Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

CitizenQ said:
Ok fellas, I hope you enjoy these. Express Blued head, torched haft wrapped with orange paracord. I call this one the GSM1 "BlackWidow" ;) ...

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Ok, that is BADASS!! THe orange really looks different (not sure how it gonna look after you nasty it up with your hands) but for now, Me likes!

Also, you bastards! I just had to come across this thread. Now, I have 2 trail hawks, and a Norse hawk on the way, along with 5 different types of para-cord.
 
Badass. Roger.

Changing name from...

GSM1 "Black Widow"

to...

GSM1 "Whack '0 Lantern"

;)

Q out!
 
I'm not at all against synthetic cording, though, does anybody have one to show with a leather grip? If not then I'll need to put up my norse hawk mods.
 
Out of curiosity, what are the advantages/disadvantages of paracord or leather? Maybe just aesthetics or what have you, but I have always wondered what the true differences were.
 
racer944 said:
Out of curiosity, what are the advantages/disadvantages of paracord or leather? Maybe just aesthetics or what have you, but I have always wondered what the true differences were.
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Paracord is more functional in other ways than leather. If you need to tie something up you would have the paracord on the hawk. While one could wrap the handle in leather cord, leather cord is not nearly as strong as paracord so not nearly as functional. Leather does not stand up to water as well either. But if one had to eat one or the other I would rather eat the leather depending upon how it was tanned. Paracord has NO calories.
 
racer944 said:
Out of curiosity, what are the advantages/disadvantages of paracord or leather? Maybe just aesthetics or what have you, but I have always wondered what the true differences were.
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Good one. I'd be interested in opinions on this also...and add hockey tape to that assessment, or any other material someone deems worthy of mention. With regards to 550 cord wrap...well...when you need cord, you got cord...just unwrap it...similar in function to the cord wrapped hats, "survival braclets," or lanyards y'all have seen. I believe the 24" haft I posted back a few pages has 40-feet of cord wrapped around it. That's a lot of cord when you're in a bind...or need a bind, eh? ;)
 
I wrapped a Gransfors French hawk with a ton of cord. The handle was too thin anyway. Too French, I guess. ;)
 
762 shooter said:
But if one had to eat one or the other I would rather eat the leather depending upon how it was tanned. Paracord has NO calories.
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:rolleyes: hmmmm...

550 cord soaked in carbohydrate and protein enriched sugar water. Sundried and wrapped around a 19-inch haft. When the bad times come, unwrap the cord, boil in water for 20 minutes, and you end up with 30 feet of useful cord, a highly functional axe tool, and a quart of really really bad soup. This would be the GSM1 "SoupaHawk" model fellas. :)
 
So the SoupaHawk, would it benefit from being in my sweaty hands for a little salty-ness?

Always figured that 550 was better, as it was stronger, but never thought of EATING the leather wrap. Hockey tape would probably serve as a great base to start a cord wrap, but then it would make it SO canadian...

can't pick on the canucks too much, my Mom grew up there...
 
Quick question.

Are you guys securing the head onto the shaft with a pin/screw? Or are yall just letting it float?
I dont plan on doing much throwing with my CS.
Also, do you think that we are making the handle split-prone by drilling all these holes for paracord wrap? I think im going to go that route, and I really like the look of the ones that have wrap up towards the head, just worried that im sacrificing structural integrity.



As for updated names,I like the Halloween themed "Wack-o'-lantern"

But how about the "Hawk o' lantern"?

Or

"Terrible Jacque, the Halloween o' Hawk"?
 
Most hawk heads are not secured with pins or screws. That is mainly Cold Steel's deal. You might be surprised how secure a pressure fitting can be. Also, a lot of times people will wrap some paracord or rawhide directly beneath the head both to secure it and to protect the haft from a bad strike. Drilling holes is not necessary for paracord wrapping.
 
CaptInsano said:
...a lot of times people will wrap some paracord or rawhide directly beneath the head both to secure it and to protect the haft from a bad strike...
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Thanks for that tibit of knowledge...live and learn...much apprecated. :thumbup:

CaptInsano said:
...Drilling holes is not necessary for paracord wrapping.
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In my opinion this is correct. The only hole I drill is for a lanyard and I drill 3/4 of an inch from the bottom of the handle. You do not need to drill a hole for the paracord handle wrap -- however -- the lanyard hole (along with a short paracord rig tied to the head) makes tight paracord wrapping much much easier. I'll try to post some pictures of how I wrap and the head rig I use this evening. In addition, I don't believe that the single hole 3/4 of an inch from the bottom of the haft jeopardizes the integrity of the haft as that area takes next to no stress when working with the hawk. My $.02.
 
CaptInsano said:
And if you really look at the finishing steps for this method, you can add a lanyard loop without drilling a hole.
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Yes you can. However, I wanted my lanyard loops to be removable and I wanted to fancy them up a bit so I drilled. I've used two (2) methods for my lanyards...

A (modified) StormDrane snake knot lanyard...
http://www.instructables.com/id/Paracord-wrist-lanyard-made-with-the-snake-knot/

And a Chris Reeve's right handed coil knot...
http://www.chrisreeve.com/knotright.htm
 
Cool, thanks for the link.
I wasnt worried to bad about putting a hole at the end of the handle, its just further up, closer to the head that had me a little worried.
 
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