Tomahawk fitting help

C

Charlie_K

Joined
Jul 16, 2012
Messages
4,067
Like others here I own several of Cold Steel's tomahawks, and I like all of them. There's just one little problem I can't seem to overcome, that being the head/handle fitting. It's not very good on any of them, and the head has a tendency to work itself loose even with minor use, making it very inconvenient when you need to constantly, constantly stop and tap it back down, only to have it loosen up again just a few seconds later. Even if the handle is properly shaped to meet the eye the whole way down, this is still going on.

Does anyone know a particular glue or similar substance that works for holding the head firmly in place, but can still be broken if the handle gets broken and needs replacing?
 
jbmonkey said:
Its coming down the handle right?
Click to expand...

Yeah, sliding right down the handle and hitting me in the hand sometimes. Sometimes it slips loose when I'm using it, while other times it slips loose when I'm simply raising it up to use it.
 
Gotcha. Ive hung many an axe head, but tomahawks are different in hanging. Have you asked the boys over in the axe forum?
 
It is in the nature of tomahawk heads to loosen, especially if you are throwing. For throwing hawks, I don't bother setting the heads with anything other than a hard swing from straight up to straight down to use centripetal force to fix the head in place. It lasts a couple of throws, then you do it again. Working hawks are worth taking the time to get a better fit. If the handle rattles around inside the eye, that's pretty much it for that one. Someone with more skill might be able to make it work, but I certainly haven't found a way. If the handle is just loose and slides and there is still some length above the eye when it is fitted, then my fix is to shape the shoulder into more of a "ramp" shape. By the time I have had to re-hang my hawks, that shoulder is usually pretty beat up and fairly perpendicular to the handle, which impedes the next step. I rest the head between 2 logs with the handle hanging down, and swing a 5 pound wooden mallet down to force it into the eye--very cathartic. If you want to go the epoxy route, almost all will hold the head in place for a while, but they make it more difficult to rehang when the handle eventually breaks. Even then, it's not really that hard, just time consuming to cut the handle off, drill out as much as you can, and use your second-rate chisels to clean it up. All of my CS hawks have very straight eyes with no real swell inside to make wedging them worthwhile, so it's all about a good tight fit. The best results I ever had came from shaving a handle out of a larger blank of wood for a custom fit, but given the time involved I throw up my hands and reach for the mallet. This is my long-winded take on your question, and jbmonkey has the right idea of asking the axe forum guys--there is a ton of experience there to draw upon.
 
Ask that this be moved to the axe subforum and you will get expert help.

Use the little
! button on the bottom to request, I think.
 
I have a few of them. I knocked the heads down the shaft and found the contact points. I gave them a rough better fit sanding. Then I slathered great globs of rubber silicone/tube sealant on the upper shaft. I slammed the heads back to a tight fit. Then I slathered more rubber seal into any upper or lower pockets, then a good wipe off, and I cranked that set screw in. After letting them sit a week or whatever they were done. It has been years and the heads have not loosened. But I do not throw them, I just hack up wood. I had a moded Rifleman somewhere, can't find it right now.
 
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