Mod'ing The CS Trail Hawk

[chainring]

I like the pipehawks. Gonna have to try one. Looks good!

 

[pullrich]

Well done. Could you put up a close up of the rifleman's head when you get a chance? Would like a better look at the blueing, I've never done that.

 

[asmith80]

Sure thing! Tried to get as close as I could with the cell phone. The instructions for the bluing say heat the part with a blowtorch to 200 degrees, but I just put it in the oven at 200 for 20 minutes, seemed to work just as well. After that all you need to do is wipe on the chemicals, boil the part for 5 min. Card with steel wool and repeat until it's the color you want. Mine took about 5 repeats of wiping, boiling, and carding.

And I managed to get the pipe hawk rewrapped. much happier with how it looks now.

Edit: Better pics from a real camera

 

[pullrich]

That's real nice. Sounds like bluing is one of those tings where the effort put into it is little compared to the outcomes

 

[Menace]

And here's a group shot of all my Plum's projects. The Warthog will be getting a wood and hemp wrapped handle, the BK2 will be getting the patina sanded off since I want to use it for food and etc.

what did you use on the handle wrappings? Poly?

 

[BRL]

Nope, just craft store hemp twine dyed with RIT and then epoxied.

 

[Menace]

Nope, just craft store hemp twine dyed with RIT and then epoxied.

Just epoxy huh? Cool, thanks

 

[Ghost Tracker]

I don't know a lot about hawks but I REALLY ENJOY this thread (every single page). I do have some experience with browning new muzzleloading rifles to help them look "Period Correct". IMHO, the far & away the BEST Browning Solution is from Laurel Mountain. Try some & you'll be DELIGHTED! I've also spent 20-25 years as a (part-time) glass etcher & engraver. I'm finally gonna' take on personalizing a Trail Hawk. I'm no Johnbar, but I'll keep you posted.

 

[BMK]

Cold Steel Trail Hawk with the following Monkey Works tweaks: strip paint, weld set screw hole and grind flush, re-shape head, re-bevel, remove handle hole burr, fit handle, smooth all surfaces, bead blast, parkerize and sharpen blade. This one will get a Cocobolo handle sometime next week.

 

[Wes Szydlo]

Try NAPA or a car parts store for the camo spray paint, they normally carry it!!

 

[TwinStick]

What knife is that star eyed man holding ????

 

[Simple Jumper]

Hopefully someone can give me some pointers. I was unable to find Ferric Chloride but found Muriatic acid to etch some deigns on my blades. For some reason, regardless of whether I use spray paint or enamel paint, the acid gets under it and peels it away resulting in a very vague and undefined etch. Anyone have any suggestions?

 

[pullrich]

SJ I would go on line and find the etchant. I don't know why muriatic would behave differently than FC.

http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2102868&CAWELAID=927952786

FWIW, FC will also peel away if you don't apply enough coats, and if you don't the coats dry fully.

 

[Redbusa06]

LOVE this patina, how was it done?

 

[chainring]

What knife is that star eyed man holding ????

The knife in the pimps hand is a Bush Monkey Knives "nessmonk" and can be obtained from BMK. Just got to his homepage found if you click on his username. Cool stuff.

I had wondered how muriatic would perform, but hadn't tried it. How long are you letting it sit and work, SJ? After several coats of paint, cured for a couple days, I've been leaving my etches in FC for upwards of two hours and brushing the etch lightly with a toothbrush periodically to let the FC get at fresh metal. Paint holds up pretty well.

Fire axe for a fireman buddy:

 

[Simple Jumper]

On the first try with 3 coats of spray paint I left it for 4 hours, checking every hour and sometime between the 3rd and fourth the paint started lifting. The etch was still barely noticeable and barely "ate" the steel.

On the second try I used enamel paint and hand painted around what I wanted etched. 2 coats of dry enamel. I tried laying it flat and dabbing the muriatic acid only on the bare steel and leaving it for an hour. When I checked it had begun etching so I let it sit for another hour and when I went to check again the paint had again peeled on the edges.

Perhaps I'm just not using the proper paint, or I'm rushing the process.

I found an instruction for FC on another forum and the author mentions using an acid resistant pen. I'll try to find one of those and the FC and try again.

@Chainring, that looks awesome! Some suggest adding over the counter peroxyde (3%). Do you add anything, or just use the muriatic?

 

[chainring]

I use straight PSB (printed circuit board) solution from radio shack. Sounds like you need some, too! By the way, I just use krylon paint.

 

[pullrich]

Agree on the radio shack source. If it's technique you're after here are a couple of break-downs, scroll down pages a ways:

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...d-ing-The-CS-Trail-Hawk?p=8446023#post8446023

http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php/786574-CS-frontier-DONE!

 

[atomicjoe23]

Fire axe for a fireman buddy:

Very Cool fire-ax!!!

 

[Redbusa06]

Can anyone tell me how wide or tall the eye is? I'm gonna order some vinyl patterns cut and I need to know what size to order the stickers