SOGFastHawk- Lighter, Faster, Agile Throwing Hatchet, Versatile Survival Tactical Axe for Competition Throwing and Camping, Hunting and Packing-Black (F06TN-CP)

I have owned one of these for about a decade. I have never used it as a throwing axe, but have used it primarily as a camping axe and garage tool. Over the years I have used to dig roots out of the front yard, pull rocks and paving stones out, split small amounts of firewood and other basic tasks. This little axe holds up great, it takes a giant beating and sharpens up quick and easy to go back out again. I have take chips out of it over the years and had to resharpen, but I cant blame the tool as most any other axe would have had the same issue given the abuse it was taking. After taking it for an extended camping trip and making use of it recently, I decided that I needed a spare should I lose or break it.This axe functions best for small and light tasks as it is very lightweight. If you keep it sharp and available it will handle a good many tasks but due to its light weight and small profile, it will struggle for tasks better suited for a medium to large axe and dull quick, that said its a great and cheap investment for an emergency tool, hatchet replacement for camping, etc.

Throws very accurately and smooth.

Light fast goes with my EDC with no problems

I've had the larger SOG Tactical Tomahawk for some time now, and it has become one of my most used woods tools. The larger F01T Tactical Tomahawk is well made, holds a good edge, and holds up to my (almost daily) heavy use very well. I've wanted to use it as an everyday carry with my gear, but it was too heavy to justify. I wanted something just as nice but smaller, lighter and able to be carried easier. The RMJ Kestrel fits this need perfectly, but it costs over $400 so that's hard to justify. The SOG tomahawks are a great value for the price.Enter the SOG F06-N Fast Hawk, a slightly smaller version of the larger one. I was surprised when I opened the package, it was smaller than I had expected. Everything was smaller. The handle is not only shorter, but it is thinner as well. Same with the head, smaller but also thinner. It looks like SOG kept the overall balance by making all dimensions smaller. The overall effect is more than a shorter tactical tomahawk, it is a substantially lighter one too. For those looking for a Tactical Hawk, this allows for very fast strikes. For the rest of us who use a hawk as a tool, it makes for a lighter tool, easier to carry, and less fatigue from a day of heavy use. While the small head and lighter weight don't lend themselves to the heavy duty tree work, that the larger version excels at, it is a good compromise and makes limbing trees a breeze. The faster strike makes up for some of the lost weight, but not all. So far, I like it.I have been clearing scrub, dead falls and other nuisance growth in my woods. I have extensive experience with the larger SOG hawk working in this manner. It is great. Today, I took this new Fast Hawk to see how it does. In a word, great. I wouldn't want to drop a tree over about 6 inches in diameter with it, but it could if needed. For smaller scrub, sumac, and other wild weed like softwoods, it made short work of them. I much prefer this new Fast Hawk for taking the limbs off, short fast strikes shave them right off almost effortlessly. It is small enough and light enough to attach as a piece of my standard gear now. I like it, I like it a lot.The larger one throws very well, so I wondered how this little one would fly. It does that well too. The short length gives it a fast spin, so I had to adjust for that, but once I got used to it, it was sinking and sticking in stumps with a good thud. Yup, it throws just as well as the larger version. I don't know why you'd need to do that, but it is fun once in awhile to pass a few minutes. I'll post some comparison pictures of the two so you can see for yourself.For the price, it's highly recommended. It's light enough to take hiking and leave it on my gear. Even though it is smaller, it is still tough enough for real world use, it'll take it.

Specs: 2" blade edge...3" depth to handle....spike 5/8" x 1/8" taper, 2-1/4" to handle...handle 12" bottom to top of head, x 1-1/8" x 13/16" oval of black grooved poly and hole in butt for lanyard. Head attached to handle by 4 torqex screws with a re-enforcing ferrule. Impressed checkering on sides of head for non-slip pounding. Finished in black. Sheath is stiff black cordura, hollow rivets with 3 snaps on bottom...1-1/4" belt loop. Go to "sogknives.com" for more specs and a short vid.As much as they want to say, this isn't a camper's axe. The edge is semi-hollow ground, and only 9/16" before the hole in blade, limiting the amount of resharpening. I was able to shave my arm with the factory edge. The edge angle is such that the cutting edge starts cutting at the top first when striking. The spike is an abrupt angle edge. Handle is grooved, but it is still somewhat slick.Tried this axe out on a 55gal drum; pierced the sides easily with only marring the paint, using the spike. The Mrs. performed it easily but complained the handle was a bit slick. She chopped on some red fir firewood, but it was near impossible to split the wood due to light weight. This axe is designed with more towards "Urban Survival" in mind. Cutting through drywall was not a problem. It did take repeated strikes for about 4 minutes to get through a wall stud. Tried the spike on a junk vehicle side window & it shattered it easily. We had a fresh, road killed deer near our place. The spike will easily pierce the skull bone with little effort. The cutting edge will penetrate all the way through hide & meat until stopped by the handle. Long swinging slashes to the ribcage severed the ribs completely. Very little dulling of edge even after repeated strikes into bone. Axe cleaned up quickly with soap & water.Wife likes this tool. Has a good use as a vehicle tool when critters reach in through the window and breaking out windows for escape. Would be useful in cutting a last ditch exit out of a room when other exits would be blocked. Would make a great defensive tool in hands that had a bit of training. The slick handle can be overcome by a nylon cord loop or wrapping the handle with para-cord. The sheath has a lot to be desired for belt carry, but the hollow rivets allow for lashing to a bailout bag. Can be attached under the dash by screws through the hollow rivets. Great cutting tool for the price, but a poor choice for a small camping axe. Get a Estwing axe for that. Only main complaint I have is that it is "Made in China". Gave it a 5 Star due to the intended design of personal defense/escape tool.