We put a bevvy of today’s tomahawks through the wringer to see which of these choppers has bite.

Tomahawks are interesting tools. They’re not knives but can cut like them. Though not full-blown axes, they can chop like them. Similar to knives, hawks are both tools and weapons. Like knives, they come in all price points, materials and features, as well as sheath styles/materials. Finally, they find wide acceptance in both the tactical and outdoor/hunting communities. Let’s take a deep dive into a quad of top factory examples of the genre.

Winkler Knives Ridge Line

The Ridge Line from Winkler Knives is a hatchet that embodies elements from years of hatchet and hawk making, incorporating some of the more notable improvements made along the way into one piece. The head is 80CrV2 carbon steel for toughness and edge-holding ability. Stock thickness is ⅜ inch, giving the Ridge Line good balance while remaining somewhat lightweight and more agile in-hand. Cutting edge: 3 inches. Overall length: 13 ⅞ inches.

The shortened scales leave half of the tang exposed to prevent handle damage in the event of a missed strike. The scales come in several choices of Micarta® and maple. The material is attached to the tang using Micarta pins. The maple of the review sample is contoured well, has no hot spots and is quite comfortable.

The sheath is Boltaron® done in a way few do it. Winkler goes the extra step by lining the inside with felt so the hawks don’t get scratched up on insertion/removal. The biggest advantage of the felt lining is it’s not noisy during sheathing/unsheathing like standard Boltaron. A pair of nylon webbing belt loops with Pull-the-DOT® button snaps attach to a belt. A strand of 3/16-inch shock cord wraps around the head to secure it to the sheath. The sheath complements the high-quality construction of the hatchet itself.

The Ridge Line is an absolute beast for chopping. The curve of the head attacks wood at a slight radius, amplifying chopping power. The forward weight means you can easily deliver powerful blows with minimal effort by letting gravity do its thing. The 80CrV2 takes an edge easily, so sharpening is not an issue. It also holds an edge respectably well, so performance wise it’s very reliable. I like how the handle flares toward the butt, acting as a stop to prevent the hawk from flying out of your grip during use.

Unlike a couple of the test hawks, the Ridge Line is strictly a chopping tool. Hence, using it for other tasks can be a bit awkward given the handle configuration and the exposed tang. If you’re looking for a pure chopping tool well designed and executed, this is it. Simply put, Winkler’s hawks are among the best in the business.

Multiple handle material options include camo G-10, black and tan laminate, black canvas laminate, brown canvas laminate, green canvas laminate, maple and walnut. The laminate material is similar to Micarta. There are also sculpting options on the camo G-10 and black/tan laminate handles. No matter the material, the Ridge Line has an MSRP of $635 and is made in the USA. At press time there was about a two-to-four-month lead time for delivery. 

RMJ Tactical Dvalinn

The RMJ Tactical Dvalinn is a collaboration with Andrew Bawidamann of Bawidamann Knives. It is equal parts defense/CQB (close-quarters battle/close-quarters combat) and cutting/chopping tool, all in a compact size for trouble-free portability. At 10.25 inches overall, the Dvalinn is easily carried on the belt or stashed in a backpack and can substitute for a fixed blade in some scenarios.

Starting with 0.270-inch-thick Nitro-V stainless steel, the Dvalinn is built equally tough as RMJ’s larger hawks. The specially designed cutting head is sharpened on both sides, increasing both utility and effectiveness as a CQB tool. A spike at the opposite end punctures effectively.

A single-beveled, exposed tang on the handle butt acts as a pry tool. The black G-10 grip sports a spiral-type machining pattern that enhances purchase with or without gloves. There are three Cerakote® finishes and handle colors: OD green coating with Dirty Olive G-10, tan coating with Hyena Brown G-10 and Savage Stainless with solid black G-10.

Each Dvalinn rides in a molded Kydex sheath with belt loops. Remove the retention strap and the hawk can be accessed and deployed quickly and effortlessly with one swift tug on the handle without having to worry about unbuttoning the strap first. The strap is a bit redundant as the sheath is very well designed and has more than enough tension to retain the hawk. However, the strap also is easily removable, which alleviates one step in freeing the tool.

Though the Dvalinn is not designed for field use and is more for self-defense/CQB purposes, it still can be used for outdoor and general cutting tasks. Chopping is very limited due to the tool’s short length. It can handle common knife chores like cutting cardboard or plastic and any other applicable task. If you choke up against the head—though be mindful of the inside edge and the spike—you have plenty of control for whittling. It is surprisingly agile in such a grip.

The flat-ground head and excellent factory edge enable the Dvalinn to excel at general cutting. The top edge corner penetrates similarly to the tip of a knife blade. The spike is deadly, plain and simple. It’s ground and sharpened just right so it penetrates with surprisingly good results for such a compact hawk. The steel seems to hold an edge well. RMJ has built a solid reputation designing and building some of the industry’s best production hawks, and the Dvalinn is a great example. Country of origin: USA. MSRP in your choice of handle materials: $495.

SOG War Fighter

The SOG Knives War Fighter is even shorter than the Dvalinn yet still packs a punch. At 8.75 inches overall, it is about as long as some larger field-grade fixed blades. The 4-inch head and spike are 3Cr13MoV stainless steel in a black stonewash finish. Like the Dvalinn, the head’s underside is sharpened for more cutting versatility. A beveled spike is on the opposite end.

The handle is solid steel encased in black G-10 featuring multi-faceted machining for a superior grip. A raised diamond-type texturing accommodates your thumb and fingers. A bolted-on steel buttcap serves as an improvised hammer if needed. The hammer function is something the other test hawks don’t have. If you need a hammer get one, but that’s not possible in some scenarios and having a tool that can provide such a function is valuable.

The War Fighter has a molded plastic sheath that fully encases the head and spike. A single webbing retention strap holds the hawk securely. A molded plastic belt loop attaches to your belt and is reversible for ambidextrous use. The sheath snaps on securely. Insert the spike end first then push in the rest of the head until you hear an audible snap. The sheath is on a par with most molded knife sheaths—nothing fancy but it does the job well.

Out of the box the War Fighter seemed an OK chopper. It’s short like the Dvalinn but has more head weight. I found the edge a tad thick so I used my belt grinder to reprofile it thinner, doing the final resharpening at 22 degrees convex. The bite and chopping noticeably improved as a result.  

Another issue is the spike. It needs to be pointier and more aggressive. Out of the box it was blunt. To be a viable self-defense/CQB tool, the spike needs to have a sharp point to maximize penetration. As is it penetrates wood only so far. Additionally, the four notches cut into the spike are useless. Each one is very sharp and catches kind of like a fishhook. My recommendation is to remove those. I’d rather see the spike pointier than have the notches.

The handle with its various surface features does a great job at keeping your hand in place. I wore leather work gloves during testing and never felt the War Fighter was going to get away from me. G-10 is an excellent choice for handle material, given its dimensional stability and being impervious to most fluids. Country of origin: China. MSRP: $94.99.  

Hogue EX-T01

Designed by custom knifemaker Allen Elishewitz, the Hogue EX-T01 is designed to be an easily carried chopping tool and sports a distinctive carry system. The 3-inch head is S7 tool steel. The full-tang construction yields to a machined G-10 handle for superior grip with or without gloves in all weather conditions.

A smart design feature is a partially exposed tang about 2 inches below the head—from there the G-10 transitions to a fully encased design. The partially exposed tang would appear to protect the handle material against overstrikes. And the orange Cerakote finish appeals to hunters, being easier to spot if you drop the hawk in the field.
S7 is easy to resharpen, a plus for field carry. The downside is it is not stainless, which partially explains the rust-resistant Cerakote finish. S7 is an excellent candidate for chopping due to its resistance to deformation or dulling from hard-use applications. It is the type of steel you want for a chopper.  

The G-10 is chamfered nicely to eliminate hot spots, and the texturing helps provide a nonslip grip in all weather conditions. I like the bird’s-beak pommel forming a hook to capture the user’s hand. Five sets of bolts along the handle’s entire length hold the G-10 onto the full tang. 

The sheath system is rather intriguing. It integrates into the cutting head via a specially designed cutout that both reduces weight and provides an interface to secure the hawk to it. The main part is machined black G-10. The centerpiece is of the same shape as the head cutout, as well as a ridge section that protects the edge from inadvertent contact when sheathed. 

Three rare earth magnets inlaid into the sheath plate in three different locations grab and hold the EX-T01 securely. Moreover, an integrated latch that turns and detents into place prevents the hawk from detaching. A flexible, contoured plastic-belt-loop attachment affixed to the sheath plate slides over and affixes to a belt. You need not loosen your belt to attach or remove it, so it’s quick, too. It’s a really neat way of carrying a tomahawk, very secure, safe and easy to use, and different from standard sheath systems.

Last but certainly not least, the EX-T01 is a blast to use. This is one dynamic setup, providing a lot for the money. Overall length: 14 1/8 inches. Country of origin: USA. MSRP: $329.95. 

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