Question Re: CS Trail Hawk

[Mentor]

Great, informative post vector. Good stuff.

 

[crossada]

Vec, that aliwah resembles a bill hook to me. i like it:thumbup:

 

[vector001]

Great, informative post vector. Good stuff.

thanks, brother - i sure appreciate that - i was worried about boring folks' lights out but it was one of the few times i could contribute something useful possibly.

vec

 

[JNieporte]

The Trail Hawks are good tools. I put some 550 cord on mine.

(The flaky stuff under the head is wood filler, which makes the head a bit tighter.)

A generic axe sheath works fine for mine...

With a Rifleman's Hawk...

 

[theedge13]

vec your information and your wares are both awesome. THanks!

 

[vector001]

vec your information and your wares are both awesome. THanks!

you betcha.

vec

 

[theedge13]

you betcha.

vec

Im sure ill be hitting you up sometime in the future...may be around christmas time next year tho

 

[Darteres]

Vector, that was exactly what I was looking for. Perfect response to my question. Glad that I have both!

 

[Brad "the butcher"]

thanks vector, what do you think of the norse head/ it is my favourite. No trailing mass as per your post but I like it.

 

[jyearly]

Love mine but tomahawks are listed as "illegal weapons" according to Texas state law. So mine doesn't travel with me anymore. Stupid laws against tools.

GhostWolf, would a Norse Hawk be considered a tomahawk, or would it be legal to carry? Thanks!

 

[vector001]

thanks vector, what do you think of the norse head/ it is my favourite. No trailing mass as per your post but I like it.

glad you asked, brother.

actually there IS a trailing mass on the Norse Hawks and Plainsman Hawks by Cold Steel when ya think about it. - when you swing it bit-aft!

the Cold Steel Norses' straight handles give them a bit of an advantage when used this way, over the recurved forest axes that they resemble physics-wise - in short, they are more weaponized than a Forest Axe by their standard handle virtues IMHO. Norses are superior field tools too though, like true hawks IMHO. i like the higher PSI on the smaller bit of the CS Trail Hawk and similar hawks, but if you have a lot of time on the Norse, and good wrists or a better handle, etc., that doesn't matter much, i reckon.

i suspect that a lot of the Celtic, Norse and Russian combatives, which were known for their fondness for similar axe-type choppers, fought poll-first in the openings, and then finished off their opponents with the bit when they didn't bring their blades into play. those little axes must've been great on charges, hitting feet to destroy enemy foundations on first contact, and then pulling up inito lower vitals on an opponent.

yummy.

bit-aft fighting styles with offset-mass heads like the Norse allow fast corrections, second only to a proper hawk head IME.

i also like them for tapping and moving logs around and such, though it's been a long time since i made a built-up shelter like a cabin in the woods. good times.

as an aside, I really appreciate the Norse Hawks on slip handles too, when they are honed up and used as ULUs, though that's not my style of field dressing things, i can definitely see it has merit.

i slightly prefer the Plainsman over the Norse.

i like the Norseman for throwing with a regular wood handle, but since i make my own balanced composite handles that i can milk the physics on, the Plainsman suits me better than the need for that extra sticking edge on top of the great Norse Hawk, for my personal preferences.

it's splitting hairs though - no chopper pun intended. :thumbup:

here's my old personal Norse Hawk Head on a Gen 1 Mk 4 handle. - so ya can see i love 'em too.

the Norse on a super-long handle is beaten out IME only by the Riflemans Hawk with the poll removed. i'd be taking out everything with one of those.

if you guys haven't ever handled a poll axe in the 4 to 6 foot range, you should definitely give one a try.


whoops - ranting aren't i.

vec

 

[GhostWolf]

GhostWolf, would a Norse Hawk be considered a tomahawk, or would it be legal to carry? Thanks!

It is up to the officer in the field to determine wether it is a hawk or a hatchet. So I would say no on the norse hawk for carry in Texas. Maybe I'm wrong but I would prefer to not take the chance of an overnight stay in the "Graybar Hotel".

 

[SpookyPistolero]

Hawks are a lot of fun, but I haven't found them to be nearly as useful as an axe/hatchet in my hands. I have the CS Trail Hawk, and while fun to mod and throw, it's just not effective as a woods tool. It bites deep, but that also means it sticks a good bit. The [very] narrow face means there is a much smaller tolerance for inaccuracy, and you could miss and hit the haft or yourself. The straight handle also isn't quite as ergonomic for me, and the head shape isn't as comfortable to choke up on as an axe head.

That said, lots of people use them and like them around here. So do what works for you! Plus you'll have fun even if you don't like it, can easily sell it, and you'll only be out $25 worst case.

Here's mine from a while back:

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Not to drive further off the track, but. . .


Hey Vec, interesting that you bring up the plainsman.

I'm having a custom Iroquois head made, essentially like the Plainsman. I figure this makes a better all around tool than the trail hawk head for the reason that you have a longer cutting edge which aids in using the bit choked up for more knifelike tasks (much like those who live in areas thwere the axe was the primary tool, historically. Also, since the length is added via extending the beard, rather than above and below the primary striking surface like the Norse, then you won't have any more edge contact on a chop -- assuming you stick to the "wood the diameter of your wrist or smaller" rule of thumb -- than the trail hawk. With the portion toward the bit of the beard sharpened, it makes for one hell of a hook, and would work well for the old hook into a log and drag it along trick.

 

[crossada]

Vec, Cpl, i think you guys might be referring to the frontier hawk. the plainsman was a long discontinued beauty from CS like the rifleman with the lopped off hammer poll.

here is a plainsman (far right) and frontier hawk next to it.

 

[vector001]

^ thanks for the correction, brother crossada.

i don't ever recall the Plainsman being like that on the right, i always remember it as the Frontiersman that you pointed out.

there goes the brain. oh well it never did me any good anyways....

the good news is they both work very similarly physics-wise.

i am still hooked on the Trail Hawk.

(ol' vec checks catalogue to make sure a Trail Hawk is really a Trail Hawk.)


your Plainsman is much like the vectorized Rifleman's that i build, but their poll is conical - it'll really put the hurt on stuff it hits....

i think i like all of these.

vec

 

[crossada]

^

i think i like all of these.

vec

amen!

 

[Cpl Punishment]

Vec, Cpl, i think you guys might be referring to the frontier hawk. the plainsman was a long discontinued beauty from CS like the rifleman with the lopped off hammer poll.

Nope, the Plainsman is exactly the one I was talking about.

 

[crossada]

Nope, the Plainsman is exactly the one I was talking about.

i stand corrected once again:foot:

i find the hawk on the right whatever its name be is more of a belt axe than a true hawk like the one next to it. it's a beast though and i wish cold steel still made them