Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

Hello guys, newbie here so I hope I don't get flamed for haveing a riflemans hawk instead of the trail ...but anyway I did these a couple of years ago and thought I'd share them,

various2008-2009100.jpg


various2008-2009101.jpg


various2008-2009102.jpg


Also, I got board one day and decided to customize my Craftsman carpenters hatchet, sorry no before pics, but this is the result...

various2008-2009106.jpg


I cut out a big chunk of the blade with a dremmel tool to give it this shape.

various2008-2009107.jpg


Here's with a homemade sheath I put together...

various2008-2009104.jpg
 
can someone explain to me on the coldsteel hawks a few things.........

1)how do u remove the head and get it back on to fit right....i have zero experience with hawks and plan on getting one and doing somemodifications

2)why do people sand the insideof the eye...better fit?...isit necessary?

3)any good onlineretailers to buy the cold steel hawks

4)any tips on burning the handle.....can i mask off parts somehowto burn a pattern into it?

thanks forany advice guys....ryan:thumbup:
 
I can address #1 and #2 for you Ryan...

ryan9977 said:
1)how do u remove the head and get it back on to fit right....i have zero experience with hawks and plan on getting one and doing somemodifications
Click to expand...

Use a rubber mallet to drive it off...or smack the end of the haft on something hard several times and the head will lossen.

ryan9977 said:
2)why do people sand the insideof the eye...better fit?...isit necessary?
Click to expand...

Removing inconsistensies and/or burrs on the inside of the eye makes for a better haft fit brother.

I've purchased a half dozen extra handles/hafts from Cold Steel and my experience is that no two handles are the same...nor do any of the factory handles fit into the eye all that good. It is best to file and existing inconsistensies and/or burrs off the inside of the eye and then sand your handle to get a good tight custom fit.

My $0.02...YMMV! :thumbup:
 
Remember to slack off on the set screw (or remove it completely) before trying to remove the handle.
 
Also keep in mind that when you put the head back on, no matter how tight it is it can loosen up in the future do to the swelling and shinking of the wooden haft, caused by differing humidity leavels.

As for burning the handle, I just went and bought a cheap solder/burning iron from a craft store and started playing with it. Don't know about masking, but you can draw your designs in pencil first, then burn over top of your drawing.
 
tholiver said:
Remember to slack off on the set screw (or remove it completely) before trying to remove the handle.
Click to expand...




is the set screw that little black circle?.....is it like a pin to hold the head on?.....how do u remove it....ryan
 
Throw mine in here too... still tinkering on it so some stuff is a little rough. The twine is coated with superglue so it is not going anywhere.
Picture021Medium.jpg


Picture024Medium.jpg


Picture030Medium.jpg


Picture031Medium.jpg


Picture033Medium.jpg


Picture026Medium.jpg
[/QUOTE]
 
I've been reading through this thread for days, trying to get some direction. A month or so ago, I bought a hatchet with a 13" shaft at a flea market with the idea of modding it, but am confused about what to do about the set screw, which my hatchet doesn't have. All it has is what appears to be a piece of metal driven into the wood like a small wedge, which has split the wood.

Do I leave this in when I begin to stain the shaft (already been sanded down), or try to loosen it or remove it before I get that far? Once the wood has been treated and I'm ready to re-attach the head, should I just pound the metal wedge back to where it was, or replace it with a new piece? :confused:
 
geegee said:
I've been reading through this thread for days, trying to get some direction. A month or so ago, I bought a hatchet with a 13" shaft at a flea market with the idea of modding it, but am confused about what to do about the set screw, which my hatchet doesn't have. All it has is what appears to be a piece of metal driven into the wood like a small wedge, which has split the wood.

Do I leave this in when I begin to stain the shaft (already been sanded down), or try to loosen it or remove it before I get that far? Once the wood has been treated and I'm ready to re-attach the head, should I just pound the metal wedge back to where it was, or replace it with a new piece? :confused:
Click to expand...

You're comparing apples to oranges. Set screws are a part of Cold Steel tomahawk products...I've never seen them on other tomahawks and never on an axe. The piece of metal is a wedge driven into the top of the axe handle/haft (the eye end) to expand the portion of the haft that sits inside the eye to tighten the head to the haft.
 
ryan9977 said:
can someone explain to me on the coldsteel hawks a few things.........

1)how do u remove the head and get it back on to fit right....i have zero experience with hawks and plan on getting one and doing somemodifications

2)why do people sand the insideof the eye...better fit?...isit necessary?

3)any good onlineretailers to buy the cold steel hawks

4)any tips on burning the handle.....can i mask off parts somehowto burn a pattern into it?

thanks forany advice guys....ryan:thumbup:
Click to expand...

I had a really hard time getting the head off my trail hawk. My solution was to sand the haft under it, something I was going to do anyway, to remove a little material for it to come loose.
 
M*A*S*H said:
Throw mine in here too... still tinkering on it so some stuff is a little rough.

Picture030Medium.jpg
Click to expand...
[/QUOTE]

I like the look of this, what did you use for the blueing/finish?

I've used gun blue and sanded rust patinas on mine, what are some other opptions?
 
Here is another spiked hawk I made from a Trail hawk.

picture.php


picture.php


picture.php


Final weight for the head is 8 oz. It is very light & lively in the hand.

I used a 1 brick forge to heat the poll , only the poll went in to the forge .
The blade was wrapped with a wet shop towel to keep the temps down.
The wet towel had to be replaced every third heat.
A benzomatic torch with mapp gas as the heat source.

My anvil is a 12 inch section of railroad track set in a 5 gallon pail of concrete.

Heat treating the spike was done with the torch alone.

Final finished with 600 grit sandpaper.

Johnbar
 
johnbar said:
Here is another spiked hawk I made from a Trail hawk.
Click to expand...

IMHO, of all the Trail Hawk mods that have been posted to this topic...and there have been some very VERY good mods posted...this mod by johnbar is hands down the best. My $0.02 YMMV IMHO.

johnbar, it looks like you have reshaped the heel to the eye: how did you do that? Or am I mistaken?
 
K_Domain7 said:
Awesome! Have you tested the peircing potential of the spike yet?
Click to expand...

I did a brief test on some hardwood before it shipped to it’s new owner.
No car hoods or 55 gallon drums.
The gentleman who received it tested it further & was satisfied with the results.
I shaped the spike until it looked good to my eye, apparently I got the geometry right.
The spike does sink deep with little effort.
Proof that it’s better to be lucky than talented!

CitizenQ said:
IMHO, of all the Trail Hawk mods that have been posted to this topic...and there have been some very VERY good mods posted...this mod by johnbar is hands down the best. My $0.02 YMMV IMHO.

johnbar, it looks like you have reshaped the heel to the eye: how did you do that? Or am I mistaken?
Click to expand...

Good eye CitizenQ.
The cheek is shaped to follow the eye, but not exactly.
I did not want to remove to much weight, so I gave it a barrel shaped cross section.
I made the rough shape with a belt sander, then file work & finally hand sanding.


Thanks for the kind words guys!
 
I have seen Brother Johnbars work first hand. It is exceptional to say the least. The man is far too humble.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top