Bryce M. Towsley from the National Rifle Association’s American Hunter recently featured our Woodman’s Pal in his top three “Hunting Tools You Didn’t Know You Needed.” Here’s what Bryce had to say about the Pal:

I can remember seeing ads for the Woodman’s Pal in outdoor magazines back when I was a kid. It was introduced in 1941 and was issued to the troops from World War II through Desert Storm. That alone made me want one.

Recently, I was clearing shooting lanes for a deer stand using a machete from a well-known knife company. It was total junk. The blade edge bent with each strike and was as dull as Joe Biden well before I got the first sapling out of the way. That’s when I knew I needed a better tool.

The Woodman’s Pal is made of quality steel that will cut through the trees rather than bending to their shape. They won a world war with this thing, so a maple branch is nothing.

The 10½-inch blade has a cutting edge ground on the leading side that also works great as a draw shave. On the back side is a chisel ground sickle hook designed to cut vines and brush. The front edge of the tool can be used for digging.

It comes with a very nice leather case. The handle scales are wood, but also offered is a retro version of the original, using stacked leather washers for a handle. I really like that one. This is not an inexpensive tool, costing about the same as a high-quality knife. You get what you pay for and beware of cheap imitators. One I see online a lot is from the same company that made my machete.

I used the Woodman’s Pal this past winter when setting up a pest control trap line here at Camp Towsley. I used the blade and the hook to clear brush and to cut material for hiding the traps. I even used the nose to dig a bed in the frozen ground for the traps. I had forgotten how much fun trapping can be and I wish I’d had this when I was trapping full time back in the ’70s.

We always love to hear a rave review! To read Bryce’s full article, check out the link here.