Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

[Ponsau]

There is a local knifemaker in Texas I bought the knife from. His name is Bruce Addison of nueces river knives. He was super nice, and had a large collection for me to sift through. The one I have is a bit larger than the one he has for sale on his website. If you send him the picture of mine, I'm sure he could reproduce it. He called it the nacadoches. I loved it the first time I saw it. It looks very sturdy and rugged. Perfect outdoors knife. Blade is satin finished and cleans up well. Almost has a nesmuck style to it. It has some filing to the spine and just has a great camp knife look to it. He makes some great little no frills knives meant for hard use. Check him out if you got time.
http://www.nuecesriverknives.com/

He also makes great sheaths for them as well, but I made the one in the picture. I wanted a bushcraft looking horizontal sheath. The pouch holds 3 thin diamond sharpening stones (coarse, medium, fine). I also made the Norse hawk sheath as well. I'm fairly new to leather making, and plan on doing more. That knife sheath was my first attempt at leather making! I've learned a little bit since then and plan on doing another. Oh and I do not take credit for the sheath design. It's idea came from hedgehog leatherworks, who make amazing leather sheaths. I just made my own to save myself some money.
http://www.hedgehogleatherworks.com/

[InSilvam]

Hey Ponsau,

the sheaths (both ones for the axe and for the knife) look really awesome - you seem to be a natural talent if these were your first ones! How awesome are they gonna get once you've got a lot of practice ???
Did you follow a certain tutorial on how to make a sheath (besides your inspirations from hedgehog leatherworks)?

The knives made by Nueces River Knifes look really cool, unfortunately they're not an option for me - I guess shipping to Germany would be rather expensive... But I'll make a mental note to visit him if I ever actually get the chance to visit Texas. Been to the US a couple of times, but somehow never made it to Texas - doh...

But fortunately Germany has some fine knife companies as well, so I might just keep my eyes open and see whether I'll find something similar...

[Ponsau]

I did well on those because I watched a lot of videos on leather making on YouTube. They helped out a lot so I wasn't starting blindly. I used the axe head for a pattern, and used really thick shoulder leather for the sheath. Same for the knife sheath. Check out videos on wet forming leather and sewing sheaths, they help!

[foecutter]

What is the best finish to put on a haft?

[InSilvam]

I just oiled the handle with olive oil, and then finished it with beeswax. It gives a nice and warm grip, and it looks really good imho.

[Ponsau]

Yeah I just sanded mine and use tung oil. But it's all up to you. I don't think there is a "best" way to do it. Just look at some pics or come up with your own method based on what you like. I think the beeswax is a great idea, maybe help it be more waterproof. I didn't do that but I may next time.

[Wolf_1989]

On my Spike Hawk, all I did was scorch the handle in a blotch pattern and give it two coats of satin polyurethane.

[Triquetra]

I have kind of a stupid question about modifying the CS Hawks. I've taken the coating off of a couple but how do you go about really smoothing and polishing the finish? Do you just use belt grinders, or would you use one of those wheel grinders, or maybe a round sanding pad? I know it's a simplistic question but I've never tried this before and don't want to mess up a good hawk or waste a lot of time.

[pullrich]

Triq,

I've always kept it simple and just hand-sanded with a few levels of grit like 150, then 220, then 600, then finish the wood with your stain and poly coating.

[InSilvam]

Hey,

I got my Norse Hawk last weekend, and went straight to modding it yesterday and today. Process was the same as on the spike hawk - reprofile and sharpen head, burn and oil/wax the handle. Applied a patina to the head using vinegar and saltwater. I also added some decorative brass nails to the top and bottom of the handle.

Here we go, took her out into the woods (chops extremly well)!









Btw, I took the pictures with my cellphone, sorry for the bad quality...

[Ponsau]

Nice! Looks good. I love the Norse hawks. They throw good too!

[Wolf_1989]

- I suck at filework. Not the easiest thing to get into, I recommend a lot of practice first.

Jimpin' ain't easy.

I mark the intervals out first using a pencil and ruler, then lightly begin the jimpin' with a square file. This works as a guide to the main work.

[quietmike]

Jimpin' ain't easy.

That's sig worthy.

[mrgreyman]

Here is one I did a while back.

[IMG] By mrgreyman at 2012-07-31[/IMG]

[IMG] By mrgreyman at 2012-07-31[/IMG]

[IMG] By mrgreyman at 2012-07-31[/IMG]

[gorbys]

Here is one I did a while back.

[IMG] By mrgreyman at 2012-07-31[/IMG]

[IMG] By mrgreyman at 2012-07-31[/IMG]

[IMG] By mrgreyman at 2012-07-31[/IMG]

Whats the wrap made of?

[mrgreyman]

Just braided leather.

[Ponsau]

Nice etch you got on that mrgreyman. I like the hoof print.

[InSilvam]

The etch does indeed look good, especially the bear! What did you use to fill the screw hole? Looks like pewter, or is it just a filed-off screw?

[mrgreyman]

Pewter indeed! Thanks for the compliments. I plan on making some more soon.

[asmith80]

I have kind of a stupid question about modifying the CS Hawks. I've taken the coating off of a couple but how do you go about really smoothing and polishing the finish? Do you just use belt grinders, or would you use one of those wheel grinders, or maybe a round sanding pad? I know it's a simplistic question but I've never tried this before and don't want to mess up a good hawk or waste a lot of time.

If you have a Dremel, they make little flap wheel attachments for it which works pretty well. I used an auto body repair kit that I found at Wal mart for, like $17. You chuck the abrasive pads into a power drill and work your way through the three different grits. It wasn't mirror smooth afterwards, but it did get out all but the deepest pits and gouges. Unless you're really careful with a belt grinder you may end up overheating the metal and ruining the temper, so I'd avoid that method