scdub
Basic Member
- Joined
- May 29, 2004
- Messages
- 2,963
YES!
Note to Mods: I posted this in Knife Reviews as H&B also makes knives, but feel free to move it over to the Axe/Tomahawk forum if it belongs there instead...
About the brand: H&B Forge was founded in 1965 by Will and Mary Barber. From what I can gather on the website, Will probably learned blacksmithing from the local Amish community and for many years produced hand forged axes, knives and hawks. He passed away in the early 2000s (R.I.P.), but not before teaching his son, Jarrod Barber, his trade for about a decade. Currently all the tools are produced by Jarrod, his wife Kassie and mother Mary run the shop, and the sheathes are made by local Amish craftsmen.
Hawks and axes are laminated steel - 1018 over a core of 1095 - forge welded by hand. The heads are then forged to shape, and the scale is left on, showing the skill of the blacksmith. Note the beautiful forge lines present on the stamped side of each blade. I have forged a few blades and I can tell you that the below takes some real skill:
Handles are hickory, are stained and burnished, are friction fit using a press and are extremely tight - I inquired about how to remove the head and was told by Kassie that with lots of use it may loosen up but otherwise using a vice and hard blows with a mallet would probably be needed. (I don’t plan to try).
Several months ago, after hours of research here and elsewhere, I purchased an H&B Forge “Small Camp Hawk” (16oz.) for $81.25 and a small “Standard Blade Cover” for $23.00. When I received the hawk, something strange happened: My wife (not usually very interested in knives or axes) fell in love with it. This was a happy coincidence as I found the handle a bit too narrow for my hands.
I gave her the small Camp Hawk and immediately ordered a “Boy’s Hawk” (18oz.) for myself. ($68.75!!!) This one has a full size handle diameter but is only slightly heavier than the small camp hawk.
The Boy’s Hawk arrived recently and it’s lovely too. Fits my hand much better.
I only own one other tomahawk to compare these to - the Cold Steel Frontier Hawk (22oz.). I did some test chopping with the CS (sharpened by me and also chipped by me - the profile is slightly different from stock now) vs the H&B with the as-delivered edge, and they did similarly. The CS has a narrower geometry so it bites a bit deeper but also tends to bind more.
The stock edge is definitely useable but did have a small burr and wasn’t what I’d consider “sharp” (and imho this is completely acceptable considering how quickly these have to be made to be profitable). Here’s a picture of the stock edge (on the R) compared to my wife’s which I’d sharpened up a bit.
Both hawks took awhile to arrive, (the shop is busy), but per the website you can request an accelerated timeframe if necessary. I advised that I wasn’t in a hurry and I think they were both delivered around 16-17 weeks after ordering.
After getting mine sharp too I made a spoon and a wedge with just this hawk. Works great - one of my favorite tools now.
These represent an amazing value in my opinion - get one while you can!
Note to Mods: I posted this in Knife Reviews as H&B also makes knives, but feel free to move it over to the Axe/Tomahawk forum if it belongs there instead...
About the brand: H&B Forge was founded in 1965 by Will and Mary Barber. From what I can gather on the website, Will probably learned blacksmithing from the local Amish community and for many years produced hand forged axes, knives and hawks. He passed away in the early 2000s (R.I.P.), but not before teaching his son, Jarrod Barber, his trade for about a decade. Currently all the tools are produced by Jarrod, his wife Kassie and mother Mary run the shop, and the sheathes are made by local Amish craftsmen.
Hawks and axes are laminated steel - 1018 over a core of 1095 - forge welded by hand. The heads are then forged to shape, and the scale is left on, showing the skill of the blacksmith. Note the beautiful forge lines present on the stamped side of each blade. I have forged a few blades and I can tell you that the below takes some real skill:
Handles are hickory, are stained and burnished, are friction fit using a press and are extremely tight - I inquired about how to remove the head and was told by Kassie that with lots of use it may loosen up but otherwise using a vice and hard blows with a mallet would probably be needed. (I don’t plan to try).
Several months ago, after hours of research here and elsewhere, I purchased an H&B Forge “Small Camp Hawk” (16oz.) for $81.25 and a small “Standard Blade Cover” for $23.00. When I received the hawk, something strange happened: My wife (not usually very interested in knives or axes) fell in love with it. This was a happy coincidence as I found the handle a bit too narrow for my hands.
I gave her the small Camp Hawk and immediately ordered a “Boy’s Hawk” (18oz.) for myself. ($68.75!!!) This one has a full size handle diameter but is only slightly heavier than the small camp hawk.
The Boy’s Hawk arrived recently and it’s lovely too. Fits my hand much better.
I only own one other tomahawk to compare these to - the Cold Steel Frontier Hawk (22oz.). I did some test chopping with the CS (sharpened by me and also chipped by me - the profile is slightly different from stock now) vs the H&B with the as-delivered edge, and they did similarly. The CS has a narrower geometry so it bites a bit deeper but also tends to bind more.
The stock edge is definitely useable but did have a small burr and wasn’t what I’d consider “sharp” (and imho this is completely acceptable considering how quickly these have to be made to be profitable). Here’s a picture of the stock edge (on the R) compared to my wife’s which I’d sharpened up a bit.
Both hawks took awhile to arrive, (the shop is busy), but per the website you can request an accelerated timeframe if necessary. I advised that I wasn’t in a hurry and I think they were both delivered around 16-17 weeks after ordering.
After getting mine sharp too I made a spoon and a wedge with just this hawk. Works great - one of my favorite tools now.
These represent an amazing value in my opinion - get one while you can!
Last edited:
