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Cold steel vietnam hawk

i love mine! i modded it by stripping the coating, and flame burnishing the handle:

its the top 'hawk, with the flashlight at its head

002.jpg
 
It's a great buy for the cost... and the sheath is really good, too!!!
Perfect for wearing on a hike...

The only downside is when you try throwing it... it is easily broken...
 
I learned about Peter LaGana, then bought the Cold Steel Vietnam Tomahawk...
Tried throwing it from about 15 feet into the cut-off end of a 3 foot diameter cut-down pine tree...
After hitting 'handle-first' maybe 3 times, the handle split lengthwise, one side falling completely off...
I was throwing it smoothly, not hard...

Cold Steel replaced it per my request with a Frontier Hawk (better for throwing), plus gave me 3 spare handles.
I throw this one all the time,still using the original handle...
 
Yeah, that Cold Steel Vietnam Tomahawk just isn't a VTAC, but at least they generally do stand behind their products and replace damaged/imperfact items.
 
the last few ones i have gotten have been excellent, which surprised me.

the wood handle is the shortcoming IMHO, as others have noted.

all the VN hawks are unnecessarily massive IMHO, be they CS or ATC - i'd really love to see them come in a 2/3's version - i'd love to put my composite handles on something like that.

vec
 
Glock17JHP said:
Brother vec... maybe someone here needs to 'make' one...
Click to expand...

i'm trying to stay out of the heads business for the most part - i can forge pretty well, but i only learned to as a survival skill, should the need arise - my pastor just stole my personal good forged knife from me for the year - hehehe! - it's a SIGN! - har!

:D:thumbup:

some brethren are getting really good with their new mini-forges, so maybe we will have some luck on that development.

i've been getting a bunch of Craig Barr heads lately, and he does nice stuff - i wonder if we can twist his arm into making such a hawk head....

brother mark williams could definitely do an OMG-good one too....

it's torture, thinking of what could be made by the Greats....

:(

vec
 
Has anyone modded one of these to take a standard ATC hawk handle?

I'm wondering if the eye has enough meat around it to be widened up for a standard handle...
 
gatmog said:
Has anyone modded one of these to take a standard ATC hawk handle?

I'm wondering if the eye has enough meat around it to be widened up for a standard handle...
Click to expand...

in my opinion, it does - ALMOST.

i think a home mod that would be pretty cool would be to use a standard Cold Steel Tomahawk Hickory Handle, preferrably their longer 24" version, and mount the skinny distal end of the replacement handle into a widened eye on the VN Hawk, with the flare of the stock handle being used as a hand catch.

that might be very nice indeed. - brother 7.62 Shooter here did a similar thing with an axe handle - maybe he can post a picture.

vec
 
Bushman5 said:
i love mine! i modded it by stripping the coating, and flame burnishing the handle:

its the top 'hawk, with the flashlight at its head

Hi, how did you strip the coating, I was thinking of getting a trail hawk and haven't seen one up close to know what the coating is...
Thanks KC

N/M i just read the sticky at the top and got the 411...
Thanks KC
Click to expand...
 
Last edited:
so Vec, if a guy was going to get a vec-tac what would be the better way to go with one of your handles. the CS head or ATC?
 
crossada said:
so Vec, if a guy was going to get a vec-tac what would be the better way to go with one of your handles. the CS head or ATC?
Click to expand...

honestly, i have no idea, brother.

let me qualify that:

TWO (2) ITEMS:

1) i have five ATC heads in the docket, waiting for my new Gen 1 Mark 4 handles.

2) I've done about that many Cold Steel VN heads, with previous-model Gen 1 handles.

For my money, I would go with the Cold Steel VN hawks, simply because you can grind them and not hear your wallet scream;

....i thought the ATC VTACs would be much less massive, but they are almost identical to the VN hawks, though usually better-ground - usually.

ATC's might have better steel and heat treatment than the Cold Steel equivalents, but i haven't been able to prove that yet. - Cold Steel has been consistent on all the hawks i have recieved so far - that's in the hundreds, folks....

it's something to think about.


i just got a string of VN hawks in from Cold Steel that were PERFECT - i almost died from shock - so many good ones all in one shipment - i usually send a third back, at least.

some buddy need to make the VN-style hawks 2/3-sized in my opinion, for it to be an acceptable head to put on a short handle.

handling one of those would be total porn.

bug the custom makers for me, brethren...!

:D:thumbup:

vec
 
Brother vec...

To make a 2/3 sized head I would be tempted to simply grind a Cold Steel VT head down slowly...
Think like a sculptor who 'sees the finished product' while it is still within the slab of marble... I would make a template like I did with the 1/4 scale Frontier Hawk I am still messing with... but would leave the eye alone...
 
Glock17JHP said:
Brother vec...

To make a 2/3 sized head I would be tempted to simply grind a Cold Steel VT head down slowly...
Think like a sculptor who 'sees the finished product' while it is still within the slab of marble... I would make a template like I did with the 1/4 scale Frontier Hawk I am still messing with... but would leave the eye alone...
Click to expand...

i think that would be a good idea, for a one-off. - it was mostly the depth of the thing i was concerned with - keep the length, and take advantage of the longer head's tracking characteristics....

if some buddy does that to a head, i will try to make them a deal on a handle, just for giggles.

gotta reward effort.

:cool::thumbup:

vec
 
I would be tempted to remove the finish on the haft and head of a CS VT, without disturbing their connection point. Then I would grind the head down to 2/3 size, and shorten the haft (but leave the diameter the same) if it makes sense in relation to the smaller head. Then I would paint the whole thing again, but not OD green... black!!!

I was tempted to paint one black anyway, and dye the sheath/holder black... so this is just a variation on that idea...
 
Glock17JHP said:
I would be tempted to remove the finish on the haft and head of a CS VT, without disturbing their connection point. Then I would grind the head down to 2/3 size, and shorten the haft (but leave the diameter the same) if it makes sense in relation to the smaller head. Then I would paint the whole thing again, but not OD green... black!!!

I was tempted to paint one black anyway, and dye the sheath/holder black... so this is just a variation on that idea...
Click to expand...

you'd shorten that itty-bitty haft even more...?

:confused:

vec
 
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