SOG Fasthawk at Wal Mart, are they any good?

[piller]

I saw a SOG Fasthawk at Wal Mart for $20 and wondered if they were any good? I don't know how to throw a tomahawk, but they look like they might be a pretty good hatchet/tool for taking hunting or camping. They probably would be useful for clearing brush, and the head looks like it could be turned sideways and used to pound tent stakes into the ground if you don't have a hammer with you. I am sure it would work for cracking a deer pelvis, but am not sure that the spike on the other side wouldn't get in the way. Does anyone here have any experience with SOG tools or knives? I am not familiar with them, but I have heard of the brand.

[Blaine]

SOG is GREAT. Made in Edmonds, WA (tho, they are importing some stuff from China, that I'm not sure of the quality) If it's a USA, Edmonds, WA tool, it is top notch, and I'd stand behind it personally.

Just looked....it's Chinese....

[243dave]

I've looked at them before and this is only a opinion since I never owned one. They look cool but for anything other than hand to hand fighting a hatchet would be a much better tool. The cutting edge on the Fasthawk is too small for real use and the spiked end is only good for piercing amour and skulls. For throwing I bet you would eventually break the plastic handle and have to special order it from SOG, I would opt for a tomahawk that has a hickory handle that way it would be easy to replace when you do break it. When I need a hand-held tool for clearing small brush I grab the machette or the long handled pruning sheers. When going camping I grab my light-weight and compact hatchet, its sharp and heavy enough to pound stakes in the ground and will fit in my pack easily since it doesn't have a long handle like the tomahawks do. For me tomahawks are like swords, I want one because they are weapons and have a cool factor but I know they will never see any real use other than playing with, but if you want a neat looking weapon/toy I say go for it and have fun.
Dave

[bdhold]

I don't own a Chinese SOG, but I own several Chinese Byrds (Spyderco) and they are excellent knives, and inexpensive enough to abuse.
If they're using SOG's steel, it won't have the finish grind of a bench-made SOG, but it will have the same parts.
I have a Chinese CRKT M-16 and matching American-made knife. The Chinese doesn't flip like the American-made one, but the blade is the same.
So do you want a working knife or a collector?
There is a lot of Chinese junk, but these probably don't count.
$20 knives will buy you a lot of junk, but these probably don't count if you have a use for them.

FWIW, I am a soap box guy when it comes to monkey-see-monkey-do Chinese manufacturing and market flooding.
Chinese-made bamboo fly rods and matching "classic" reels. The rods split on glue lines and ferrules and reel seats fall off.
The reels are so poorly reverse-engineered that they self-machine internally.
Some guy is importing hundreds/thousands for $40/ and selling them for $400/ then not supporting them when the things I listed above occur.

My point was a $20 knife with a good heritage, even made in China, is probably worth $20.

That doesn't keep me from buying American-made knives (and bamboo fly rods).

[Tycer]

It is a Chinese one. IMO, it's too small for anything and too plastic to throw. I wanted to get one until I played with a friend's.