Practical Tomahawk in 52100 ----- Work Hawk [SOLD]

Park Swan

Park Swan

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Mar 15, 2016
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Up for sale is the first of my new tomahawk design, and I'm excited to offer it here. The original idea for this hawk started a few years ago when I began investigating the concept of a single tool for backpacking and bushcraft. There are quite a few "tactical" tomahawks around, but I was always shocked to see that they were so heavy, not usually ground for chopping wood so much as people/tanks/helicopters, and generally unwieldy for normal outdoor use. I wanted to get as much chopping power into a 1lb tool as possible without sacrificing the ability to do all of the basic camp chores and more or muddying the design into a gimmicky survival tool. Eventually, the Work Hawk was born.

The tomahawk for sale today has a canvas phenolic handle which brings the weight up to 22.5 oz (a lighter, paracord handled hawk weighing around 17oz will be available in the future). This is a solid and compact tool which excels at bush work, so I'm going to call it the Work Hawk. This model has what is almost the tomahawk version of a scandi grind. It's ground at about 10 DPS to a very fine edge and then given a small microbevel at around 17 DPS, so it's easy to maintain in the field. The 52100 easily takes a hair popping edge. I stole the octagonalized handle from working axes used through the 19th and early 20th centuries. The handle is gently curved for an ideal position for powerful chopping. The slight beard and hole in the head allow you to choke up and cut with finesse. If you've never carved wood with a small, sharp axe, you're missing out!

The Work Hawk is a blast to use for it's intended purposes, which means processing wood (even game) in a number of ways. It is not intended for concrete chopping, safe-breaching, etc.


-Aldo's 52100, .25"
-57-58RC bit and poll, spring tempered (47RC) tang
-Peter's Heat Treat
-Structurally skeletonized tang
-OD green canvas phenolic
-Sharp!
-Chainring bolts + epoxy
12.75" length, 3.9" bit to poll, 3.75" cutting edge
1" wide handle, .75" thick
This Work Hawk does not come with a sheath.

Introductory price of $SOLD via Paypal includes USPS Priority Mail to the CONUS. First "I'll take it" gets it.
You must be 18+ to purchase. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws.

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Here, I tried to capture the secondary bevel:
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Thanks for looking! All feedback is welcome.
 
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Just curious and in NO way meant to be offensive, what advantage does this have over a hatchet or tomahawk? Great looking work by the way!
 
shinyedges said:
Just curious and in NO way meant to be offensive, what advantage does this have over a hatchet or tomahawk? Great looking work by the way!
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No offense taken at all. Are you asking about the advantages over a traditional hawk or hatchet, as in a big ol' piece of steel or steel+iron at the end of a stick? I am a huge lover of axes, but I'm steadfastly unconvinced that the traditional axe model is the ideal chopping tool within a certain weight range for a few reasons. Without getting too deep into it, I would posit that the full tang hawk can provide an ideal medium between a large knife or a small hatchet in the same weight class. It can chop like a hatchet into thicker wood, but can also be easily used for snap cutting small brush or vines because of the superior balance. A large knife can also chop well and make quick cuts, but can be unwieldy for smaller work because you have to control 7+ inches of heavy blade out in front of your grip. With this hawk, you can chop down small trees, skin game, make fuzz sticks, prep food, clear a campsite, perform basic woodworking tasks (drawknifing, shaving, cutting notches, carving), etc. Thanks for asking.


Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
 
Pretty darned nice hawk. Is the hammer poll notched so that it does not slip off of wood (pegs and such) that is being hammered?
 
Thanks a lot, guys.

Geode said:
Pretty darned nice hawk. Is the hammer poll notched so that it does not slip off of wood (pegs and such) that is being hammered?
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Yes, exactly. A .25" thick hammer poll in my experience is a bit slippy for hammering on wet stuff. The jimping also gives purchase to a second hand when using the blade for planing or drawing. When choking up on the handle with one hand, the bottom edge of the poll acts as a thumb ramp.
The poll is also hardened.
 
Gotchya, I bet I could find lots of uses around the farm for it. Thanks for the response.
wildernessknife&tool said:
No offense taken at all. Are you asking about the advantages over a traditional hawk or hatchet, as in a big ol' piece of steel or steel+iron at the end of a stick? I am a huge lover of axes, but I'm steadfastly unconvinced that the traditional axe model is the ideal chopping tool within a certain weight range for a few reasons. Without getting too deep into it, I would posit that the full tang hawk can provide an ideal medium between a large knife or a small hatchet in the same weight class. It can chop like a hatchet into thicker wood, but can also be easily used for snap cutting small brush or vines because of the superior balance. A large knife can also chop well and make quick cuts, but can be unwieldy for smaller work because you have to control 7+ inches of heavy blade out in front of your grip. With this hawk, you can chop down small trees, skin game, make fuzz sticks, prep food, clear a campsite, perform basic woodworking tasks (drawknifing, shaving, cutting notches, carving), etc. Thanks for asking.


Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
Click to expand...
 
Very nice design, I could see it being a great tool to have out in the woods. As you said, hatchet and knife combo into one item.
 
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