Bill Buxton Railroad Spike Hawk

B

Brian C

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Jan 22, 1999
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There was a discussion thread in Shop Talk back in August concerning the drifts makers use to form the eyes of their hawks. Bill Buxton was part of that discussion & mentioned that he forges some throwing hawks from railroad spikes. Well, I've seen knives made from railroad spikes but never a hawk. He posted a picture and that was all it took to convince me I needed one. :D

Bill describes how he makes these in the thread that I linked above. Mine came with a 15" handle and proved to be a great thrower with consistent single turn sticks from about 14'. In addition to being a great thrower, I also found it very handy around camp for cutting up downed limbs to fit the fireplace. The narrow taper of the head lends itself to taking a shaving sharp edge. Although the relatively thin edge might tend to hang up in bigger wood, it severed most pieces up to two inches or so with a single blow. Edge retention was also very good, requiring only a light touch with a steel to restore it to shaving sharpness after extended throwing & limb clean up sessions.

If you are looking for a lightweight forged throwing/utility hawk with a unique look and at a great price, look no further. :cool: Here's a pic showing mine next to the fireplace, with a close-up of the head detail.
 

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Now Brian, you went and done it! I had to order one of these beauties from Bill. Got My Bill Buxton Railroad Spike Hawk, and man am I pleased. Thanks Bill for the great spiked hawk. Also, had Bill make me 2 of his RR spike Polled Hawks. I am pleased that Bill took the time to make these great hawks for me.

Thanks Again Bill for taking the time to make these great hawks for me and remaining a true craftsman.

December 15-16, CJ is going to be in Indy for the next ATC Tomahawk Training Class. Seats are limited, don't miss out on this opportunity to have expert training by one who has "Talked the Talk & Walked the Walk".

sarge

:cool:
 
I'm always willing to help other people spend their money, Sarge. :D Just to be sure, by "polled hawks" do you mean without a spike or hammer face? If so, Bill must be holding out on me. ;) Any chance of a pic?

As to the ATC Tomahawk Training Class, I was busy the weekend it was held in NJ but I'm looking forward to the next one in the Greater NY area. Time to go bug Andy. :cool:
 
I thought I would ressurect this thread because it was what made me want one in the first place. ;)

I ordered one of these from Bill recently,and I must say it exceeded my exectations. It is a great "user hawk". Seems to hold an edge really well, nice balance, and I'm not afraid to beat on it. =)

Thanks for the heads up on Bills work, and thanks to Bill for making this lil beaut. I'm really happy with the way it turned out.

I'll post some pictures when I get done with the handle. (Putting about 15 layers of linseed oil / Tung oil on it right now.) It didn't really need it, but since it is going to be a regular user I figured it deserved it. ;)

Verax
 
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