CS hawk issue - is this normal?

[Charlie_K]

I'll admit that my knowledge of tomahawks is pretty limited. I know that the head is held in place by friction, but with mine it doesn't seem to be holding. Whether I use it lightly, or hard, the head of my pipe hawk always manages to work loose, requiring me to stop and pound it back into place, only for it to happen again after another few strikes. I did my best to sand the shaft for a good fit, but it doesn't seem to be all that great in my experience. Is this supposed to happen? Or is mine just poorly fitted?

 

[Guitarist7.62]

Just poorly fitted. The cold steels have a tendency to have an improper fit.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

Sounds like you may have a tight fit at the top of the eye, but a loose fit at the bottom. That allows the head to pivot slightly during a blow and loosen. Also you may not be driving the head on tightly enough. If you have a rubber mallet, use it to pound the top of the handle down into the eye and it'll hold nice and tight providing your fit isn't atrocious (which it might be.)

 

[Charlie_K]

That might be the case. I took the advice of others and de-burred the bottom of the eye to prevent it from scarring up the handle. I didn't attack it aggressively though, but now I'm not sure.

 

[FortyTwoBlades]

I doubt deburring the underside of the eye caused any trouble. The problem is most likely the taper of the handle being more rapid than that of the eye.