It wasn’t until one of our crew asked for tomahawk recommendations that I heard of 2 Hawks. That started a long discussion that got me interested in learning more about them (and by them I mean steel artisan Devin Price, his wife Melissa, and his brother Michael).

Here’s how it went down: Sara posted in our double-secret B-B-C chat room, asking for suggestions for a gift for her boy toy partner (a full-time SWAT team bubba) for Christmas. Ryan immediately piped up with “2 Hawks,” followed by a number of 👍🏼s and ❤️s on his answer. Not long after, Higg mentioned he was looking for one to add to his camping kit, which started another overwhelmingly positive conversation (and an embarrassing number of emojis). That’s a lot of approbation. I decided to learn more.

Grunts: approbation.

Here’s what I learned. Any inaccuracies are mine, and this is not a review. I’ve never met anyone from 2 Hawks, nor have I ever put hands on one of their products. This is all information dug up from forums and YouTube videos.

Note: SMEAC, in military parlance, stands for Situation, Mission, Execution, Admin & Logistics, and Command & Signal. We have modified that to use as a mnemonic template for short articles about small businesses: Small Manufacturers, Entrepreneurs, Artists, and Craftsmen. These are not paid features. In fact, in most cases we don’t even know these folks. hey’re just people and places we like, and believe you will like too. Learn more in our OPORD article.

2 Hawks [Two Hawks]

SITUATION

2 Hawks is a Small American Business operating out of Seymour, Missouri. Seymour’s a small town about 45 minutes east of Springfield (and, Dave trivia, about two hours SE of where most of my family’s from). Its roots have a definite frontier vibe, though.

Its founder, the late Bob “Two Hawks” Thalmann, was, by every account I could find online, the real deal. He apparently operated the earliest incarnations of the eponymous Two Hawks out of a cutler’s shop behind an 1884 (!) home in Ft. Benton, Montana, less than a mile upstream from an original 1846 American Fur Company trading post.

That’s a pretty badass pedigree.

When Thalmann passed, the torch passed to his apprentice, Devin Price. Now check this out. Devin reportedly bought the business from the Thalmann family when he was just 13 years old. Apparently, he’s been banging on metal since he was a teenager. Some sources report he was homeschooled so he could run the forge by day and hit the books at night. I couldn’t confirm that, but either way, that’s a remarkable backstory.

MISSION

The 2 Hawk objective is simple: to build a tomahawk that functions as a serious tool, not a wall hanger. Devin’s philosophy is that a ‘hawk should be versatile enough to breach a door or process game. In fact, he’s explicitly said, “I ll actually skin and bone a whole deer with a tomahawk. It speeds the process up a lot.”

He’s not interested in a “tactical” flair (though we are, and his ‘hawks fit); he’s interested in reliability. The tools he makes are designed to be heirlooms, something you can use for a lifetime and then hand down.

EXECUTION

This is where you blade-loving stab-hack-slice types can indulge your metallurgical nerdery. Devin doesn’t use any mystery metals. He typically uses 6150 high-carbon chromium spring steel. For the non-metallurgists, that means the steel is oil-hardened and tempered to a Rockwell of about 57. So while it’s not beskar or Valyrian steel, it is designed to withstand abuse and flex slightly under massive impact rather than snapping. That’s obviously a Good Thing, whether you’re trimming trees or heads.

The results speak for themselves. One first responder reported using a 2 Hawks tomahawk to chop a car door off during a rescue because it was the only tool he had at the time. It did the job.

Hafts and helves (those are the handles) are made with equal deliberation. For instance, he often uses flame-grained American Hickory wood tailored to a teardrop shape for a directional grip. Crucially, he frequently (or maybe always) uses a Keel-type friction fit. That means the head isn’t glued on; it slides up from the bottom.

That allows you to take the head off for easier packing (or use it as a hand-scraper). Plus, if you somehow manage to break the handle in the deep woods or a mud hut in the Mashriq, you might be better able to replace it.

ADMIN/LOGISTICS

Two Hawks offers a variety of products, mostly ‘hawks, hatchets, and axes, but some knives as well. Here are a few things to know.

• The Longhunter, a go-to for woodsmen, is a popular model, as is the Warbeast (Devin’s personal carry favorite and apparently a monster with three cutting edges), and the Competition Hawk. The latter model has reportedly won the Mountain Man Throwing Competition four years in a row.
• They’re pricey. Quality can hurt that wallet a little up front, but then again, if you’re shopping for a 2 Hawk tomahawk, you’re not looking for a mass-produced, made-in-China POS available at the local army surplus store.
• Hurry up and wait. Each of these tomahawks goes through more than 30 stages of hand production. This ain’t Amazon Prime. Backorders can take as long as 2 months, so plan accordingly.
• A uniform perk: They offer a 10% discount for active military and veterans.
• Warranty: 25 years on the blade. If you break 6150 steel, that’s on you (but tell us the story, because it’s probably a good one).

COMMAND AND SIGNAL

I like the idea of a 2 Hawks blade because this fella Price seems like the very definition of an American craftsman. He isn’t outsourcing his work; he’s in the shop with fire and metal and soot, building something you should be able to use and treasure for years. I like the idea of a Warbeast for my truck bag as much as that of a Longhunter for a hunting lease. Or for that matter just hanging on the wall behind my desk.

Though that last bit seems like a waste.