The Martialist: The Magazine For Those Who Fight Unfairly

“Stay ‘unreasonable.’  If you
don’t like the solutions [available to you], come up with your
own.” 
Dan Webre

The Martialist does not
constitute legal advice.  It is for ENTERTAINMENT
PURPOSES ONLY.

Copyright © 2003-2004 Phil Elmore, all rights
reserved.

Hays Warrior Xtreme Tomahawk

A Product Review by Phil Elmore

I admire a man who stands behind his product.  I think
I would also be more than nervous facing a man standing behind this
product, as before the business end of a tomahawk is no place I want to be. 
When I contacted Victor Hays of
Hays Knives, he was more than happy to send
out one of his Warrior Xtreme models for evaluation at the offices of The
Martialist.

The Hays Warrior Xtreme tomahawk and its leather
blade cover.

My tomahawk arrived with a packing slip from Ambassador
Manufacturing, LLC.  The weapon is a tull-tang model with a tapered
striking butt, aggressively checkered handle slabs of Acetal (Delrin), and a
gracefully curved head with a small blade and a piercing hook.  The black
parkerized blade and body of the ‘hawk are made from a single piece of 1095
steel that is just under a quarter-inch thick by my measurement.  The
shaft is 15 inches long and the head is about 8.5 inches across.  The
‘hawk ships with a simple black leather blade cover.

Wielding the Warrior Xtreme tomahawk by Victor Hays.

The Warrior Xtreme feels hefty but not unwieldy in my large
hands, cleaving the air with authority and striking with brutal force. 
The point of balance is about 6″ below the head, making it just right
chopping.

The Warrior Xtreme is excellent for chopping.

The tomahawk is an extremely effective close-quarters
weapon.  The point penetrates deeply and the blade chops like a small
axe.  The point on the Warrior Xtreme is unsharpened but tapered. 
The edge on my ‘hawk shipped sharp enough to slice paper cleanly.  The
curve of the tomahawk’s head makes it great for hooking and goring with either
end.

The piercing point of the Warrior Xtreme penetrates
well.

I put the Warrior Xtreme through its paces in a trash-laden
back alley through which I’ve run madly on more than one occasion.  There
is always plenty of refuse for testing tools there, much of it large plastic
barrels that I prefer for their sidewall thickness.  On this occasion
there were no barrels – but there was a discarded shelf unit of incredibly
heavy fiberboard so ancient it was almost petrified.

No discarded shelving unit was safe that fateful
afternoon.

The point of the Warrior Xtreme did vicious damage to the
shelf, hitting hard and lodging deeply.  I had to pry it free each time
and this took some effort.  The blade likewise cut deeply, leaving
V-shaped notches in the rock-hard old unit.  I also used the striking
butt of the ‘hawk to make impressive gashes in the shelving, though these were
not as deep.  It is harder to hit deeply with the butt because the weight
favors the head of the tool.

The tomahawk had to be pried free each time.

The thick handles provide very good traction.  The
Warrior Xtreme is heavy enough that I have a hard time not following through
with each strike, but it is not so heavy that I found it awkward.  I
liked how it moved and I felt extremely well-armed while testing it.

Damage done by the unsharpened piercing point of the
‘hawk.

The leather blade cover is too light for field carry, so I
would recommend having a Kydex or Concealex sheath made for extended or heavy
use.  For storage and for carry in a vehicle, however, the cover works
just fine.  Inside my cover was a small circle of material covering the rivet of the closure snap.  This came free at some point and I
found it inside the sheath, but it was easily repaired with a little Super
Glue.

The point, edge, and butt picked up debris and paint
but cleaned up fine.

The Warrior Xtreme is a strong, well-made tool that holds up
well in use.  My tomahawk cleaned up nicely after testing.  Its edge
was dulled slightly but not damaged.  The paint and other residue pressed
into the point and butt scraped free with little effort.  The full-tang
construction eliminates worry about losing one’s ‘hawk head in the field,
while the simple design makes the tool easy to maintain as well as
aesthetically pleasing.  Given all of this, I find the Warrior Xtreme extremely
impressive.

I’m sorry;  I couldn’t
resist.