Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axe

The Cold Steel Company is run by its founder Lynn Thompson. Mr. Thompson is an avid hunter and outdoor enthusiast as well as a practical self-defense expert and instructor in the use of techniques and weapons to defend life and limb. The product line that his company makes are durable products designed for real-world use at great prices. They design, manufacture, use and abuse, and redesign products so that the consumer ends up with stuff that just plain works.

The Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axe is one of those products. One of the foundational tenets of Cold Steel is to take ancient proven designs and make new products by utilizing the strongest and most durable modern materials. Tomahawk style throwing axes have been around since they were made from stone and a piece of wood. Modern metallurgy combined with a super tough polypropylene handle makes the Trench Axe a durable and formidable weapon.

The Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axe is made from drop forged 5150 carbon steel. It is strong and can be re-sharpened to a razor’s edge easily. The primary blade surface (the hawk) is 3 ½ inches with an overall length of the T-shaped business end 8 ¾ inches long. From the bottom of the handle to the top is 19 inches. The weight is 24 ounces making it heavy enough to do an effective job yet light enough to easily carry.

The Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axe was designed with narrow trench fighting in mind. In today’s world, that translates into tight spaces such as hallways. The weapon is designed with a pointed end that can pierce deeply into bone and with a cutting edge on the opposite end that can affect a lethal blow with a single strike. Behind the curved blade edge is a U-channel with raised metal scallops along the handle and a point at the blade edge to be used to grab and entrap objects. It can be used on objects or an enemy to affect control.

The steel is differentially hardened to allow for an edge that will retain sharpness and a structural body that is flexible to yield to impact when the axe is thrown. This axe is designed to hold up to heavy throwing. The handle is replaceable, but it will take a tremendous effort to structurally damage a polypropylene handle. Hard woods can take abuse and polypropylene can take even more abuse. If hard wood handles are the Humvee, then polypropylene is a tank.

The Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axe has two edges to increase the surface area for lethal contact when throwing. A novice can practice with this weapon until expertise is attained and still retain the same weapon for battle use. At a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of $59.99, this is an excellent deal. The Trench Hawk Axe also comes with an articulated polypropylene sheath. The edge and point are nasty so the sheath is an asset to have.

If our guys had these Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axes in the trenches of World War Two, they would have been a definite advantage for the in-your-face close quarter combat of the trenches where even a rifle could not be wielded with any real accuracy. One blow from this axe on an enemy skull or limb joint can render instant death or at the minimum, it can cause immobilization. The entrapment surfaces can be used to pull an enemy into lethal range and control his movements.

Typical use of this weapon today might be soldiers who are deployed as well as civilians for home defense where firearms are not prudent or not permitted. The long sturdy handle provides leverage and strength. The material in the construction of the handle is important, because a handle breaking in combat can get the wielder of the weapon killed. Polypropylene is a tough thermoplastic that has a high resistance to fatigue. It can be destroyed but is extremely durable. Buy one of these Cold Steel Trench Hawk Axes and throw it to your heart’s content. It will get the job done.