SOG Voodoo Hawk Review and Video
The SOG Voodoo Hawk is a great tomahawk. It’s small and light weight enough to be easily portable, stong and sharp enough to get the job done dependably, and it also looks intense and intimating enough to be taken very seriously. Then to top it all off, it is made by SOG; a company that is very well-known world-wide as the makers of very reliable blades and also for making several other different tomahawks as well.
Before we go any further, have you ever wondered where the English word “tomahawk” come from? It is, not surprisingly, from the Algonquian word “tamahaac”, which is itself derived from Proto-Algonguian “temah”, which means ‘to cut off by tool”. To be more precise, “tamahaac” is actually from the Powhatan branch of the Algonquian language. For all those history buffs out there, the name Powhatan might seem familiar. It is in fact the same indian tribe that was encountered by the first colonists of Jamestown, Virginia in 1607; the same tribe made famous by the stories about John Smith, John Rolfe, and of course Pocahontas.
SOG produces several different tomahawks models; the Tactical Tomahawk, the FastHawk, the Survival Hawk, and of course the Voodoo Hawk. It is a cross between their proven Tactical Tomahawk and their FastHawk models, and was originally designed to be a tie-in with the EA Game 2012 video game “Medal of Honor: Warfighter“, where it is used by the character Voodoo (hence the name “Voodoo Hawk”; a combination of his name and tomahawk). The Voodoo Hawk has outlived the game itself and is still being sold through the SOG online store and many camping stores, and of course on online stores like Amazon as well.
The price for a Voodoo Hawk varies from place to place, but generally speaking it is not very expensive. I’ve seen them on Amazon.com and Amazon.ca for as little as $45-$55 (USD and CAD) plus shipping costs. I purchased mine at a local camping supply store 2 years ago for about $50 CAD. You could also order it directly from the SOG online store, but it will cost about $75.00 USD. The bonus of ordering it directly from the SOG online store is that you can also have it personalized with an engraving of up to 24 characters long or even with a logo or graphic, which costs even more, but makes for a really nice final tomahawk.
Basic stats:
- Height: 12.56 inches / 31.9 cm
- Length: 8 inches / 20.3 cm
- Weight: 28.5 ounces / 975 grams
Blade length:
- 3.5 inches / 8.9 cm
It is made of 3CR13 steel, which is a Chinese steel that it similar to AUS4 or 420 stainless steel. It is somewhat soft, but I found from other reviews and my own use that it holds it edge well enough. As an aside, if you are looking for a good simple guide to compare different grades of steel that are often used in blades, take a look at this webpage; The Lexicon of Blade Steel.
Part of the reason for the comparably little weight and cost is that it is not a full tang construction. The handle is actually made of glass reinforced nylon. As a probably result of that, some people have complained about having the handle snap off when they throw their Voodoo Hawk at a target. That said, I have seen plenty of videos of people very successfully throwing their Voodoo Hawks against various targets without and problems whatsoever. However, I really like my one and only Voodoo Hawk; I don’t want to risk snapping the handle. If I ever get a second one, I’ll take a video of me throwing it to demonstrate how well it flies.
Obviously, a lot of commentary and interest in a Voodoo Hawk revolves around its 3.5 inch (8.9 cm) blade. However, I have to tell you that the spike on the back of the blade head is really very strong and powerful. With good swing, it can pierce through quite a bit.
Reading about something is one thing, seeing it live is another thing. Below is a 6 minute video I made to demonstrate the SOG Voodoo Hawk in action. I hope you find it useful and entertaining.
Taylor