finally finished my cold steel tomahawk
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That looks like a lovely bit of work! Did you make it entirely from scratch? Any more details to it? Sorry for all the questions I'm just really interested in having a go at making an axe and I'm curious as to what it'd take.. Cheers, Harry
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its a mod on the coldsteel trailhawk heres a link to it as it comes http://www.coldsteel-uk.com/store/Trail-Hawk-Tomahawk.html
there are several people on here who have modded them, do a search on coldsteel trailhawk, to make them look a little more like the old trade axes. Basically they are a cheap tomahawk albeit a bit ugly on arrival but the steel is good on them.
The whole project was a series of botch ups first i bought some paint stripper to remove the black paint but it never worked so in the end i used a dremel with a stone to remove the paint (alas this caused a bit of scaring but in some light it looks a bit more rustic that way). I then used mustard to make a patina to the steel which works well and i plan to increase the effect over time. the shaft is rough on arrival but hickory none the less i sanded it up so that the head comes away freely (aids packing it and also makes the head a useful tool in its own right). I also stained the shaft to get a darker look. I would like to make a leather sheath for it but maybe another time when i have the skills, generally i am not very crafty at such things but for a first stab i am pleased with the outcome.
Thanks for looking.
there are several people on here who have modded them, do a search on coldsteel trailhawk, to make them look a little more like the old trade axes. Basically they are a cheap tomahawk albeit a bit ugly on arrival but the steel is good on them.
The whole project was a series of botch ups first i bought some paint stripper to remove the black paint but it never worked so in the end i used a dremel with a stone to remove the paint (alas this caused a bit of scaring but in some light it looks a bit more rustic that way). I then used mustard to make a patina to the steel which works well and i plan to increase the effect over time. the shaft is rough on arrival but hickory none the less i sanded it up so that the head comes away freely (aids packing it and also makes the head a useful tool in its own right). I also stained the shaft to get a darker look. I would like to make a leather sheath for it but maybe another time when i have the skills, generally i am not very crafty at such things but for a first stab i am pleased with the outcome.
Thanks for looking.
Ah ok thanks for the info dude..so the head comes off when not in use then? Is that not a bit of a risk for a tool such as an axe? But the patina on it looks really good and I shouldn't worry about any scratches in it either, gives it character I reckon, gives it a story!
Thanks for the help
Thanks for the help
The shaft is designed to be larger than the eye of the axe head so it slides downward with a jab on solid surface. When you put the head on and jolt it forwards or a reverse tap it knocks it on solid. Read up on trade axes they were designed for it so that it was easy to make a shaft in the field. It also means you can have several size shafts for different uses.
Ah ok, that makes sense, pretty awesome actually because of the functionality..shows me how little I know about those kinds of axes eh! Thanks for the info dude
yeah but i have no leatherworking skills so i might have to fish about to see if one of the gransfors are known to fit it
Ok, i was just wondering as the title said "finally finished". As though lots of work had been done on it
@ hillbill im not to crafty as some of you folk unfortunately i have put a patina on the head although it doesnt show so well on the pic. I dont have a grinder etc to reshape the head and besides i like the head the way it is basically it was a relatively quick spruce up to make it more like a trade axe although by my standards it was a lot of work lol especially since the paint stripper never worked had to dremel all the paint off lol. Most of the work went into the shaft it was rough as a bears butt on arrival and a very light colour etc.
No worries mate, i wasn't intending to come across as though i was having a pop or anything
Nitromors is the paint stripper you wanted. It works a treat... bit late now mind
Nitromors is the paint stripper you wanted. It works a treat... bit late now mind
Shambling Shaman
Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
yeah i found the paint stripper didnt work at all was gutted really as using the dremel to get the paint off made some scars i wasnt happy about..
Would also be interested if anyone knows how to polish them up to a mirror finish if its possible with the coldsteel axe head?
Would also be interested if anyone knows how to polish them up to a mirror finish if its possible with the coldsteel axe head?
