier or civilian can have daily value from it instead of purely for a very rare combative scenario. Best regards 👍
Think I've mentioned my favorite Anglo-Saxon proverb before; "A knifeless man is a lifeless man." Yeah, a gun is a better option of self-defense than a blade, but blades are an essential tool first, and a lethal form of self-defense, or last ditch, secondly. There's a reason the Ghurkas still carry the Khukuri as part of their kit. 🤙
@@wingardwearables The word Saxon even comes from the name of the Seax knives they carried. You're right though, there's a time and a place for letting lead fly, and those Empresses are intimidating enough. Wouldn't want that thunking into any part of you, especially at a strip club 🤣
Very good commentary. You’ve definitely opened my mind (verbally, not with the hawk 😉). Points are incredibly valid. I’d like to see this incorporated w my FMA training. Us moderns have largely forgotten about this weapon. Thank you for posting and sharing your knowledge w us.
Thank you for this comment! You may be interested in our tomahawk trainers. They match the weight of our live blades. Most tomahawk trainers on the market are way, way lighter than the live blade-unrealistic handling. www.wingardwearables.com/shop-1 Vulpes Training makes the trainers for our Empress and Backripper Tomahawk models. The speed and the curved hook are very effective.
My problem with the axe/tomahawk is they're difficult to get out quickly. I find a small fixed blade would work really well for most of the situations you described but the instant put down force of a tomahawk is highly effective. I wonder if you could figure out a more reliable way to deploy a tomahawk
Thank you for this comment because it brings up a broader point on speed to incapacitating the threat. Our tomahawks draw quite quickly. I agree that the majority of tomahawk sheaths and methods of carry are slow on the draw. Ours are the exception--designed for reliable quickdraws. But nothing draws as quickly as a short fixed blade or spike. However stabs, even many stabs, are unreliable and slow at incapacitation, while tomahawks can drop a man instantly. So I do think a tomahawk and knife compliment each other well.
@@wingardwearables I've been watching your other videos and your drawing method is surprisingly fast and fluid, I really like your designs. I still think it's not the most reliable way to deploy but it's about as best as someone can do. Maybe some testing on handle length to find the shortest handle length that's still effect could reduce draw time. Also on a side note the use of bronze is genius because it makes manufacturing much faster and you don't need the strongest material for self defense
@@magicbeetle2292 thank you for your suggestion! We have made tomahawks as short as 11-1/2" so I think we could probably do some times draws, enough repeats to get averaged draw times vs handle lengths. Also the bronze has been great for the Empress since it's blade geometry was never shaped for chopping wood in the first place. Beautiful and functional. But we are using steel in our other tomahawk models--those blades are more axe like.
Dude! Impressive video. Great food for thoughts. Watched the whole thing. And i have toddlers at home so I always have a nice "flesh ripping" tool on me - because of dogs in our neighborhood (no kidding). Rock on bro!
Thanks for this comment! A strange dog can be bad news. I visited family in North Alabama recently-got nephew and niece that are 12 to 24 months old, plus neighbors with angry dogs that get loose. Not a good combination.
That was a good conversation. I live in a small two room cabin with two women and seven cats.... three of the cats weigh 20 pounds each. So I know about cat-distractions 😎 (My 2 large dogs live outside)
Thanks! Glad the audio came through. That's a lot of cats! We have just 2 but one of them is very vocal. Trills and whines, plus a bit of cat yodeling.
It's got several advantages, but it's not for everyone. That's OK. I love knives too, despite thier disadvantages, and one day we might make one. Maybe it will be something you'll like.
I've carried a small tomahawk for almost 20 year's. i don't regret it for me its always been an advantage. just for reference two men thought they would rob me one had a knife the other had brass knuckles i pulled my tomahawk make the story short we had words they decided to walk away. this man is right its not for everyone. i opted for a small hawk because its used as a knife also.that was one of a few altercations I've had. my tomahawk has saved my wife my children's life as well as mine .
@@CRAZY-ej9sj Yeah, tomahawks have that intimidation factor. Right now I’m a “blades should be felt, not seen” and am not totally on board with the idea of making a point to show the weapon as a warning, but I understand that has worked for folks before, including a couple of our customers. Probably avoided bloodshed. Nature is also big into warning displays, so there’s definitely something to it. That’s a personal decision for individuals to make as far as how they react to threats. Glad your EDC tomahawk served you and your family well.
Thanks for your comment. Yes it's the tilite 6". I like the concept, but found it to be a little too inconsistent on opening with one hand. I should revisit mods
Is what legal? Guess it doesn’t matter because I am not credentialed in California state law. We do sell a lot to California though, and I know customers out there are carrying.
@@mjohnson6703 I can’t speak to all the laws in every state/municipality. Best of my knowledge, the only state to prohibit tomahawk carry was Texas but they repealed that in 2019. Most weapon laws in the states were first passed in 1850’s to 1880’s and focused on common weapons of that era-tomahawks were still a thing in Texas and got on the naughty list, but didn’t get prohibited by other states. Weapon laws got updated in the 1950’s thru 1980’s to ban switchblades and ballistic knives, but some of those laws got repealed in recent years.
Can you elaborate on your thoughts? Because I am thinking of a few "rule of threes" referred to for CCW, emergency, and survival situations. I'm guessing you mean the "3 yards, 3 rounds, 3 seconds"?
Handguns of course have the advantage of range and deterrence. But they are far from the invincible, "never fails!" solution. Pretty poor hit probability, real risk of hitting bystanders, real risk of being inoperable, and, as far as guns go, pretty poor at rapid incapacitation.
Training can alleviate a lot of those issues but a lot of folks can't get the training time--live fire ranges aren't always accessible, many range restrictions too.
