Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

[Unsub]

I was thinking that if I went with a lanyard hole on my Norse I would use a brass tube to help keep it strong.

That trail Hawk sheath is incredible NO F-Bdy BS(are you a 5.0 fan?).

My norse hawk has been shockingly good. The heat treat is excellent and rings like a bell when flicked with a fingernail and the haft is beautiful straight grained hickory. It did take a lot of work to get rid of that awful coating and fix the finish and edge but it was well worth it.

A fellow canuk asked about parkerizing a while ago? I would suggest bluing as a much much better choice. Parking was done to military rifles and kit because it was easier to do big batches but it was not nearly as good as a decent bluing. In fact that is a good way to tell a expensive older rifle from a cheap one. I have an old Parker Hale that has the nicest blue I have ever seen.

It helps to have a nice smooth finish but I was lazy when I did my norse and itr was quite scratched and still turned out well.

It will not totally prevent rust but it will slow it down a lot. Bluing is also much more period correct.

 

[CitizenQ]

I was thinking that if I went with a lanyard hole on my Norse I would use a brass tube to help keep it strong...

Ohhhhhhhh...nice idea Unsub! :thumbup:

...A fellow canuk asked about parkerizing a while ago? I would suggest bluing as a much much better choice. Parking was done to military rifles and kit because it was easier to do big batches but it was not nearly as good as a decent bluing. In fact that is a good way to tell a expensive older rifle from a cheap one. I have an old Parker Hale that has the nicest blue I have ever seen.

It helps to have a nice smooth finish but I was lazy when I did my norse and itr was quite scratched and still turned out well.

It will not totally prevent rust but it will slow it down a lot. Bluing is also much more period correct.

There is a lot of information buried in past pages of this topic. Back in July (I think) I posted this article about bluing. I'm not saying it's correct, however the article appeared knowlegable to me. I'm not saying you're wrong Unsub...I really don't know (and I don't have a lot of experience with bluing vs. parkerizing), I'm just suggesting different perspectives.

Here the best article on cold bluing I read, good stuff...

http://www.gunsandammomag.com/gunbench/blue_0515/

And here are some selected quotes from the article...

The single largest drawback of cold bluing, however, is that it provides no rust protection. In fact, some blues may even promote rusting. I have a sporterized '03 Springfield that I just can't seem to find the time to blue. Years ago I darkened the metal with a highly respected brand of cold bluing and soon discovered it made the perfect rust gauge. During those hot, muggy summer spells in the Midwest, it's always the first gun to take on a fine film of rust, even beating out bare metal guns that have not yet been treated. If all you want is darkened metal, don't let me talk you out of doing an entire gun with cold bluing; it looks better than paint. However, the real usefulness of cold bluing is touching up small areas, those little dings or worn spots that aren't bad enough to warrant a complete rebluing but need some coloring to keep them from becoming an embarrassment.

At the top end of the durability spectrum is one worthy of special note, Brownell's Oxpho-Blue. This stuff wears like chrome plating. You can scrub on it with fine steel wool until the cows come home and not harm the finish one bit. It does, however, have a rather strange appearance. It comes out sort of a metallic, charcoal gray that is very shiny. With many blues the slightest trace of oil is the kiss of death; however, another unique quality of Oxpho-Blue is that it actually goes on better if there is a little oil present during the application. In fact, the best way to apply Oxpho-Blue is with steel wool, which has a considerable amount of oil in it to prevent the fibers from rusting.

No argument on bluing being more period correct than parking brother...+1 on that for certain. On the other hand, in pursuing a parked finish, I was not considering historical appearance, rather, I was looking for the best rust protection and obtaing the look/feel of those old mil battle rifles.

Thanks for the information and ideas! :thumbup:

 

[NO F-Bdy Bs]

I was thinking that if I went with a lanyard hole on my Norse I would use a brass tube to help keep it strong.

That trail Hawk sheath is incredible NO F-Bdy BS(are you a 5.0 fan?).

My norse hawk has been shockingly good. The heat treat is excellent and rings like a bell when flicked with a fingernail and the haft is beautiful straight grained hickory. It did take a lot of work to get rid of that awful coating and fix the finish and edge but it was well worth it.

A fellow canuk asked about parkerizing a while ago? I would suggest bluing as a much much better choice. Parking was done to military rifles and kit because it was easier to do big batches but it was not nearly as good as a decent bluing. In fact that is a good way to tell a expensive older rifle from a cheap one. I have an old Parker Hale that has the nicest blue I have ever seen.

It helps to have a nice smooth finish but I was lazy when I did my norse and itr was quite scratched and still turned out well.

It will not totally prevent rust but it will slow it down a lot. Bluing is also much more period correct.

The NOFBDYBS is what I had as a personalized licence plate on a 93 Cobra that I owned. Thats the one car im going to always regret selling.Are you a fellow gearhead?

Anyhow. I think im going to take a few inches off the handle of the norse, and call me crazy, but im going to stain the handle blue. Yup blue.

 

[CitizenQ]

...im going to stain the handle blue. Yup blue.

Blue! EXCELLENT! I SWEAR I was thinkin' of doin' that too! No lie! Fact! True Scoop! Honest injun!

 

[savagesicslayer]

It would make the handle easier to see and find if dropped in the woods.I have a Norse on the way as well.I'll have one of each cold steel hawks.Let the modding begin!!!

 

[racer944]

So I've been following this thread for too long, and finally took the plunge and ordered a trailhawk. Got it today in the mail and can't wait to ebonized, blue/parkerize, and 550 wrap it. Also, if anyone can post up pictures of sheath, maybe kydex/concealex? Also, if it's like a drop-thigh rig, that would be better.

 

[NO F-Bdy Bs]

I got some of the Blue done on the handle today, also took about 3in off the handle and put it to the torch. The Blue is a little lighter than I wanted. Im going to sand it a little today and rub some more into it. Its a Semi-transparent stain, so its not going to be Smurf blue no matter how I work it, but thats cool, I wanted to see some
grain anyhow. The color is cool, its kind of a blue-grey, ought to look pretty good when I put some satin poly on it.

I sandblasted the head, and put it to a belt sander and took some of the rough casting off. Primed and painted it with Silver Rustoleum Hammered.
Yall tried that stuff? Its the paint that has a hammered apperance. I used some on some A-arms for a quad I built a few years ago and its tough as nails. Well see how it holds up on an axe head.

 

[CitizenQ]

We Need Some Pictures!!!!

Work-in-progress pictures are fine! :thumbup:

 

[NO F-Bdy Bs]

We Need Some Pictures!!!!

Work-in-progress pictures are fine! :thumbup:

Stuck at work now. Ill get some up by lunch, you know, to help with digestion. Same as listening to music.

 

[Unsub]

Yes I am a fellow gear head and a huge 5.0 fan. The 93 Cobra is my holy grail. The 87 to 93's are my favourite modern sports car and I have a 65 Ford project car and a 82,5.0 mill for it.

I don't want to diss anyone if they prefer parking to bluing. If you prefer parking that is fine
just a lot of people think parking is better for rust but that is not the case. I am a big fan of bluing though so I am not impartial. With old milsurps which I also love usually the blued ones were done in less of a rush than the parked ones and quite a few guns had both types at different times. The sten was available in both blued and parked.

I would much prefer a park finish to that awful paint CS uses.

I am shocked at how good my hawk is from CS. The heat treat is beautiful and even the handle is a perfect straight grain hickory.

Be careful though. I had my Norse hawk leaning against my end table and when I got up I stepped on the point and put a gash in my foot. I almost did the same thing again yesterday missing my foot by millimetres.

 

[repro]

heres my riflemans hawk with rustoleum hammered finish and an indian theme trail hawk i made my dad for christmas.

 

[CitizenQ]

Ya baby! B E A U T I F U L ! :thumbup:

 

[NO F-Bdy Bs]

heres my riflemans hawk with rustoleum hammered finish and an indian theme trail hawk i made my dad for christmas.


Hows the Rustoleum holding up??

Im using it on the 3 hawks Im working on now.
As I stated before, I have used it in the past, it looks great, and holds up pretty damn good for something that comes out of a rattle-can.

Whats your thoughts?

Also, Im gonna make a post with some progress pics of my Norse Axe later tonight. I promised some yesterday, but I left the USB cable link to my camera at my GFs house.

As it sits right now, its waiting on stain, ill install the head, then I have to wait till Tue before I can wrap it as my paracord wont be here till then.

 

[CitizenQ]

I'm gonna make a post with some progress pics...I promised some yesterday...

We're very...very...disappointed with you. :grumpy:

 

[repro]

heres my riflemans hawk with rustoleum hammered finish and an indian theme trail hawk i made my dad for christmas.


Hows the Rustoleum holding up??

Im using it on the 3 hawks Im working on now.
As I stated before, I have used it in the past, it looks great, and holds up pretty damn good for something that comes out of a rattle-can.

Whats your thoughts?

Also, Im gonna make a post with some progress pics of my Norse Axe later tonight. I promised some yesterday, but I left the USB cable link to my camera at my GFs house.

As it sits right now, its waiting on stain, ill install the head, then I have to wait till Tue before I can wrap it as my paracord wont be here till then.

to be honest i havnt really used them at all , i didnt even finish painting mine, you can see it looks kind of uneven in the picture. the first can i bought had a faulty nozzle that broke before i finished the first coat and when i replaced it i started working on the trail hawk and forgot about mine. i took a few testing chops when i was done and only the finish right near the cutting edge scrapes off.
the hammered look and color turned out great, it gives it an old primitive natural steel look, i think it goes perfect with the darker handle stain. thanks to citizen q for the inspiriation.

 

[CitizenQ]

Really interesting stuff from a guy who knows over at my forum...I thought youse guys would be interested in this tidbit on torching a haft...

If you look closely at some of the older tool handles you will see "flame hardened" on them. I suppose that you could do too much but I stick the handles of my hammers in the fire every morning for just a bit to warm them up. Over time, they have become quite brown. Not black, but brown. I am not sure that blackening the handle will inherently weaken it but have not tried it personally. The indians "file branded" the handles of some early tomahawks for decoration. This involved taking an old file, putting it in the fire and then pressing it on the handle. They were frequently rolled around the handle to improve the effect.
For soldiers, I recommend paint. I know it sounds bad, but it protects the wood somewhat and is easy to maintain.

We blacken steel by putting olive oil on the steel when it is at black heat. The oil carbonizes and the steel is black. It is a good old fashioned finish.

Also, we use just boiled linseed oil on the handles. It has been around a long time, is easy to get and use and gets better the more you rub it. I will try a sample at the house to see if it will black any better than dry wood.

As far as OG's process, he can correct me if he thinks I missed to boat but he is trying to get the wood dry so it will fit tightly in the eye of his axe. If if can't shrink any more, the wedge will likely hold the head in place for a good long while.

Also, having worked in industry where they were actively drying wood, you can't really affect the dryness of something like a handle with just a torch on the outside. The moisture in the wood migrates so slowly that your 10-15 minute process will not affect anything but the outer most wood. Just a little at a time is the answer on the blacking. Too much heat, too fast will likely char the wood and that probably would not be good. It looks like a good project.

 

[Nsaglibene]

Finally got some pics of my modded hawk.

I painted the handle satin black with about 5 coats, and than five more coats of some satin stain. It really came out the way I wanted and it's pritty durable too with all those coats, no chipping yet. The head is colored with silver bake on Gunkote, a semi sharp convex grind and there's a mirrior finish on the hammer. I followed the directions of the members here to get that polish.

 

[savagesicslayer]

Oh that's nice work bud.

 

[NO F-Bdy Bs]

Finally got some pics of my modded hawk.

I painted the handle satin black with about 5 coats, and than five more coats of some satin stain. It really came out the way I wanted and it's pritty durable too with all those coats, no chipping yet. The head is colored with silver bake on Gunkote, a semi sharp convex grind and there's a mirrior finish on the hammer. I followed the directions of the members here to get that polish.

Very cool look. Very industrial, no BS look.

I like the black handle. My next one will have a black handle with Desert Tan cord. Its gonna kick ass!

 

[racer944]

Personally, I like the all black, but that really looks nice, thanks for posting up!!!