- Joined
- Jun 16, 2005
- Messages
- 72
Vec Hawk Review
The vec hawk in question belongs to my son. He is 14 going on 21 but that’s beside the point. This hawk has a lot of sentimental value between Vec and my son. My longer vectorized hawk is my newest Comanche Christian hawk that I have yet to even sharpen. I’m not going to put an edge on it until I figure out how to make a decent sheath for it. That will have to wait for another review.
The tree stump in question is a Catalpa tree that was in our yard. I don’t know much about Catalpa, but I would grade it as a medium tree in terms of hardness, density, sponginess and ect… It’s not oak or Hickory, but it takes some work to get through nonetheless.
Here’s the story; The Catalpa has been giving us trouble for several years. We have a knack for planning and planting trees and other greenery in EXACTLY the wrong places. A few months ago my son asked if he could “trim” some branches. My wife said yes over the phone and came back to a completely Paul Bunyan’d tree…. The stump at the base is about 12 inches in diameter.
Well here’s the point of this essay. The day before, my son was riding a friend’s bike when the frame twisted a bit causing the chain to lock up and he went down. It turns out he broke his arm. He’s gotten used to breaks and pain over the past year and did not really mention it to us.
He started off on the tree project with his Vec hawk and made some good headway. But as teenagers will, he got bored with the status quo and broke out some other implements including a Whetterling hand axe, a Grandfors-Bruks hand axe, a Cold Steel long handled hawk, and an Estwing hatchet.
This is when he finally came in and told mom that he thought he broke his arm. He had gone half way through the tree with a broken arm and Vec’s hawk without much trouble but a few whacks from a store bought hawk on a stick sent shockwaves through his arm like you cannot believe.
He ended up putting ice on his arm for a bit but then went back out to finish before I got home so we could take him to the bone doctor. He finished the tree with his Vec hawk and alternated between his good arm and his arm with the broken ulna.
When we got home from the bone doctor (who by the way we have on speed dial and are on a first name and Christmas card basis with) with a cast and the 24th, 25th and 26th x-rays of the year he went out and cleaned up the top of the tree all with the Vec hawk.
In my limited experience with swinging this hawk I notice first the balance. I think the balance is nearly perfect as it comes from Vec. I added a little bit of wrap to the bottom for a bit more counterbalance and I think it handles a little more fluidly now. I think Vec came to the same conclusion and this will be a stock feature from now on. This is a short shaft hawk. My Comanche is a long shaft and I really think the balance is about perfect. The sweet spot is intuitive and natural to find.
The head of the hawk is a cold steel head and is of good quality. Vec’s newer hawk heads are vectorized, I believe, so they will be even better. I am doing a lot of scheming regarding my Comanche. I think I am going to hone the secondary blade on the “beard” of the hawk to a finer knife-like grind. I will use it for fine work like deadfall triggers, fire starting fur sticks and ect. Once I get my act together I will do a review. Maybe I’ll even try my hand at a video review.
I’m thinking of ways to use the other hawk features as well. For example putting a 90 degree something in the ends of the shaft and then putting a cord between and using the whole hawk as a fire bow. Also using the .50 cal through hole as a fire starting aid to direct my breath. The hole may be too large in diameter to work, but I’m going to give it a whirl.
So bottom line is that the quality and craftsmanship on Vec hawks are outstanding. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. I think that once Vec gets a handle on forging his own heads we will see a huge demand increase in his work. My son used a vec hawk to cut down a tree with a broken arm!!! If I had not had the Whetterling and the Gransfors-Bruks we might never have known his arm was broken. You cannot go wrong with a product from Equinox Coronado. Mr and Mrs Vec are as good as it gets.
Contact Erica @ ericag@equinoxcoronado.com
PS I have no affiliation whatsoever with Vec's business. He's a good guy who makes a great product that I am proud to support. I can't post attachments, so maybe Vector can add photos if they are necessary.
Thanks for reading.:thumbup:
The vec hawk in question belongs to my son. He is 14 going on 21 but that’s beside the point. This hawk has a lot of sentimental value between Vec and my son. My longer vectorized hawk is my newest Comanche Christian hawk that I have yet to even sharpen. I’m not going to put an edge on it until I figure out how to make a decent sheath for it. That will have to wait for another review.
The tree stump in question is a Catalpa tree that was in our yard. I don’t know much about Catalpa, but I would grade it as a medium tree in terms of hardness, density, sponginess and ect… It’s not oak or Hickory, but it takes some work to get through nonetheless.
Here’s the story; The Catalpa has been giving us trouble for several years. We have a knack for planning and planting trees and other greenery in EXACTLY the wrong places. A few months ago my son asked if he could “trim” some branches. My wife said yes over the phone and came back to a completely Paul Bunyan’d tree…. The stump at the base is about 12 inches in diameter.
Well here’s the point of this essay. The day before, my son was riding a friend’s bike when the frame twisted a bit causing the chain to lock up and he went down. It turns out he broke his arm. He’s gotten used to breaks and pain over the past year and did not really mention it to us.
He started off on the tree project with his Vec hawk and made some good headway. But as teenagers will, he got bored with the status quo and broke out some other implements including a Whetterling hand axe, a Grandfors-Bruks hand axe, a Cold Steel long handled hawk, and an Estwing hatchet.
This is when he finally came in and told mom that he thought he broke his arm. He had gone half way through the tree with a broken arm and Vec’s hawk without much trouble but a few whacks from a store bought hawk on a stick sent shockwaves through his arm like you cannot believe.
He ended up putting ice on his arm for a bit but then went back out to finish before I got home so we could take him to the bone doctor. He finished the tree with his Vec hawk and alternated between his good arm and his arm with the broken ulna.
When we got home from the bone doctor (who by the way we have on speed dial and are on a first name and Christmas card basis with) with a cast and the 24th, 25th and 26th x-rays of the year he went out and cleaned up the top of the tree all with the Vec hawk.
In my limited experience with swinging this hawk I notice first the balance. I think the balance is nearly perfect as it comes from Vec. I added a little bit of wrap to the bottom for a bit more counterbalance and I think it handles a little more fluidly now. I think Vec came to the same conclusion and this will be a stock feature from now on. This is a short shaft hawk. My Comanche is a long shaft and I really think the balance is about perfect. The sweet spot is intuitive and natural to find.
The head of the hawk is a cold steel head and is of good quality. Vec’s newer hawk heads are vectorized, I believe, so they will be even better. I am doing a lot of scheming regarding my Comanche. I think I am going to hone the secondary blade on the “beard” of the hawk to a finer knife-like grind. I will use it for fine work like deadfall triggers, fire starting fur sticks and ect. Once I get my act together I will do a review. Maybe I’ll even try my hand at a video review.
I’m thinking of ways to use the other hawk features as well. For example putting a 90 degree something in the ends of the shaft and then putting a cord between and using the whole hawk as a fire bow. Also using the .50 cal through hole as a fire starting aid to direct my breath. The hole may be too large in diameter to work, but I’m going to give it a whirl.
So bottom line is that the quality and craftsmanship on Vec hawks are outstanding. I would not hesitate to recommend them to anyone. I think that once Vec gets a handle on forging his own heads we will see a huge demand increase in his work. My son used a vec hawk to cut down a tree with a broken arm!!! If I had not had the Whetterling and the Gransfors-Bruks we might never have known his arm was broken. You cannot go wrong with a product from Equinox Coronado. Mr and Mrs Vec are as good as it gets.
Contact Erica @ ericag@equinoxcoronado.com
PS I have no affiliation whatsoever with Vec's business. He's a good guy who makes a great product that I am proud to support. I can't post attachments, so maybe Vector can add photos if they are necessary.
Thanks for reading.:thumbup:
