Hawk/Hatchet couterbalancing

[HeavyHanded]

Quick question that might save me a lot of tinkering - will adding a counterbalance to bottom of the handle on a hawk or hatchet rob it of striking energy? It stands to reason that anything allowing faster recovery of the head must be countering its inertia, but does this result in a loss of delivered energy or significantly slow its acceleration? Also, is it possible the counterweight would limit rebounding, allowing for more energy delivered but over a slightly longer timeframe in fractions of seconds (somewhat better characteristics for circular, combat-oriented swings, but not as good for hard chopping)? I'm considering adding a counterbalance to one of my hawks to move the balance point back a little. Figured some members must have already done this and have a good working knowledge of the pros and cons.

Thanks all, I started lurking around this subforum and it reignited my interest in hawks. With a Bday coming up, nows the time to do my homework...

HH

 

[Square_peg]

I think it would just make it a less efficient tool. More weight to swing without delivering any more force to the work.

 

[foxx]

I think it would just make it a less efficient tool. More weight to swing without delivering any more force to the work.

This exactly. Reminds me of my Ontario RD Hawk, the handle on that is way to heavy, and doesn't add to it's cutting power.

 

[Liam Ryan]

I was just thinking this very thing yesterday, and I believe any loss in lightness may be cancelled out with it's recovery and balance, as the OP mentioned. Especially if the weight included some sort of striking point or something similar, to make it more versatile.
It's worth a try to attach something temporarily and see how it feels.

 

[HeavyHanded]

I was just thinking this very thing yesterday, and I believe any loss in lightness may be cancelled out with it's recovery and balance, as the OP mentioned. Especially if the weight included some sort of striking point or something similar, to make it more versatile.
It's worth a try to attach something temporarily and see how it feels.

All my machetes of comparable total weight have very different feel and utility based on pattern shape/distribution of mass. There's a huge difference in feel between a three pound length of black pipe, a 2.5 lb weight on the end of a .5 lb handle, and a 1.25 lb weight on either end of a .5 lb handle. Heck, these will feel different based on the pivot point/where you hold them. I'll try some variations and check back. Am still surprised this hasn't come up before in detail, even if to compare between hawks in an individuals collection. The again, my search-fu is pretty weak...

 

[HeavyHanded]

I was just thinking this very thing yesterday, and I believe any loss in lightness may be cancelled out with it's recovery and balance, as the OP mentioned. Especially if the weight included some sort of striking point or something similar, to make it more versatile.
It's worth a try to attach something temporarily and see how it feels.

Took a while to get back to this. I filled the handle of my Fiskars hatchet with epoxy (tried adding weights to the bottom of the handle but couldn't come up with anything secure that wasn't a ton of work). Added just over 1 quarter pound to the overall weight (went from 1.25 to 1.6 lbs) and it noticeably smooths out the balance. Have been rotating it through some solo FMA drills - recovers much faster especially as it gets further from ones center of balance, and flattens out the arc somewhat. Had a chance to do some chopping with it on a few downed silver maple limbs. Can't do a side by side comparison but it still seems to chop like a champ. I have no idea if it limits any tendency to rebound compared to a factory model (my theory it might deliver energy over a slightly longer timeframe), but for a modest shift in balance it makes a huge difference. All depends on the head to handle weight ratio of an individual design if this is a benefit or extra work/weight for no real gain, something worth considering.