RMJ Tactical Tomahawk: Badass
By Eric Dykstra
In 2001 members of the Air Force’s 820th Security Forces commissioned Ryan M. Johnson to revive 18th-century battle axes with the aid of 21st-century technology — the result is the RMJ line of tactical tomahawks. RMJ forged each axe from a single piece of tool steel to provide military personnel with a tough fighting and utility axe that can be counted on.
Like a good knife, a good tomahawk can prove useful in many ways to a soldier/airman/marine in the field. The 18″-long tool features a 3″ striking edge and a 3″ spike that can puncture body armor — you might also employ it in less lethal operations such as climbing, digging, forced entry, and search and rescue operations. The Eagle Talon version comes flat-ground on the striking side for general cutting while the beard is hollow-ground for ripping…gulp. RMJ applies a corrosion-resistant finish for long life in harsh environments.
I usually don’t go for these high-dollar specialty items (I’m a superknife man myself), but the quality and finish of this item really caught my eye. RMJ charges $360 when it’s in stock, which it’s currently not. Military and civilian first-responders get $55 off.
RMJ Tactical [Official Site]
RMJ Forge [Historic Axes]
Unavailable For Comment
June 20th, 2008 at 1:13 pm
I saw this Tomahawk on the a show about axes on the History channel. The guy attacked a car and used it as a can opener to cut out chunks. He also gashed his arm in the process.
June 20th, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Modern Marvels…I saw it too. It’s amazing how far design and fabrication methods have come along since the first primitive axes but it’s also fascinating that the basic “technolgy” (i.e. wedge on handle) is essentially unchanged.
June 22nd, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Nice. What I would like to see, is a high-quality, Tactical Mace…for demolition purposes, of course…
June 22nd, 2008 at 3:44 pm
The Air Force??? Really?
June 22nd, 2008 at 6:13 pm
yup, the air force
The Air Force Security Forces are ground forces that secure and protect Bases, Aircraft and nuclear weapons. They perform a similar job as the Army’s military police.
Some of the more elite Airmen are tasked with parachuting into unfriendly places and securing airstrips before they start shipping in the expensive equipment. For the most part they are trained by the Army and as all around BMFs.
Official Site: http://tinyurl.com/6fez9e
Wikipedia Article: http://tinyurl.com/6kxu7d
June 23rd, 2008 at 2:25 pm
The guys who go in and do covert ops (parachuting in to secure the landing zone) aren’t SP’s - they are called Combat Controllers, and they train with the elite Special Forces from all the other services, including the Green Berets and the SEALs. These are also guys who are trained to make entry by helo or parachute in the middle of the night, find an observation point, verify target locations and defensive posture, and “paint” said targets with laser designators for the flyers to hit with laser guided ordnance, then sneak out again.
Some of the CC’s are also highly specialized - for instance, every CC team has a few ground controllers - basically guys trained to jump in, prepare the ground, then operate as air traffic controllers (complete with field radar) for a patch of nothing in the middle of nowhere that we just happen to want to put a much of heavy stuff on.