axesWhen most Americans traveled either by foot or by canoe, the most common and most practical sidearm and camp tool was the tomahawk. The preferred weapon of Native America caught on quickly among the European pioneers, and the combined demand created a massive influx of trade axes to the Americas. Some were of excellent quality and some were only created for profit, with hollow pipe stem handles and pipe bowls instead of polls. Few pipe axes kept the fragile bowl intact for long. The more practical forms of the one-hand axe proved best for work and for survival in the dense brush and virgin forests of the New World.

For campers, hunters and canoers today the hatchet or camp axe is still the sensible solution to many everyday problems. Tasks which would take hours with a belt knife take minutes with a good hatchet. Hunters of big game use the axe to cleave bone. Expert campers use axes to build emergency shelters, and chop and split firewood. Full sized axes may be better suited to farm work, but hatchets and tomahawks go anywhere — small enough to fit in the pack or lash to the bottom of a canoe seat.

Sporting axes today include another popular European import, the mountaineer’s ice axe, and military tomahawks which serve peaceful purposes equally well. The pipe axe also survives — today as in the old days usually a cheap souvenir.

Some of Our Favorite Axes

Our choice for the best axe is the Emerson CQC-T Tactical Tomahawk. It’s top quality, designed to handle anything from camp chores to combat.

Smith & Wesson’s Bullseye Hatchet provides an inexpensive alternative that’s still practical and reliable.

Cold Steel’s Throwing Tomahawk combines a functional hammer poll with an axe blade, and is tough enough for throwing practice.

See All of Our Axe Reviews Below


Axes

Cold Steel Trail Hawk Camp Hand Axe | Tomahawk Hammer w/ Hickory Handle

Possibly many of today’s backwoodsmen are a little embarrassed to carry a tomahawk, but I wouldn’t think of leaving mine at...
JT Hats
59 sec read

Gerber Back Pack Axe, Small | Camping & Wood Chopping Hatchet w/ Sheath 45912

Gerber’s Back Paxe offers backpackers a versatile camp tool small enough to carry conveniently into the deep woods. While it doesn’t...
JT Hats
1 min read

Hanwei Francisca Axe, Viking Combat | Medieval Antique Throwing Weapon XH2120N

The Francisca Antiqued Axe from CAS Hanwei reproduced a genuine combat axe design used by marauding Viking warriors. Now a favorite...
JT Hats
1 min read

Hudson Bay Camp Axe by Snow & Nealley | Tomahawk Frontier Trade Replica w/ Hickory Wood Handle 012S

If you think this camp axe from Snow and Nealley looks a lot like a tomahawk, you’re right. The Hudson Bay...
JT Hats
1 min read

Gerber Camp Hand Axe, Chopping & Wood Splitting | Nylon Handle w/ Belt Sheath 45905

The Gerber 45905 Camp Axe is a good size for canoeists and hunters able to carry larger gear on their backwoods...
JT Hats
55 sec read

Cold Steel Frontier Tomahawk, Outdoor Survival Tool | Camp Hawk Axe, Protective Coated w/ Hickory Handle 90F

Even though it looks too simple, the round eye of this very basic frontier axe makes it one of the best...
JT Hats
59 sec read

Cold Steel Spike Hawk Axe | Tomahawk or Kama w/ Hickory Handle 90SH

The Cold Steel Spike Tomahawk brings back an old frontier style that was more fighting tomahawk than camp axe. The spiked...
JT Hats
1 min read

Cold Steel Axe, Tactical Trench Hawk | Throwing or Camping Tomahawk, Polypropylene Handle w/ Sheath

Cold Steel’s Trench Hawk brings convenient technical improvements to an already popular tactical tomahawk design. Changes make this an excellent axe...
JT Hats
1 min read

SOG Hand Axe, Small Camp Ax w/ G-10 Handle | Specialty Knife & Tool Black Oxide F09-N

This lightweight camp axe from SOG Specialty Knife and Tool cuts weight down to sensible levels and still performs reliably and...
JT Hats
54 sec read

Carpenter’s Axe by Gransfors Bruks | Wood Carving Construction Square Blade

Timber framers know this tool. If you’ve tried an axe for chopping joints for log buildings or post-and-beam construction and it...
JT Hats
1 min read

Wetterlings Axe Chopping Blade, Hand Forged | Swedish Hickory Handle 32H

Hand forged in Storvik, Sweden, the S.A. Wetterling Axe with hickory handle represents 100 years of Swedish tradition. The best Wetterling...
JT Hats
1 min read

Outdoor Camp Axe by Gransfors Bruks | Camping Ax w/ Flat Poll Hammer & Sheath

Although the Gransfors Bruks Outdoor Axe is a little smaller than the award-winning Hunter’s Axe, it’s certainly made well enough to...
JT Hats
1 min read

Shingle Froe by Peavey | Firewood Kindling Wood Splitter, 15 Inch Blade

The froe is the tool most woodworkers don’t realize they need. This Shingle Froe from Peavey will quickly become one of...
JT Hats
1 min read

Gransfors Bruks Splitting Wood Axe, Large | Camp Chopping Ax, Handmade Forged

Many people do enjoy splitting wood for the campfire or the wood stove, and the Gransfors Bruks Large Splitting Axe makes...
JT Hats
57 sec read

Gransfors Bruks Splitting Maul Axe | Sledgehammer & Firewood Chopping Ax w/ Hickory Wood Handle

Park the noisy gas-powered hydraulic log splitter in the barn, and get out the Gransfors Bruks splitting maul instead. Splitting wood...
JT Hats
1 min read

Ames Michigan Wood Axe, Polished Single Bit Premium | Red Fiberglass Handle, 36 Inch 1189500

The Premium Single Bit Michigan Axe is the top-of-the-line axe for Ames with a polished axehead and a high-tech, wavy fiberglass...
JT Hats
58 sec read

Planter Axe Gardening Tool, Digging & Landscaping | High Carbon Steel Ax w/ Hickory Handle 855-01

If you’re working up a new garden spot or moving bushes, you will encounter roots that only some sort of axe...
JT Hats
52 sec read

Truper Michigan Do It Chopping Axe 300864 | Double Edged Bit w/ Hickory Handle

The Truper “Do-It” Michigan Pattern axe is what most people see in their imagination when someone says “chopping axe.” This old...
JT Hats
1 min read

Black Legion Barumen War Axe | Includes Free Kit Rae Autographed Fantasy Art Print

Kit Rae describes the Black Legion War Axe as one of the two fearsome axes wielded by the Barumen, the monstrous...
JT Hats
57 sec read

Gransfors Bruks Axe Book | Crafting Tools Instruction Manual and Help

The Axe Book, produced by Gransfors Bruks, gives new axe owners a leg up on the old craft of axemanship as...
JT Hats
1 min read

AMPCO Fireman’s Emergency Pick Axe, Nonflammable | Fire Proof Safety Tools

Since I don’t spend much of my time in high rise buildings, I don’t see many firemen’s axes — though in...
JT Hats
59 sec read

Estwing Hatchet Hand Axe w/ Forged Steel Handle | Leather Sportsman E24A

Estwing solved the ancient riddle of how to make an axe handle that won’t break by forging the entire tool from...
JT Hats
58 sec read

Ames Landscaping & Gardening Axe w/ Adz | Chopping Pulaski True Temper 1188800

The Ames True Temper Landscaping Axe could be considered the civilian version of the Pulaski Firefighting Tool used by smoke jumpers...
JT Hats
1 min read

Fiskars Wood Chopping Axe, Fiberglass Handle | Pro Carpenter Hatchet Tools 7858

Fiskars doesn’t claim that the Pro Chopping Axe is unbreakable, but it does give the axe a limited lifetime warranty against...
JT Hats
1 min read

Estwing Hatchet Axe for Campers and Hikers | High Carbon Steel Handle E45A

The average single bit axe sold today runs about three and a half pounds, so the steel-handled Estwing Camper’s Axe is...
JT Hats
1 min read

Best Wood Chopping Axe by Snow & Nealley | Tomahawk Hatchet Single Bit Tool 026S

Snow and Nealley’s “Our Best” Single Bit Axe chops kindling, splits stove wood, shears branches from downed trees, and works equally...
JT Hats
1 min read

Wood Carving Axe Tool by Gransfors Bruks | Curved Handle, Swedish Design

When craftsmen of today try to recreate the work of previous generations, there’s a good chance they’ll just end up wondering...
JT Hats
1 min read

Gransfors Bruks Small Hatchet w/ Hickory Handle | Mini Wood Axe Tomahawk

The Mini Hatchet from Gransfors Bruks qualifies as the sporting blade you didn’t know you need. Carrying the belt axe or...
JT Hats
1 min read

Lumberjack Ax High Carbon Steel | Competition, Racing Axe by ProChainsaw

Whether you’re trying to break into the Professional Lumberjack circuit or want an excellent tool for the homestead, the Lumberjack Competition...
Ken
50 sec read

Mountain Ice Pick Axe, Omega Pacific | Climbing Gear, Hiking Stick

Available in 60, 65 and 75-centimeter lengths, the Mountain Axe by Omega Pacific follows the principles the company set for itself...
JT Hats
48 sec read