A few questions about TwoHawks

Vampire Hunter D

Vampire Hunter D

Joined
Nov 26, 1999
Messages
406
Hello All,

Wow, it's been a long time since I've been on the forums. Well anyway I was surfing the net looking for a new axe and I ran across the work of Two Hawks. I'm impressed by the pictures, the work looks great. So I dropped him a line and then decided to stop by here. After finding this forum( what luck ) and seeing posts by Two Hawks( even luckier ) I realized the he most likely wont get to my E-mail for a while. Hopefully you guys can help. I was wondering how many of you have working experience with Two Hawks axes, specifically the Longhunter and the Warhawk. If so what are their approximate weight and length. I'll basically be using it for canp work, hiking, hunting, and possibly self defense which is always a factor. I also noticed that no axe sheaths were shown on the site, does he offer these? If not who does ? The knives on the site were also nice, does anyone have experience with these? Any info is greatly appreciated. Well I have to run my daughter is crying. Thanks again.

D
 
My Longhunter with rawhide wrap weighed 19.3 oz. from Two Hawks. I wrapped the handle with paracord so it now weighs 19.6 oz. I haven't weighed my traditional style Warhawk (not the military version), but it is within an ounce of my Competition model, which weighs 15.8 ounces.

Two Hawks doesn't make hawk sheaths, but there is a description of how to make one (with pictures) in a relatively recent thread. The search feature ought to pull it up.

For camping, the hammer poll on the Longhunter is handy if you have to pound tent stakes, etc. However, I've cut a good deal of brush with the Competition and really like the way it handles. The blade also curves forward a bit more than the Longhunter so it might have some advantages for skinning.
 
Dances with Knives,

Thanks for the reply. How well does your warhawk work in the field? Although there is no hammer poll it seems as though you could use it like there was. Also I just love the look of the military option. It seems like its exactly what I want, I'm just not one to purchase tools without research. Of you would be so kind I would like the length in inches of your Longhunter and Warhawk. The competition model looked good too, but I belive that it has been discontinued. At least thats what I thought it said on the site. Also how is the penetration on those? Thanks again Dances, and any other replies are appreciated.

D
 
The traditional (non-military) Warhawk that I have is extremely close in dimensions to the Competition. The main differences are the sharpened leading/trailing edges and an even nicer finish (really nice!). I'll measure them both when I get home. The military option is mainly finish and wrapping, so the dimensions/weight would not be greatly different. My Longhunter is a bit longer in the shaft, but that may simply be a function of the fact that each hawk is hand made and comes out a little different. It also has a very pretty shaft and great overall finish.

I have not used the Military in the field because there is no need for the sharpened leading/trailing edges unless you are fighting. In fact, they might be a bit of a hazard if one were not careful. Since the Competition is virtually identical except for the leading/trailing edges, I've used it in the field instead. I've played with the Warhawk at my martial arts academy and a number of the instructors/students were VERY jealous.

Just for fun I tried tapping some tent pegs with the back of the Competition eye. It can be made to work on wide-top pegs (like the yellow plastic ones or home-made wood pegs) but not as well as the Longhunter. It won't work on narrow-top pegs (like the thick wire ones). Furthermore, I wouldn't hit anything with much force because the round eye just isn't designed to withstand the stress of pounding. I imagine that Two Hawks would advise against any serious pounding, but I'll leave that to him to answer.

The chopping penetration of the Longhunter seems a bit deeper than the Competition because the head is heavier and the cutting edge slightly smaller. However, it is not a significant difference. Frankly, I like the blade on the Competition/Warhawk a little better. I was chopping a lot of brush on a cutting block and the extra forward protrusion of the Competition's edge seemed to eat a bigger bunch of brush with each blow. But again, the difference was minor.

I don't know what to advise you, but I don't think you'd go wrong with any of these models and, eventually, you'll probably end up with more than one.
 
This evening trying to catch up on very neglected web stuff including the Forum.
ITEM 1: Do not pound stakes with a round-eye hawk. Have countless pictures in my reference library of old hawks with triangular eyes from use as a hammer or splitting wedge. And you'll never get a handle to fit again. You can get away with some light pounding on wood or plastic stakes on an occasional basis but DO NOT use the Warhawk or Competition on steel stakes or for heavy beating. Get a hammer polled hawk like the Longhunter or Voyageur.
ITEM 2: The Competition has not been discontinued. I'm just way behind on them and currently out of materials which should be here soon.
ITEM 3: Competition and Warhawk are machined from the same materials, the only real difference is the edge geometry. As was correctly pointed out the razor sharp upper and lower fighting edges on the Warhawk can be a potential liability for "routine" camp use unless you are careful.
ITEM 4: Blade main-edge contour on the Competition (and the Warhawk) is very nice for skinning, a nice approx. 4 inch sweeping edge, and it can be used like an ulu due to the rounded edges near the handle. Also it is a wider edge than the Longhunter which is nice for some chores. The Competition was optimized for sticking in a block of wood (and flies like it was laser-guided) but also works well for other stuff .... a hawk is a multipurpose tool.
ITEM 5: The Longhunter is based on 1700's medium belt hawks and is basically a camp tool though it could be very handy on a dark trail when there are bad guys around. It pounds stakes well, cuts wood well though the blade edge (see MEDIUM BELT HAWK) is fairly narrow compared to a cordwood-beast like the heavier Voyageur.
ITEM 6: Civilian vs. Military hawks .... the Longhunter and Competition are blued like a nice rifle (Comp is a Hardware/80 finish and Longhunter is Field/220 finish) while the military models are all low-reflectance (rough) surface with a tough acid brown finish like brown parkerizing. Militaries also have dark satin oil handles, thong ferrules, OD paracord grip wrap/wrist thong, and a mottled earthtone rawhide upper handle reinforcement. "Shiny" is not good when the smelly stuff is hitting the fan in bad-guy country.
ITEM 7: Some customers have gotten good "modern" sheaths from Survival Sheath Systems (http://www.survivalsheath.com).

Hope this information helps, and thanks to everyone for their patience as my aging slow nasty body tries to keep up with the big backlog in orders.
TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
Two Hawks,

Thanks! I've really spent some time thinking about it and I've decided that what I want is a military warbeast whenever I am able to save up the the money and whenever you decide to make more. Thanks again for all of the great information. Best wishes.

-D
 
Dear Vampire Hunter D:
Sorry for long delay. Lousy body makes priority the shop and order e-mails and shipping what I have been able to finish around the world.
New medications have pretty much restored most of the lost muscle function and some of the energy so now trying to catch up on things like the BLADE FORUM ignored for several months. Still old and slow but not quite as old and slow .... still have over 60 hawks on back order and still long waiting list but trying to keep up better.
Reference the WARBEAST you noted in your FORUM message to me .... seems like you were ahead of me at that point (see my earlier tech information). FYI, the WARBEAST heavy polled-head military utility survival/combat/whatever hawk is now a semi-standard item on special order. Don't blame me for the rather "showy" name for this one .... it got named by the folks who got the initial custom prototype hawks and a bunch of others who jumped on the bandwagon while waiting for their backordered next-to-be-done batch. Though it seems to fit well for a big mean hawk I prefer "Axe, Hand, Multipurpose M1" as the most accurate designation.
Anyhow, thanks much for your message and again my apologies for the long delay in getting back to you.
Best regards,
TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
As one of the lucky people that has an "Axe, Hand, Multipurpose M1"/Warbeast I have to say that I am very happy with it and it has seen some time in the woods. I also have a Military and am happy with that.

Which ever way you go, you cannot go wrong with Two Hawks work - the wait just makes them better when they arrive!!

Regards,

Ed
 
Anxiously awaiting mine but I'm low on the list.

Agonized over the Longhunter v. Military debate. Went with the Longhunter so that I wouldn't have to a) worry as much about the wife and rodents and b) explain to LEO's about all those edges.

Sidenote: Vampire, you oughta credit the man's work. It's Tom Robbins, isn't it?
 
Dear BOLTON,
Thanks for the reference and compliments. Checked your listed e-mail address on the FORUM and it didn't match my wait list info so you need to get in touch with me by e-mail so I can update my database with the right information ...... customers get VERY unhappy when they don't get something they have been waiting for over a year!!!!
EVEN OLD F*RTS USE COMPUTERS (sometimes).
TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
twohawks@mcn.net
 
HI,

I am now looking at the same thing, I really like the way the warhawk looks, but I also want to see the warbeast. If the warbeast is about the same lenght and weight it may be the one I will get. Thanks,Kev
 
Dear KEV50,
And for others who may have the same questions ....
The WARHAWK is a non-polled (no hammer) head which is available in a smooth polished and very pretty option (standard) with blued head and dark London-oil gunstock finished handle. Also available as MILITARY option with low-reflectance browned "parkerized" type head finish, satin dark handle, mottled rawhide head/handle reinforcement, copper handle ferrule and OD paracord grip wrap/wrist thong. About 1 1/4 pounds total weight, 16 inch handle.
The WARBEAST is a heavier multipurpose hawk with a substantial hammer poll for driving stakes, pounding nails or whatever in camp or survival situations. Finish is the same as the MILITARY warhawk above but this is a larger hawk with a 17 inch handle (to match the heavier head for balance) and about a 1 3/4 pound weight.
Both hawks have razor-sharpened upper and lower edges to permit thrust cuts, hooking cuts, and other options in tactical situations.
Tried to put in a picture but it wouldn't load. See the web site.

TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
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