- Joined
- Nov 2, 1999
- Messages
- 2,805
I want to come right out and deal with this issue here, as I think it is worth mentioning proactively, and a reality when dealing with wood handles.
The head on a Vietnam Tomahawk can and will, come loose with hard use. The trade off for the speed, compact size, and light weight is a smaller handle and a smaller eye. Stress it enough, and you'll get some slack....but that's all you'll get....some slack...nothing more.
This is one of the reasons we are exploring other handle materials to bring this bad a$$ Hawk into a new stage of legendary performance. More about that in the near future.
However, it is important to note that in almost all of our testing, it did NOT come off! Hickory is light, hard, durable, and the most common handle material found on a hammer or hatchet.......our "eye" also sports well thought out design with the "step lock", preventing separation.
An annoyance when loose however, we are happy to report that it is easily remedied at home and here are a few ways to do it with your Vietnam Hawk, or ANY hatchet or axe for that matter.
Number one, use a rubber handled mallet and smack the top of the wedge.......ONCE. Test the tightness. Maybe, TWICE...tops. This solves the problem on the short term quite quickly.
A longer term solution is to do what Peter told nearly every customer.....if your head is wheelerbrated, coat it in WD-40 before you do this. If your head is coated, no sweat at all.
Fill a small bucket with just enough water to cover the bottom of the eye and top of the handle, when you put the Hawk in the bucket, handle up, head down at the bottom. Then go to bed.
If you can, use a bucket that allows you to pitch the head at an angle to leave the cutting edge out of the water.
When you wake up, take the Hawk out and wipe it dry.....let it sit for a while......you WILL feel the Hawk a bit heavier than the night before.........as the hickory has swelled from absorbing some water.
I have whipped the starch out of mine since doing this once.....cutting and chopping like a man. Still rock solid. The fibers are still swollen and the weight is normal.
Problem solved. The fact is, we all know that wood is clearly NOT up to today's performance standards for the hard user......HOWEVER, it ain't too far off, and as long as you don't set out to intentionally break your handle, your Hawk will save your hide at a moment's notice.
As our friend Chris Caracci has said, "...nearly no one takes a wood stocked long arm into battle anymore"...with that deep, serious voice of his!
And, he is right.
Well, we at ATC know this all to well and are making the moves to provide everyone with an upgraded handle option on the VT.
In the interim, enjoy the only Tomahawk of the 20th century that worked the jungles of SouthEast Asia to the war's end and came back asking for more!!! ...opening fuel drums, chopping holes in walls, punching through a helmet or two...and it had a hickory handle
The head on a Vietnam Tomahawk can and will, come loose with hard use. The trade off for the speed, compact size, and light weight is a smaller handle and a smaller eye. Stress it enough, and you'll get some slack....but that's all you'll get....some slack...nothing more.
This is one of the reasons we are exploring other handle materials to bring this bad a$$ Hawk into a new stage of legendary performance. More about that in the near future.
However, it is important to note that in almost all of our testing, it did NOT come off! Hickory is light, hard, durable, and the most common handle material found on a hammer or hatchet.......our "eye" also sports well thought out design with the "step lock", preventing separation.
An annoyance when loose however, we are happy to report that it is easily remedied at home and here are a few ways to do it with your Vietnam Hawk, or ANY hatchet or axe for that matter.
Number one, use a rubber handled mallet and smack the top of the wedge.......ONCE. Test the tightness. Maybe, TWICE...tops. This solves the problem on the short term quite quickly.
A longer term solution is to do what Peter told nearly every customer.....if your head is wheelerbrated, coat it in WD-40 before you do this. If your head is coated, no sweat at all.
Fill a small bucket with just enough water to cover the bottom of the eye and top of the handle, when you put the Hawk in the bucket, handle up, head down at the bottom. Then go to bed.
If you can, use a bucket that allows you to pitch the head at an angle to leave the cutting edge out of the water.
When you wake up, take the Hawk out and wipe it dry.....let it sit for a while......you WILL feel the Hawk a bit heavier than the night before.........as the hickory has swelled from absorbing some water.
I have whipped the starch out of mine since doing this once.....cutting and chopping like a man. Still rock solid. The fibers are still swollen and the weight is normal.
Problem solved. The fact is, we all know that wood is clearly NOT up to today's performance standards for the hard user......HOWEVER, it ain't too far off, and as long as you don't set out to intentionally break your handle, your Hawk will save your hide at a moment's notice.
As our friend Chris Caracci has said, "...nearly no one takes a wood stocked long arm into battle anymore"...with that deep, serious voice of his!
And, he is right.Well, we at ATC know this all to well and are making the moves to provide everyone with an upgraded handle option on the VT.
In the interim, enjoy the only Tomahawk of the 20th century that worked the jungles of SouthEast Asia to the war's end and came back asking for more!!! ...opening fuel drums, chopping holes in walls, punching through a helmet or two...and it had a hickory handle
