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Woodman’s Pal

A Product Review by Phil Elmore

Family-owned
Pro Tool Industries
is located not too far from me in Boyertown, PA. Among the handmade
tools they offer is the Woodman’s Pal, an oddly shaped device I’d noticed in
the ads of knife magazines but never had the chance to handle. The
Woodman’s Pal has been around since 1941 and was previously made by the Victor
Tool Company in Reading, PA. Issued in Vietnam as the “Survival Tool,
Type IV,” this long-lived implement is still available to soldier and civilian
alike.

The Woodman’s Pal Model 284, the “deluxe” model.

Recently, the company sent The Martialist the deluxe
version of the Woodman’s Pal, a Model 284. Appropriately, this is the
style issued during WWII, complete with stacked leather handle and a
substantial D-guard. The tool also came equipped with a high-quality
full-grained leather sheath. Other models available include the
“classic” version with a 6-inch ash wood grip, a junior version of my model
284 (it has a shorter blade), and a “long reach” tool with an extended wooden
handle. For those not keen to keep their tools in leather, the company
offers Nylon pouches.

The Model 284 in its natural element — the woods.

My model 284 is a formidable 16.5 inches overall with 5 inch
handle. Blade stock is 1/8-inch high-carbon tool steel, hardened to
Rockwell C47 and differentially tempered. Like a Japanese katana, the
cutting edges of the Woodman’s Pal are harder for performance, while outer
case of the blade is softer to prevent cracking on impact or in severe cold.
The concave axe blade is convex ground, while the sickle hook is chisel
ground. The black powder coating is intended to prevent corrosion.

The leather sheath is a high-quality affair with two
heavy snaps.

The
sheath included with my deluxe
Woodman’s Pal is a rich, high-quality piece of stitched leather. A
retaining strap secures the handle and a secondary snap provides egress for
the big, oddly shaped blade. For daily use, if you’re not a fan of
leather or the maintenance it requires, I would recommend the Nylon model (I
know I despise working in the rain while wearing leather sheaths). If
you’re willing to invest the time and the wax, however, this is a fine-looking
sheath that should hold up (and take on natural blemishes) over the long term.

The same is true of the stacked leather handle. If
you’re worried about the leather, go with the wooden handle on the classic
model — but be aware that there’s little that could match the comfort of the
stacked washers. The handle is
ergonomically curved, provides good traction (its grained surface feels
almost soft), and is more than long enough for my big mitts. The D-guard
is oversized, so even the thickest gloves can be worn while wielding the tool.
I like having that guard over my hand when chopping.

Chop the Woodman’s Pal does. It is naturally top-heavy
as you’d expect (and want) from such a tool, with a point of balance just at
the left of the logo on the surface of the blade. It cleaves naturally
and easily, the axe edge chopping
and slicing into the work in a very natural arc. The tool feels heavier
than a machete but less awkward than a standard camp hatchet.

I took the Woodman’s Pal out into the woods and used it to
clear brush and dying scrub. I also used the chisel-ground
sickle hook to pull roots, draw
through smaller branches, and claw my way through some of the tangled weeds
and shoots in the area. The edges held up nicely (though they did dull
with use).

The recessed sickle hook is chisel-ground and works
well.

After coating the tool lightly with some Rem Oil I stored it
in its sheath overnight. The next day the the exposed edge had
discolored in spots (as I knew it would) but cleaned up easily when I touched
up the edge with a diamond rod.

The axe blade of the Woodman’s Pal made short work of
small brush.

The sickle hook provides great leverage.

I was impressed with the performance of the Woodman’s Pal.
I’m more a city boy than an outdoorsman these days, but when I was younger I
learned much from my father. He was an avid outdoorsman (he still is,
really) who enjoyed walking the woods with a shotgun and took us camping on
many a weekend. Every time I take to the woods, I remember some of the
lessons he taught me, or the times we hunted together with .44 Magnum
revolvers. (One of my earliest memories is of driving through a field to
reach a remote campsite, wondering why we’d left the road. On that same
trip, my father discovered a very large snake and drove it off by hurling
rocks at it. These images form my earliest memories of life in the
outdoors. There is also a picture of me at perhaps three or four years
old proudly holding a fishing rod by the lake’s edge.)

The author, a city boy back in the woods.

The tool cuts efficiently and (more importantly)
comfortably. The guard provides good protection, as does the design of
the blade — it has built-in dull areas to prevent accidental cuts from
snap-back and deflection during pulling and chopping.

While utility and outdoors preparedness are reason enough to
profile the Woodman’s Pal here, I would be remiss if I did not comment on its
rather wicked appearance and its potential as a weapon. I took the tool
to my Kali class the evening of my trip to the woods, where my fellow students
and our instructor could not stop marveling over it. “That is sick,”
was one comment. “Imagine the disarm,” was another, in reference to the
sickle hook. My friend Norm, an assistant instructor and passionate
bladesman, whipped the tool in figure-eights and tight angles with absolute
glee in his eyes. This is not the tool’s intended use, nor would I
advocate applying it as some sort of machete on steroids — but the fact is
that it could be used for self-defense (to significant effect) if it
was all you had.

Recently I’ve been feeling the urge to buy a new tent and go
back to camping — to escape the irritation and the noise of the city.
When I do, I’ll be packing marshmallows, plenty of lighter fluid, and a Swiss
Army Knife, among other things. Thanks to the folks at Pro Tool, I can
think of one more item to add to my list.

I won’t be going camping without my
Woodman’s Pal.

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