- Joined
- Nov 27, 2004
- Messages
- 3,124
Hi all,
Well, it happened. I finally slipped a bit in my 'One Year, One Trio' commitment. Sigh. I was doing really well - just three knives since November! Alas, I was out for a snowshoe this weekend, and I just couldn't resist the urge to take my new modded Cold Steel Trail Hawk out for a spin. I didn't bring my camera this time, but I did snap a few shots of the finished 'hawk afterwards.
First, about the 'hawk:
I sanded down the original coating and gave the head a convex edge (thanks for recommending that Magnussen!) on the slack belt. Then I immersed the whole head in boiling white vinegar, which created a nice uniform patina. (Mike's tip of the day: if you plan to use boiling vinegar to force a patina, why not throw in some skills practice and do it over a campfire outside? The alternative is doing it in your kitchen, which will give your entire place the heavenly scent of hot vinegar reacting with carbon steel ...). Once the patina was done, I sharpened the edge using wet-dry sandpaper on a mouse pad. After I had finished everything, I decided that I wanted to do some file-work. It turned out nice, but I need to go back and re-apply a uniform patina at some point.
The hickory handle was hand-sanded, and the designs were sketched in pencil and then engraved and finished with a wood-burning tool. Nothing special - just some bands and suitably rustic-looking squigglies. The handle was finished with ten coats of Lee Valley Danish Oil. I'm going to wrap the grip in leather twine at some point in the near future.
Some thoughts on performance:
A tomahawk is an amazing snowshoeing companion! I was trailblazing this weekend, through deep powder and brush. The 'hawk came in handy for clearing away dead branches and chopping up fallen trees (up to about 4" diameter). Thanks to the long handle, it was also incredibly useful for knocking the snow off of low-hanging evergreen branches, something i didn't consider until I was on the trail and faced with trees laden down with last night's snowfall. The thinned, convexed blade bit deep into fallen green wood and old dead wood. I haven't made the sheath for this thing yet, so I started out by just tucking it into my belt. After a while, I opted to simply carry it, which meant that it was readily available for all sorts of trail clearing needs. Definitely a great hiking tool - very practical. I don't think it would replace an axe or large knife for outings that involve lots of splitting, but it excelled at mid-range cutting and chopping.
I'm on the fence about what to do with my 'Trio Challenge' now. Part of me is inclined to conclude that the experiment has taught me all that it can about making the most of a limited set of tools. It was great to take a more specialized cutting tool for a spin this weekend.
All the best,
- Mike
Well, it happened. I finally slipped a bit in my 'One Year, One Trio' commitment. Sigh. I was doing really well - just three knives since November! Alas, I was out for a snowshoe this weekend, and I just couldn't resist the urge to take my new modded Cold Steel Trail Hawk out for a spin. I didn't bring my camera this time, but I did snap a few shots of the finished 'hawk afterwards.
First, about the 'hawk:
I sanded down the original coating and gave the head a convex edge (thanks for recommending that Magnussen!) on the slack belt. Then I immersed the whole head in boiling white vinegar, which created a nice uniform patina. (Mike's tip of the day: if you plan to use boiling vinegar to force a patina, why not throw in some skills practice and do it over a campfire outside? The alternative is doing it in your kitchen, which will give your entire place the heavenly scent of hot vinegar reacting with carbon steel ...). Once the patina was done, I sharpened the edge using wet-dry sandpaper on a mouse pad. After I had finished everything, I decided that I wanted to do some file-work. It turned out nice, but I need to go back and re-apply a uniform patina at some point.
The hickory handle was hand-sanded, and the designs were sketched in pencil and then engraved and finished with a wood-burning tool. Nothing special - just some bands and suitably rustic-looking squigglies. The handle was finished with ten coats of Lee Valley Danish Oil. I'm going to wrap the grip in leather twine at some point in the near future.
Some thoughts on performance:
A tomahawk is an amazing snowshoeing companion! I was trailblazing this weekend, through deep powder and brush. The 'hawk came in handy for clearing away dead branches and chopping up fallen trees (up to about 4" diameter). Thanks to the long handle, it was also incredibly useful for knocking the snow off of low-hanging evergreen branches, something i didn't consider until I was on the trail and faced with trees laden down with last night's snowfall. The thinned, convexed blade bit deep into fallen green wood and old dead wood. I haven't made the sheath for this thing yet, so I started out by just tucking it into my belt. After a while, I opted to simply carry it, which meant that it was readily available for all sorts of trail clearing needs. Definitely a great hiking tool - very practical. I don't think it would replace an axe or large knife for outings that involve lots of splitting, but it excelled at mid-range cutting and chopping.
I'm on the fence about what to do with my 'Trio Challenge' now. Part of me is inclined to conclude that the experiment has taught me all that it can about making the most of a limited set of tools. It was great to take a more specialized cutting tool for a spin this weekend.
All the best,
- Mike
