Hi all,
I've got a lightweight work hawk with a cool leather sheath up for sale. This is my very last regular size work hawk in the latest batch. After this, I have only one more hawk to finish but it's an XL.
The work hawk design was borne out of a love for backpacking and bushcraft. I love packing light and traveling far but I also love chopping and carving and building small structures. What I really don't like is the feeling that I wan't to cut something or make something but I don't have enough tool to get the job done, so I set out to create a tool for weekend+ backpacking trips that would give me confidence, versatility, and chopping power at 1lb weight. My tool of choice for years was an e-nep made from a large sawblade that weighed close to a pound, which was a great knife for this purpose but never seemed quite like it was worth its weight. My design started as a large knife actually, but I never could make use of all that blade during testing. The second iteration was a bit of an aberration, a 7" cleaver blade combined with a 9" handle offering three separate grips for the hand. Still, the extra blade was adding too much weight and helping very little, and I realized that I really needed to be able to get my hand behind the blade to make small work comfortable. I simplified my handle and created a hatchet-shaped template which was then tested and re-tested, and with the help of some structural engineer type folks, weight was brought down to my specs while keeping the tool balanced.
Although I am a huge lover of axes and hatchets, I'm steadfastly unconvinced that the traditional axe model is the ideal tool within a certain weight range for a few reasons. A properly designed and built full tang hawk can provide an ideal medium between a large knife or a small hatchet in the same weight class. It can chop like a hatchet into thicker wood, but can also be easily used for snap cutting small brush or vines because of the superior balance. A large knife can also chop well and make quick cuts, but can be unwieldy for smaller work because you have to control 7+ inches of heavy blade out in front of your grip. With this hawk, you can chop down small trees, skin game, make fuzz sticks, prep food, clear a campsite, perform basic woodworking tasks (drawknifing, shaving, cutting notches, carving), etc.
I built the design with .25" thick steel in mind, because it's very close to ideal thickness and can be found in many different steel types. The first small batch of these hawks was made from 52100 which performed excellently, but 80CRV2 is the current go-to steel. 80CRV2 has been called "5160 on steroids." It's a very tough workhorse steel with better edge holding capabilities than 5160. I have these heat treated by Peter's, leaving nothing to chance, and they do an amazing job. The bit and poll are 59RC, considerably harder than traditional axes and hatchets, and the tang is tempered down to 47RC for springy toughness. They hold a mean edge.
This particular work hawk has a nice, conservative convex grind that still cuts great. The finish is gun blue as usual; it looks like a tool and is ready to be used. I had some fun with the sheath on this hawk. It slips up over the bottom of the handle and fits very snugly around the head. The sheath has no attachments and is low profile so it takes up very little space in a pack (it packs flat!). I'm calling this a journal-style sheath, as the flap folds over and is secured by simply wrapping and tucking the paracord. A snap or something similar could be easily added. My leatherworking isn't perfect but this piece looks great and does the job. In the pics there are undyed beveled edges on the sheath, those have since been dyed black so it is all finished.
SPECS
Thickness: .25"
Length: 12.75"
Edge Length: 3.75"
Steel: Aldo's 80CRV2
Heat Treat: 59RC bit and poll, 47RC tang
Weight: 19.7oz including sheath
Handle: Partially wrapped with coyote tan gutted paracord
Finish: Gun Blue
I'm letting this Work Hawk go for $250 plus shipping, which is about the lowest price these can go. The reason is that the sheath is a little unusual (though I love it) and I'm just ready to move on to the next batch of these, as well as work on some of the puukkos taking space on my bench!
You must be 18+ to purchase. You are responsible for compliance with your local laws.
10% discount for active duty MIL/LEO/FF/EMT
Thanks so much for viewing, as always all comments and questions are welcome + appreciated. Let me know if you need me to take any specific pics or if I left anything out.