Can't tell you about the pipe hawk. I do have a number of Paul Chen Francesca Axes. Love them, head and haft finish are great, they stay sharp and are probably the fastest fighting hawks I have. The only problem with any of them (all of them), is that the head was loose on the haft. Solution, soak the top of the haft in warm water for a minute or so, then apply gorilla glue sparingly, fix the head on and let it set.