Axes are a valuable and often overlooked tool for preppers and survivalists. A good axe not only chops wood with ease and helps the chopper to minimize fatigue, but it can be used for a variety of other purposes as well, like hammering and processing game. Here’s a rundown of the top 5 axes for survival, and at least one of these should be included in your prep.
5. SOG Tactical Tomahawk
The SOG Tactical Tomahawk is a great example of an axe that is equal parts tool and weapon. The light weight and shorter length make this perfect for anything from cutting kindling, to breaching a door, to throwing at an enemy. While the SOG won’t be the only axe you need, it serves its purposes better than most axes can. You won’t be chopping down any big trees with this guy, but limbing and kindling cutting will be right down its alley.
The head of the Tactical Tomahawk is 420 stainless steel and is connected to a fiberglass-reinforced nylon body. The overall length is 15.75 inches and the blade measures 2.75” wide. The SOG Tactical Tomahawk will set you back about $65.
4. Eastwing Long Handle Camp Axe
This long-handled camper’s axe is a combination of steel and nylon/vinyl that has a little extra length for swinging and a shock reduction grip to help soften the blow of constant strikes. This axe can do a little of everything from felling trees to splitting wood to hammering tent stakes in.
The axe has a 4” cutting edge attached to a 26”body that is equal parts steel, nylon, and vinyl. Some people might always love a wood handle, but this one is definitely worth checking out. This axe will set you back about $50, so it’s a good value for the quality.
3. Best Made Unfinished American Felling Axe
The axe can indeed be a thing of beauty while keeping quality and functionality in place. This is why Best Made makes their line of axes. If you’re looking for 100% American made tools this is just about as good as you can get. The head is made of drop-forged American carbon steel and is turned into an axe head by fourth generation axe makers in North Carolina. The handle is lathed from Appalachian hickory in the US as well. Best Made makes a line of these with fully finished handles that look almost too nice to use, but unless you’re looking to spend $300, the unfinished is just fine.
The head of the Felling Axe is 4 pounds of 5160 high carbon US steel attached to a 35” handle made from Appalachian Hickory. The Best Made axe comes in as second-most expensive in this list at $162. While this is made to look beautiful, the function is just about better than everyone else’s, so take the beauty along for the ride.
2. Gerber Gator Combo Axe
One of the keys to survival is carrying as few items with you as you can. This Gator Combo Axe helps you do just that. Instead of the handle of this hatchet just being filled with nothing, Gerber added a removable knife into it. This means that you now have two tools for the storage space of one. Gerber uses their “Gator” grips made from textured rubber to give you the best grip possible, which is applied to both the knife and the hatchet.
Overall length of the Gator is 8.75” with a hatchet blade length of 2.7”. The knife is 7” long with a 2.88” blade, and all total this tool weighs in at a little over 25.5 ounces. You can take one of these home for $45.
1. Gransfors Bruks Hunters Axe
A legend in the axe world, Gransfors Bruks axes are really second to none. Swedish axes are some of the best in the world and this is one of the best from Sweden. A hunters axe is made to be an all-in-one type of tool meant to be carried by hunters. Since it’s meant to be carried, it’s not overly heavy, but it can easily chop just about anything you could encounter.
The blade is so sharp that it’s built to field dress, quarter, and skin decent sized game. The blade can even easily chop through animal bone, making the processing of a kill even easier and that means less tools for you to carry.
The Gransfors Bruks features a 19” hickory handle attached to a 3.25” blade. The overall weight of the axe is 1.5 pounds. While this is the best axe in this list by far, it’s also the most expensive by far. Expect to pay around $171 for this hunters axe.
Wrap-Up
There are hundreds of axes out there, and you may even find some of them to be better for you than the ones on this list. Go try out axes and see what is best for you. Not everyone can afford the most expensive axe, so get the best one you can afford and don’t forget that ideally you should have an axe for every major situation, not just one that does everything.
Your axe is a lifeline in survival situations, so make sure you get the right one now while you still can.