Trail hawk vs GB Mini

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Jan 23, 2011
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Hi, I've been lurking a while, on with my first post.

I think most people feel a light hawk head is augmented by a longer handle. However, a few folks have made mini-axes out of their trail hawks.

If you shortened the trail hawk handle to 10 or 12 inches, how do you think it would compare to the GB mini hatchet? It will be a few ounces heavier than the GB mini, but at 1/12th the price. Reviews of the mini say it is great as a fire prep tool for making kindling and carving feather sticks. I think a Trail Hawk on a short haft should also be up to the task. Opinions?

Thanks in advance.
 
While I don't own a GB anything (yet!!!:)), how much extra weight would you save by chopping down the haft on a trail hawk? The extra reach and inertia created by the larger arc would seem to outweigh (pardon the pun) the benefits of a shorter/lighter haft. Just my 2 cents, I love the way my trail hawk chops!
 
If you cut the haft down to say, 10", I reckon the hawk would weigh 15 oz. Maybe not just the weight savings, but makes it also easier to pack or carry in your pocket.

You are right, mdole, it is meant to work with a 19" or 22" haft. I would have a long a and a short haft, so I have the option of going light.
 
You're only going to save a few ounces with the ultra short haft, and murder its performance.

If it's a question of portability, why not just slide the head off the haft, and carry the haft in your pack, then assemble it on site? That's one of the real advantages of a hawk.
 
I have a GB Wildlife Hatchet, with a 14" handle. Here is a review on it that I wrote up... http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=802342&highlight=jgon

I think to answer your original question, yes I think the trailhawk would do fine as a carving tool if that handle was shortened. If you look at this video, IA Woodsman actually uses it as a carving tool without the haft at all...

[youtube]6pvv97vPLHk[/youtube]

If it were me, I would leave the longer handle and just remove the head and either make a smaller handle if I really felt I needed one at site, or just use the head alone for finer carving tasks. In my opinion, if you do pros and cons of the shorter length or longer length handle, the longer handle outweighs (no pun intended) the short as far as strengths are concerned.

Also, there is no comparison for Gransfors Bruks when it comes to quality and fit and finish for an axe/hatchet.

By the way, welcome to the forums...

JGON
 
Wow, I'm the first one to post that owns both.:D

To your question, I think it would work just fine. I've actually thought about having two trail hawks. One with an extra long handle in the 22" range for car camping and outings into more back/off trail areas where I'd want more chopping performance. The second with a short haft for easy packability around more popular state parks and the like. As far as cutting performance, I think they'd be equal or close enough that you wouldn't really notice. The bits are a lot alike when held up to each other as far as width goes but the trail hawk is longer. The reason why I want a short trail hawk is two fold. First, being able to remove the head easily is IMO a great feature for backpacking becuase you can easily make a handle replacement or use it as a knife. The second is that the mini has a pretty small haft in terms of diameter. For small fire prep and the like it's fine but for any extended chopping sessions my hand fatigues a little. I say spend the 30 bucks on the trail hawk. I don't really recomend the GB unless someone really wants one. It does well in it's niche but not so much better that it justifies the price difference.
 
Something you may want to consider is ordering a second haft when ordering the tomahawk. That way if you don't like it cut down you can just stick the new one on.
 
Something you may want to consider is ordering a second haft when ordering the tomahawk. That way if you don't like it cut down you can just stick the new one on.

This is what I was thinking, one long haft and one under a foot for tinkering around.

I also own both, pros and cons to each.
 
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