Once upon a time, we upgraded Jason’s machete, now it’s Friday the 13th again and we decided to upgrade Jason’s axe. Here were the qualifications. It needs to look cool. It needs to be something that could be a found object. Finally, Friday the 13th only happens between one and three times per year. That means it needs to be useful for the other 362 or 364 days in the year. Spoiler alert: the TOPS Atax Hand Axe fits all of those qualifications with ease.
Odds are good that Jason is unlikely to find a Gransfors Bruks Splitting Axe in the pack of some random stranger. And although those are amazing axes, they look pretty much like every other axe. The Estwing Campers Axe axe looks less like a traditional axe and is a super cool axe. As always with Estwing axes, it’s a one-piece hardened tool steel axe with the vinyl shock reduction grip from Estwing that everyone loves.
Having waded through the axe world, we landed on the coolest looking axe in the history of ever: the TOPS Atax Hand Axe. It not only looks wicked cool, it actually is wicked cool.
Designed by Ron Hood, the TOPS Atax Hand Axe is 1095 carbon steel with a black traction coating. This beastly axe has a 0.25” thick blade with an HRC of 56-58. The black linen micarta handles look awesome and increase slip resistance under difficult conditions. TOPS tells us, “It’s an Ax, a knife, a skinner, a wire cutter, a range finder, a compass, an inclinometer, a clock, a wrench, a hammer, a rescue tool, a survival kit holder, a bow-drill holder, an arrow launcher, and a field level.” We can well imagine Jason happening upon a young backpacking couple and pilfering it from their gear.
TOPS Atax Hand Axe Details
- 1095 Carbon Steel, HRC 56-58
- 4.5” Black Traction Powder Coated
- 0.25” Blade Thickness
- Black Linen Micarta
- Kydex Sheath with Rotating Spring Steel Belt Clip
- Instructional Video
- 5.5” Overall
- Made in the USA
In the end, the TOPS Atax Hand Axe not only looks cool, it adds an element of stealth to Jason’s repertoire. Just imagine Jason pulling the TOPS Atax Hand Axe from the black Kydex sheath attached to his belt with a rotating spring steel sheath clip. Oh heck yeah, that’d make way more modern Jason Voohees. Why wouldn’t Jason want to snag a super cool tool like that from some unfortunate folks on his yearly rampage? If you’re interested in this item, click any link in the article or simply click the button below, and by all means, stay away from Camp Crystal Lake. It is Friday the 13th afterall.
All images courtesy of Smoky Mountain Knife Works – smkw.com.
