Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

I used a piece of the handle I had cut off the bottom to get the radius, then scribed around the coin with an xacto knife. I used small wood carving bit in my dremel to cut out the inlay. You have to go slow with a lot of test fitting to make sure you get it to fit as tight as possible. The coin is epoxied into the hole and I used a trick I picked up from watching inlaying videos on Youtube where you take sawdust from the wood you are working with and fill in any gaps. Then, put a drop of CA glue on it so it will soak in and bond it. When it dries and is sanded, it pretty much makes any gaps around the inlay disappear.
 
I just received my Cold Steel Frontier Hawk today. The general condition looks very good and I'm looking forward to beginning my modifications. Everyone's posts have been a great inspiration to me. Thank you!

- Aaron
 
I did the main shaping of the finger grooves with a rasp. The handle was small in my hands, so I decided to do a leather wrap. It's leather lace wrapped tightly and soaked in epoxy. I would put a light coat of epoxy on and then sand it down to the leather after it cured. I did that probably a half dozen times. It gives the handle more heft and I can still remove the head if need be (barely).
 
s14sh3r said:
Finally got around to taking a couple of pictures of the (mostly) finished hawk. I've been in the hospital, so haven't had much time to post.

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D6cZfvi.jpg
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Beautiful hawk
 
Good lord. 117 pages and I still have a question. I have never used a paint stripper before and am wondering something. With the spray on stuff- do you just spray it on and it melts the paint off or does it just get soft so you can scrape it off? I have a TH otw to me now, thanks to you guys, and need to start gathering moddin' supplies.

I'm going to try and stay simple with this one while I get my feet wet but I'm already thinking of a despiked Spike Hawk and etching and stippling and... thanks a lot guys.
 
Jut depends on the stripper that you use. Just follow the directions on the can and you will be ok. You will prob have to scrape some of it of and latex gloves would be a good idea as well.
 
Bigfatts said:
Good lord. 117 pages and I still have a question. I have never used a paint stripper before and am wondering something. With the spray on stuff- do you just spray it on and it melts the paint off or does it just get soft so you can scrape it off? I have a TH otw to me now, thanks to you guys, and need to start gathering moddin' supplies.

I'm going to try and stay simple with this one while I get my feet wet but I'm already thinking of a despiked Spike Hawk and etching and stippling and... thanks a lot guys.
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It's a bit of both. You'll have a lot drip off, but you'll have to wipe and scrape to get it completely bare.
 
Thanks guys. I've stripped a few wooden rifle stocks but never paint or metal. Hawk got here today so I'll start work tomorrow. I'll be sure to take pics along the way!
 
Bigfatts said:
Good lord. 117 pages and I still have a question. I have never used a paint stripper before and am wondering something. With the spray on stuff- do you just spray it on and it melts the paint off or does it just get soft so you can scrape it off? I have a TH otw to me now, thanks to you guys, and need to start gathering moddin' supplies.

I'm going to try and stay simple with this one while I get my feet wet but I'm already thinking of a despiked Spike Hawk and etching and stippling and... thanks a lot guys.
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I used a spray on paint stripper and was able to wipe off the paint with steel wool after it sat a few minutes. It was much easier than I expected.
 
Well, here it is: stripped it down, smoothed it out a little but not too much. I left a little of the pitting for a rustic look. Played around with some needle files along the top. Lemon juice patina for a light grey color. Ebony stain on the handle. Are all the CS handles so splintery? It seems like no matter how much I sanded it down I still couldn't get rid of the splinters. Anyways, pics:





Already thinking of my next project!
 
So I've been looking all over and cant seem to find a replacement handle for my trail hawk. the one it came with is kinda janky but serviceable. If anyone knows of a site that i can find one on please let me know. I'm also interested in adding a pair of langettes so if anyone knows were i can get those as well it would be greatly appreciated.
 
Nice, so I got the new handle. still lookin for those langettes though. only seem to be available in the UK.
 
True, but the handle that comes with the new hawk will likely be as chewed up by the set screw as the original one.
 
GCOC said:
True, but the handle that comes with the new hawk will likely be as chewed up by the set screw as the original one.
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I just HAVE to ask,......with ALL the modding being done to these and the general distain for the set screw, WHY are they still sold with the set screw in place??? Couldn't they just as easily be sold with the screw "bagged" with the T-Hawk for those few ( ill informed :-) actually wanting to install it? :rolleyes:

Also begs the question WHY the set screw hole is still there in current production! ;) Since a lot of modders buy SEVERAL of them, why not eliminate the hole and cater to the market?

Not rocket science, after all. I suspect LAWYERS pushed for the set screw to make the case that everything possible was done to protect the user,.....from himself!..... :D
 
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