Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

The grip "stipple" is just the one inch wheel on the KMG and get after it. Takes about....3 minutes. Wave on the spine is the same 1 inch wheel. Ferric chloride etch for the Noveske cross, dremel for the Compass Rose, cold blue for the finish and the flat platen with a fine grit belt to do the polished facets on both ends of the handle. Then burn it and stain it. All the same stuff everybody else is doing, really - it's VERY FUN! :-)

Oh, and the shovel I had sand-blasted, which got rid of the black paint AND gave it a nice texture. Kinda cheated there, didn't have to strip the paint off!
 
I've been following this thread for 3 years, but haven't posted any pic's mainly because 1) I don't have very many pic's to share and 2) I tend to read a lot, but rarely ever post. In fact, I only created an account last year, because I got sick of not being able to see some people's pic's when reading their post. Anyway, today I will share a couple of pic's. They are nothing special, just your plain jane mods.

Mine are users so I like simple and functional(strip, dip, sand) as opposed to artsy. Not that there is anything wrong with fancy mods(I like those too), they just tend to look like they should be mounted on the wall for looking at and that's not how I roll.

The first one I did for my brother...


This one is mine. Taken while hanging out at my camp. It's not the best pic., just one of the few I have.


And here is a group pic
 
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gp_frk said:
So I went in with a few local buddies of mine and got free shipping on about 5 of these. I got one for myself and remembered this thread from a few years back. I took the sander to the paint and left just the low spots painted, deburred the eye, sanded the handle and got a good fit (was actually pretty decent from the factory). Then I hit the handle with the map torch and put 4 coats of oil on it letting it sit 8-10 hours between coats. Wrapped it with desert tan paracord and made a kydex edge guard and a molle type hoop for it.

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All in all I'm pretty happy with how it turned out. Thanks for all the idea's posted here.
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That's some great paracord work on that handle.
 
tinman44 said:
this is pretty much finished product, the small wrapping under the head has a sub wrapping of steel tripwire GI issue for re-inforcement, will add cable cynch and end stop with glow plug so lanyard can be adjusted.

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I absolutely love this one. Subdued, simple, and ready to do some hard work.

Awesome work on the paracord wrapping.
 
I recently had some free time on my hands, and decided to do some more work on CS Norse Hawk that I have already previously modded.

I started by using the blue/bleach etching method on the head to give it a more darker aged look
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Next, I did some dremel work on the handle to give me a more secured grip
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Here's the pictures before from my original modification
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And the after
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What I did to it wasn't that big, but those two adjustments definitely are an improvement in my opinion.
 
OK, I have to mod one for a gift. Here is what I am trying to evoke, but not directly coy:
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I am starting with a pipe hawk. Again, I am not going for a direct copy, and I understand the difference between a spike and a solid bowl. I need some advice on finishing the head once I strip it. Cold blue or paint won't do it. For the handle I figure I will use a torch for stripes then a dark gel stain, then silver paint.
 
Just ordered a Trailhawk for an upcoming back-country hiking trip. . .hopefully it comes in soon enough to do some simple mods before hand.

LOTS of GREAT ideas and inspiration in this thread!!!
 
Hey guys this is my first post here
i just ordered a trail hawk and had a few questions about refinishing the head with a vinegar forced patina
do i just need to boil some vinegar and drop the head in? How long do i leave it in there for?
What i want is a look of dark aged patina
does this patina actually protect from rusting?
 
Need air to make it work, so wrap the head in a rag or paper towel soaked in vinegar, then let it sit out overnight. Brush lightly with steel wool. Repeat to make it darker. Might take several runs.

Yes, it will now have a patina so it won't rust, but that doesn't mean never oil it either.
 
Not much of a mod but I did remove the paint and put on a mustard/vinegar patina on the head and shortened the handle to 18". The tape on the handle is only there to keep the head from rattling so much and is temporary until I get a new handle for it. I plan to do a lot more to modding to it though when I get the replacement handle. I'll probably darken the patina a little to eventually.

 
@the guy above me: smash the upper end of the handle (where it lurks out of the eye) against a chopping block. It will fit much better afterwards.
 
pic of mine. taken for BCUSA bushclass pic of whipping a tool handle,so not the best. stripped the head,then rust blued and then hit it with steel wool. stained the handle black and coated with krylon matte clear. a few heavy coats so it dried white and filled the grain,then smoothed with steel wool. handle whipped with jute twine.
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