Tomahawk vs machete

[Toecutter]

I've been clearing the woods behind my house. its over grown wisteria wild grape and all sorts of bushes. Ive been clearing a bit at a time over couple of years I pick put an area in the spring and just go to town.
I have tried many differnet tools and the machete seems to rule supreme. I want the tomahawk to be the better tool but for me its not.
I can't see much the tomahawk can do that the machete can't. I had a different machete and it sucked. This parang style seems to work great.
Am I wrong , thoughts?

 

[96coal449]

I love the tomahawk but the machete is definitely the tool for your task.
However there are many things a tomahawk can do that the machete cannot.

Open car doors and trunks.
Destroy cinder blocks.
Much more efficient crate opener.
Destroying plate glass.
Bashing skulls in.

The list goes on, but that's all I can think of for now. IMO I feel the tomahawk is overall a better weapon, as this is what it was designed for.
The machete was designed as a tool, but can also be used as a weapon. Make sense?

 

[kev74]

I don't have a tomahawk, but my machete is way more productive at clearing small stuff than my hatchets are.

 

[96coal449]

I would love to get an RMS Eagle Talon .....

 

[Toecutter]

I love the tomahawk but the machete is definitely the tool for your task.
However there are many things a tomahawk can do that the machete cannot.

Open car doors and trunks.
Destroy cinder blocks.
Much more efficient crate opener.
Destroying plate glass.
Bashing skulls in.

The list goes on, but that's all I can think of for now. IMO I feel the tomahawk is overall a better weapon, as this is what it was designed for.
The machete was designed as a tool, but can also be used as a weapon. Make sense?

Agreed its a better weapon. I've studied and adapted martial arts ive trained in over the years to use a tomahawk and its a brutal weapon one of the reasons I love it. The machete isn't a slouch when it comes to fighting either. In the woods I could smash things with a rock .

 

[Toecutter]

I don't have a tomahawk, but my machete is way more productive at clearing small stuff than my hatchets are.

And I would say the hatchet is better then the romahawk at camp tasks such as splitting wood. The tomahawk splits wood but you have to baton it . i could baton the machete as well.

 

[96coal449]

If I could only choose one to carry, I think I'd pick the blade. Even though I love the tomahawk more. They both can be great tools, but the blade is better as a survival knife. Especially the type you've chosen.

 

[Celt]

The real question is, if you were stranded alone in the wilderness which would you rather have. I think id prefer a hefty machete.

 

[Criticalt]

If improperly used, a tomahawk can get stuck in a body, head.....
Whereas, a machete being a slashing and hacking weapon, is less likely to get stuck.
A good pull can dislodge a machete, where a tomahawk takes more leverage.
So, seeing that ive never trained with either, id pick the machete for fighting.
Id pick the machete for clearing brush.
But id pick the tomahawk for cool factor and for making.
Machetes are surprisingly difficult to make on a coal forge. A tomahawk is much easier.

 

[GOPerfect]

So, every tool has its place. I have A LOT of machetes and a few tomahawks. I like all of them.

For the kind of work you describe, a good heavy machete would be best. A tomahawk is better of thicker stuff, but the machete will do a fine job.

When I go to my land to work, clear areas or clean up small trees, I bring a multitude of tools,.

During the Zombie takeover, I will carry both; they all have their place.

 

[Criticalt]

Also, a chainsaw is great for small or big stuff.
Heck, I cut PVC pipe, ice, vinyl siding, plywood..... with a chainsaw.

 

[Toecutter]

Tomahawk really doesn't take space either I can remove the handle and take the head if I had to.

Crit. Good point frontiers man carried small axes and tomahawks perhaps why they chose them was ease of forging and price . most also had a larger axe as well.

Ive felled small trees( 4 to 5 inch diameter) with that machete as well. I feel that it is better for that then the tomahawk as well . the tomahawk is just too thin and light.

As for fighting with it.I choke up on the shaft use the pole hammer and top for striking and blade to cut and hooking. I consider lodging a tomahawk in someone's skull a big W.

 

[Criticalt]

Tomahawk really doesn't take space either I can remove the handle and take the head if I had to.

Crit. Good point frontiers man carried small axes and tomahawks perhaps why they chose them was ease of forging and price . most also had a larger axe as well.

Ive felled small trees( 4 to 5 inch diameter) with that machete as well. I feel that it is better for that then the tomahawk as well . the tomahawk is just too thin and light.

As for fighting with it.I choke up on the shaft use the pole hammer and top for striking and blade to cut and hooking. I consider lodging a tomahawk in someone's skull a big W.

Ahhh yes, but how about when you are fighting multiple attackers and your tomahawk gets stuck?
A machete can slash jugulars all day.
I guess the right answer is that you have 2 hands, so why not both?

 

[Celt]

So, every tool has its place. I have A LOT of machetes and a few tomahawks. I like all of them.

For the kind of work you describe, a good heavy machete would be best. A tomahawk is better of thicker stuff, but the machete will do a fine job.

When I go to my land to work, clear areas or clean up small trees, I bring a multitude of tools,.

During the Zombie takeover, I will carry both; they all have their place.

But, the silly question, if you could only have 1 what would you choose?

 

[dsdmmat]

Tomahawks are great for taking out command and control centers as well as taking out a single building. With a nuclear warhead they are even capable of taking out small cities.

Now to be serious it depends upon the task at hand. I have a SOG tomahawk I carry in the truck for emergencies ( sort of like the crash axe we carried in the Blackhawk). A machete in the truck would look like a weapon instead of a tool to most observers.


I have carried a machete on most of my excursions to the armpits of the world as well as my teen aged years in the forests of Oregon. They are very useful and I would most likely pick the machete over the tomahawk under the above mentioned conditions.

 

[Depick]

For what you described I’d say the machete is your best bet but keep in mind you could Embrace technology and Get yourself a battery reciprocating saw with a 12” pruning blade. I just cut down a tree in my yard with that setup.

 

[ArmedCorgi]

I'd say a machete is better for clearing brush and makes for a good low skill weapon (all you have to do is swing it). A tomahawk, is better for barrier penetration (busting a hole in a wall, breaking windows, popping tires, opening cans) and felling/de-limbing small trees and as a weapon is effective but I think would take more skill to use well in that capacity. Also much closer in weapon than a machete.

 

[Exonautic]

I like the kukri style of machete. It's heavy weighted at the end so in a pinch it's no slouch at splitting logs but it's still light and sharp enough to use for brush work. As far as a defensive weapon, if it's sharp enough and heavy enough in this profile you can likely slice a head clean off with it.

 

[GOPerfect]

But, the silly question, if you could only have 1 what would you choose?

Had to choose????

I would choose the machete. I would be sad that I could only take one though.

 

[GOPerfect]

Machetes | Cold Steel

Speaking of Machetes.... I own at least 10 of theirs, I have never had an issue with any of them.

 

[96coal449]

Cold steal makes some decent blades. For the folders I prefer my Benchmade.

 

[Celt]

I

Machetes | Cold Steel

Speaking of Machetes.... I own at least 10 of theirs, I have never had an issue with any of them.

Have a couple of cheap hardware store machetes, and i have the gerber gator.
Gerber Gator Machete - Cutting Tools | Gerber Gear

I like some of those coldsteel ones too. I want a kukri style, and the slant tip style as well.

 

[Mk44]

My choice would be a machete for cutting through the brush because of the long cutting edge, you'll cut more with each swing.
In the jungle, the natives/ hunting guides use machetes to blaze a path through the jungle ( seems to been working for them.)
I have a couple of tomahawks. But I believe the American Indians used tomahawks more as a fighting tool.
(For cutting large branches, I prefer to use a hatchet/ axe or a bow saw. )

 

[Podmonkey]

I choose:
The Ginunting

 

[wizrd]

Found a nice, brand new machete at a garage sale for $5. Boars Head - Endure, made by Ralph Martindale Co. Ltd. , England. Excellent carbon tool steel, - wasn't sure of the quality, but it really shows in use. If you find one somewhere, grab it, you'll be glad you did.

 

[FrankenCub]

Machetes | Cold Steel

Speaking of Machetes.... I own at least 10 of theirs, I have never had an issue with any of them.

Nice looking selection. I have a cheap POS machete, no hardening what so ever. Even using on light brush the damn thing will bend, not just role over the edge, the whole blade will bend. I really need to step up to something with a hardened blade.

 

[FLA45fan]

Got a couple of machetes, usgi and another from south America, name brand escapes me, but better of the two. Got a SOG tomahawk. Got a Fiskars hatchet. I will say that I've used the machetes for a lot of duties, as well as the hatchet. But a tomahawk, eh, just doesn't call me. Probably would make for a good weapon, but too skinny for anything else. The hatchet has good weight, a wider blade, and I feel that it's far more useful than the tomahawk. And as much as I like the two current machetes, I think that a Fiskars 24" machete , because of its heavier blade and better handle, would be even better than my current ones and probably could handle a lot of the hatchet duties, as well as being a formidable weapon. The only thing I have heard that is bad about the Fiskars machete is that it needs sharpening right out of the box. My extra large emergency bag (for throwing in the truck, not so much to carry) has the Fiskars hatchet and a SOG Seal Pup fixed blade knife.
I will be buying a Fiskars machete soon . . .

 

[Greywood]

I love tomahawks! I've had a lot and carried one every day at my old job. While they are great they just suck for some tasks. Even a large knife is more useful than a tomahawk sometimes.