CS Hawk for bushcraft survival

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DocBurN

Joined
Feb 25, 2010
Messages
403
I found this yesterday and totally fell in love with hawks.. and that damn Mod'ing thread generate a lot of profit to hawks sellers.. anyway

You guys know more than me about hawks.. can you suggest me which one fit the best for wood/trees chopping.. i also prefer the hammer to the spike back. The main utility is to chop trees for firewood.

Should i get the biggest surface of edge or the heaviest for chopping power (want it also to be lightweight if possible without loosing to much power from the head of the hawk). Im going on a winter survival trip in Canada and the temp is below freezing.. and will also carry in summer. I recognize that a real axe would probably be better but i dont mind working a lil extra to carry a lighter chopper like the hawks.

A)
csstoreonline_2142_1329750
Pipe Hawk

B)
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Trail Hawk

or bigger edge without hammer back.. like..
C)
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Frontier Hawk

D)
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Norse Hawk

or just forget hawk as an axe out-chop any hawk A LOT..
E)
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Trail boss

Thank you for your hawks/axe expertise and any input are once again welcome.
 
Sounds like the best one above for you would be the trial boss....
 
Dusty One said:
Sounds like the best one above for you would be the trial boss....
Click to expand...

i agree with you but i was thinking of not giving the option E) for the Trail Boss for the weight of it..

Let say im gonna buy the Trail Boss.. and a hawk.. what would be the best hawk wood chopper according to you ?
 
Sounds like you want an axe. Then again, unless your aim is to re-create old woodcraft you probably dont need even that.
 
Rick Marchand does a lot of winter stuff and he carries a Norse Hawk IIRC. That said, I really like the trail hawk for it's light weight.
 
First, thank you guys for helping an Hawk noob making a decision :D

TRAIL HAWK
Overall Length: 22"
Weight: 23.6 oz. (approx.)
Blade Thick: 2 1/4" (primary edge)
Blade Length: 6 1/2" (Hawk Length)

Pipe Hawk
Overall Length: 22"
Hawk Length: 7 1/2"
Primary Edge: 3"
Steel: Drop Forged 1055 Carbon
Weight: 28 oz

Norse Hawk
Overall Length: 22"
Hawk Length: 5 1/2"
Weight: 25.3 oz (approx.)
Primary Edge: 4"

Frontier Hawk
Overall Length: 22"
Hawk Length: 6"
Primary Edge: 3 1/4"
Steel: Drop Forged 1055 Carbon
Weight: 22.4 oz (approx.)

From what i can see:
They are all 22" long
Pipe Hawk is the heaviest by only a few oz (liking the lightweight mentality, its not much of a factor between hawks.. it is according to the trail boss axe tho)
Norse Hawk got the biggest edge
Pipe Hawk and Trail Hawk can be used as a hammer
Trail Hawk is a sexy hawk, for what is worth, lol, and seem popular by the modders for some reason

Did i missed something ?

Thank you for your input guys.. appreciated it very much
 
Trail hawk is not bad. If you are serious about processing a lot of wood though, an axe would be better, and the trail boss would not be my first choice. Check out husqvarna, wetterlings, gransfors bruks, etc.

Here is a video on the trail hawk by our own IA Woodsman. These things are fun, but as you mentioned, you want it for utility. For utility there are better tools.

[youtube]6pvv97vPLHk[/youtube]
 
For ”fun” and short hiking - Pipe hawk.
For ”life” and more than 3 days in woods - Trail boss.
 
Well, if you want a hammer poll, the Pipe hawk has it, hands down.

What I really need you to do is figure out how much and what size wood you want to process.

The general rule for Trail Hawk sized heads is to pick wood that is wrist sized or smaller. If you're willing to use it right (that type of head "pecks" the wood -- breaking out narrow, but deep chips -- rather than the more conventional style of chip removal of an axe), 4" is not out of line. 22" is about perfect for the Trail hawk.

If you are going to do larger wood, say 4-6" as common, then one of the others is better. The Frontier is a nice Iroquois style head and the Norse is a time-proven design. They are heavier (I don't trust the numbers you put up, the Frontier is significantly heavier than the Trail), have longer bits and will behave more like a traditional axe. The other nice thing about the bearded hawks like those is that you can choke up right under the head, and your hand is actually behind a good bit of the edge, making it easier to use for more knife-like tasks.

For true "hawking", the Trail hawk is it.

For more axemanship (remember that the curved axe handle is a fairly recent invention, and ALL axes used to be like what we call tomahawks), my picks would be the Norse or Pipe, depending on if you really have to have a hammer poll, or if you'd rather have a longer edge.

Being heavier, I'd suggest buying one of their war hammer 30" handles and mounting it on that, then cut off the end an inch at a time until it balances right for you.

BTW, if you end up with an axe, I would NOT pick a Trail Boss. Look into a Gransfors Scandinavian, Wetterlings 26" or Council Hudson Bay.
 
There's also the Rifleman's Hawk, which is really a small axe in hawk's clothing. That thing has some serious weight behind it.
 
I have Trail, Frontier and Norse hawks. Of the three, the Norse is my favorite and the best chopper I think, though the Frontier is not far behind. Whichever you choose, consider going with a longer handle to get the most from it. A two hand swing will make a difference for not much extra weight. If you're going to be processing a lot of wood, it will be worth it imo.
 
I think.. for whatever that means.. If I were up in Canada in the winter a small axe would be good. But hawks are light and fun

But a nice saw of some kind would complement an axe or hatchet for very effective wood processing.

Is the pipe hawk poll hollowed out like a real pipe or is it just a fancy looking hammer poll?
 
I watched a guy hit the side of a nail (backed up by a 2x4) with one of the CS hawks and he turned it into a 'V' and the blade was spotless after the hit, they make some hard blades from what I saw.
 
What i like about a hawk is it is easier to carry than an axe. If you are going to set up a camp then a axe might be a better tool to have but if you are going to be covering ground quickly the hawk would be my choice.
 
i have thought about all the input in this thread.. and unfortunately i can take forever to decide but.. i am not going for an axe this time (small forest axe will be pick probably when i buy one).. I really want an Hawk (and information i left out, i am always going in the woods with my brother and he carry an hatchet.. i was the machete guy.)

Here is where my spinning head is at:

A lot of votes for the Norse.. im still not sure i like the shape of it but performance seem to be there

I would get a Trail if the blade was just a lil bigger.. and even then, i can work magic with small knife, so why not with a trail

Frontier and pipe (if the hammer part is pretty much flat) look very good to me.
 
raybateson said:
How is the trail boss supposed to be inferior to those others mentioned? I'm curious.
Click to expand...

I think the trail boss falls into the small axe category, where there is more competition, like the GB Small forest axe or more affordable options like the Council tool Hudson Bay camp axe.

CS hawks are inexpensive, fun to mod. They create a special niche that excludes the trail boss. I am fascinated with the idea of interchanging handles of different length.
 
raybateson said:
How is the trail boss supposed to be inferior to those others mentioned? I'm curious.
Click to expand...
It's really a 3/4 axe, and the ones I've seen in person were poor in quality. The Made-in-Mexico Collins Boy's Axe at my local hardware store for $15 was a nicer axe, to be honest.

DocBurN said:
A lot of votes for the Norse.. im still not sure i like the shape of it but performance seem to be there
Click to expand...
If I may offer an alternative, I think Fort Turner makes some of the nicest looking Norse hawks (about 2/3 down the page). They cost about twice what the CS does, but you get a LOT of performance for the price increase.

Two downsides are: he can take a while to get them to you, depending on how busy he is (he tries to get military orders done first).

Second, the hafts are 18", and he uses a smaller eye size than Cold Steel, so you will have to work on a replacement haft for a longer haft.

DocBurN said:
I would get a Trail if the blade was just a lil bigger.. and even then, i can work magic with small knife, so why not with a trail
Click to expand...
If you want the true "go light" hawk experience, the Trail Hawk is it. The others are really closer to straight helved axes. Like I said earlier, the Trail Hawk requires some learning to use it most effectively, but it works quite well once you get your technique down pat. The solution to the narrow head not being great as double duty for a knife is easily solved -- carry a knife, LOL.

If you really want to go whole hog, get the Trail Hawk and a long knife (see the hawks and knives thread), especially a Bowie style knife. THEN you'll have the true frontiersman/American aboriginal experience.

DocBurN said:
Frontier and pipe (if the hammer part is pretty much flat) look very good to me.
Click to expand...

The hammer on the Pipe has a flat face, and is a little larger than the head on a typical 24-oz claw hammer. The nice thing about these hawks is they have a lot of metal on them, which means if you find them too heavy, you can grind some off here and there to make it both more aesthetically pleasing and more functional for your uses. Or you may just like them as is.

I think you need to understand that you'll probably end up owning most of them at some point. ;)
 
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