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WHEN DISASTER STRIKES, A TOMAHAWK MIGHT HELP SAVE YOU OR YOUR FAMILY
It seems like every day we see some part of the country being affected by wildfires, floods, hurricanes, tornadoes, or ice storms. That’s not even factoring in things such as civil unrest or something from left field such as the major bridge collapse that recently happened in my hometown of Pittsburgh.
“…these incidents can lead to entrapment where you need to break free from a building, vehicle, or debris, or where you need to break in to rescue someone else.”
When a disaster strikes you never know what you may need to get into, or out of, to save yourself or others. Having a good rescue tool like a tomahawk on hand can literally be the difference between life and death.
All these incidents can lead to entrapment where you need to break free from a building, vehicle, or debris, or where you need to break in to rescue someone else. In a perfect world, emergency service providers are on their way to assist in those jobs, but especially in a large-scale disaster, you might be on your own for a while and need to act.
The TOPS Pry Knife is a compact, yet bulletproof tool for entry or egress work.
Most of us aren’t going to have a full set of forcible entry tools as the fire department has, but there are some tools small enough to put in your bugout bag, get-home bag, or in your vehicle in case of emergency. Let’s look at some of the options that are out there.
5.11 TACTICAL CFA PEACEMAKER TOMAHAWK
I previewed the Peacemaker in a recent gear column, but we’re going to take a closer look at it here, especially its use as an entry or egress tool. The Peacemaker was designed by Justin Gingrich of American Tomahawk Company and Ranger Knives fame. Justin took his industry experience coupled with extensive military experience to come up with a well-designed, hard use tool for 5.11.
The CFA Peacemaker Tomahawk was designed for 5.11 Tactical by Special Forces and Ranger veteran Justin Gingrich of Gingrich Tactical Innovations.
The Peacemaker is made from a quarter-inch thick slab of SCM435 chrome–moly alloy steel. It’s coated with a black electro finish and fitted with a set of kangaroo tan FRN scales. A 4-inch axe blade sits opposite a pick head rear spike. It’s a very sturdy design that feels like it can take extreme amounts of abuse.
While it’s well suited to field work, it would be equally at home in an urban environment ripping into wrecked cars, smashing and clearing glass, or breaking and prying door handles.
The Peacemaker is built of quarter-inch SCM 435 Steel with a black electro coat finish for durability and corrosion resistance. It is fitted with removable FRN scales that are durable and comfortable.
I used my Peacemaker around the house to bust up pallets—chopping, breaking, and prying them apart—to get a feel for its capabilities, and it didn’t disappoint. The nylon scales are pretty comfortable and worked well with and without gloves.
With its protective sheath and four-position belt/MOLLE clip and retention strap, it would either strap to your bugout bag or be stuffed inside it with no issues.
The 5.11 Peacemaker comes with a well-designed nylon sheath for carry on your pack or in your bugout bag.
SPECS
5.11 Tactical CFA Peacemaker Tomahawk
- 14-inch blade for chopping, digging
- Spike for splitting wood, breaking hard materials
- Removable scales for option to wrap paracord
- SCM 435 Steel with black electro coat finish
- 0.25-inch thick, full tang construction
- Nylon sheath
- Fiberglass reinforced nylon scales
Head length: 6.5 inches
Overall length: 14 inches
MSRP: $140
511tactical.com
GERBER TACTICAL DOWNRANGE TOMAHAWK
Gerber has been doing axes for ages, but the Downrange Tomahawk is a beast of a tool designed specifically for breaching and entry work, which also works just as well for rescue work.
The Downrange is a solid piece of 420HC steel with a Cerakote finish and a set of desert tan G10 handle scales. The combination of finish and materials should make the tomahawk pretty much impervious to weather or other foul conditions.
The Gerber Downrange Tomahawk comes with a sheath and mounting hardware to strap it to a pack or on a vehicle.
The Gerber Downrange Tomahawk is made from one solid piece of 420HC stainless steel fitted with G10 grip scales.
There’s just about nothing to break or go wrong with the design, and it’s built to take abuse. It pairs an axe head for chopping through walls, car bodies, or whatever, with a hammer back for smashing glass, locks, or anything else that needs crushing.
The handle has a pry bar end for popping doors or windows open or leveraging debris off people or things you need. The cutaway near the axe head acts as a solid grip when prying with the handle.
The American made Downrange Tomahawk comes with a MOLLE-compatible sheath so that you can attach it to your pack or just store it safely in your vehicle or with your emergency kit.
SPECS
Gerber Tactical Downrange Tomahawk
Overall length: 19.27 inches
Steel Type: 420HC steel
Finish: Black KG Gun Kote
Handle Material: G10
Weight: 1.9 pounds without sheath, 2.5 pounds with sheath
- MOLLE compatible sheath
- Made in the USA
MSRP: $300
GerberGear.com
HALFBREED BLADES COMPACT BATTLE AXE
Halfbreed Blades has a full line of rescue tools and knives, but I wanted to look at the Compact Battle Axe (CBA) for this article. Think of the Battle Axe as a tactical Nessmuk. It’s a compact, one-hand axe a little over 12 inches long with dual blades with 3-inch cutting surfaces. It’s made from one piece of Austrian K110 (D2) high impact tool steel and has a subdued Teflon coating for corrosion resistance.
Leave it to the Australians to make a tool that’s not only rugged, but that also looks badass. The Compact Battle Axe is a tool that gives you options with its double bit construction.
The two blades come razor sharp, but you can dedicate one to rougher hacking and bashing work and keep the other with that razor edge for cutting through trees or branches on top of vehicles or blocking roads or cutting through 2x4s and drywall in a home or business.
The CBA’s pommel is designed for crushing and smashing things, and it has a lanyard hole big enough to slip a carabineer or heavy lanyard. The handles are 3D CNC-machined G10 that are designed for use with a variety of handholds.
The handles and the edges of the tool are beveled to make it comfortable to work with even without gloves, and there is jimping along the grip to enhance handling.
The Ontario Knife Company SP-16 SPAX is a modern rescue tool with roots tracing back to the World War II military aviation crash axes. It is made from a solid piece of quarter-inch thick 1095 high carbon steel with a black powdercoating and its comfortable Kraton rubber handle provides good traction in inclement conditions.
Halfbreed Blades gives a list of expected duties for the CBA, and you can see that they’re right in line with rescue work: “chopping, hammering, digging, cutting, as a climbing aid, defeating locks, smashing windows and windscreens and raking out their frames, smashing steel clad doors, and breaking through walls including those made of brick.”
The Ontario SPAX ships with a heavy nylon sheath capable of being secured to MOLLE webbing.
The CBA comes with a U.S.-made Kydex sheath that is molded for secure retention along with a friction lock. On top of that, there’s a quick release safety strap with press-stud to further enhance secure carry. The sheaths are PALS/MOLLE compatible to allow a variety of carry options.
Wrench cutouts in the SPAX head allow fire hydrant and gas line turn on or shut off, which could be extremely handy in an emergency situation.
SPECS
Halfbreed Compact Battle Axe
Axe Steel: K110 D2 (55-56 HRC)
Edge (of Axe): Plain, polished
Axe Finish: Teflon coated
Style (of Axe): Battle
Axe Head Length: 2.99 inches
Axe Thickness: 0.31 inch
Handle Material: G10
Handle Thickness: 1.14 inches
Overall Length: 12.59 inches
Sheath Type: Molded Kydex/Safety Strap
Sheath Weight: 7.87 ounces
Axe Weight: 34.28 ounces
Overall Weight: 42.15 ounces
- Mounting: Belt and PALS/MOLLE
MSRP: $371.20
HalfbreedBlades.com.au
KA-BAR USSF BRIDGE BREACHER TOOL
The Bridge Breacher may be part of KA-BAR’s space-themed USSF lineup, but it’ll work on more than just prying apart Chinese satellites or alien starships. It’s a tough, compact tool that will do a fine job right here on Earth for popping locks, prying windows, or smashing your way into or out of things.
The flat bar is made from one piece of 1095 Cro-Van steel with a gray powdercoating. It incorporates a pry bar tip, a slotted wrench opening, a chisel blade, and a blue Pasitool handle.
Whether breaching foreign spacecraft or a wrecked car, the KA-BAR Bridge Breacher is built tough enough to be up to any task.
The Breacher packs conveniently and would be an easy fit in a daypack, messenger bag, or bugout bag. It’s also not as scary as a rescue axe with its basic pry bar shape and pleasant blue handle color if you need to use it at work or around the public in a non-emergency situation.
The KA-BAR Bridge Breaching Tool may have otherworldly origins, but it does a fine job as an entry tool right here on Earth.
SPECS
KA-BAR USSF Bridge Breacher Tool
Length (Overall/Blade): 13 inches/4 inches
Blade Width: 2 inches
Bulk Weight: 1.6 pounds
Handle: Blue Plastisol
Blade Stamp: KA-BAR/USSF
Steel: 1095 Cro-Van
HRC: 57-59
Thickness: 0.25 inch
Grind: Chisel
- Pry bar tip, slotted wrench opening, chisel blade
- Manufactured in USA
MSRP: $84.21
Kabar.com
ONTARIO KNIFE COMPANY SP-16 SPAX
The Ontario SPAX is pitched as “the perfect tool for fighting fires,” and it has a wrench cutout for opening and closing hydrants/gas valves, which could be very handy in an emergency situation. If you look at the general shape of the tool, though, you can definitely see its lineage coming from aircraft crash axes that are still used today.
The curved cutting edge will certainly work on wood, but it is designed to cut through sheetmetal like an aircraft skin or vehicle body panel. The spike on the back side can break and rake glass from a car or building windows or be stabbed into debris to pull it out of the way.
The SPAX was another tool that I used for pallet demo, and it also worked quite well. It’s made from one solid piece of quarter-inch 1095 steel with a black powdercoating. The Kraton handle was comfortable with or without gloves and has a lanyard hole at the base of the grip.
The heavy nylon sheath will fit on load bearing gear or packs, and it has webbing on front to attach small tools or knives. The SPAX was issued to U.S. military units, and many were mounted to HUMVEES overseas where they likely saw use as entry tools and rescue tools when vehicles were hit by IEDs or other munitions.
SPECS
ONTARIO KNIFE COMPANY SP-16 SPAX
Length (Overall/Blade): 13.125 inches/8 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.25 inch
Blade Steel: 1095 carbon steel
Handle Material: Kraton
Blade Color: Black powdercoat
Weight: 2.10 pounds
Sheath: Nylon
Origin: USA
MSRP: $118.50
OntarioKnife.com
SPYDERCO WARRIOR HAWK
Spyderco’s Warrior Hawk was designed by Laci Szabo, who has a solid background and understanding of real-world breaching and entry, as well as close combat from his extensive military and law enforcement experience. Unlike most of the tools here that were primarily designed for utility, the Warrior Hawk performs a balance of utility and martial use.
The Spyderco Warrior Hawk from Laci Szabo uses all his years of military and police experience distilled into one sleek and deadly design. It certainly functions as a break-and-rake capable entry or egress tool, but it is also an extremely capable CQB weapon.
The Warrior is machined from a solid billet of D2 tool steel that’s just over 0.3-inch thick along its entire length. It’s coated in a low-profile titanium carbonitride finish for corrosion resistance. Rather than a traditional axe bevel, the Warrior Hawk has a faceted head with a point and a zero-grind to allow for maximum penetration.
Spyderco provides a molded sheath of Boltaron with the Warrior Hawk, which seems a lot like Kydex but sounds way cooler.
On the reverse side of the axe head is a spike capable of “puncturing tires and fuel tanks to disable vehicles,” which could be rather handy. It also works for breaking windows and raking glass or other entry tasks. The handle is fitted with 3D machined G10 scales and has an integral pry tip. The Warrior hawk comes with a molded, snap-fit Boltaron sheath and a padded zipper pouch for storage.
The base of the Warrior Hawk’s handle is rugged pry tip.
More so than any of the other tools we’ve looked at, the Warrior Hawk is designed and built with a martial purpose in mind. If you think that your disaster scenario is likely to be in a hostile environment and you want a tool that will work in an emergency but also function as an efficient weapon, then the Warrior Hawk is the one for you. KI
SPECS
SPYDERCO WARRIOR HAWK
Length (Overall/Blade): 13.68 inches/5.88 inches
Cutting Edge: 2.19 inches and 0.8 inch
Blade Steel: D2 tool steel, TiCN coated
Thickness: 0.307 inch
Handle Material: G10
Sheath Material: Boltaron
Weight: 28.5 ounces, with sheath—31 ounces
Grind: Flat
Origin: Taiwan
MSRP: $504
Spyderco.com
TOPS PRY KNIFE
If you think a rescue axe is a little more than you want to carry around, you can find a few options in solid knives specifically designed for hacking and prying rescue work, such as the TOPS Pry Knife. Normally most makers don’t recommend you pry with their knives as you risk damaging the tip or otherwise breaking them.
“…there are some tools small enough to put in your bugout bag, get-home bag, or in your vehicle in case of emergency.”
TOPS actually gives you a whole tool kit when you buy a Pry Knife. You also get an offset screwdriver and a handy Pry-Probe-Punch tool that all fit into the provided sheath.
TOPS takes that challenge head-on, though, and has designed a knife for that purpose. The company suggests this tool for emergency services, patrol units, SWAT, FEMA, firefighters, Search and Rescue teams, or Military Field Ops, or anyone else that needs a compact tool capable of hacking, chopping, or prying.
The TOPS Pry Knife is actually a compact kit as it comes with the knife itself, a Pry-Probe-Punch Tool, and an offset double ended screwdriver tool that all fit into the included sheath with accessory pouch.
The knife itself is almost 11 inches long and made from a quarter-inch thick slab of 5160 tool steel and fitted with Micarta handle with a Rocky Mountain Tread pattern for a secure grip in any environment.
The TOPS Pry Knife is a low profile tactical tool for folks who don’t have the space for or want the bulk of a tactical axe.
It has a chisel ground edge with a set of smaller serrations on the main edge just above the choil and a large section of larger serrations on the back. The flat tip of the knife is chisel shaped and is sharpened so it can both scrape and pry. A heavy, exposed pommel is well designed for hammering or smashing. The steel is covered in a black traction coating for corrosion resistance.
The Pry Tool is made from one piece of quarter inch 5160 steel fitted with Mountain Pattern Tread Micarta handles.
The Pry-Probe-Punch tool is a small but heavily built prybar with a half-inch shaft with a crowbar style tip on one end and a punch on the other end for breaking glass or breaking other surfaces.
It’s wrapped in paracord and a series of rubber washers to give a solid grip while using the tool. While the Pry Knife can take an extreme amount of abuse itself, the Pry Tool gives you another option for rough work too severe for a more conventional blade.
The TOPS Pry Knife with accessories makes for a compact piece of kit that can easily be carried in your daypack or bugout bag, giving you the option of a tool capable of breaking into, or out of, situations without the weight or bulk of a larger tactical tool and without being as obvious.
SPECS
TOPS PRY KNIFE
Knife Type: Fixed Blade
Length (Overall/Blade): 10.75 inches/ 4.5 inches
Cutting Edge: 4.5 inches
Secondary Edge: 3.5 inches
Blade Thickness: 0.25 inch
Steel (of Blade): 5160 RC 56-58
Blade Finish: Black traction coating
Handle Material: Black linen Micarta
Handle Style: Rocky Mountain Tread
Sheath Material: Black ballistic nylon
Sheath: Clip MOLLE backing
Designer: TOPS team
MSRP: $275
TOPSKnives.com
A version of this article first appeared in the June/July 2022 print issue of Knives Illustrated.