SOG FastHawk- 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.

I've never owned any sort of tomahawk or hatchet before, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. When the SOG Fasthawk arrived in the mail, it was exactly the size I expected it to be (I purposely ordered it over the larger model). A burning question among buyers, including myself before buying, was "why buy the polished model?"Simply put, tomahawks are for throwing, and for most people who would throw a tool like this, an all-black model would be hard to find given you miss your target and you didn't quite catch where the hawk bounced off to. The extra few dollars are well worth the extra visibility of finding your hawk if you lose it in the bush. Not to mention it looks absolutely awesome in the air!I bought the Fasthawk (keep in mind, it's 12 inches long from the head to the base of the handle) because I'm a smaller person (5'5", 120 lbs) with little hands, and also for the ease of concealment. They both have plastic sheaths manufactured for them, but they cost about the same as the hawk itself and for most people the nylon sheath is enough.The reduction in size and weight means that any action you perform with the Fasthawk will be weaker than if you did the same with the Tomahawk (15 inches overall, same measurement points). The tomahawk has the edge as an all-around tool, but the fasthawk, I think, has the edge as a weapon. Swings and throws are faster, and it can be stowed away in even a simple drawstring backpack. For me, the smaller model was the ideal buy. Throwing these hawks is a matter of distance judgement and consistent throwing technique. If you can master both of those, you'll be able to hit targets at some pretty wild distances within a few weeks of normal use.Regarding quality and neatness of the product, I'd say SOG did a very good job in the manufacturing process, and they know how to make a hawk for sure. I once threw mine and thought I'd have to reprofile the entire edge because I missed my target and my hawk slammed edge-first into a rock. By some miracle, the edge was fine and only needed a 1 minute file session to get rid of the burr that formed on the point of impact. For stainless steel, the head is extremely tough and will last a long time.Reading through my own review, I've realized Tomahawks are one of those things were there's just so many uses that it's hard to choose which of the basic few models would be the most worth it. To be honest, if you're not nit-picky and your habits are flexible, buy whichever one you want; it's more about size for you. If you're a stickler when it comes to your gear, then you might have to think a little bit. Polished or unpolished? Tomahawk or fasthawk? Should I even buy a SOG or buy a more expensive, higher quality model? How about that new voodoo hawk? The choices are seemingly endless, but rest assured that SOG makes a mean line of tomahawks regardless of which one you buy. Can't go wrong with these hawks.

Throws very accurately and smooth.

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.