Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

Assembled mine last night, nothing too extroardinary, stripped the finish deburred the eye, "melted" the edges, gave it a vinegar patina, sanded the haft smooth finished with gunstock stain and matte polyurethane, and gave it a nice convex edge
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DSC00621.jpg

DSC00619.jpg


next on the list is some paracord knotwork
 
That is a beautiful piece of work. I especially love the patina.

What did you do to put the vinegar patina on (paper towel, brush-on, dip and let dry, or full soak)?

What do you mean by "melted" the edges?
 
Drummertist said:
That is a beautiful piece of work. I especially love the patina.

What did you do to put the vinegar patina on (paper towel, brush-on, dip and let dry, or full soak)?

What do you mean by "melted" the edges?
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For the patina I just dropped it in some apple cider vinegar and let it sit for 24 hours

and for the edges I just hit them with some 1000 grit sandpaper to round them off slightly and smooth them off, if you look closely in the top pic you can see that the patina is kind of worn off on the edges as a result, gives it a much smoother feel in the hand
 
I'm thinking about getting one of these and modding it for myself this summer. Are Birchwood Casey products any good? I've been thinking about getting their Super Blue, Tru-oil and Gunstock Wax and customizing the hawk with them. What kind of a finish will I get with them, and are they hard to use? I'm also going to put a paracord wrap on the handle and make some sort of sheath for it.
 
Zanuha said:
Also, what brand of paint stripper should I use?
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Many use Jasco spray or paint on remover. It works very fast and thoroughly. Just makes sure to be very careful. I suggest getting some of the thick chemical gloves. I wore some normal hospital type rubber gloves from work and could start to feel it burning my skin. If that happens make sure you run under water and be careful. But like i said it does an excellent fast job.

I'm sure others can give you some other options and opinions on the Birchwood Casey stuff. On my haft I just sanded, used some red oak stain, and then a few coats of boiled linseed oil. As far as the super blue goes, it's a cold bluing. From what I know with firearms is that it's good for touch-ups, but won't holdup as well as a hot bluing. I used vinegar on my pipe hawk, just let it sit for about a day. I'm pretty happy with it. Debating on trying one of the salt bluing recipes for the two new trail hawks coming tomorrow. You can find tutorials and it doesn't seem that complicated, just a little more work than soaking in a pot of vinegar.
 
Wanted to add this to the official thread if that's okay. It's a sheath for my Trail Hawk and the first sheath I've ever done.

This is my original sketch/mock-up...


Here are the materials I will be using. I spent most of the money I had on the leather, so I didn't have what many would consider to be "professional" items...


I got the template cut out for three of the four pieces (excluded: belt loop).


I cut the pieces out after tracing the shape onto the leather using the templates. They were warped, so I soaked them...


...I then laid them out to dry in the shape they needed to be in whether flat or curved...


Once dry, I drilled the holes for the artificial sinew (by hand...makes it kinda ugly) and started threading it.


After that, I got the snaps put on and that's where I've stopped for now.


I now realize how hard it is to do this without the proper tools and may hire someone like Pipeman to make it for me (love his work). However, it was fun and a great experience; It didn't come out TOO bad. Only thing I have left to do is clean up and burnish the edges along the welt. I like this style because it has the sheath and belt loop all in one, I can change the handle while it's in the sheath and the sheath can hold only the head if I decide to make a haft in the field.

So what's your verdict?

EDIT: Feel free the use the pattern. I'd like to see what the pro's can do.
 
Drummertist said:
Wanted to add this to the official thread if that's okay. It's a sheath for my Trail Hawk and the first sheath I've ever done.

This is my original sketch/mock-up...


Here are the materials I will be using. I spent most of the money I had on the leather, so I didn't have what many would consider to be "professional" items...


I got the template cut out for three of the four pieces (excluded: belt loop).


I cut the pieces out after tracing the shape onto the leather using the templates. They were warped, so I soaked them...


...I then laid them out to dry in the shape they needed to be in whether flat or curved...


Once dry, I drilled the holes for the artificial sinew (by hand...makes it kinda ugly) and started threading it.


After that, I got the snaps put on and that's where I've stopped for now.


I now realize how hard it is to do this without the proper tools and may hire someone like Pipeman to make it for me (love his work). However, it was fun and a great experience; It didn't come out TOO bad. Only thing I have left to do is clean up and burnish the edges along the welt. I like this style because it has the sheath and belt loop all in one, I can change the handle while it's in the sheath and the sheath can hold only the head if I decide to make a haft in the field.

So what's your verdict?

EDIT: Feel free the use the pattern. I'd like to see what the pro's can do.
Click to expand...

Very nice!! I am going to do this one and Beeperboy's.. off to order another hawk
 
Drummertist said:
Wanted to add this to the official thread if that's okay. It's a sheath for my Trail Hawk and the first sheath I've ever done.

This is my original sketch/mock-up...

So what's your verdict?

EDIT: Feel free the use the pattern. I'd like to see what the pro's can do.
Click to expand...

That's a beauty!
What weight of leather did you use?
 
1. You guys have way too much time on your hands. 2. I gotta get me a CS Trailhawk to modify.
 
Drummertist said:
9-10 oz. Belly cut veggie tan.
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Niiice. Thanks for the info.

And yeah, I've seen that Tandy's leather for that weight ain't cheap. It would be fine if you could get a small amount, but you can't order less than a half shoulder (which would do probably 25 sheaths of this type, I think).
 
rockspyder said:
Niiice. Thanks for the info.

And yeah, I've seen that Tandy's leather for that weight ain't cheap. It would be fine if you could get a small amount, but you can't order less than a half shoulder (which would do probably 25 sheaths of this type, I think).
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The roll of belly cut I got (which is in the picture on the earlier post) was only $29 at my local Tandy Store. I don't know if they have it on their website. The shoulders and full hides are WAY too much so I had to go with the stretchy belly. It was cheaper because most people don't want the belly. That stretch won't matter much on a tommy sheath though.
 
How do you people make the small stretch of cord wrap near the head? I haven't been able to figure it out.
 
If I get a Rifleman's hawk and cut the hammer off with an angle grinder, will it mess up the heat treat on the edge?
 
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