Newbie Here! Which hawk head + haft = fastest and most durable?

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moogoogaidan

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Feb 21, 2009
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Ok, so i'm brand new to hawks and have been reading this forum a bit. I'd like to get my hands on one, but have some questions. I'd prefer a lighter, faster fighting hawk. One that doesn't necessarily need to chop down trees, but one that I can use to split open thousands of zombie skulls without worrying about it (my standard measure of any weapon I buy :D).

With that said, I don't think I've read anything about ANY hawk head breaking, so my attention has turned to hafts. What should I look for in terms of being quick and lightweight, but tough and durable?

I thought the CS Trench Hawk might be what i'm looking for (even though I MUCH prefer the look of Coal Creek Forge's hawk heads), but i've read at least one instance of that shaft breaking! I also heard that it's a bit bendy and flexible, and that dog just won't go hunting for me.

So in your opinion, what are my best options? What type of hawk head would be the lightest and best for skull busting, and what haft options should I look for? I'm not into throwing hawks, so I doesn't need to be impact/shatter resistant -- just TOUGH, durable and dependable. Thanks in advance for your tips!
 
If you want a fighting/breach hawk the RMJ forge options are pretty nice if they're in your price range. Otherwise I'm sure Steve could hook you up with exactly what you're looking for.
 
Hmmm, I think between $100 to $150 would be fine for a solid, quick tomahawk that will last. I emailed the Vec Hawk website asking about different heads and options. I've heard his stuff mentioned, but I don't know what's really available because there's no online catalog.

The RMJ stuff looks really nice but expensive, and the VTAV looks wicked as well, but maybe just a tad too short.
 
Talk to steve with coal creek forge. Much much better quality than anything cold steel puts out. and still wayyy under your price range.
 
Does Steve offer synthetic stocks? I would figure that synthetic stocks are lighter and can take a bit more abuse.
 
I've only broken one from throwing :D:D Call Steve at coal creek, great hawks, great guy.

Regards

Robin

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So are all of Vec's hawks sourced from CS? AND has anyone ever married a Coal Creek Forge hawk head with a Vec haft?
 
Vec has used other heads with his shafts before.

If you are only looking for a hawk as a weapon i think any of the hickory handles will serve you well. I don't imagine you are going to be in a shield wall any time soon where the shaft would take hits from other weapons.

The solid steel handled hawks i've tried have god-awful balance for a weapon imo so i would steer clear of them. As far as what makes the best fighting head i think that comes down to personal preference. I've always liked the frontier and norse hawks best. The trail hawk bit tends to penetrate too much in soft targets and get stuck.
 
Interesting -- thanks all for your feedback. (And i'm glad to see you're still able to kick around on the forums Cpl!)

In terms of steel, are CS heads considered lower quality? What steels are generally used for hawk heads? I see Damascus used often for hawk heads -- why?

Thanks again, I'm just trying to learn as much as possible!
 
moogoogaidan said:
Interesting -- thanks all for your feedback. (And i'm glad to see you're still able to kick around on the forums Cpl!)

In terms of steel, are CS heads considered lower quality? What steels are generally used for hawk heads? I see Damascus used often for hawk heads -- why?

Thanks again, I'm just trying to learn as much as possible!
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Cold Steel uses 1055(cast), good steel nothing wrong with it if its heat treated right.
Damasus, its used because its "purty", its good steel if done right but you'll get the same performance from any other decent carbon steel. Ive made damascus hawks myself but they are more a collectors hawk. Just make sure its gotr a decent cutting bit thats heat treated right and your good to go. Theres thousands and thousands of hawks and axes out there with plain ol' mild steel bodys and only the bit high carbon steel.
 
Thanks for your response, Kentucky -- by the way, beautiful work coming out of your forge! I'm more familiar with HI khuks and their 5160 steel, which i love. They're differentially hardened because, like hawks, they're impact tools. Does anyone use differentially hardened 5160 as their default steel?
 
I know of one hawk maker that routinly uses 5160 and thats Craig Barr @ Deer mountain forge. He sells alot on ebay. Im sure his are differentially heat treated. I like 5160 a lot myself. Ive used it for hawk bits before.
 
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