M48 Tactical Tomahawk Military Axe - Green/Black with Compass & Sheath | 3 ⅞” Cast Stainless Steel Axe | Piercing Spike | Nylon Cord Wrapped Fiberglass Handle | Camping and Tactical Gear | 15” Length

UPDATE MAY 2022: I've had this tomahawk for almost ten years. I've taken it camping, Ive thrown it countless times at countless logs, I've chopped a lot of small deadfall with it. It has withstood the test of time and rigorous use. I've used it in self defense training (only) but mostly use it for the aforementioned tasks. Reviewers who complain about sharpness or whatever else are obviously entitled to their opinion, but apparently aren't aware of how to take care of their things. How does that saying go? "Take care of your tools and your tools will take care of you." Regular cleaning, sharpening and basic maintenance of this hawk will have it lasting a long time.*****************I got this tomahawk as part of a desire to learn weapon self-defense (I'm studying with various weapons), and partly based on its design. The 'hawk just looks cool, and is, visually speaking, a very nice part of my growing collection.The weapon doesn't come very sharp, but that's easily remedied with a sharpener. The point on the opposite end is wicked, however, so just be careful when you're swinging it around. The construction is sound with the axe head being securely fastened into the handle. I know some people like the more traditional feel of wooden handles, but I've put the 'hawk through some rigorous use, and I've discovered that I prefer something that isn't going to break. (I have a pair of polypropylene escrima sticks as well.) The sheath is very sturdy nylon with belt loops for carrying.My one dislike about this tomahawk was that the paracord handle wrap came completely loose when I tested the 'hawk's durability by chopping a 4" log. While this may not seem like that great of an issue, the paracord can act like a shock absorber, protecting your hand. My first two right fingers and thumb were numb for a couple days afterward. As I will be using this only for weapon training from now on, I'll probably just wrap the handle in sport tape. If you do wish to use it for outdoor purposes, you can easily replace the paracord by wrapping it yourself. There are online video instructions on how to do this. Otherwise, wear gloves.All in all, I really like the tomahawk. I had never thrown one before, and after this came I was able to consistently hit a target after maybe 10 minutes of practice. I'd recommend this to anyone interested in self-defense. Just remember that this is NOT a toy, so handle with care.

This is a superior Hawk! It seems that United Cutlery actually listened to the reviews and has tried to improve their product. It is about the same price as the traditional M48, but has been upgraded with 7cr17 stainless steel instead of the original aus-6. 7cr17 is comparable to 440c with Gerber being the main user of this metal, while aus-6 is comparable to 440a which is a slightly lesser grade. They also have included 550 paracord around the handle, which is one of the most frequently recommended things done upon recieving the older M48. I took it a bit further and unwound a length of the paracord to make a wrist strap. I got rid of the D-ring and replaced the compass with my old military all metal one. The supplied compass suprised me in the fact that it is a very close copy to my military compass. The bad part of it was that they had decided to make it all out of plastic. It works very well, but it doesn't seem to be built for really rugged use. The hawk has a nice two-tone finish, olive drab handle mixed with the black head. Same 30% fiberglass reinforced handle and looks great. So, to sum it up, same M48 style hawk but with improved metal, a compass and a cool color scheme. Paracord for improved grip is awesome. Sheath has snaps on the bottom so you just pull the hawk straight down to release it. Sheath also has velcro straps on the back, but also has regular belt-like loops for a more secured hold. To me, this was definately an upgrade for the traditional M48 Hawk, and for almost the same price, you can't beat it. Shipping from Jalic was fast and accurate.

I attached the M48 Hawk to the back side of my "Zombie Survival Pack" using the molle attachments on the back of the sheath and also the beaner on the handle. The beaner is nice to hold the handle close to the bottom of the pack without it flopping around. I rewrapped the whole of the handle with 550 cord which gives the tomahawk a very nice grip. I haven't thrown it yet, but I've beat this thing pretty good and it's clearly meant to be abused. The compass is an inexpensive plastic replica of my brass lensatic compass. It is "cub scout" grade, so I gave it to my 9-year-old son to use and replaced it with my own. The sheath is functional: it holds the tomahawk and covers the blade, nothing else... most definitely not mil-spec. Overall, for the price the M48 Hawk is a very fun and useful thing to have.There has been much speculation of the M48 Hawk's effectiveness in a zombie attack. In the event of a real zombie attack, contamination from flying zombie blood, flesh and entrails would render this weapon ineffective. Even if you wore a HAZMAT suit while chopping zombie heads off, the risk of puncturing your protective suit with the sharp, pointed edges of this weapon would be great. I suppose if you used the tomahawk as a one-time throwing weapon some zombie damage might occur, however, your bad-to-the-bone Hawk would then be in the hands of the undead enemy... in which case your own M48 Hawk would be used to chop your brains out for easy consumption by the zombie hoards. Embarrassing indeed. If your tomahawk was used in a kamikaze-style attack sacrificing yourself for the good of humanity, you might get one or two zombies... but then you would ultimately become a zombie yourself and again your M48 Hawk would be in zombie hands which would make an already bad day a lot worse.I question the effectiveness of a tomahawk in an actual zombie attack, but this piece is part of my Zombie Survival Pack as an important supplemental weapon to my AK-47 and .45 Auto. It is very useful as a hatchet or close combat weapon against individuals who are not contaminated with zombie cooties. ... It's also lots and lots of fun just beatin' the crap out of stuff with.