REVIEW: United Cutlery M48 Hawk Tactical Tomahawk

When we were kids, almost all of us had one, at least if we played on the Native American side. My tomahawk back then was made of bamboo (fail!) and had a blade made of bendable plastic. Years later, it was time to finally treat ourselves to a real one: we got the United Cutlery M48 Hawk Tactical Tomahawk at TacOpsGear and tested it for you.

In principle, this tomahawk (total weight 669 grams) consists of two parts. The head is 20 centimeters long and cast from AUS6 steel. Here you can see its size compared to a hand. The blade is very elegant and practical: like an axe on the left, with a spike for puncturing on the right. A car body is no problem. The material is forgiving, but does not hold a sharp edge. It is suitable for heavy-duty applications though... Three screws connect the head and the handle.

The second part is the handle: made of fiberglass-reinforced plastic, which fits well in the hand as a handle. Hawk is a total of 40 cm long. The grooves are supposed to provide more grip. They probably do, at least as long as your hands are not moist or other liquids come into contact with the handle. It would be better to wrap it with Paracord, so that Hawk is securely held in the hand in all situations. Also essential is a lanyard or hand strap. The eyelet for attaching the safety cord is located at the end of the shaft.

This is the "packaging" in which the M48 Tomahawk comes: the stitched nylon sheath serves its purpose (visually it reminds one of a child's rubber tomahawk). On the loop (right), you could even attach it to a belt. A Kydex sheet would be more tactical, valuable, and practical, that could also be attached to MOLLE. Perhaps a manufacturer will have mercy and provide an aftermarket part that would greatly enhance this tomahawk.

What good is a little hatchet if not to strike with it? We attacked a already felled tree trunk. Here you see three very thin-looking cuts in the bark. We swung over our heads and struck as hard as possible. The blade penetrated about a centimeter, and the tomahawk recoiled in the blow. (Fresh wood against a massive blade, an example of the caution required when handling such a blade – when it comes back.)

The other parts of the ax in action: the tip (right) penetrates about three centimeters into the tree trunk with a full swing and gets stuck. The tips of the blade in action as well: lower tip of the cutting edge (top left), - it comes into play when you swing and pull something towards you -, fits perfectly. The same goes for the upper tip (bottom left), which comes into play when you make a straight thrust with the tomahawk.

CONCLUSION: The United Cutlery M48 Hawk Tactical Tomahawk is extremely suitable for aggressive work as an "entry tool". Crushing and dismembering to destroying works very well. It's not a camping axe (for a good camping axe, go for Fiskars X5). The forgiving steel of M48 does not hold an edge well. As a tomahawk, it is elegant, practical, and with small improvements (Paracord wrapping and lanyard) even better. Considering that high-end tactical tomahawks cost well over 300 euros, the Hawk is a price-performance winner. However, this thing is not a toy. Waving it around in front of or towards other people endangers them - and ultimately yourself.

You can get the United Cutlery M48 Hawk Tactical Tomahawk at TacOpsGear for 59.95 Euro. The improved version, the United Cutlery M48 Kommando Ranger (which already has a Paracord wrapping on the handle, in Olive Drab), is available with a nice compass included for 74.95 Euro.