TrailHawk Handle Length?

D

Dr. Pepper

Joined
Sep 26, 2006
Messages
167
For those of you who like to modify trailhawks:

I need to know how chopping, accuracy, control, user comfort, balance, and throwing ability changes with different handle lengths.

I know that longer handles give more head speed and thus better chopping/power ability and shorter handles are quicker and easier to carry. Please share your pros and cons of long or short hafts.

Is there a sweet spot in general for everyone or is it individual use and user specific. The hawks come at 19”

If there is a thread where someone has taken a trailhawk and cut an inch off the handle at a time and documented the resulting change in cutting effectiveness and feel in hand I would appreciate a link.

At the least if you have changed yours please share how long your hawk haft is and why you like it.

Thanks to all!
 
I cut my Frontier Hawk to about 14" or so. That's the point where it most comfortable and in control when chopping (I don't throw...yet). All I did was choke up a little at a time until it felt good, marked the handle, used it some more to be sure and then cut. I think on a Trail Hawk, being a lighter, I could tolerate a little more length.
 
I dont have an exact figure, but I eyeball about 2 inches. Seems pretty good to me at 17in.
Although, I have taken off as much as 5in, and it still felt pretty good.

I say start off with 2in, and work your way down from there. You can always cut off a bit more.
 
if you change the handle contour with a flat part on the side of the bit (see last picture in my signature to see what i am talking about - i call that a Strike Plate), most hawks will perform better at longer lengths, and be hair-splitting accurate. - just don't grind the handle contour down too much, if at all - build it up with something - somewhere around 4 inches around on a domed-rectangle contour seems to make most hands happy.

we've been getting great feedback from carpenters and one brother with a damaged arm, who is liking his so far - he has another on order.

if ya make that flat part somehow, it will make a big difference.

my favorite length if ya could only have one, is 24 - 30 inches, for example. - with proper hawks, longer is almost always better IMHO.


....then you only have to worry about the handle breaking.

we solved that in most situations with a composite handle, (we're on the second mod (the Gen 1 Mk 2 handle) to our original design now because we didn't have 100% success rate on the old composites lay-up - our testers are wookies ...har!) but you could probably figure out how to reinforce your wooden handles with a little head-scratching.


short trail hawks definitely rock though, don't get me wrong.

we have been making mouse hawks and hybrids by lopping the poll off of the trail hawk lately - i really like them so far - i encourage ya to try that, especially if you are shortening the hawk - i still prefer the poll at complete length though on the Trail Hawk, generally.

i'm blabbing like a maniac as usual on this subject - i have a worsening hawk fetish, please excuse me...:)....

rant over,

vec
 
I cut a Frontier Hawk down to 14", it is a primo length for fighting and carrying around... very handy...
For throwing... it actually works better (in my experience) to keep it at 19"...
I have seen handle lengths discussed in several tomahawk manuals... 'normal' length is usually considereded to be 14-20"... longer length tomahawks are special items not typically used in all aspects we normally consider using a tomahawk of shorter lengths (throwing, for example)... in these cases, the owner/maker usually has a non-typical use in mind (walking stick, for example)...
 
Glock17JHP said:
I cut a Frontier Hawk down to 14", it is a primo length for fighting and carrying around... very handy...
For throwing... it actually works better (in my experience) to keep it at 19"...
I have seen handle lengths discussed in several tomahawk manuals... 'normal' length is usually considereded to be 14-20"... longer length tomahawks are special items not typically used in all aspects we normally consider using a tomahawk of shorter lengths (throwing, for example)... in these cases, the owner/maker usually has a non-typical use in mind (walking stick, for example)...
Click to expand...

i think that idea is largely due to the way most folks commonly hold hawks incorrectly - at the end, like an axe.

if you hold a hawk where the last third meets the second third on a long hawk, ...wear and tear on the user plummets, turning speed skyrockets, and your hit accuracy increases dramatically - you just can't do that on a shorter hawk, as well.

it's just physics.


not many folks have experienced longer hawks, nor are they willing to, so they will never know.

buy a 30-inch Cold Steel replacement handle and put it on a Trail Hawk and you will see for yourself - you will never go back to shorter hawks except for use in concealing them IMHO, or all you want to do is throw them.

i have twisted people's arms into buying longer hawks for a year now at the Hawk Project, and they have all agreed so far.

:cool:

vec
 
Thanks guys, I actually don't secure my head permanently as I like to use just the head in my hand alone sometimes. I will cut a couple of inches off of a haft and also try out a thirty incher
 
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