Bonnie Hammer Head. 3.3 lbs Tool is used to drive tree-felling wedges by chainsaw crews and for “grubbing” fire line when needed. Specifications: 9 1/2″L x 4 1/2″W x 3 1/2″H; Grub blade 4 1/2″; hammer head 3″L x 1 1/4″W Total length 37 1/2″L when attached to Universal Handle.
Blade Guard. 4.4 oz. Blade guard is constructed of a durable plastic sheath and elastic webbing.
Universal Handle. 2.1 lb. Hickory, 37 ins. long. This specially engineered wooden handle with snap-lock fitting, is longer and approximately twice the strength of a traditional Pulaski handle. The hardened-aluminum CNC-manufactured male fitting locks into all Dragonslayers™ tool heads.
Important Maintenance Tip: Because the Bonnie Hammer tool head is high-carbon forged steel, it is of vital importance to detach the tool head from the handle immediately after use in the field, and that the tool head threads be greased, preferably with a lithium-based grease to avoid corrosion.
The Bonnie Hammer tool head is made for tree fellers or chainsaw crew assistants. A majority of the Hotshot Crews carry four chainsaws with their 20 person crews. This tool originated from a request to us by the Bonneville Hotshot Crew to design and manufacture a combination tool to drive felling wedges and to grub fire line. The first-generation Slam Hammer tool head was cast steel, while this current-generation is forged steel for greater strength and durability. The Bonnie Hammer tool head attaches to our Universal Handle (sold separately). The tool head has a steel flat head on one side, and a 4 1/2-inch wide grub-hoe blade on the other. This tool head is now our second-most popular tool.
Important Maintenance Tip: Because the Bonnie Hammer tool head is high-carbon forged steel, it is of vital importance that the tool head be detached from the handle immediately after use in the field, and that the tool head threads be greased, preferably with a lithium-based grease to avoid corrosion.
Going to buy a Universal Handle separately with a Bonnie Hammer? Consider saving money by purchasing the Bonnie Hammer Toolkit.
For over 20 years, Dragonslayers, Inc. has provided high quality wildfire hand tools to thousands of customers throughout the United States and overseas. Initially, the tools were provided to a small group of Federal Smokejumpers and Hotshot crews. Over the years, the tools have been constantly improved, and then fire-tested and verified based on feedback and recommendations from our most elite firefighters, all with the objective of providing the best universal wildfire hand tool system available. Our customers now include all six Federal fire agencies, many state fire and forestry agencies, municipalities and rural fire districts, the U.S. Military, International fire agencies, and many private companies and homeowners living in high risk wildfire areas.
A majority of the tool sales have occurred through “word-of-mouth” reports of performance on fires rather than as a standard offer through the Government Services Administration (GSA) and Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) Wildfire Catalogues. To follow are just a few statements attesting to the tools and why firefighters have chosen Dragonslayers hand tools rather than the standard GSA/DLA fire tools. Pay particular attention to what is said about durability and pride of ownership.
“In a nutshell, the reason we continue to order Dragonslayers tools to supplement our standard GSA tools is superior quality and usability. The Dragonslayers hold up to the rigors of the fire line far longer than the tools we get through GSA… An example of superior usability is the Troop Tool compared to a combi. Even in the hands of a rookie firefighter it improves the quality and amount of fireline constructed over a standard combi tool…”
AFMO-Fuels Escalante Ranger District Dixie National Forest, UT
…We have experience with your Dragonslayers tools. We love them…. I purchased two of them last year (the combination tool head) and it is definitely the tool of choice on my module. We will definitely be doing business with you again…
Supervisory Fire Engine Operator USFS
The Dragonslayers tools are by far the best tool on the market and the Prineville Hotshots deeply appreciate them on the fire line.
Prineville IHC Senior Firefighter Prineville, OR
Love the Dragonslayers tool! After much shameless begging I convinced the overhead on my district to buy tool kits for all our modules. I have used a ‘Slayer throughout my hotshot years and am now an assistant on an engine module. There is always a rush to grab the slayer tool on my module… Thanks for producing the best fire tool on the planet. BLM
The crew loves the (Swatter) tools and we have been using them when we can. I would like to order a Tundra (Tony) pad swatter head…
Central Oregon Rappellers Prineville, OR
I am trying to convince my overhead on purchasing some of your tools. I would like to get them started with the Magnum Pulaski. I have used the Troop tool in the past and was very impressed with the versatility.
Umatilla National Forest
We ordered a couple tool kits last year and we have seen an increase in our capabilities and production because of the Dragonslayers tools. I use the Troop Tool as my primary hand tool and I really enjoy it. … The great surface area of the Troop makes it a great scrape tool. I can quickly put in a check line when I need to. Also, I often adjust the Troop to a shovel to throw dirt or mud to cool down burning snags or to knock down flames on the fires edge…. The Magnum Pulaski and the bonnie slam are great improvements to the cache pulaskis and the poorly fabricated slam hammers that we used in years past…. Our crews fight a lot of fires in the West Desert of Utah. If engines cannot access the fir, the most effective method of fighting these cheat grass fires is to use Dragon Swatters… They are comfortable to use and very durable. The interchangeable heads make them easy to pack as a secondary tool… Your tools are well built, functional, and comfortable to use.
Alta Handcrew Utah Division of Forestry, Fire, and State Lands
Thanks again for taking care of us before the fire season gets underway. Just FYI, we are all very stoked to use the tools. The multi-angled shovel is king out here in the desert – able to throw a ton of dirt and cut a nice wide swath of line. I included a patch as a thank you.
Ruby Mountain Hotshots Elko, NV
First off I have to say that out of all the fire tools out there yours are the most coveted. Everyone I talk to out on fire line that has some type of Dragonslayer has never had a bad word to say about them, and everyone else that doesn’t have one is trying to get their hands on a Dragonslayer.
Fire Crew 669 South Highway 89a. Kanab, UT 84741
Order a [Troop] Tool head for my Fiance to celebrate her just completing her firefighter Type 1 tasks….. I want to thank you for supporting everyone out in the field and for making the best fire tool out there!
Dragonslayers is a small wildfire hand tool business located in Nehalem, Oregon. Thomas “Troop” Emonds began the company in 2000 after a 23-year career as a U.S. Forest Service and BLM Smokejumper, and following a two-year wildfire tool research and development program funded by a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Small Business Research and Development Grant.
History
Training
Tools for Fire-Dependent Ecosystems
During his years of service fighting wildfires, Troop experienced and was frustrated by the limitations of the conventional wildfire tools issued to firefighters. Those single-function tools lacked durability, were awkward to use, were not designed for easy transport, and did not allow firefighters versatility and responsiveness at all the changing chores on a fire or an ability to be properly equipped for the diverse assortment of fuels and conditions they would face. Furthermore, the designs of many of the conventional tools were essentially unchanged since their origins in the early 20th century.
Phase I of the grant was to conduct research and to develop a prototype tool to address safety, durability and ergonomic weaknesses of the traditional Pulaski, the mainstay wildfire hand tool of the fire agencies. The improvements developed by Dragonslayers included:
improved balance for safety by changing the core material and mass
double the width of the grub-hoe blade
replaceable grub hoe and axe blades
a handle three times stronger and 3 inches longer than the traditional Pulaski
a pin-lock detachable handle to allow the tool to be broken down and easily stowed for travel
a Pulaski head that could never slip off the handle
This improved version became known as the Dragonslayers “Magnum” Pulaski.
The function and quality of the Magnum Pulaski prototype proved so compelling to the USDA, that the agency extended the hand tool research to a Phase II level to improve all the traditional wildfire hand tools. The objective of the Phase II grant was to consolidate the hand tools, and to improve ergonomics, weight, handiness, and versatility.
One challenge of second phase of research and development, was to utilize the detachable handle that was developed for the Phase I prototype Magnum Pulaski, and to advance all the traditional wildfire hand tools. The Dragonslayers Universal Handle with snap-lock mechanism, was one of the most significant design solutions to address the multitude of conventional single-function tools. The Universal Handle allows firefighters to quickly change tool heads to meet the wildfire field conditions and to work more safely and comfortably.
Many of the designs and innovations in Dragonslayers tools came from listening to line firefighters, while other ideas came from observation and research of firefighting tools and techniques in foreign countries.
Wildfire fighters had expressed a need for an improved hand tool for scraping line and raking leaves in a more upright and more comfortable working position that would allow greater visibility, productivity and effectiveness. Based on that need, Dragonslayers designed and developed the “Troop Tool”, a multi-angled tool to serve many functions:
An angled shovel to dig and accurately throw dirt at flare-ups or cool down burning snags;
An improved McLeod scraping tool with a curved blade to remove litter on the forest floor;
An improved fire rake or Eastern Council tool with a high back to clear a swath through leaves;
A stand erect mixing, chinking and mop-up tool with shovel point hitting ground first; and
A safety staff for cross-country travel on steep and unstable terrain.
The Magnum Pulaski and Troop Tool are the most popular Dragonslayers tools because of their tremendous versatility.
Following development of the Magnum Pulaski and Troop Tool, Dragonslayers went on to design and develop other wildlife hand tools to assist firefighters – the Dragon Swatter for use in grasslands and an excellent prescribed burning tool; the Tony Pad Swatter for Arctic Taiga ecosystems; the Bonnie Hammer, a combination tool with a steel wedge head on one side and a Magnum Pulaski blade on the other and; the Titanium Core Felling Axe Head, a felling axe or superior strength and performance.
The globe is in a warming period. The United States is faced with wildfires that are more explosive and hotter than ever before. To meet this challenge, Dragonslayers provides homeowners, particularly those living in the urban/wildlands interface, with assistance in developing property wildfire protection plans. Utilizing your plat map and aerial photos obtained at your county tax collector’s office, Dragonslayers will build a custom plan for your property or neighborhood. We will detail how to reduce risk by converting vegetation on the property and by using a pattern of prescribed fires to systematically reduce fuels to reduce risk of wildfire around dwellings and properties.
Dragonslayers can also conduct a two-day fire program to train urban/wildlands interface dwellers to position critical sites to be ever-ready to burn out light fuels, and to become confident, experienced users of fire as a management tool.
Please contact Troop Emonds by email (troop.dragonslayers@yahoo.com) or phone (503/812-6974) to discuss your training needs and costs for services.
Our customers include:
Homeowners living in areas of high wildfire risk
Insurance companies
Rural fire departments
County building departments
Home security firms
Federal, state and local fire agencies
The military
Dragonslayers Wildfire Hand Tools are ideal tools for management of fire-dependent ecosystems or when managing for multiple objectives such as protection of timber, rangeland improvement, hazardous fuels reduction, wildlife habitat improvement, or reintroduction of fire into fire-adapted ecosystems.
Dragonslayers tools are in use for prescribed burning by the Entiat IHC in Washington, by the Prineville IHC in Oregon and other IHCs throughout the western United States. Nonprofit conservation organizations have purchased tools to manage prescribed fire in critical wildlife habitat and fire-dependent ecosystems in California and Washington.
The tools are popular because of their ease of use, compact design, durability, and the because of the effectiveness of the Dragon Swatter in controlling prescribed fire in grassland and oak/grass and Ponderosa pine/grass ecosystems.
The durability and longevity of the tools are particularly attractive benefits for multi-year prescribed burn programs of long duration. Tools are backed by warranty and parts subject to heavy wear such as blades and handles can be replaced by Dragonslayers at a modest cost. All Dragonslayers have a one-year warranty. Program budgets can be more accurately predicted by program managers, knowing that the tools will last multiple years and not just the one or two years common to the conventional fire tools.
This was the original fire fighting felling axe developed by Dragonslayers. The core plug is a lost wax casting made by the Ruger Firearms Company, made out of Titanium. Too expensive to make and too difficult to machine it is no longer marketable, and will never again be produced. These are now rare, unique and will soon be a very valuable collectors item; known only by fire history tool buffs. We have only 60 left.
The BLM Bonneville Hot Shot Crew out of Salt Lake City created a better, Slam Hammer by welding a bar of steel to the Axe blade of our Magnum Pulaski. That worked well for a while, but the Aluminum alloy could not withstand the battering force of driving felling wedges, and the blade began to loosen. So they asked us to build them an all steel, slam hammer for driving felling wedges and having a grub-hoe blade. So that is how the Dragonslayers Bonnie Hammer evolved. A part of fire fighting history. that few know about.
