Beaver Bill spike hawk inbound

H

hound46

Joined
Feb 7, 2008
Messages
10
Hello,

I've been reading and gathering information on hand forged tomahawks. I decided to get a Beaver Bill spike hawk with a curly ash haft. Does anyone have any pictures or information they'd like to share about Beaver Bill's hawks to tide me over until it arrives? I'm excited for it's arrival.
 
I bought a pipe hawk from bill 20 years ago at a gun show in Dayton ohio . You won't be sorry first class stuff Jake
 
buckeyejake said:
I bought a pipe hawk from bill 20 years ago at a gun show in Dayton ohio . You won't be sorry first class stuff Jake
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What kind of wood did you get? I really like the way the figured wood finish he uses looks. Do you know if he's using aquafortis or traditional stain?
 
Looks like a stain you see it on muzzleloading rifles they used curry maple. A tiger stripe look wood, mite be ash lite and still straight after all these years :-) Jake.
 
You sure made a great choice. I have handeled a few of the originals and bill gets it rite . How long of a wait ?
 
Thank you. I got one of 2 that he had in stock. My payment arrived Friday. USPS priority took 2 days. I should have it next week.
 
I bought my daughter (Yeah; she likes knives too) one of his spike tomahawks at an Ohio Gun Collectors show last year. Hers has an Osage Orange handle. You won't be disappointed; Beaver Bill puts out a great product.
 
Never heard of this maker until today. Checked out his site looks to me like aquafortis finish on his curly maple hafts to me. Some nice hawks.
 
LEGION 12 said:
Never heard of this maker until today. Checked out his site looks to me like aquafortis finish on his curly maple hafts to me. Some nice hawks.
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I hadn't heard of aquafortis until I started researching tomahawks and the wood used. Very interesting process and I like the end results.
 
sceva said:
I bought my daughter (Yeah; she likes knives too) one of his spike tomahawks at an Ohio Gun Collectors show last year. Hers has an Osage Orange handle. You won't be disappointed; Beaver Bill puts out a great product.
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I think it would be fun to sit by the beehives and whittle new handles. Plenty of Osage orange on my place, but I don't know if that stuff can be whittled. :). That's some of the hardest wood I've seen and it only gets more solid with age.

If it's easy for you, I'd love to see a picture of your daughter's tomahawk.
 
I spoke to Bill last year in Kalamazoo and he said he raises the grain/sands several times, then I believe he said he uses a water based stain then his own mixture of turpentine/boiled linseed oil. More work than magic, but I think he makes some of the best looking hafts.
I have one of his arrowhead spike hawks and a pipe hawk. I would like to get a spike hawk someday or his bag axe.
If you get a chance to meet him at an event, you will have a hard time believing he has not been transported here from 1750. Wonderful guy.
 
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There's a lot of ways to stain maple nowadays. Bought a bottle of aquafortis love the results but you have to be careful with it. And I've only used it once so I'm still learning.
 
I've seen Beaver Bill's work, and his wooden handles are exquisite. Unfortunately for those of us on a budget, three H&B poll or spike hawks can be had for the same price as one similar BB. Hopefully as $ permit, one of Beaver Bill's creations will find a new home with me some time in the future.
 
hound46 said:
I think it would be fun to sit by the beehives and whittle new handles. Plenty of Osage orange on my place, but I don't know if that stuff can be whittled. :). That's some of the hardest wood I've seen and it only gets more solid with age.

If it's easy for you, I'd love to see a picture of your daughter's tomahawk.
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No photos of hers but here is a generic photo of a Beaver Bill spike axe with I believe Osage Orange. Hers gas the same reddish tinge to it.

spikehawk.jpg
 
I almost didn't post these pictures because they just don't do this tomahawk justice. It's a beautiful piece of working art. I plan on displaying and using it. I couldn't be happier. I know I'll be taking pictures when things green up. It's got the kind of character you want to try and capture.



 
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