If the hawk is to be all INFI (including the handle), and still meant to be thrown (which is pretty much a requirement if it is really going to be a tomahawk), then I think you would have to hollow out the handle shaft to get the right balance. This could be a plus, because you could have a screw-on buttcap for it and store survival items in it a'la Chris Reeves handles (of course, hawk throwing purists would probably not store stuff in the handle when throwing it, but if you don't want to store anything in it, you don't have to.) Perhaps mating an INFI hawk head to a knurled handle shaft made from hollow titanium tube stock would be tough enough and reduce weight (and cost) sufficiently, as opposed to trying to make the entire hawk out of a single piece of INFI bar stock. I for one am not wild about the idea of using micarta on this design, as much as I love micarta. For those who are opposed to the idea of a bare metal handle on their hawk, perhaps a tough, subdued synthetic coating on the handle would work--maybe something like that spray-on truck bed liner stuff; that would definitely be tough enough, and it comes in flat black. Perhaps a thin coating of Resiprene-C? A more spongy coating would allow a better grip and insulate against the cold better, but would not be as durable. Another consideration is that a handle with a higher friction coefficient would be preferable in any sort of close combat situation, but for hawk throwers a smoother handle would be better. You would have to survey the potential buyers to find the optimum surface roughness, or offer two versions. Also, an ergonomic grip would not lend itself well to throwing, IMO.
I know some who have posted previously could care less about the combat effectiveness of the hawk and would rather it be 100% campsite utilitarian in design. But hey, if you can have your cake and eat it too, why not? If Andy, Jerry, and everyone else can come up with a design that is very multi-purpose or multi-task utilitarian, then a few combat-intended amenities would not be a bad thing, as long as such combat features didn't get in the way of its usefulness around the ranch or campsite.
I think an octagonal hammer head opposite the chopping head would be ten-fold more useful than a spike and would enable hawk carrying ranchers & campers to leave their hammers and mallets at home. Even in combat a hammer is no less lethal than a spike. A man killed another man here at a local bar a few years ago with a single blow to the skull by his run-of-the-mill clawed hammer (he was using the hammer side, not the claw side). It went right through his cranium like an egg shell, just like a spike would have done. The extra surface area of a hammer head over a spike just doesn't make a lot of difference when you're swinging hard with a decent weight at the end of a 12"-18" handle. Regardless whether you use a spike or hammer head, you're only going to penetrate up to the handle shaft, and I just can't think of very many uses one would have for a spike around a farm or camp over a hammer headed hawk, except perhaps tearing into rotted logs to look for grubs or insects, or possibly breaking open cheap padlocks.
One last thought: I know no one has gone so far as to suggest this (yet), but IMO, to design a hawk around whether or not it will offend, frighten or intimidate any bystanding sheeple one runs across in the field is a mistake and will only cause the overall design and performance of the hawk to suffer. I couldn't care less what someone else thinks of me or my gear; to borrow from Jefferson, it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. Some adults are intimidated by a grade school child who brings nail clippers to school. How far do you want to go to appease everyone? I know this hasn't come up yet, but a lot of forumites in the wilderness survival forum seem to be very concerned about having too much of a "military" or "tactical" appearance, and I didn't want to see that unnecessary concern plague us here and interfere with a potentially great design. I'm sick of this "PC" crap, and the day Busse Combat starts making products that look more "PC" or less threatening is one of the signs of the apocalypse. 'Nough said.
Just my $.02
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I DO NOT CHOOSE TO BE A COMMON MAN
"It is my right to be uncommon...if I can; I seek opportunity...not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stole calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and unafraid; to think and act for myself; enjoy the benefits of my creations and to face the world boldly and say,
This I have done, and this is what it means to be an American."
--Dean Alfrange
I know some who have posted previously could care less about the combat effectiveness of the hawk and would rather it be 100% campsite utilitarian in design. But hey, if you can have your cake and eat it too, why not? If Andy, Jerry, and everyone else can come up with a design that is very multi-purpose or multi-task utilitarian, then a few combat-intended amenities would not be a bad thing, as long as such combat features didn't get in the way of its usefulness around the ranch or campsite.
I think an octagonal hammer head opposite the chopping head would be ten-fold more useful than a spike and would enable hawk carrying ranchers & campers to leave their hammers and mallets at home. Even in combat a hammer is no less lethal than a spike. A man killed another man here at a local bar a few years ago with a single blow to the skull by his run-of-the-mill clawed hammer (he was using the hammer side, not the claw side). It went right through his cranium like an egg shell, just like a spike would have done. The extra surface area of a hammer head over a spike just doesn't make a lot of difference when you're swinging hard with a decent weight at the end of a 12"-18" handle. Regardless whether you use a spike or hammer head, you're only going to penetrate up to the handle shaft, and I just can't think of very many uses one would have for a spike around a farm or camp over a hammer headed hawk, except perhaps tearing into rotted logs to look for grubs or insects, or possibly breaking open cheap padlocks.
One last thought: I know no one has gone so far as to suggest this (yet), but IMO, to design a hawk around whether or not it will offend, frighten or intimidate any bystanding sheeple one runs across in the field is a mistake and will only cause the overall design and performance of the hawk to suffer. I couldn't care less what someone else thinks of me or my gear; to borrow from Jefferson, it neither picks my pocket nor breaks my leg. Some adults are intimidated by a grade school child who brings nail clippers to school. How far do you want to go to appease everyone? I know this hasn't come up yet, but a lot of forumites in the wilderness survival forum seem to be very concerned about having too much of a "military" or "tactical" appearance, and I didn't want to see that unnecessary concern plague us here and interfere with a potentially great design. I'm sick of this "PC" crap, and the day Busse Combat starts making products that look more "PC" or less threatening is one of the signs of the apocalypse. 'Nough said.
Just my $.02
------------------
I DO NOT CHOOSE TO BE A COMMON MAN
"It is my right to be uncommon...if I can; I seek opportunity...not security. I do not wish to be a kept citizen, humbled and dulled by having the state look after me. I want to take the calculated risk; to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for a dole. I prefer the challenges of life to the guaranteed existence; the thrill of fulfillment to the stole calm of utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never cower before any master nor bend to any threat. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud, and unafraid; to think and act for myself; enjoy the benefits of my creations and to face the world boldly and say,
This I have done, and this is what it means to be an American."
--Dean Alfrange
