Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

RockyNomad said:
Ok, another question. I really like the reddish stains and am thinking about staining the handle with something like the red mahogony, will it look goofy with the gray parkerized head? Should I stick with the ebony as pictured above?
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Don't hava clue! :) Try it and see! :thumbup: The most you have to loose is a haft!
 
Nice hawks. How would you make burn marks and lines on a shaft like in the first picture on page 1?
 
repro said:
Nice hawks. How would you make burn marks and lines on a shaft like in the first picture on page 1?
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I use a propane torch prior to staining and oiling the handle.



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Anyone know of a good strategy for laying out a pattern for Hays type cross hatching on a round/elliptical handle? I was thinking of wood burning one.
 
vector001 said:
those mods are AWESOME, brethren.

speakin' of stock hawk mods...;

i was looking at a spare Riflemen's hawk the other day and decided to mod the poll.

bm11.jpg


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that would be awesome to see one all polished up like the ones you cats parkerized, etc. - on a shiny black composite handle ...or any goldang handle for that matter...(why buy one, when you can buy ten, i always say....)


....anyways ...'applause on your hawk heads.

makin' good things great ...that's what i love to see...!

you guys are almost as bad as i am - only in a better way ...har...!

hawk-maniacally yours,

vec
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How does the modified rifleman feel now? When I cold blued the head on mine, I also squirted clear silicone into the gap between the shaft and head. I can chop 4-8" diameter trees down with it now and the head does not loosen at all, it's dead solid. Thought I'd pass that on.
 
vector001 said:
those mods are AWESOME, brethren.

speakin' of stock hawk mods...;

i was looking at a spare Riflemen's hawk the other day and decided to mod the poll.

bm11.jpg


bm10.jpg


that would be awesome to see one all polished up like the ones you cats parkerized, etc. - on a shiny black composite handle ...or any goldang handle for that matter...(why buy one, when you can buy ten, i always say....)


....anyways ...'applause on your hawk heads.

makin' good things great ...that's what i love to see...!

you guys are almost as bad as i am - only in a better way ...har...!

hawk-maniacally yours,

vec
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Probably a dumb question, but how did you cut the poll off? I don't have any power cutters and was wondering if a hacksaw could do it.
 
I guess this belongs in Whine 'n Cheese...but this is my topic so I'm stickin' it here. :D

I got these b e a u t i f u l parked TrailHawk heads from GunSnob hidden in my trunk...but I havn't had a lick of time to work on the hafts since receiving the heads. Balance the checkbook (a time sucker when it hasn't been done in 6 months :eek: ), plant trees and shrubs, grow a lawn, take the chainsaw to some other trees, wire an outlet, fix a computer, work on the pond, work on the Driveway Widening Project, clean the basement...man 'o man Mrs. Q has been keeping me busy. :rolleyes: I had 2 football games on Sunday...but I probably watched only 10 minutes of the games. It never ends. How I pine to craft-a-haft, assemble a hawk, and slip it into one of those leather sheaths Brian made me. I can just imagine the soft and supple leather gently encasing that cold parked steel. Alas, Mrs. SlaveDriver would probably cut my nuts off with her new F1 :eek: if she saw me sittin' on my posterior sanding wood. Must figure out how to justify this. MUST.
 
Alas said:
just finish the handle real quick, and if Mrs. Slavedriver comes any where near your boys, you will have a sweet sharp modded trail hawk on a super sweet custom handle to defend your nuts with.

My wife is not a slave driver, but seems to be threatening my nuts with a swift kick at least 10 times a day:D
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cucharadedragon said:
Probably a dumb question, but how did you cut the poll off? I don't have any power cutters and was wondering if a hacksaw could do it.
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i hacked it, brother.


then i polished it with a little 30-inch Grizzly belt grinder i re-profile edges with.

just took a few minutos.


that poll is a great deal of the weight for the Rifleman's hawk.

i urge you all to try this mod, if you have not already, fellow-babies.


now it is similar in feel to a very agile forest axe.


i really like the poll too, surprisingly ...the mod was initially to save weight on my pole axe length composite handles, for bashing around.

i hope to take it out this winter and make a large semi-permanent shelter, to test out the theory.

vec
 
CaptInsano said:
Hey Mr. Snob,
I received a nice new CS Norse hawk today that might look nice parkerized or blued.
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NM. Maybe I should leave it alone. I had a guy sharpen it up for me today at a gun show. I promptly sliced my finger open with it when I got home. 4 stitches for me, and now it knows my blood. :eek:
 
Thats just bonding.:D

Sorry for the delayed responce, didn't mean to leve you hanging. I want to check the sight rules before I offer to do any more work for members. I don't want to crap were I sleep, I enjoy the forms to much.
 
I saw this thread and absolutly love these modded trail hawks, so I picked up 2 of them from knife center. Now I have a few questions for you experts.

I want to make more of a modern looking hawk versus the traditional looking ones. I plan on sanding and smoothing the head a bit, and trying to put a mirror finish on the head like Gun Snob did. Than I wanna gun kote it matte black with that Brownells spray can stuff.

As far as the handle goes I wanted that flat black also, would it be fine to paint it with some regular paint rather than stain? Would I get any chipping or rubbing off if I put a few coats of paint on it?

Next is fixing the head on the shaft, I was planing on drilling a hole through the middle of the head and one in the shaft. Where could I find some pins for this? Ones where I wouldent need to run any threads through the head or anything.

Well thanks for the help, I'll be sure to update you all along the way.
 
and trying to put a mirror finish on the head like Gun Snob did.
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I sanded to 1200 and polished on a strop with 555 from Brownell's (any Polish compound should work.)

As far as the handle goes I wanted that flat black also, would it be fine to paint it with some regular paint rather than stain? Would I get any chipping or rubbing off if I put a few coats of paint on it?
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I would sand it smooth and try leather dye and the sealer/oil of your choice. Dye wont chip.

Next is fixing the head on the shaft, I was planing on drilling a hole through the middle of the head and one in the shaft. Where could I find some pins for this? Ones where I wouldn't need to run any threads through the head or anything.
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The head should be threaded for a 3 mm (?) set screw. If you feel you need more (?) you could drill threw with a smaller bit and enlarge from the other side. (drill left to right and enlarge right to left) then use a longer 3 mm set screw to fill the hole. (or drill threw for a pin)

Lowe's, Home depot, and Ace hard wair should have split and solid pins that will work. If you are not in the states any Hard wair store or tractor supply/small engine shop should have them. I often use rod stock of the app. size and cut to fit.

Good luck, enjoy and don't sharpen it until your done working on it. (See Cap Is post above):eek:;)

(:thumbup:A cardboard and tape blade guard is a good idea:thumbup:)
 
Thanks for the tips Gun Snob, Im still waiting on the hawks. If anyone else has any other advice keep it coming.
 
I just received my Trail Hawk today and started some basic mods. Does anyone know how long the handle is on the hawk in the first post of this thread? I believe it said that it was hatchetjacks. That one look about right and I don't want to go to short.

Edit: Never mind I found the original thread with the length.
 
What do you all think is the shortest that I should go on my hawk handle to make a compact hiking/camping hawk? Would 12" be to short?
 
I have a Frontier Hawk cut to 14" and it handles well. I think 12" on a Trail Hawk would be OK. You could go shorter yet, but chopping efficiency would suffer at some point. A light head needs higher impact speed to maintain enough momentum to chop well, so as you shorten the handle you must swing it faster to compensate. Try doing what I did: choke up on the handle a little at a time as you chop with it until you find the point where it feels best or performance drops off too far. Mark the handle and cut it there.
 
I think I'll try the 14" and go from there. If nothing else I can alway replace it if I don't like it.
 
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