"re-work" CS frontier

J

Jon

Joined
Nov 8, 1998
Messages
276
After following this forum for awhile, I decided to buy the CS Frontier Tomahawk that was on sale at Smokey Mountain KW since I was buying some inexpensive steels also. Never having owned a tomahawk I figured this would give me a familiarity with throwing, modifying, etc. a tomahawk before buying a good one.

The Frontier came with the head mounted on the shaft at an angle. I tried "tapping" it straight with a hammer but it now has some play. My question is - would it be best to "shim/wedge" the head "tight & level" to the shaft, or remove the head, sand down the shaft for a good fit, and then glue/shellac some type of binding (cord) below the head?


This tomahawk is only going to be used for practice throwing, chopping, etc., and I'm not really interested in how it looks, only that the head doesn't go "flying" :).

Thanks, from a novice.
 
Hey Jon,Dean here,I'm new to hawks too,so I'am no expert,but here's what I would try,remove the shaft,then take a file and even out any high spots in the eye of the hawk,then I would take a little chalk and rub it in the eye,then test fit the handle,the chalk will leave a mark on any high spots on the shaft lightly sand these high spots down,do this until it seems like it fits.then if you want coat the eye with lineseed oil,this will keep it from drying out and act a little like glue,then while it's still wet put it together,Two Hawks recomends using a arbor press to force the head and handle together,I would try it this way,to protect the handle and you'll get a tighter fit but if you dont have acsess to one,maybe you could try placing the hawk loosely in a vice and use a rubber malet or something similer to seat it,this might work..hope this helps,
Dean:cool:
 
I have used a few of the cheaper tomahawks and the inside of the eye is often not well formed, sometimes the taper really isn't. If this is the case you might have to work on the head as well as the handle. I did this with a CS tomahawk I had and the bond is now decent. It won't stay on if it hits badly a few times in a row, but no tomahawk handle will stay on in that case anyway, except for the new ones ATC is putting out which are almost a one piece design.

The cord+epoxy sounds interesting, I would be curious as to how it would hold up if you try it. Note if the head does mash the cord even a little then it will be free to move on the shaft and a loose head will not throw as well. The only way to get a really solid attachment is to use a double taper design like found on axes. This of course is the wedge method you suggest.

Personally for what you suggest I would make sure the eye has a decent taper, do a little work on the handle and just knock the head back on whenever it pops off after a few bad hits. Chopping will not knock it off, I have done a lot and even hard snaps won't budge the CS one.

-Cliff
 
In addition to the excellent advice already offered, you may want to search the archives for advice by Two Hawks on precision fitting hawk heads and shafts. He spends about an hour fitting each of his hawks and the contact area is 100% perfecto. He uses some "mountain man epoxy" (boiled linseed oil, as I recall) to further the bond. Of course, it would be best to read his description rather than rely on my mediocre memory.
 
Thanks for the feedback guys, appreciated. This looks like a nice "small project" when the snow starts falling. Just in time to watch the head go flying into one snow bank and the shaft into another the first time I try to throw it :).
 
Thanks for the advice folks, finally got around to "fixing" it.

Had to work on both the head and the handle to get a good fit. The head is still at a slight angle but I can live with it.

So, for any other "tomahawk newbies", a little elbow grease and an inexpensive tomahawk becomes a "user". A good learning experience, and between these posts & and the rework, I'll have an idea on what to look for in a "high end" tomahawk.
 
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