HX OUTDOORS Mercenarys Tactical Engineer Axes Multifunctional Explosion-Proof Axe Camping Artillery Fire Rescue Hammer Hiking Tools

*** I was not compensated in any way for my opinions about this product by HX Outdoors, Amazon, or anyone else. **
br>Disclaimer: I bought this axe in the intention of having it be a little art blade project. Long story short, the axe is 100% usable straight out of the box, and is an awesome The Great: br>br>The Great: br>br>The Great: br>br>The At the listed price of $79, this axe is a great deal. When compared to other available brands in a similar style, it was only $99 at the time of my purchase. The length is ideal for getting good swing leverage, and finger grooves are strategically placed on the head for lighter shaving and shaping tasks. The hammer pad/head can be removed (though I don't see why I'd want to), but the benefit is this: Unlike a cast/badly-made axe, you won't break the head of this 440C axe by hitting something with the hammer pad. A forged axe in the same style. This axe is FULL tang, which means it will last longer. dependability I'm not sure what the two holes above the pry bar are for, but they'll be used for a lanyard on mine. The fitment of the head sheath is fantastic, and it's fully adjustable in terms of wearing/mounting position. The cutting edge design is arguably extremely useful for a variety of cutting tasks, despite the fact that it initially appears tacti- very cool function in general- less. The Pros: br>br>The Pros: br>br>The Pros: br>b Although using composite scales is a good idea, the ergonomics are lacking; HX did a good job of indicating holding positions by including some unusually-shaped objects. The scales have small finger grooves, but they don't have a comfortable feel to them. They have a "sharp" feel to them, but this is easily remedied by sanding them down for a few minutes. The inclusion of a multi-player mode size hex- I like the head wrench, but I'm not sure I'll use it much (who knows?). Perhaps I will. ) The pry bar appears to be in good working order. I'm sure it'll come in handy if I ever need one. br>br>The Not-It-It-It It-It-It-It-It Great: The screws in the axe handle are NOT black-colored. As one might guess from the photos, the surface is oxide coated. They ARE PAINTED BLACK, after all. Furthermore, the assemblers clearly scrimped on thread-to-thread connections. instead of using regular glue, use cyanoacrylate (super) glue; The glue's solvent reacted with the paint on the screws, resulting in a nasty congealed mess beneath the screw heads. I took out the screws. The excess glue reacting with the polymer resin binder in the laminate literally melted the composite beneath the screw heads and underneath the posts. Before I cleaned it all up, it was filthy and smelled awful. I'm not sure why they skimped on hardware and thread-management software. Because those aren't particularly costly to begin with, lock them. I doubt HX is producing/selling these in large enough quantities to justify the potential cost savings of using painted screws and super-glue. Instead of Loc-it, you can use glue. Tite and black-and-white-and-yellow-and-y screws that are made of oxide My Suggestions: br>br> I'll replace the composite scales with rosewood scales that are profiled to match the existing scales, and I'll wrap the handle in a style reminiscent of Japanese Tsukamaki, with a leather over wood core and silk or leather ito (specifically in Hineri-style). (In maki fashion). Because the ito will compress the whole thing and keep everything together, bamboo mekugi pins will most likely be used instead of screws. I'm not sure what it will be, but menuki will be included in the build. br>br>Overall, a 4-star rating. Tool with a star. Definitely sturdy, useful in the outdoors, and stylish. looking. Well- I'm making a project out of mine (along with a lot of other people with a lot of other axes), and it's well worth the $80 purchase price. This axe, on the other hand, is ready to use right away. As a result, HX, please use black-and-white photos. screws and threads made of oxide lock. Please? *** I was not compensated in any way by HX Outdoors, Amazon, or anyone else for my thoughts on this product. ***.

Vanessa Martinez

| Dec 30, 2020

The axe arrived as sharp as a tiger's tiger's tiger' Also, well-made; I'm not a tool snob, but I'm pretty sure it took two months to ship from China. However, this is due to the lack of a superior option. However, I put it to the test and it worked perfectly. It's now a permanent fixture in my BOB/Camping bag. This is a fantastic device.

Zyaire Roy

| Feb 22, 2021

This is an incredibly good buy for under $100. I ordered it to see what a 20“off brand” tool that is subtly trying to be like the $200 Gerber Downrange Tomahawk would look like would look like. And% br>br>The axe comes sharp and ready to use right out of the box. The ergonomics of the handle are also quite pleasant, though it may feel a little small to those with extra-large hands and gloves. That's also the biggest drawback of this tool (at least for me): it's smaller than the Gerber DRT. At the same time, it makes this a more portable tool that can be used for smaller tasks such as kindling and small chopping/hammering/prying. The bolt/nut hex pattern cutout is a bit of a gimmick. I doubt you'd be able to unscrew many things with it that a regular wrench could, but it's there and doesn't look out of place. The sheath is adequate and appears to last a long time, but the axe stands out in terms of construction quality. br>br>However, as mentioned by another reviewer, I would disassemble and clean/reassemble it. I haven't yet, but the axe was a little soaked in a coating, and I suspect the bolts holding the handle together will be superglue rather than threadlocker, so taking it apart and going over it would make this a 5/5 tool in terms of longevity and peace of mind. I keep mine in my car and intend to put it through its paces the next time I go camping.

Lucas KAY

| Sep 05, 2021

You should be aware of the following: When you use a hatchet, you don't hit straight on; instead, you hit a wedge pattern with an overly thin or very tapered front wedge and a hammer head on the back. With this tool, that's impossible. Furthermore, the geometry of the axe head is such that the highest possible leverage you could put into it would be after the blade or wedge is already an inch or more deep. All of this to say: You want the highest potential lever to occur before the most difficult part of the "chop," so that your swing's momentum best serves the point where your leverage is greatest. br>br> The stupid thing spun around on me and severed my finger. It's a good thing I was wearing a glove on my non-dominant hand.

Cora Cunningham

| Feb 07, 2021

It's a well-made balance for throwing that's very nice. Tangy to the max. My issue is with comfort, which may not be a problem for most people. I have large hands that hurt my palm when they are used frequently. Overall, I would recommend this product and plan to buy a few more just for hatchet throwing. br>It's time to make some changes. The hammer's screw comes loose, as others have stated. Tightening the nut may help, but it didn't on mine. Because it's 15mm too long, tightening it won't help. To allow the bolts to fully tighten, either shim it with tape or carefully file the excess off the nut. I've owned a lot of hawks in different price ranges, and this is by far my favorite. It's well made, has some heft, and the pry bar end will stick in if you throw it half roto.

Elina Weber

| Jan 15, 2021

PROS: very sharp and stays sharp, handle swings great (other reviewer must not understand hatchets), handle is comfortable, hammer feature as well as pry bar are both very useful. If that tells you anything, I keep this in my small travel bag. CONS: br>br> The hammer allen key bolts loosened after about 4 days of use (I recommend loc-tite loc-tite loctite loctite loctite loctite loctite loc allen key bolts are tightened).

Remington Haley

| Jul 04, 2021