Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

I'll put some pics up when I can. I'm really pleased with the results of that experiment.

The design I cut into the head is a four pointed star; the type with concave edges. It looks very nice.
 
I have been looking at this thread for awhile, you all are doing some exceptional work.

I have finally decided to do one of my own, and I was looking to do a composite handle for it.

How would I go about making one or getting m hands on one?
 
I got my first Tomahawk with Christmas money. Ive been looking to get one and after lots of searching, I decided the Trail Hawk was the look I was after. Once it arrived I wood burned some Native American symbols into it for looks and grip. I took the head off, stripped the paint because I didn't care for the gloss black. I stained the handle with early American Min wax stain, which unfortunately took away from the wood burned symbols. My goal was to make my tomahawk look like it came from the 1800's. I tried various paint colors on the head, didn't like how they came out, debated on keeping it bare but since I plan on using it alot, I finally settled on Rustolium rust inhibitor which dries to a black finish. I applied three coats the last of which I made the brush stoke ridges you see, I liked the way they looked. Also I used twine even though I have tons of para cord the twine gave it the look I was after. So this is what my C/S Trail Hawk looks like

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Looks great!

I haven't done much to my hawks so far - just stripped the paint and sharpened them. I figured I'd work on a way to carry them first.
Just curious, which style blade cover do most folks like? The strap or the flap? (I apologize for the crappy cell-phone pic).

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anyone planning on modding out a Axe Gang Hatchet. would get one myself, but Ive bought to much recently. would be easy to strip the paint off the head, polish it up and blacken the handle.
 
I may have overlooked the answer to this question while reading through this thread, but what are you guys doing to prevent rust on the heads after you boil them in vinegar? Is that all you need to do to them, and they are ready for use?
 
Boiling them in vinegar will give a patina to the head, not a true blue, more like an oxide finish. After that I personally oil all my heads/knives (axes, hatchets, hawks, knives, straight razors, etc...) to keep them fresh. Come to think about it I don't have anything that isn't high carbon steel so all of it has oil on there to keep them from rusting... Pretty simple to care for if you ask me.
 
Some really beautiful mods y'all have going! I've been sneaking around bladeforums for a while and was inspired by this thread to contribute something for a change. Here are some shots of a couple of customized CS hawks. The handles were ground, belt sanded, charred, re-sanded, and finished off with a few coats of tung oil. The heads were sanded, polished, and the edges convexed, then a light forced patina on the back. If you look close at the last pic you can see the temper line running somewhat parallel to the blade..just above the reflection of the quarter.


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Bociphus said:
Some really beautiful mods y'all have going! I've been sneaking around bladeforums for a while and was inspired by this thread to contribute something for a change. Here are some shots of a couple of customized CS hawks. The handles were ground, belt sanded, charred, re-sanded, and finished off with a few coats of tung oil. The heads were sanded, polished, and the edges convexed, then a light forced patina on the back. If you look close at the last pic you can see the temper line running somewhat parallel to the blade..just above the reflection of the quarter.
Click to expand...

What did you use to force a patina on the head?
 
Drummertist said:
What did you use to force a patina on the head?
Click to expand...
I've tried a few diff. methods..spicy mustard, onions, and just about any acidic household food/condiment. What always seems to work best for me though is hot vinegar (I use distilled white vinegar). You can pour some in a cup and heat it in the microwave.

It also helps to mix in a drop of dish washing detergent or any other surfacant to break the surface tension of the vinegar so that it will spread evenly. As far as application is concerned, you can soak the head (if you have enough vinegar), or wrap it in paper towels and then saturate it with the vinegar.

Also, make sure the metal is as clean as possible before applying the vinegar. Mineral spirits or paint thinner work well. Though water and a little scrubbing will usually get the job done as well. Just make sure there's no oil/grease etc on the head.

30 mins-2hrs is usually long enough to create a nice patina, but it depends on how dark you're shooting for.

Afterwards, neutralize the vinegar (windex w/ ammonia) or just rinse it off with water, then polish off the black oxides with steel wool or a milder abrasive depending on how polished the original finish was.

I hope this isn't too much info. I got a little carried away, but if you have any more questions just let me know!
 
Bociphus said:
Handles_Esee6.jpg
Click to expand...

Damn.
That one photo just broke my resolve.
I now have to mentally battle over whether a second HEST or a second RC6 is the proper expenditure of my cash.
I had this good and settled on the HEST, but no. You just couldn't leave me alone ;)
Anyway, sweet hawks. That handle modding is a huge win.
 
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