Associate Editor of Blade Magazine Brendan O’Brien, recently wrote: Sept 08

“The Hoffman Hawkin’ Stick from TOPS is another modern take on the classic tomahawk design. Modeled after the European (FOKOS), a 13th century design walking stick, the Hawkin’ Stick evolved after designer Terrill Hoffman spent a few years using a custom FOKOS. The Hawkin’ Stick serves as a comfortable walking stick, camp tool and combat piece.”

Also, plenty of room for extra goodies in the bottom of the handle, like fire starter, blade, hooks, saw, a few dollars… safe and secure and out of sight… and your able to pull it out, when the moment is right.

Summary: This is a very handy little walking stick, equally at home in the woods or the street, looks inoffensive, but watch out!

 Specs:

• Hawk Head O/A: 5 1/2″
• Cutting Edge: 2″
• Steel: 1095 High Carbon Alloy
• Color: Black Traction Coating
• Stick Length: 36″
• Stick Steel: Chrome Moly 4130
• Stick Diameter: 1″
• Weight: 1.4 lbs
• Sheath: Leather
• Designed by: Terrill Hoffman
• Origin: USA

Some people consider martial arts training and self defense classes to be part of the personal protection products that are out on the market today and they market them to those that have no formal training and want to know enough to protect themselves in a fight.  Of course, those that do have formal training can sometimes get themselves in a jam as they can be considered to have dangerous weapons with just their hands.  So, self defense classes are only that, for self defense.

When it comes to personal protection products, there are many that you can choose from – knives, guns, mace, batons, bats, and even tasers.  You do need to check in your area and make sure that you don’t need a permit to carry a self defense weapon, especially a gun or taser.  For those that choose to go with a knife for personal protection, there are some different classes of knives that you will want to look at.  Here are some popular self defense knives that you might want to look at:

1. Lipstick knives – these are great smaller knives that don’t look anything like a knife in your purse.  These are cheap and extremely popular for ladies to carry with them without looking like Ms. Rambo.
2. Baton keyrings – (aka kubatons) while not technically a knife, they can be used as one so that you can protect yourself in any situation.  Some even have special side protrusions so that they can be held in a fist.  And again, these are cheap and easy to carry and use.
3. Honey Comb – this is an ingenious personal protection knife as it’s made to look exactly like a hairbrush.  The knife itself slides up into the sheath that is the brush and it is made of a very stiff fiberglass/nylon composite that contains absolutely no metal.
4. Key Defender – this one is more of a mace/pepper spray self defense weapon but some of these do have knives on them as well. These are another inexpensive way to have a great personal protection weapon without spending a ton of cash.
5. Small, hand held knives – these are smaller self defense knives that you can easily pick up cheap and carry concealed for protection.

As you can see there are plenty of great personal protection knives that you can easily purchase through www.ebladestore.com and feel safe doing so.  Keep in mind that you want to check and make sure you don’t need a permit to carry any of these and that you won’t get caught with anything illegal for carrying pepper spray.

Survival knives are those that are actually intended to help you survive if you become lost in the wilderness in any part of the world. Just about any military in the world issues these knives to their recruits, especially to pilots who have the chance of being shot down. Many smart hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers, and other outdoors men and women carry these in the event that they are stranded or stuck somewhere.

Survival knives have been used for many centuries around the world. While they are noticeably different today than they were back then, they still serve the same purposes. It wasn’t until the turn of the 19th century that the concept of the “hunting knife” was actually introduced into the modern world. These knives offered a massive blade that was much heavier than previous models, and could withstand much more punishment from the elements. There were many knife makers that jumped on this new style of knife immediately, such as Case and Cattaraugus. Today, there are hundreds of different knife makers that offer wonderfully made survival knives, such as Smith & Wesson, Case, Swiss Army, and many more extremely popular makers.

During World War II, when many pilots were getting shot down behind enemy lines, military units all over the world began issuing survival knives to their pilots. Navy lifeboats began to carry a kit that contained several items needed for survival, including survival knives. And, even infantry units began to have survival knives issued to them in case they found themselves cut off from their unit or in enemy territory. Throughout the years, military units all over the world also used the bayonet as a type of survival knife that could be removed from a soldier’s gun if they needed it. Even today, the military personnel all over the world use these survival knives to help keep themselves safe in dangerous situations. 

Of course, most people won’t have to worry about using their survival knives in a military situation. Many outdoors men and women will use their survival knives in more practical situations, such as gutting a fish or deer, cutting brush out of their paths, cutting rope for their campsite, cutting kindle for a fire, and so on. There are thousands of different uses for a good survival knife, and they can be invaluable to someone out in the wilderness.

There are several different styles of survival knives, some are larger survival knives and some are almost pocket knives that are part of a survival kit. You’ll easily find that they are all meant for different purposes. The most popular military survival knives are those larger, fixed blade knives that are meant for cutting, hunting, and protection. Other extremely popular survival knives include those that have a folding blade for easy carrying in pockets, backpacks, and so on, multi-tools, and even machetes.

Every outdoors man and woman has their own personal favorite type of survival knife that they carry with them when they are outdoors. They have their own stories, their own survival tricks and tips that they use to keep themselves safe, and they love their knives.