---
title: "If This Man’s Combat Axe Was Good Enough For SEAL Team 6, It’s Good Enough For Us"
date: "2018-06-01"
modified: "2018-06-01"
authors:
  - name: "Jared Keller"
    job_title: "Former Managing Editor"
    link: "https://taskandpurpose.com/authors/jaredkeller/"
url: "https://taskandpurpose.com/news/winkler-knives-hammer-combat-axe/"
categories:
  - "Gear Reviews"
  - "Military Branches"
  - "Navy"
  - "News"
  - "Reviews"
  - "Tactics"
  - "Tech & Tactics"
  - "The Gear Locker"
tags:
  - "Navy SEALs"
  - "special operations command"
---

# If This Man’s Combat Axe Was Good Enough For SEAL Team 6, It’s Good Enough For Us

![](<https://taskandpurpose.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/02/18988652-1.jpg>)

Winkler Knives has become synonymous with excellence when it comes to outdoor multipurpose blades, especially after the world learned that founder Daniel Winkler — the same North Carolina-based knife maker who created the various axes for the incredible *The Last Of The Mohicans* — supplied members of SEAL Team 6's Red Squadron with specialty tomahawks for missions abroad.

But while Winkler Knives' main made-to-order line is dominated by fantastic tactical blades designed with the help of his special operations contacts (the Winkler Knives II slogan is "been there and back"), you can score your very own lightweight tomahawk [in the form of the WK005 Maple Hammer/Combat Axe](<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018R33VLQ/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?tag=brooklinextap-20&ie=UTF8&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B018R33VLQ&linkId=afe5646de93d28b4b15116d942657220>).

Sure, [$499](<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018R33VLQ/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?tag=brooklinextap-20&ie=UTF8&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B018R33VLQ&linkId=afe5646de93d28b4b15116d942657220>) is a bit of a steep price, but it's worth it. The [WK005 Maple Hammer/Combat Axe](<https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018R33VLQ/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?tag=brooklinextap-20&ie=UTF8&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B018R33VLQ&linkId=afe5646de93d28b4b15116d942657220>)'s 2 1/2-inch cutting edge is forged from 80CRV2 High Carbon Steel [preferred by many knifemakers,](<https://www.thetruthaboutknives.com/2017/05/what-is-the-best-knife-steel/>) a 14-inch hatchet with a maple handle with a black paracord wrap and hammer pole end. The summer camping season necessitates a decent, versatile blade, but if you want something that'll have your back during every season, we highly recommend the investment of a Winkler.

After all: If it's good enough for SEAL Team 6, it's probably good enough for us.

**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/>)