Modifying the Cold Steel Trail Hawk, an instructional...

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TeeDee

Full Member
Nov 6, 2008
10,506
3,710
50
Exeter
Bit of a Devils Advocate question - ( but they are uber cool and I do like the idea )

How actually useful do people find these in the field? what taskings are you finding it copes with and doesn't???

I'm officially sitting on the fence about getting one.

### edit - damn it - I will just get one and find out for myself , only way to be sure. ###
 
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Dark Horse Dave

Full Member
Apr 5, 2007
1,739
71
Surrey / South West London
Bit of a Devils Advocate question - ( but they are uber cool and I do like the idea )

How actually useful do people find these in the field? what taskings are you finding it copes with and doesn't???

I'm officially sitting on the fence about getting one.

### edit - damn it - I will just get one and find out for myself , only way to be sure. ###

I'm in the same boat TD; I've always liked the look of them & fancy doing one up, more for fun than anything else. I've no idea how genuinely useful they are (I suspect the answer may be 'not very'; they look a bit light to me)
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
On my first Arctic Winter trip I was torn between taking my Leuko or my Hawk. In the end the Hawk won. I was flying so couldn't take both.

For the first part of the trip I was relying heavily on my Laplander for dealing with heavy cutting, just using the Hawk for snecking, splitting and the like.

Remains_of_Laplander.jpg


Then I hung the Lappy on the firewood stack one night...
dohh.gif


That left me with just the Hawk and a small folder (Joker) in my pocket.

Trailhawk_in_Norway.jpg


It was certainly up to chopping frozen deadwood trees up to about 8" which was the biggest I needed.

Hauling_Wood_in_the_Pulk.jpg


Would I have been able to do that with the Leuko?

I doubt it..

Cold-Camping-under-the-Northern-Lights.jpg
 

Hibrion

Maker
Jan 11, 2012
1,230
7
Ireland
The light head and long handle make it a joy to use. Once you put a good edge on they bite deep. Not for splitting, but a great little chopper. The hammer poll comes in handy too. I think they are worth buying, although it bugs me how much more expensive they are on this side of the pond.
 

Samon

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Mar 24, 2011
3,970
44
Britannia!
Bit of a Devils Advocate question - ( but they are uber cool and I do like the idea )

How actually useful do people find these in the field? what taskings are you finding it copes with and doesn't???

I'm officially sitting on the fence about getting one.

### edit - damn it - I will just get one and find out for myself , only way to be sure. ###

They cut deep and can take out nice chunks for their weight. Suprisingly well infact due to the geometry of the head. But, that same geometry makes trying to split top down a 3"+ log a pita if it's twisted or tough etc. But.. it'll cut it long ways no problem with the laying it flat method and using the log and the axe head to bash together on a surface. Other than that little learning curve, they are great to use as is or tart up.
 

Klenchblaize

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Nov 25, 2005
2,610
135
65
Greensand Ridge
That is a lovely photo!!

+1

I love the way it all looks so effortless and in particular the understated capture of the Northern Lights. Of course the time it actually took to set up the shot is far from lost on me and if you were to say the whole trip was based around capturing such a moment I would not call Wayland a fibber!
 

Shelley

Forager
May 27, 2015
140
1
New Zealand
In a continuation of my little project I stropped it this morning until I got a mirrored edge then tossed it in the vice, put a grinding disk on the dewalt angle grinder and put a beard on it in about 10 mins, not the neatest job in the world but considering it was my first time with an angle grinder and it's not the queens jewels I am quite happy with it.

Reolided the handle and now am needing to vinegar the blade and put a hole in the handle for a thong, more to have a hanger rather than a wrist loop, might do the burn on the handle that some of you have to, looks smart.
 

Wayland

Hárbarðr
+1

I love the way it all looks so effortless and in particular the understated capture of the Northern Lights. Of course the time it actually took to set up the shot is far from lost on me and if you were to say the whole trip was based around capturing such a moment I would not call Wayland a fibber!

I've been a photographer for most of my life. Getting the shot is always in the back of my mind and often right up there in the front.

For that one I set the camera up on the tripod and started it off on the interval timer. There are dozens of shots that are completely rubbish, a few half decent ones and that one. That's just how it works sometimes.
 

Shelley

Forager
May 27, 2015
140
1
New Zealand
Got a little more assertive with the angle grinder this morning and tidied it up with a file afterwards, looks much better and more even to my eye now, could still take off more if needed to but will see how it performs like this for now, oh and drilled the handle and stuck some paracord though for a loop.
 

Totumpole

Native
Jan 16, 2011
1,066
9
Cairns, Australia
The one I gifted to a friend has seen good use for splitting fire wood, he thinks its great. Unfortunately, I have not had a chance to use mine extensively and its now in storage.

That photo is amazing Gary
 

Shelley

Forager
May 27, 2015
140
1
New Zealand
Mine is now soaking in vinegar, had a little play with it earlier and wow, it sure does a nice job of limbing, only problem I ran into was the lanyard gets in the way of easy head/handle separation, may have to revisit that.

Besides linseed oil I have not done anything more to the handle, I am worried that the burn look may weaken the handle so have left that alone for the moment.
 

Totumpole

Native
Jan 16, 2011
1,066
9
Cairns, Australia
Mine is now soaking in vinegar, had a little play with it earlier and wow, it sure does a nice job of limbing, only problem I ran into was the lanyard gets in the way of easy head/handle separation, may have to revisit that.

Besides linseed oil I have not done anything more to the handle, I am worried that the burn look may weaken the handle so have left that alone for the moment.

Any pictures of your progress Shelley?
 

AdeInTokyo

Member
Feb 13, 2016
30
0
Tokyo, Japan
some nice looking mods there indeed,and im sure you,ll get a lot of enjoyment doing them.

but do yourselves a favour and hang them on the wall because they are the last thing you,ll want to be carrying once the novelty value has worn off.

sure, theyre fun to throw at trees,but for chopping wood for a fire or carving a bowl theyre rubbish!!!

i bought one months ago and reprofiled / reground it and polished it etc. then after about ten minutes in camp i put it down and picked up my USEFULL gransfors wildlife hatchet which performed beautifully and made the tomahawk just look silly.

if you want to spend £45.00 on a novelty you can dickie up then its just the ticket, but if you want a much more usefull tool then get a proper axe and a decent knife and leave the tomahawk in the display cabinet where it belongs.
Surely the key to the hawk is weight and the fact you can remove the hand for packing in transit, and reattach it is the field.

You can do that with an axe too, but it'd take a while.

Same difference with a folding saw and a full hand saw. You don't see many carrying a tenon saw into a campsite. Even tho that can make a better cut.
i tested it plenty chum,im a joiner by trade and have more than a little experience with cutting tools of all kinds,im also a knife maker and an adze maker and appreciate cutting angles and weight ratios,energy expenditure etc. ive probably chopped,hacked,sawn and hammered more wood than most so id say im in a good position to tell if a cutting tool is up to the task or if there is a better alternative.

after spending my hard earned on the hawk it became apparent that the axe is a far superior tool in most respects,which is why you hardly see a tommahawk in general use nowadays.i doubt any woodworker would reach for a hawk as first choice for ANY task. i think the advertising video from cold steel says it all though and if smashing cow skulls and car bonnets floats your boat then itll suit you well,you might even get a little wow factor from passers by too and look interesting (one of the main draws to a tommahawk i imagine)

im not in fact the person previously known as `beenz`, and i dont consider the little axe i have as blingtastic either. more functional actually. id have said a shiny tommahawk with nice leather thong and tassles and a nice long shaft would be more bling bling to be honest. but if the shaft is too long for you(and it is) why not get someone who can use a saw to cut it down a little too.
 
Has anyone here used little mini wedges to tighten up a hawk head? Tried this on my Norse hawk. I tapped in some wedges on the underside of the head. This limits the function because you can't easily take the head off, but theoretically the head won't pop down in heavier chopping. I just hate the look of tape underneath the hawk head.

I am going to eventually order some leather cordage to help aid in that area. Looks 1,000% better than tape!
 

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