By Dave Rhea
Owner of RMJ Tactical, Ryan Johnson builds modern tomahawks used in the field by soldiers who need absolute reliability and durability. He is a student of tomahawk history, having appeared on an episode about axes on the History Channel’s “Modern Marvels,” as well as creating his own high-end, period-accurate reproductions. “I was originally tasked in 2001 to design and build a tactical tomahawk for members of the special operations community,” said Johnson. “The design was to be based on a French and Indian War-era spike tomahawk.” However, Johnson said eventually it dawned on him his customers were not interested in the hawk being historically accurate but rather in it providing superior performance. “With this in mind I took the aspects of the historical design that made it work well and scrapped the rest, rethinking how the design could be improved.” Johnson added that when he designs a tomahawk, breaching and ease of carry are his two main concerns. “Yes, one of our hawks will still punch through body armor,” he said. “But more importantly, it will pop a Master Lock in 10 seconds, rake and break glass, puncture tires, cut through sheet metal, break chain—and do all this in a small footprint that’s easy to carry and lightweight.”
The 15.5-inch hawk boasts a hammer-forged head of 4140 alloy steel with a hard rubber cover molded over the handle. Weight: 27 ounces. MSRP: $395.
The brutish 1-pound crash axe has four sharpened edges on the 1095 carbon steel, Black Traction-coated head. Affixed to that is a tubular haft of 4130 chrome moly covered in “Eezer foam,” which doubles as a shock absorber for the user. MSRP: $175.95.
Specialty Knives & Tool’s original Tactical Tomahawk is based on the tactical hawks used by soldiers during the Vietnam War. The 420 stainless steel head has a 2.75-inch edge. The 15.75-inch handle is fiberglass-reinforced nylon. MSRP: $64.24 and $50.
Designed it for light-to-heavy-duty chopping chores, throwing, and general military and self-defense applications.
MSRP: $60.