Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

HandAxeProMan said:
The spike hawk in the picture was my first. I simply bought the cheapest orange juice I could get. I used paint remover to remove as much of the black paint as possible. Then I used a steel brush in my drill to remove the rest. I sanded the outside to smooth it a bit with emery cloth. I put the head in a pyrex bowl. Place the orange juice in a similar bowl and placed in the microwave for seven minutes at full power. Pour in the orange juice. Make sure it completely covers the head. I turned it over after about thirty minutes. I heated the juice three times to get the finish you see. The head was in the juice for about eight hours. I used lemon juice concentrate for the one I did for my grandson. I only heated it once and it was in the juice for only about four hours. It turned out about twice as dark, but a beautiful patina. Good Luck! Howard
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Thanks, I am doing some experiments and taking photos as I go. I'll post them in a separate thread in a few more days.
 
pullrich said:
Poke salad you might want to sand or better yet grind out the pits you don't want. Unique hawk you have there, some scary edges all around.
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I am thinking of doing just that. I have an idea in mind but it will all depend on if I can blend those marks on the blade in so they can't be seen. The hand guard is just a circular saw blade I cut in half, cut a half moon out for my hand, and smoothed the edges so it doesn't cut me. I was afraid it would bust my knuckles if I smacked someone with it but it feels great in the hand and has just enough clearance that I would really have to fumble to hurt my hand. Appreciate the comment.

HandAxeProMan said:
A great and scary weapon for after the Apocalypse.

Howard
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Actually it has already moved one young man out of my Lazy Boy so it was worth making just for the look on his face. He came over to visit my daughter. I walked into the room with it in my hand and said you are in my chair. He looked at me, to the hawk, to my daughter, and then promptly moved. Not sure why but he left shortly thereafter. /snicker Gotta love having fun at the expense of your kids. Appreciate the comment.
 
Here's the final product that you may have seen over on the "hawk and sandwich combos" thread and elsewhere. At one time this was a CS Rifleman's hawk. Lots of grinding and such changed that. Handle chopped down to a lean 16". Handle leather came from my wife's sandles that went gunny bag after 15 years of good service. Rest in peace. Leather handle is secured with bronze nails, and finished with a slurry of mud, dye, and shellac. Head is etched with two norse drakes, on both sides, and antique browned. It's cover is leather that has been swabbed with vinegaroon. Fits on real snug just by tugging on the dreads. I left the dreads long so you can tie them around the handle for extra hold. I need to bring this to my local bladesmith for a pro sharpening.... I'm useless in that department. Hope you like.

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pokesalad said:
Actually it has already moved one young man out of my Lazy Boy so it was worth making just for the look on his face. He came over to visit my daughter. I walked into the room with it in my hand and said you are in my chair. He looked at me, to the hawk, to my daughter, and then promptly moved. Not sure why but he left shortly thereafter. /snicker Gotta love having fun at the expense of your kids. Appreciate the comment.
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Almost fell off the couch laughing at that. . .absolutely priceless!!! I'm sure you will hear about it later from either your daughter or your wife, but well worth it!!!

pullrich said:
Here's the final product that you may have seen over on the "hawk and sandwich combos" thread and elsewhere. At one time this was a CS Rifleman's hawk. Lots of grinding and such changed that. Handle chopped down to a lean 16". Handle leather came from my wife's sandles that went gunny bag after 15 years of good service. Rest in peace. Leather handle is secured with bronze nails, and finished with a slurry of mud, dye, and shellac. Head is etched with two norse drakes, on both sides, and antique browned. It's cover is leather that has been swabbed with vinegaroon. Fits on real snug just by tugging on the dreads. I left the dreads long so you can tie them around the handle for extra hold. I need to bring this to my local bladesmith for a pro sharpening.... I'm useless in that department. Hope you like.

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I REALLY like the etched drakes on that blade and the dreads are cool as well!
 
Love it pokesalad. Sounds like something I would do.

Great hawk pullrich. Nice etching and I like the length versus original length.

Howard
 
Wow Poke, you really are on the offensive with this one, aren'cha? Also, I see that you got the link for the cord wrap, looks good. Also, for transport, you could take some rubber hose, split it and cover the hand guard, just so you dont nick the upholstery in the truck.
 
Greetings from South Africa! I've been wanting a hawk for a while now, but all that's available here is the CS range... then I found this thread. They're a little more pricey here, working out to about $45, but hey whatever.

Head was stripped, sanded, edge convex ground and sharpened, then soaked in hot orange juice(heated once) for 12 hours. Sanded down the haft, stained it mahogany, then decided it was too orange, so resanded and held over a fire to create the darkened/distressed look, then oiled. Found a scrap of leather and thought the colour was quite complimentary, so added that as a mis-strike guard. The short bit of paracord at the bottom is really just the complete the look and act as stop behind the hand.

Thanks for all the inspiration!

Chris

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SaffaChris said:
Greetings from South Africa! I've been wanting a hawk for a while now, but all that's available here is the CS range... then I found this thread. They're a little more pricey here, working out to about $45, but hey whatever.

Head was stripped, sanded, edge convex ground and sharpened, then soaked in hot orange juice(heated once) for 12 hours. Sanded down the haft, stained it mahogany, then decided it was too orange, so resanded and held over a fire to create the darkened/distressed look, then oiled. Found a scrap of leather and thought the colour was quite complimentary, so added that as a mis-strike guard. The short bit of paracord at the bottom is really just the complete the look and act as stop behind the hand.

Thanks for all the inspiration!

Chris

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Simple yet elegant...I'm just a sucker for a scorched haft.
 
Thanks for the compliments! Yeah I was really happy with the effect of the orange juice, nice and even... thanks for the idea. I tried vinegar first, but that came out uneven and blotchy... not cool.
 
Hello All,

This my first post here and I must say, I blame all of you. I read this thread from start to finish and you got me hooked! I have a Trail Hawk coming early next week and I can't wait.

I want this to be a usable tool when I'm out in the bush but I also want to do some cool mods to it. I need the head removable so probably no wraps of any kind on the handle. I want to strip the head and etch a maple leaf on the outside of the eye, give it a good edge and find a good sheath\belt carrier for it. Will the eye hold up to a little etching?

I like the patina look but I also like the high polish look too. How well does the polish look hold up to moderate use and how well does etching take to the polished look? An I better to go for the patina look for etching and durability?

Also i'm planning on losing the set screw and working the inside of the eye and haft for better tension fit.

This will be my first mod of one of these but I'm sure it will not be my last. Pictures will be posted during and after completion.

I do have a Dremel. Will the round sander work well enough or do you recommend something else for de-burring?

I'm an open book for ideas\suggestions\tips\tricks.

I can't wait!

Lazersnake
 
Lazersnake, you can use a paracord wrap on the handle that is a friction wrap and removed and wrapped again as desired. You could also grove the handle to give you a more secure grip. Just some things to consider.

Howard
 
"Will the eye hold up to a little etching?"

Etching will not compromise the steel.... doesnt go deep enough, most of us can just do surface etches.

"How well does etching take to the polished look?"

Polishing could possibly compromise the etched design because the polishing involves taking off steel. But a good etch should stand up to polishing.

"Will the round sander work well enough or do you recommend something else for de-burring?"

I have a hand-driven round file that I run inside until I remove the burs.

"An I better to go for the patina look for etching and durability?"

I'm not sure that patina offers a great deal of protection, maybe a little? In terms of etching I think it's a matter of personal taste. I like browned patina best.

Here's a few with and without patina shots, you can see there's a big difference.

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HandAxeProMan said:
Lazersnake, you can use a paracord wrap on the handle that is a friction wrap and removed and wrapped again as desired. You could also grove the handle to give you a more secure grip. Just some things to consider.

Howard
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Good idea! You can never have too much paracord.

Lazersnake

"you can never put too much water in a nuclear reactor."
 
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