March 7, 2017

Gil Hibben Throwing Axe

Man in renascence festival throwing an axe. A throwing axe is a axe that is designed to be used as a close range weapon oras a melee weapon. How a throwing axe differs from a throwing knife is that it has more weight and length, giving it a much more brutal impact. The axe also has more uses since the blade is actually sharp–you can actually cut down trees with a throwing axe.

This article will review the top 3 throwing axes and recommend the best choice. Don’t be fooled, price does not equal to quality with throwing axes!

What to Look for in a Throwing Axe

You would want a throwing axe that is made of sturdy materials. If it is made of weak steel, the axe can break if it hits a hard object or is dropped. Also, you would want an axe that has a good sheath. Like all knives, a good sheath makes the knife much safer and it’ll protect the blade making it last longer.

The length of the axe and the axe’s weight will determine how fast it will spin, how far it will go, and how much impact it will have. Lighter axes will have less force, distance, and more spin than a heavy axe. Some individuals like heavier axes because they can calibrate their throws easier. A special type of axe that many throwers like are tomahawks. They are very light and small compared to other axes.

SOG F06-N Fast Hawk

This throwing tomahawk is made by SOG, a very popular and well known knife manufacturer. SOG was started by a few veterans who wanted better knives. The Fast Hawk is a scaled down version of SOG’s Tactical Tomahawk. It is lighter, shorter, and rotates faster.

The Fast Hawk weights 15oz and is 12 inches long. It has a polymer handle and a stainless steel head (coated black to reduce reflections). The Fast Hawk fits great in your hand and it comes with a nylon sheath that you can attach to your MOLLE gear. It was designed for military use but, hey, you can throw it as well.

SOG provides a lifetime warranty on all their products and, after testing this thing out, I’ll doubt that it’ll break. The tang is not full, it ends at the head of the handle, but it isn’t flimsy. You can tell that SOG really spent some time on their construction.

This model is one of the best selling tactical tomahawks on Amazon. It receives a 4.5 star rating and features lots of rave reviews. Some reviewers even stated that the Fast Hawk is comparable to other $400 tomahawks. The Fast Hawk retails for but you can purchase it on Amazon for .

Heartland’s Shiflett

It is a little short of 12 inches and weights 12 oz. It comes with a nylon sheath that fits it very well. The cool thing about this axe is that it has a blade on the back as well as the front side. I don’t see how that’ll help it stick into anything but it looks cool.

The axe is very light and spins very fast. A lot of reviewers enjoyed this axe and beginners even stated how they were nailing targets within a few tries with this axe. For $11, I can’t complain about this thing. Too bad it doesn’t have any other uses outside of throwing.

Gil Hibben Throwing Axe

Gil Hibben is a big name in knife throwing. He wrote the book on knife throwing–literally. His name has been used by lots of manufacturers to promote their throwing knives. I’ve tested a few of them before and they were OK so I decided to test the throwing axe as well.

This axe is 12 inches in length and weights a little over 12 ounces. It comes with a leather sheath–something I wasn’t expecting. Like the last axe, it is made out of one large piece of metal. The weight is very balance and it felt like a large throwing knife.

I enjoyed the knife but a lot of reviewers online were complaining about how the stainless steel would break if you hit something hard or dropped the axe. Other reviewers stated how the manufacturer would replace the axe if this happens but, hey, would you want to wait 2-3 weeks for a new one to come in the mail?

Conclusion to Finding the Best Throwing Axe

So, out of the three throwing axes we have reviewed, which one should you buy? Well, the answer depends on who you are.

For $25, the Fast Hawk is a steal in my opinion. It has proven it’s worth over and over again. It is built to last and, if it happens to break, there is an incredible life time warranty from SOG.

If you happen to be new to axe throwing, the Shiflett is a good choice for beginners. It is only $15 and is very easy to learn. It is well balanced and features a full tang. You can’t chop down trees in the back yard with it however–it is limited to only throwing.

I would not recommend you getting the Gil Hibben Throwing Axe. It is over priced at $57 and might break on you within the first day as other reviewers have noted. I believe that it is more of a marked up toy than anything else.