Cold Steel Trail Hawk

[JEEP]

Working on an axe faq for the front page, it dawned to me that I have never actually used a tomahawk before. I actually have one, but the quality is quite shoddy - and the edge came blunt (for re-enactment - I did some 1790s trapper re-enactment at some point), I hardly think it i worth trying to sharpen.

I did some research, and it seems that the Cold Steel Trail Hawk is a favourite of many bushcrafters, so I decided to get one of these to try out. It has not arrived yet, but it will sometime next week.

I will be doing some modifications on it, to make it look more traditional. Something along these lines:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNDmAo5FzY4

Though, I will not be filling the screw hole and staining the handle. I will be making a sheath, but a more traditional one than the one shown in the video.

Any thoughts in the Cold Steel Trail Hawk, tomahawks in general - and/or any advice as to modifications I can make to it?

[Metal mug]

I've often thought of getting one of these cold steel 'hawks, but have been put off by the over macho promotional videos that cold steel do. I'd be interested to see if I'd been missing out on a good thing.

[treefrog]

Interesting. Could be a useful tool, I suppose...waiting to read your thoughts on it, Jeep.
The guy did transform the looks of it nicely. At about the 10 min mark he brags about how
sharp it is, but in the demo at the start of the video did you notice he wasn't so much
chopping wood as brutalizing it?

[Tony1948]

Ya tf I was thinking the same thing,he could have done as good a job with his foot on that wood.I think I'll stick to my GB small forest axe,but will be interested in what jakob makes of it.

[CanadianMike]

I've looked into this, ended up getting my GB SMA.

But, I did read various things about it, such as you can throw it all day at wood and not break it, etc. I think it's a rather rough finish (painted head), and CS products have gone downhill in quality past decade, etc. Would I buy one? Well, considering they are under $40 here....... I might.

I DID buy this though, since I order from them every couple months and a camp axe/tomahawk for $27...... why not!

http://www.knifekits.com/vcom/product_info.php?cPath=2_263&products_id=1371

I cleaned it up (lots of oily black scale all over it) with my belt sander, hot vinegar treatment and gun oil, put a better bevel on it, turned out rather nice. Initally I glued the maple handle in place and finished with linseed oil, liked it quite well, but then decided to get a new handle and remove the glued in one, saw the benefit of being able to easily remove the handle, so I did. It's a bugger to throw, feels like tossing a regular small axe (head is too heavy), but for a cheap beater I quite like it.

[andy t]

Here's my trail hawk after a bit of work, there's an antler disc inlaid into the top that's blank so far because i can't decide what to carve into it. I cleaned the head off, reshaped and sharpened it. I also cut about 5 inches off the handle as it didn't feel right to me.

3460

[JEEP]

Nice work Andy T^

[Thumbcrusher]

Here’s my trail hawk. Really pleased with it and seems to hold an edge fairly well. Had to sand the handle down a bit as it was quite rough when I got it. Waxed it as well then removed all the paint from the head and made the cover. For what it cost I think it’s not too bad at all and is great for throwing, (except when you break a handle!).

http://i39.tinypic.com/14ne4nq.jpg

http://i44.tinypic.com/2lc6646.jpg

http://i42.tinypic.com/zltc2b.jpg

http://i39.tinypic.com/i1e9hl.jpg

[markal17]

cool looking axe mate love the cover mate

[JEEP]

Very nice T^

A lot of good inspiration there!

[dog.breath]

I have a few tomahawks, but since it's pretty tough and really affordable, I seem to favor my Trailhawk. It was a fun little project getting it into shape, too. Mine came fairly sharp, but I did have to spend a little time with a coarse whetstone to get the edge to a good profile. It's plenty sharp now ;)

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7020/6622751827_e33a11a2dd_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spirituscanis/6622751827/)

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5210/5304515089_bffa9f3002_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/spirituscanis/5304515089/)

[Ben Casey]

Love the pictures :)

[JEEP]

That last picture is pure art T^

[Martin]

That last picture is pure art T^

Agreed!!

Martin

[dog.breath]

Thanks, gents :)

[Metal mug]

I'd imagine the hardness of the trail hawk's head suits the dry tough wood of Arizona well. :)

[CanadianMike]

Guess I'll have to get one and polish the turd, eh? Those that cleaned it up made it turn out really nice!

[dog.breath]

I'd imagine the hardness of the trail hawk's head suits the dry tough wood of Arizona well. :)

It's done quite well on the desert hardwoods. However, I'll also admit that in most places I've been frequenting lately there's usually plenty of deadwood to simply be picked up and tossed in the pile - at least as firewood goes.



Guess I'll have to get one and polish the turd, eh? Those that cleaned it up made it turn out really nice!

I don't think you could be too disappointed ;). That being said, that kit tomahawk you linked is awfully tempting!

[CanadianMike]

One can never have too many axe shaped things, eh?

[JEEP]

One can never have to many sharp objects laying around...

[CanadianMike]

I click Like!

[JEEP]

I got the Trail Hawk today - and immediately returned it!

The head was nice, but the wood of the handle was firewood quality! It should never have left the factory imho!

I am hoping the new one turns out better.

[dog.breath]

Aaarg, sorry to hear that JEEP. I hope the replacement is better.

[JEEP]

It should be. I have yet to see any photos of one, with a handle as bad as mine. Mine must be a quality control error.

[CanadianMike]

At least handles are replacable, but still, you paid good money for the head and handle, so you should at least get what you pay for. I wonder if the handles for that camp hawk kit I bought (I got a spare one) will fit the Trail Hawk head.

[JEEP]

I really hate recieving product with obvious flaws like this! I have been working retail/online sales for more than five years - for a product that flawed to end up on a consumer's doorstep, someone somewhere has not been doing their job properly.

[CanadianMike]

Sadly that's the nature of Cold Steel these days, over hyped sub-standard products, at least the lower end stuff.

[CanadianMike]

Went to get one at lunch, the store that used to have no longer carries it, just the Rifleman Hawk (out of stock) so I came back to work empty handed. Anyways, here's a pretty informative CS TH review (it's been cleaned up, no more paint, etc) that has some neat tricks to use a tomahawk for (take the head off the handle and use it as a splitting wedge, etc.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6pvv97vPLHk#!

[dog.breath]

Went to get one at lunch, the store that used to have no longer carries it, just the Rifleman Hawk (out of stock) so I came back to work empty handed. Anyways, here's a pretty informative CS TH review (it's been cleaned up, no more paint, etc) that has some neat tricks to use a tomahawk for (take the head off the handle and use it as a splitting wedge, etc.)


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=6pvv97vPLHk#!

T^ Thanks - I almost posted that myself. IAWoodsman's review is really solid. Actually, all his videos are pretty well thought-out and informative.

[CanadianMike]

Ya, is quite cool! Almost finished it now, he just made an adze using the head, quite clever!

[jus_young]

I'm liking this little tool more and more :D

I can see the versatility and its looking even more appealing than the GB, Hultafors etc.

[CanadianMike]

At least you can throw it without worrying about $100 being tossed away (damage).

I'm gonna get one and fix 'er up, make something useful out of it.

[CanadianMike]

For the sake of posting pics, (realized when trying to add to this thread I didn't have any), here are some pics of my Knife Kits Camp Hawk after I dug it out of the back of my truck:

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/399574_221904404560763_117036668380871_474711_1079 597836_n.jpg

Ground/sanded all the oily black scale off as soon as I got it, boiled it in white vinegar (outside the second time, made my girlfriend choke from the fumes! Oops!) then gun oiled it.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/402558_221904701227400_117036668380871_474712_6568 92934_n.jpg

It is more of a trade axe type tool than a tomahawk, and throws aweful! If there wasn't so much steel to remove to reshape it, I'd go for a major overhaul. Some day I guess.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/404411_221904894560714_117036668380871_474714_2742 13140_n.jpg

[JEEP]

Nice one T^

[dog.breath]

Yeah, that kit hawk looks great! Seems like it'd be a pretty good camp tool.

[CanadianMike]

It's pretty crappy looking when you get it, oily black scale, repair jobs in mine where they screwed up, etc. But hey, hand forged (in India), and seems to be quite solid. Is one of those things you can beat and it'll hold up. Plus replacement maple handles for $7 each.

[bikebum1975]

Should hopefully have mine this week. Gonna do the usual stuff to it strip it may patina it, also planning to do a bit of decorative file work to the top of the head. Handle got some ideas but that will be a surprise :D

Terrys (Iawoodsman) video is about one of the best on the versatility of it that's for sure. Look forward to trying the adze mode to

[JEEP]

Got the replacement today; this one has a much better handle - still rather rough though. I can understand why people feel a strong urge to whip out the sandpaper and paintstripper on these.

[bikebum1975]

Yep plan to do all that to the one I got coming in personally me I think the black paint on the head kind of cheapens the thing a lot

[JEEP]

Right... Finally got around to actually play around with this one, last wednesday. Did some chopping/splitting, carving and throwing with it. I haven't had the time to do any modifications to it though.

I must admit, knowing that a lot of people will disagree with me, that I do not understand the popularity of this tool;

1. It is too light to be an effective splitter.
2. The head geometry strongly suggests that this is more a weapon than a tool (I am saying this as a long time collector of bladed weapons, BA in archaeology and former teacher of WMA) - I guess I should have known that, considering that it is distributed by Cold Steel :) I don't mind weapons, but I have no use for one when bushcrafting. Also; it may actually not be legal for me to carry it all here in Denmark.
3. The whole "head sliding down the handle, biting your thumb" thing is not my cup of tea - I know; user error. But still; I can't see why I would carry a hatchet that does this.
4. The edge retention is far from impressive. I can see that people have variyng expereinces with this. Maybe there are inconsistencies in quality?
5. Granted; it is great fun - and quite easy - to throw.

I ended up donating this hawk to the scouts, so that they can have some fun at throwing it. I may try another design of hawk someday, but untill that, I'll stick with my Scandi style axes and hatchets :)

[FishyFolk]

One can never have to many sharp objects laying around...

That's why I am not happy if i come out of the shed, and have not cut myself on something....I think I need help!

:sad:

[AL...]

Na!!! just plenty band aids lol

Cheers
AL

[CanadianMike]

Ok, broke down today and finally ordered one, great price too, was (tax included) only $33CDN, and shipping from Alberta was a bit under $12. Looking forward to getting to work on it and making it better. :)

[CanadianMike]

Done! Just need some leatherwork.

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash3/179099_334276846656851_756302135_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/s720x720/428856_334301273321075_1762677798_n.jpg

https://fbcdn-sphotos-a.akamaihd.net/hphotos-ak-snc7/s720x720/375589_334316139986255_2126043657_n.jpg

[FishyFolk]

Nice looking job. Now, what are these actually used for in Bushcraft, except for killing time?

[AL...]

Real nice Mike :)

Cheers
AL

[CanadianMike]

Thanks guys, is surprisingly light weight, can't wait to try throwing it.


Nice looking job. Now, what are these actually used for in Bushcraft, except for killing time?

You haven't seen this yet?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pvv97vPLHk

[Pugil]

Made in Taiwan... Says it all!

[CanadianMike]

Is actually quite good steel in it, and after a new bevel, is as sharp and cuts just as good as my GB axe, for about half the weight.