Alan Foundary & Slasinski Foundary

H

Hoplophile

Joined
Feb 23, 2001
Messages
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Has anybody here ever delt with either Alan or Slasinski Foundry axes? Are they quality stuff?
Thanks for the links Doc 45-70.
 
Never heard of Slasinsky.

Allan Foundry & Mfg. Co. (10591 Nassau Street NE, Blaine MN 55449 or e-mail at hawks@bitstream.net) pours most of the commercial cast tomahawk heads made in the USA (like those sold by Track of the Wolf and other Rendezvous-participant sellers). They also pour a lot of gun parts, and I have heard they do some work for the aerospace industry.

They used to pour 4140 on their commercial heads, but to the best of my knowledge now use 410 stainless. The ones you see at places like Track are as-cast heads with a spray-painted finish and hydraulic-pressed (not hand-fitted) handles. They are obviously not going to be as nice as a handmade precision-ground polished and blued hawk but they are quite solid, are guaranteed, and can definitely be made into a functional tool. The stainless is definitely nontraditional, but if you leave the spray paint on (which will make people laugh at you at a Rendezvous but works OK in the woods) or re-do them as a bright-finish hawk (which won't rust) they are a good inexpensive hawk. They pour a LOT of patterns (see the Track catalog) including some medieval stuff.

Do not confuse their product with the made-in-Pakistan cr*p sold as tomahawks by a lot of the mass-market mail-order retailers. They have been doing custom pours for me in 6150 vanadium spring steel for several years, and I average less than a 2 percent reject rate on what they make from my custom molds (Pete Allan also made the molds for me from my master heads). And that is after taking the heads through machining and finish grinding to a high polish and my very "picky" quality control policy. Most of my metal raw materials come from Allan Foundry.

TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
One of my favorite throwers is an Allan Foundry & Mfg. - in the 'buff' (brushed) as TwoHawks suggests... I couldn't deal with the paint. This hawk is defiantly fun (and accurate) to throw.

;) Someday, I'll own a 2-hawks piece too! ;)

Take care TwoHawks...get well!
 
With regard to the other name, could you be thinking of Joe Szilaski (I may not be much closer on spelling)? He is a high-end hawk maker who recently introduced a hawk & knife set in collaboration with Ed Fowler. I started a thread on that right after Blade West, maybe late Sept. 2001. It would be in the archives. Unfortunately, even if he is the one for whom you are looking, I don't have contact information.
 
Your spelling is correct if we're talking about Joseph Szilaski (29 Carroll Drive, Wappingers Falls NY 12590) who is a maker of VERY outstanding high end hawks (these usually go in a glass case on the wall or in the vault next to your wife's diamond necklace and the mint condition Colt 1849 pocket model rather than in a backpack). Somehow missed out on word of the collaboration with Ed Fowler (have been way behind on a lot of stuff lately due to rotten health). That's probably the best endorsement I could think of .... anybody that Ed Fowler would be associated with commercially has got to be top-of-the-line as Ed is one of the best 10 master bladesmiths in the world.
TWO HAWKS
http://www.2hawks.net
 
I have no info on their quality but Slasinski Foundry hawks are castings of 4140 steel. They one of the brands carried by Ragnar's Ragweed Forge.

BTW, it's nice to see you posting, Two Hawks. I hope you're feeling better.
 
regular Allan 'hawks are cast of 410 cutlery grade stainless steel these days

allan foundry makes some of thier hawks in 6150 medium carbon steel now, with the edge hardened

er, well, ragweedforge had some made.. (?)

http://www.ragweedforge.com/6150.jpg

i'm getting the french lady hawk (francisca) in that alloy ^
 
I just got a couple of Allan 'hawks from Ragnar a few days ago and I've been putting them through their paces. I'm very pleased.

Three were 6150, one was 410 - that one was going to be strictly a thrower anyway and Ragnar didn't have it available at the time in 6150; plus, I figured that it would make a nice contrast.

Get the 6150 if you're looking to do any woodworking. Unless you're only doing very clear wood, the 410 won't hold an edge. At the end of the day the 6150 edges get a stropping; the 410 edge goes right to the belt grinder.
 
I'm glad you like them. One good thing about 410 is that you don't
have to worry about overheating it in the grinder. You do need to avoid
heating the 6150 version of course.
My impression is that the Slasinski hawks are softer than the 410 Allan
hawks. They are intended for display or throwing, not serious wood working
or chopping. There is no heat treat on these, so again you can take them
to the belt grinder as necessary. Slasinski hawks all come with a heavy coat
of rust. This is deliberate, and MIke pays extra to have them rusted in a
salt bath.

"A knifeless man is a lifeless man." -old Nordic proverb
 
Interesting, and thanks for the info. I'd been wondering about the Slasinskis.

The belt grinder only gets used when there's considerable dulling or damage to the edge. I use sandpaper if stropping won't get the job done.

I originally posted this video in the HI forum but since the topic came up, and some of you may get a kick out of it...

Quick and Dirty Edge Test

The blue thing is a pool noodle.
 
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