As you know, it is usually beneficial to carry an edged tool. However, some jobs have needs that go beyond the capacity of even the toughest fixed blades. Whether you are roughing it outdoors or are in the heat of battle in the deserts of the Middle East, there exists a need for something heavier.

Enter the axe.

Axes, and their brutish big brothers, mauls, have for centuries been integral parts of the tool collection of landowners everywhere. Today, though, the axes on the market are a far cry from the one in your granddad’s old shed.

Now, the axe serves many purposes—wood splitter, multi-function survival tool, and even as a breaching device. Specialized hatches, axes and mauls are designed for cutting trees, brush and fence posts, dragging and cutting lines, tearing through doors and just about any other heavy-duty need.

Fireman’s Backup


“The Fireman’s Backup was initially designed by Allen Jensen—he’s an axe nut,” Fuller winked. “He does work in conjunction with the Bureau of Land Management and the Forestry Service, and it was originally done for people who work in the Hotshot crews [highly trained wild-land firefighters] so they could have a little something extra.”

The blade of the made-in-the-USA Fireman’s Backup is 7.5 inches long and sports a 5-inch cutting edge. Blade steel is 1095 carbon with a Rockwell hardness of 58 Rc. The full-tang haft is black linen Micarta®. The Kydex® sheath features a rotating steel spring clip. Overall length: 12.75 inches.
According to Fuller, the Black Traction Coating on the blade is ideal for fire-related uses.

“It’s a hybrid powder coating, which is baked on,” he explained. “It is a very, very tough material that stands up extremely well even in fire, unless it is sitting there under a concentrated blow torch.”

He said that in addition to use of the Fireman’s Backup by fire departments, SWAT teams and government agencies, TOPS has also sent the axes directly to special military units that use them as forced-entry tools.

Strider Hatchet

Another multi-use axe employed by various military and civilian agencies is the Strider Hatchet (manufacturer’s suggested retail price [MSRP]: $475) by Strider Knives. Small and sturdy, the hatchet is easy to carry.

“This is the analogy that we use,” Strider’s Josh Lee said. “You have a straight razor that you shave with and you have a splitting maul. With some of our products we look for the in-between.”

The Strider Hatchet has outdoor field applications as well as those of an entry tool, Lee explained.

“For example, the holes in the handle are not there for aesthetics, they are there to serve purposes, too. If you ever pound your tent stakes or pegs into the ground, then you need to yank them out. You just put the [hatchet] around [the stake] and use it as a pry tool.”

The 2-by-3-inch blade of Crucible’s S7 tool steel is a little over a quarter-inch thick. The blade is chisel ground with a reverse brush radius, and the way the lower head cut is designed, you can use it for standard chopping and also for finer detail work, such as removing bark from a tree.

The blade finish is black oxide and the handle comes in black or olive-drab-green cord wrap. Overall length: 13 inches.

“We use S7—the same tool steel that they use on jackhammer bits—instead of CPM S30V,” Lee observed. “The S7 will sharpen up nicely but it will not stay as sharp as the S30V, but it’s a lot tougher. It’s made for impact.”
Lee testified to the resilience of the Strider hatchet.

“You know those concrete parking blocks that you see in every parking lot? We timed Mick Strider [owner of Strider knives] and he was able to chop through a perfectly good one in under five minutes,” he related. “It was one of those things like, ‘I bet you can’t do that.’”

Spiked Axe

Condor Tool and Knife has a new offering called the Etched Damascus Spiked Axe ($119.98 MSRP). The first production landed in Houston about the end of April. Created and designed by Condor’s Arlan D. Lothe, the tool is tough, handy and quite pleasing to the eye.

The head is made by a vacuum-assist investment cast with a neat-looking surface treatment that resembles damascus.

“We deep etch those to the lower part of the surface so it actually reduces the drag on the blade and makes the axe cut deeper and faster,” Lothe pointed out. “It looks like damascus but the big deal is, by taking away some of the surface area, like a cheese knife, it cuts down the friction and makes it cut faster.”

The blade measures 7.25-by-4.5 inches. The steel is 440C stainless. The haft is a special South American variation of oak and has a non-slip area. It also has a patent-pending, cast-in-place wedge that holds the head to the haft. Weight: 2.5 pounds. Overall length: 16 inches.

“It’s a full-utility axe, where you can use it for whatever you want—cutting wood, as an entry tool, whatever,” Lothe said. “It’s a standard-pattern, universal axe. When we put it together, we made it heavy enough that if you’re in a building and need to go through a concrete wall, you can use this axe to chop through it.”

According to Lothe, the axes are made in Santa Ana, El Salvador. The leather sheaths are also handmade in El Salvador and feature a swivel belt loop, “so when you are wearing the axe on your belt loop, if you get into a car or truck or if you are in the brush with it, you can swing it out of the way. It’s not like a fixed belt sheath like you usually see,” Lothe explained.
“It’s a long time coming,” he added. “I’ve been working on this project for almost two years to get it all put together.”

Thundermaul

At the far end of the destruction-capability spectrum, BlackHawk offers a no-nonsense demolition machine in the Dynamic Entry Thundermaul ($64.95 MSRP). It is a sledgehammer on one side and a heat-treated maul with a tempered, chip-resistant cutting edge on the other.

Weighing in at 7.4 pounds with an overall length of 21.5 inches and an 8.75-inch maul head, there is no mistaking the Thundermaul for something you take camping. As an addition to BlackHawk’s Thundersledge line, the sledge/maul hybrid takes breaking stuff to a lofty new level.

As an addition to BlackHawk’s
Thundersledge line, the sledge/maul
hybrid takes breaking stuff to a
lofty new level. MSRP: $64.95.

“You not only have a striking tool that you can use to blast a hole through a doorway for an inspection,” BlackHawk’s Marty Wozniak explained, “by putting on a maul blade, you are now cutting and chopping through a door or a wall, whatever you need to get through.”

The Thundermaul’s blade is not sharp.

“We didn’t want a cutting tool, like an axe cutting down a tree. We wanted something with a little more beef behind it,” he noted. “Sometimes sharp isn’t better.”

The blade edge is 3.75 inches long and the sledge footprint is about 2-by-1.75 inches. It is made from drop-forged, heat-treated high carbon steel with a nick-resistant, tempered edge.

It also features Blackhawk’s Sure-Grip system. The haft is ribbed in such a way that when you swing the tool, the swing’s centrifugal force pulls the grooves tighter into your hand.

“We don’t have one of those situations where when emotion is high and logic is low,” Wozniak laughed. “No friendly fire with breaching tools—that’s all but eliminated because of this design.”

The haft is an injected-molded, polypropylene-jacketed fiberglass that is electrically non-conductive to 100,000 volts.

“And it’s all made in the United States,” Wozniak offered, “top shelf, the best metallurgy from the best foundry we could find.”

Conclusion

If you absolutely, positively must gain access to a room, building or what have you, or just want to split a log for the fire, the new breed of axes, hatchets and mauls are highly efficient for the purpose. All we recommend is that you wear proper eye protection and practice proper safety protocol when using them—and also ensure that whoever is in harm’s way is well clear before you swing away.