Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

So I finally picked me up a CS hawk. Not the trailhawk like most of you use but the Frontier hawk. Im working on the haft now and its going fine. The problem I have is that in my current country of residence its perfectly legal to ship in a tomahawk, knife or even gun parts but chemicals are a no no. I couldnt even get silver max lithium grease to fix my xbox, let alone a potent paint stripper for the head of my hawk. Short of sanding it down and possibly marring the surface, how could I go about stripping the paint off with something easier to find? Ive read about vinegar but it seems like it would take quite some time and alot of vinegar to go about it.
 
MRpink said:
Working on my first mod. The handle came really terrible from CS. As you can see from the pictures, it's still biting on the sides and back and literally falls right off. Before I continue to sand, should I radius the top hole of the head so it conforms to the haft better or just keep working on the haft?
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I'd focus on the haft if it were me
 
TheCarrotstick said:
. Short of sanding it down and possibly marring the surface, how could I go about stripping the paint off with something easier to find? Ive read about vinegar but it seems like it would take quite some time and alot of vinegar to go about it.
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Sanding wont mar surface it will make it smoother. Can you use and angle grinder? Or round sander attachment to normal drill? Goes faster that way
 
TheCarrotstick said:
So I finally picked me up a CS hawk. Not the trailhawk like most of you use but the Frontier hawk. Im working on the haft now and its going fine. The problem I have is that in my current country of residence its perfectly legal to ship in a tomahawk, knife or even gun parts but chemicals are a no no. I couldnt even get silver max lithium grease to fix my xbox, let alone a potent paint stripper for the head of my hawk. Short of sanding it down and possibly marring the surface, how could I go about stripping the paint off with something easier to find? Ive read about vinegar but it seems like it would take quite some time and alot of vinegar to go about it.
Click to expand...

Have you tried black market? OK, OK, I jest. A couple of things I would probably try myself. First, I'd probably try brake or hydraulic fluid. The reason being I've always read/heard that brake fluid will scar or remove auto paint. Second, you might try a highly concentrated (if you can find it) citrus juice, like lemon or lime juice concentrate. That MIGHT work. Finally, if all else fails, you could TRY soaking it in a soft-drink that contains phosphoric acid. I sometimes use that to clean up corroded metal parts that I'm trying to re-use. It never strips them clean, but it will loosen corrosion scale so that it can be physically removed more easily.

After reading so much about the Cold Steel 'Hawks, I think I might have to try one or two. I'm not overly enamored withe the Trail Hawk, primarily because the cutting area is about an inch less than the typical CS 'Hawk, it appears. I'm thinking I might actually pick up a Pipe 'Hawk, or a Spikie (or both). Don't know what I'll do about modifications. Guess I'll cross that bridge when I get there.
 
I should have been clear about my plans for the head. I want to strip the paint off and leave the all of the pits and dings that are on the surface already. I dont have any plans on sanding or smoothing. After I get the paint off Im looking at boiling it in white vinegar to force a patina. I'll have to try the fingernail polish remover, the wife has tons of that stuff around the house. If that doesnt work out I think I may wander on over to the auto shop and pick up some brake fluid. Thank you all for the help, I have been lurking here for some time with plans to get a hawk and see what I could bring to the table.
 
most any lumber yard would have spray on paint remover too, thats what i used to strip mine. quick and easy.

cricket
 
Another thing you might look into is weather you could find someone locally with a sandblaster or beadblaster.
That will remove all of the paint and leave an even pitted appearance. It would only take someone a minute or two to do it in a blast cabinet, and would likely cost you almost nothing. An automotive shop might have one, or some other metal working shop.
Good luck!
 
Here's a quick update on my cs hawks:

Both have been stripped and the spike hawk has gotten a partial convex and rough satin spike. Only had a small amount of time to work in the garage so didn't get too far but it's a start.
2011-08-04192917.jpg


Also, the handle that came on my trail hawk was great, but the spike hawk handle was terrible. Sent a quick email to CS and they're sending me a new handle asap. :thumbup:
 
Blade man (Matt) does an excellent job of modifying Cold Steel hawks. Here's a trailhawk I recently purchased from him:

CSTrailH1-1.jpg


You have a choice of haft finish and cord wrap color. I chose an oak finish with brown wrap:

CSTrailH2-1.jpg


The head is extensively reshaped by thinning out the blade and reducing the poll size.

CSTrailH3-1.jpg


Finally, the bottom of the blade is made scary sharp!

CSTrailH5-1.jpg


I haven't even had the new hawk in the field yet, but I think it's going to be a lot of fun to carry it into the woods for a tryout.

Matt also does a killer job on the Rifleman Hawk. Hmmm, wonder if I can afford another one. :mrgreen:
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Vivite Vibrance Therapy
 
Why does everybody get rid of the screw? Wouldn't it be better to keep it just in case it helps?
Does it eventually back out and fall off?
 
trey999 said:
Why does everybody get rid of the screw? Wouldn't it be better to keep it just in case it helps?
Does it eventually back out and fall off?
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A properly fitted head/haft does not need the screw to keep them together. If you actually chop and use the hawk, it'll tighten itself as it rides a tiny bit higher. I think the screw prevents this natural occurrence.
 
Well, 36 pages of Hawks finally sucked me in to yet another modding hobby. First time doing anything like this but man is this fun. Nothing too complicated - stripped the head, polished up to a point but didn't want to remove too much material and forced a patina. Burned the haft and while it was still hot (and for the next 2 days) let it soak up Skidmores liquid beeswax finish (linseed, turp, beeswax). As a bonus my hands will smell deliciously beeswaxy after a long day of zombie work. Paracorded it up and cant wait to try her out in the field!


hawk1 by jkoll42, on Flickr


hawk2 by jkoll42, on Flickr
 
Thanks for the answers on alternatives to paint strippers. I ended up buying a gallon of white vinegar and letting the head soak for about four days before I hit it with steel wool, grades fine and medium. It ended up turning out
rather nice. Just soaking in the vinegar darkened it quite a bit.

IMG-20110802-00386.jpg

I wanted to make something that looked like my ancestors would have carried a few hundred years ago so I chose to keep it very simple.
The fact that I just started any sort of wood or metal work helped to make it look more...rustic.
IMG-20110802-00387.jpg

The tools I used to make the burns. I heated the screw driver and pressed it against the wood until it cooled or i felt the mark was good enough.
I just realized there are bread crumbs on the cutting board in the picture. I apologize, I made a sandwich shortly before I started on this. I feel like a slob. A slob who likes tomahawks and sandwiches.
IMG-20110805-00396.jpg

I chose to keep the haft as long as it was mainly out of the lack of tools to cut it. Here it is after I burned the ends and I finished my super advanced wood burning technique.
Oh, and I put four coats of Obenaufs Beeswax boot sealer on the haft to seal it up and darken it a little bit. Afterword I rubbed in a coat of olive oil. I would have stained it in coffee, but wasting coffee in this country is a cardinal sin.
IMG-20110805-00409.jpg

I was inspired by a previous post and decided to try a wee bit of file work. Not bad for my first try, huh?
IMG-20110805-00413.jpg

Right after I boiled in white vinegar to force a patina. Stank to high hell, but turned out pretty good. After it cooled I coated in mustard for good measure.
IMG-20110805-00415.jpg

After removing the mustard and hitting it with medium steel wool the color evened out a bit, not as much as I would have liked but this is going to be a working hawk so I figured it didnt matter too much.
IMG-20110805-00427.jpg

Finally done! Mostly. The two picks below were inspired by another post. I think the tacks add a subtle oomph to my rather plain hawk.
IMG-20110805-00433.jpg


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Not as good as most on here, but I think with practice I can ramp up the awesome. Next up I want to get my wife a Rifleman's hawk and go to town with a file.
 
Thanks guys. I'll get some shots of it in action as soon as I can get out and torture it a bit. By the way, those tacks were from one of those packs you get with all the different types of nails in it. Im assuming they are some sort of upholstery tacks. The sandwich was prosciutto and mozzarella with heirloom tomato and olive oil on ciabatta. Light toast on the bread. A little sea salt and cracked black pepper. Sort of like a bruschetta sandwich. Delicious.
 
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