This was a great video. The only thing I feel you missed in your comparison and decision making on which was best, was the material the tomahawks were made out of. The Schrade is made out of 3Cr13 steel, which is a Chinese steel. While an okay steel, it isn't near the toughness of the Condor's 1075 Carbon Steel. Being full tang is fantastic for both tomahawks, but the the Schrade steel is a more brittle steel in comparison. It would be great to see the top four to head to head in a torture test. Thanks for the great review!
I have the Estwing, it's not pretty or a speed cutter, but it's close to being indestructible. I can literally say it's tough as any Estwing hammer, and can hack through just about anything with a little effort. Plus it's 1055 carbon steel, heavily built, and deliberately engineered to survive over the long haul. I wouldn't part with mine.
You just sold two Estwing Tomahawks, Brother! My Estwing Axes 🪓 are so good I may start collecting their tools. The 16 inch and the 14 inch are the hand axes I have and I love them.
Cool! Glad I found this. I am thinking of buying a tactical, hawk and had no idea where to begin. So far I think I got my eye on the condor. I think you said you had a video on smaller models. I'm thinking I might go find that one… In my head this is the case smaller might be better
An awful lot of hate on the M48, I know you've had issues with some of their other products, but I love mine. I've put mine through heavy use for over a year and it's still in great shape, works well.
You got lucky Honestly 7 out of 10 have air bubbles inside the handles and break super fast Other than that, for the price and performance they are cool
tomahawk is a weapon first and foremost,barely designed for use as a hatchet or ax ...these all are meant for self defense and to crush skulls and bones and throwing into your enemy.Used to destroy and breach man made things.Take it for outdoor woodland adventures as a means of protection and survival NOT for chopping wood
hey tac.. will you do another shootout on these after you touch up the blades? and would you recommend the schrade scaxe4 or the smith and Wesson more if touched up?
I got an SOG has a gift and the edge wasn't great out-of-the-box but after some sharpening it's absolutely capable of taking trees down. I recently picked up a Kershaw tomahawk and it's basically Superior in every way.
I have the m48 and love it !! I chop up fire wood and throw it with the back side which seems to work pretty good. Eventually I will purchase more for other packs but in my opinion it's a good buy !
Roadhand Viking - In the opinion of an old Marine, my Estwing hawk is superb. It's geared more towards demolition and combat, and after 3 years it's still my favorite.
I've got SOG Fast &Tact in stainless they're nice, but for chop wood up I got me a CRKT Woods Chogan with the hammer poll, nice round up thanks for sharing, where's the Voodoo? It totally has that cool factor going for it, cool vid.
Just wondering with these smaller hawks, how did your hand feel after you used each one of these? How much of the impact ended up hurting your hand and wrist, etc.?
WHOO HOO GO SOG! every single one of my tomahawk are from sog... I have like 8 lol. 2 fullsize (One black one stainless steel), 2 fasthawks, 1 survival hawk, 3 throwing hawks (the 3 pack). Love the survival hawk right now, very unique.
I think the sog and estwing are probably better suited towards destroying man made materials. You could probably get away with chopping through a concrete wall with the estwing because of the way the spike is built, it holds up better when smashing things. Im not all that surprised it was on bottom though. I still like my estwing hawk, practically indestructible.
That's just it dude, the estwing ain't pretty, it's a tool. All of these you pick up at the sporting goods store in a pretty plastic box; but the wing, ohh the wing, you get that thing at the home Depot with their hammers and other estwing hatchets and camp axes. It's a tool not tacticool! LoL
Thx for this very interesting tomahawk comparison brother tac. Awesome and I never thought you'll end up with that conclusion at all. Surprise surprise. ....still I'm not sure with what to go now. Hmpf. On the search again. Thx bro and always kick ass! Cheers Mike
great work again guess i will go for the EE. thanks a lot for making the Tactical show. And heck yea bro great respect for the way you wanna keep it real (this refers to the mutha rambling vid ;), thumbs up from Holland
Awesome test bro and love your vids hepped me make quite a few decisions as far as blades go hey man u ever try one of the timbrrqolf outlaw bowies very inexpensive but is it worth the $25 or so?
I think you may have given a bit more heft to the Condor during the with-grain test. I think we're all surprised that the M48 came out so well. ;) And if the handle busted on an M48, I'd bolt a pipe to it and keep going.
A friend of mine broke his M48 & Sog handles. Replaced them with Hatchet handles. Put bolts through the wood, etc. He has not had a problem with either ever since. Right now I'm looking to get a Full Tang tomahawk. CS has the new Recon Hawk which is full tang, looks awesome too. Might get it. Browning Shock & Awesome is another I'm looking at. Or the Estwing Double bit hawk. Lastly the S&W hawk... So many choices. I almost rather save my money & get a RMJ or Zombietools tomahawk. Hmm. If i get the ZT Trauma Hawk, i may have to ship it to you to test out ;)
Nix the cs Recon Hawk. Cold Steel has Discontinued them before release. Quality Control issues they subcontractors could not get right. So cs just said enough is enough. Darn it. They looked awesome.
Hey Tac. Got any Idea. You remember your CS Spike Hawk ? You could buy some new handles. Cut one down to Small Class, another to Medium, and replace your Large handle with a Fresh handle... Then you can take the Hawk and interchange the Handles to your needs. Maybe even get a new video or two out of it. Cs Spike Hawk shootout vs itself at different lengths...
Benny Silin not yet, too many payment priorities to drop the ball on that beauty. You know what they say: “The best comes to those who wait patiently.”
The M48 is a budget hawk for someone's first tomahawk. If it was full tang and made of better steel if would be great. As it is, it just won't last that long until the handle snaps. But until then it's a great little hawk for the money
the condors spike is to be used as a ice pick for climbing. or to stick in something to help you up but since know one whereas plate mail no need for a spike a blunt force strike more damage and you don't haft to pull the spike out to hit again a good axe that you can replace the handle is better hands down
Nothing wrong with admitting the M48 Tomahawk is performing pretty damn well (of course I can't say the same about the whole M48 line). I much prefer the criminally discontinued SCAXE3, which could still be found in the same price range. SCAXE4 and Condor are on my wishlist.
Brother Tac, if you would goin to war which of these would you choose ? .... Me the Estwing ! I think this tomahawk is more tactical oriented than bushcraft .... forged carbon steel full tang light weight a spike designed to pierce concrete walls stay safe bro and God bless you
The ones w/ straight edges are going to almost always cut shallower b/c they are soft wood heads while those that are more curved concentrate more force in a smaller area.
they are not made for woodwork bro!!! they are meant to be thrown. That's why they are light weight and the blade is not real sharp. it dont have to be sharp and it doesn't take much weight... which is what you need to chop. just sayin... I kinda laughed to myself
s&wタイプは道具として使うのに安心できます。私はNAM時代のを愛用しています（たぶん、ベトナム地域限定販売品） 尖った部分が少ないです。投げるのが便利です。 Ｍ48タイプは数年前に手に入れましたが、ブレードが牙のように鋭く延びているのでひっかけるように刺さる効果があるため、道具以上に使えます。鋭くしすぎると、使用者は自傷しないように留意しないといけません。鞘から取り出すときに指を切ります。ｗ 私は何回も指を刺しましたｗ 私も偶然57年前から「Tac」です（only in side Japan）。
Heyo Tac, good test as usual! If you wanna admit it or not: the M48 is a decent budget hawk^^ The Handle is shit and its not full tang, but the head does work. I do like it because its light. But you have to be somewhat careful with the handle. I would go (out of these) with the S&W and change the edge angle so it does bite a little better. Greetings my friend, Soly
Stupid question, but why couldn't you just make a wooden handle for the M48, and replace the plastic crap? I have the Ranger Hawk, and have enjoyed it so far. It's just something I've thought about, because I have heard that the handle can break.
***** what do you have against the m48 because I'm 13 and my mom is buying me a tomahawk and the m48 seemed good for the price, and if its something better can you tell me please and nice vid
Yo Tac't you should try tge Swamp Rat Devil Skipper Hawk or their Battle Hawk SR101 Proprietary Steel, Awesome, but this is medium ones, like I said I'm not into tactical as much as bush use, I have a lightweight that punches like a heavyweight and that's my Trapper Double Bit Hatchet by 2Hawks awesome LiL'Hatch. easy and compact to carry but the reason I got it was one side the grind is more for fine work and chopping the other side is a splitter best of both worlds, and again a great looker with blued 6150 carbon, I got that idea from the George Washington Sear's Nessmuk book, it looks like a very small hatchet but a real man working hatchet.
the estwing is the best it's the only one made in America and it's the cheapest it's not ground real well but if you got a grinder you can tighten it up and then spray it with some Grill spray paint and it's as good as a $400 Hatchet well maybe not that good but it's a whole hell of a lot better than any of the other ones you got there and US made
Iv had the m48 for at least 4 years and have had no issues with it I also am not fond of the handle, less power and to much flex, does makes it very light
J Masters - The spike is generally used for demolition, such as breaking glass, ripping through sheet metal, shattering blocks, flattening tires, punching holes, etc... For us military guys, it came in very handy. Plus you can dig hard ground with it or break ice for fishing or getting water. Hope this helped.
Handles shouldn't break for Christ sakes, I have had mine for 10 plus years it's tactical can be thrown, knock down walls, and has a wooden handle. Oh and it might be a good weapon lol
estwing doesn't come with a edge so if you don't have a sharpener that can remove alot of material and profile an edge not a good choice. on the other hand its fairly indestructible.
Awesome vid, you gained yourself another subscriber. I'm looking for a tomahawk so can someone recommend me a tomahawk that is both a good throwing axe and a useful survival/camping tool (aka good at chopping wood) on a budget of max. 100 euros?
I think edge retention and toughness of the steel should go into this as well. I know lots of these tomahawks use stainless steel, and I just don't see stainless steel being a good hawk material. Especially since so many of them seam to use like a 420, or 3Cr13 which just aren't that good at keeping and edge and aren't the strongest either. I would even use those steels for a knife let alone a tool that needs to take and impact, and Shrade, and Sog feel the need to use such inferior steels for their axes, and hawks. With that in mind stainless steel isn't the best for impact in general. Makes great knives, but for something that needs to take an impact I just see stainless steel being a little to brittle to bring out the best results in strength. I see carbon steel just being the best and a personal only option. That United Cutlery may seam to do good but it uses a 2cr13 stainless steel, and that is not considered a good grade, and that is the problem I have with most of these hawks. They use mediocre steel, and aren't full tang, or have the ability to replace the handle. That's just my two cents though.
I CANNOT get the Estwing to stick when throwing it at wooden targets, and I know how to throw. Just got it sharpened and it still won't stick. Prior to all this, I used it to take down small saplings and even then it took several swings, lol. Lotta bounce-back..
The only thing bad about m48 is the handle In this video it work Well but when the handle is bigger like a in the m48 spear or the longer version of the m48 tomahawk or the m48 war hammer its breaks super fast or easy. Lately m48 is Good when it comes to tomahawks
Bought the Smith and Wesson today, I suspected it would end up rock bottom on the test but it's geometry is whack because it's made for man made materials
People dislike m48 because it's overdone, it almost looks childlike in its overbearing attempt to look intimidating. Normally things like that look good but don't perform well. Almost like it's over compensating for something. People forget aswell you don't need these big talons to do damage to flesh and bone you don't want it embedded in somebody. You wanna crack the skull quick and easy and pop that sucker out ready for the next one. The m48 will get stuck in a skull and when you pull that sucker out you'll embed it in your own skull 😂😂 I was stuck between the m48 at first as a novice tomahawk user and the sog fast hawk which is just three inches shorter and 6oz lighter than the sog shown here ended up with the sog because really tomahawk are a close quarters combat weapon. And if your stuck n a room or even your van, the lightweight and shorter version allows for a much more versatile self defence tool. Still just as effective if not more because of its agility. Came dull as a mothers c**t out the box though.
you have proved to me what I have always thought with those 'type' of tommy's is that they are complete shit, I wouldn't have one if you gave me all of them. Anyhoo a usual great video you always entertain me mate thanks
