---
title: "This Marine Vet’s Tomahawks Were Designed For ‘Maximum Power With Minimal Effort’"
date: "2018-06-11"
modified: "2018-06-11"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/laci-szabo-tomahawks-spyderco/"
categories:
  - "Around the World"
  - "Gear Reviews"
  - "Marine Corps"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "News"
  - "Reviews"
  - "The Gear Locker"
  - "United States"
---

# This Marine Vet’s Tomahawks Were Designed For ‘Maximum Power With Minimal Effort’

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/18988794-1.jpg>)

*If you purchase something through a post on our site, Task & Purpose may get a small share of the sale.*

There are plenty of fine-lookin' blades out there in the world of tactical gear, but there's one thing that distinguishes Marine Corps veteran-turned-renowned bladesmith [Laci Szabo](<https://bit.ly/2Joi9Hq>)'s distinctive weapons: a focus on ergonomics, on making each tool as efficient as humanly possible.

"I want my weapons to be the extension of the arm or to deliver the maximum power with minimum effort," Szabo said in an [interview](<https://szaboinc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/laciszabo.pdf>) way back in 2009, early into [his collaboration with knifemaker Spyderco](<https://bit.ly/2Joi9Hq>). "You lose fine motor skills in a fight — my weapons do not require a user's manual, they just fall into place when you pick them up."

Case in point: the titular [SzaboHawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAMf6v>) and brand-new [Warrior Hawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAwi05>) from Spyderco, slick modern tomahawks forged from .300-inch D2 tool steel that both prove appealing alternatives to other hand axes.

[Spyderco](<https://amzn.to/2JAMf6v>)

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/image-placeholder-title-108.png>)

Spyderco’s SzaboHawk

While both axes are remarkably lightweight, the original [SzaboHawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAMf6v>)'s curved handle "places its center of balance approximately midway along its length, making it faster in the hand than conventional head-heavy designs," in the company's [telling.](<https://www.spyderco.com/catalog/details.php?product=945>)

But in contrast, the [Warrior Hawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAwi05>) was designed explicitly for more tactical situations from breaching to perforating, outfitted with a 3D-machined G10 handle featuring a solid grip. While the classic [SzaboHawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAMf6v>) checks the utilitarian boxes of a tomahawk, the [Warrior Hawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAwi05>) was designed with the application of force in mind.

[Spyderco](<https://amzn.to/2JAwi05>)

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/image-placeholder-title-271.jpg>)

Spyderco’s Warrior Hawk

You can buy a [SzaboHawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAMf6v>) for [just under $230](<https://amzn.to/2JAMf6v>) and a [Warrior Hawk](<https://amzn.to/2JAwi05>) for [just under $315](<https://amzn.to/2JAwi05>), but if tomahawks aren't your thing, you can [peruse some Laci Szabo knives at the Palmetto State Armory](<https://bit.ly/2Joi9Hq>).

**WATCH NEXT:**

## Author
Jared Keller is the former managing editor of Task & Purpose. His writing has appeared in Aeon, the Los Angeles Review of Books, the New Republic, Pacific Standard, Smithsonian, and The Washington Post, among other publications.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[Facebook](<https://www.facebook.com/jaredbkeller>)  
[LinkedIn](<https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaredbkeller/>)  
[Instagram](<https://www.instagram.com/jaredbkelller/>)