paracord wrapped VT lots of pic.s

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Psalm 150

Joined
Oct 8, 2003
Messages
113
I got my first tomahawk about a week ago!! It’s an ATC Vietnam Tactical!!!!!! I thought they looked great in the pictures, but it’s so much cooler when you’re holding it. I love it. I got it from Botach, I’ve heard people talk about how slow Botach is, but they got my order out fast…..so,? I got it mostly for throwing; I love throwing knives and always wanted a tomahawk to throw, but never could find one worth the money. Then one day my brother was showing me some pic.s that Andy had sent him with a knife of his that had a mirror finish and in the pictures was his Minuteman. I said, “What tomahawk is that?? I want one!!”. Well, I haven’t had much luck throwing it yet, but I talked to Andy about tomahawk throwing today, and I have high hopes for my attempts tomorrow. But it sure does seem to hold up to the throwing though. You can’t even tell it’s been thrown!!! How great is that?

I wrapped the handle with paracord:
cord1.2.jpg

front.jpg

wrap.jpg

withbm.jpg

inhand.jpg



Then cut a 1” strip of buffalo hide leather, and burned triangles into it with a soldering iron:
thestrip.jpg



Then I used 3in1 oil to darken the leather. My attempt was to NOT darken the triangles. But I did a bad job and it’s hard to tell. I know a better way of doing it now, but I almost think that it looks better being a little dark anyway, so I left it.:(sorry this pic. Is blurry)
hawk3.jpg



(I also added a piece of black paracord hanging down from the bottom of the handle) Here’s a finished pic.:
hawk.jpg


I had left it about one and a half inches down from the head when I wrapped the paracord (so it could fit into a Survival Sheath Systems Concealex belt sheath which I was planning on getting, but looks like I might not after all; which is sad, because that was one of the reasons I decided to go with the VT over the Minuteman ‘cause I could get such a cool sheath for it), but when I put the 1 inch strip of leather it left only about ½ an inch to the head……so, if I do ever get a kydex sheath for it I might have to cut the leather off. -Oh well



What do you guys think?



I was originally planning on painting the head with a como finish like those old navy ships that had big abstract shapes so that it would look something like this:
vtcamo.jpg


But I like it so much the way it is that I think I’m just going to leave it like it is for now. Maybe if I get bored later I’ll do it.?
 
Very Nice......One day I am going to get one of those to replace my..........(cough@$#)steel hawk.

Cerberus:D
 
You did a fantastic job with that cord wrap. I'd like to ask, what is your reasoning for doing doing that 'Strider' type wrap at the top of the shaft? Do you use your hawk near the head and require the most grip there? I'm new to tomahawks so I'm just getting a feel for what others are doing.
 
First of all thanks guys, I’m glad you all like it as much as I do. I love it.

Bullwhip, initially the idea for doing that with the cord was 99% looks, and 1% I thought since the handle tapers on the sides that wrapping the cord in that way might make the taper less and make the handle more ‘round’ all the way up……well, it didn’t come out like that at all, but the looks part worked. It’s my first hawk too, so I definitely qualify for “new to hawks” as well. But, I like to hold it with my first two fingers on the tapering part of the handle, and my little two fingers on the round part. I find it best balanced and the surest grip for me. And as a second grip I like to hold it right where it starts to taper, right above the round part with my palm against it. I found after wrapping the paracord that when I hold it like this that the thicker part of the wrap is spaced perfectly from the jump to tapering; making a very nice grip (purely by chance; bless God).
But maybe you should start a new thread asking everybody about grips. Sounds like it could be interesting.
 
Wow!, I just finished wrapping my variant when I saw yours! likeminded man! Although my variant has a nice wooden handle with carving and camo, I decided to wrap it to get more leverage, blade direction control and to protect that pretty handle. But I did the reverse of what you did. The regular wrap is at the top and the twist wrap at the bottom! Maybe I should post it eh? but you beat me to it. Good work dude..
 
OK , but how do I attach pics to this post? In the forum rules box it says "you may not post attachments"
 
OK OK ... I got it. Just purchased Gold membership. It's gonna take a couple of days till I can attach photos....sorry!
 
You don’t need to have a Gold Membership to post pic.s if you have them hosted somewhere else on the internet. Just use HTML. If you don’t know how to use HTML it will do it automatically. When you post a reply, or start a new thread, under the smiles there is some buttons, one of which is “IMG” (for image) click it and paste the URL to the desired picture in the pop-up field and it inserts it for you. (It kept putting the images on the bottom to me, and I had to move them to where I wanted) If you don’t see the buttons…go to “Profile & Preferences” on the left of the home page…..and pick “Edit Options”…….and change the answer to the question “Use vBCode quick links on your message input screens?” to “yes”.
 
:confused: didn't work. You can though check 'em out on my website : www.fixedblade.us click on tomahawks!

The variant is chisel ground blade and chisel ground beard. I brought the edge to
"speed" and now shaving sharp.

I will try again posting the images when I'm not a bonehead...
 
Cioffi...

Nice pics!

Hey...my arm was bald from the edge on your Hawk before it left my shop. Do you mean you sharpened up the beard or the primary edge? The primary was terrifying sharp when it left here.

Just curious...

Thanks.
 
Psalm 150:
I have a question about your wrapping. I personaly have tried "whiping" mason line on my 'hawk handle (my idea was to "true in" my throwing grip/position on the handle). But after only 3-4 throws the line started to creap down of all things. How have you found yours to hold up?
 
Actually Johnny Boom is my user name; I accidentally posted this thread in my brother’s user name…so I’ve been replying with both user names. –sorry for the confusion

Cioffi1: So you’re the one that got the "Hunter-Tracker" Variant; that was my favorite one! I love both the awesome wooden handle it has, and your super wrap. Tremendous job on the wrap! Very Cool hawk in every way.


JJW: I took 50 feet of paracord (because I didn’t know how much it would take) –took about 30 feet by the way- And inserted it through the lanyard hole at the bottom of the handle leaving half on one side, and half on the other…..then started turning. I’ve left some pictures to maybe make it a little easier to understand.
–note the dirt from landing in my backyard Tennessee mud after bouncing off the tree instead of sticking in it.

closeupofwrap1.jpg

closeupofwrap2.jpg

closeupofwrap3.jpg


When I throw it, it does slide a little sometimes. (I think the cord slides a lot more when it slides against the ground than when it sticks in the tree) Because I took it through the hole at the bottom it can’t go down, so it goes up. (it doesn’t come lose from the handle; just slides up it) and all I have to do is just push it back down and it’s as good as new. I have thrown it some since I wrapped it, but I’m still working on my target (had trouble with my chainsaw) and so I haven’t been able to throw it as much as I would like. When I get my target done I’ll start a new thread about it, and tell how my wrap’s handled more throwing. Hope that helped somehow.
 
Andy, it was sharp when I got it. But I made it even sharper..I got tough wiskers and I'm obsessed. Didn't have to do much to the beard (of the hawk that is..). The beard was sharp enough. The primary edge I honed on a black arkansa and polished it.
Popping sharp!

Johny, yes I liked the fact that the variant had a chisel edge. You might try wetting the wrapping with hot water and then letting it dry. The paracord will set in it's wrap. Of course thats assuming you wrapped it very tightly to begin with.
Thats what I do after wrapping. Never slips. BTW I used 40' of paracord. I figure thats enough to build a shelter..
 
Since I just posted the ATC Variant on my website and did not yet give my impression of it, I thought I would do it here first. I have always been partial to custom hand forged blades, having collected and used them for over 25 years, my preference in hawks has also been more in the traditional and the hand forged. But my interest has always been "excellence in the cutting edge" and a design of pure function combined with it. So having that said, I approached the idea of purchasing an ATC hawks with caution, as I am not in the habit of buying semi/production type of cutlery (a real chip on my shoulder) and the vietnam hawk always seemed a little small for me, kind of like a squaw axe with a mean streak.When I saw the "hunter/Tracker Variant" It sparked my interest and I bought it. When it arrived my first impression was "tool to be used" that is looking at the head. The blueing finish a little uneven but the metal finish good, the grind lines not perfect (not like a Hammond) but the cutting edges sharp! and more importantly this little hawk is seriously condusive to using. The ATC had "TOOL" written all over it and obviously the design of a"FIGHTING HAWK" . Weight and balance is very good (a mark of a finely forged piece) and by cord wrapping the handle , leverage much improved. Although I am not used to the small size of it, it has quickly become a favorite due to it's carrying ability, speed in swing direction change and cutting ability.
This little hawk can do a lot of damage. My overall impression to date is "this is what a tactical hawk should be!" It looks the part, feels the part and has a fierce edge. Now although I admit to throwing hawks for fun, it's not my first choice in combat tactics to throw my weapon at the enemy and leave me with none and the opponent with the possibility of aquiring and using my own hawk on me! But when I get the chance I will throw it (just for fun). All in all I have to say that the ATC hawk is a pleasant surprise. No fluff, all edges, designed to be used , light, well balanced and definitely has that "tool" to be used feel to it. EXCELLENT work by Andy Prisco. And now my favorite hawk for the field. Just impressions by a custom spoiled collector/user with delusions of knowing anything at all.
 
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