Cold Steel allen screw Hawk

[Brokennock]

I recently noted that a supposedly "hand forged spike tomahawk for sale

had the same allen screw helping to hold the head in place, as Cold Steel tomahawks do.

The reply was that I was referring to this bastardization of a tomahawk,

I clearly was NOT.
All Cold Steel tomahawks use this Allen screw, even the supposedly traditional style ones. (I am not bashing Cold Steel, they make a great product, just this one flaw in their 'hawk design could have been different)
Try these,

Or this slightly customized one,


These are good tomahawks, and make a great base for customizing, removing that horrid black coating, maybe using a grinder to alter shape slightly or add decoration, refinishing, staining and/or carving the handle, etc. They are tough as heck and they take and hold a great edge. Not reason that someone with the right tools couldn't hide that allen screw/hole with some weld and a little grind time.

 

[Brokennock]

Oh and by the way, I still think that even if that 'hawk for sale is a Cold Steel that has been worked over, the $75 asking price was a very good deal. While one can buy the Cold Steel product for around $30, clearly a lot of time, imagination, and effort went into that tomahawk. I would think more than $45 worth of someone's time at least.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I recently purchased two Cold Steel tomahawks. One is the same as the first customized piece. i plugged the screw hole with a 5mm piece of threaded rod. The coating is a chore to remove.
My current happy dip into this insanity Is all the fault of Shilo.

 

[Heyyou48307]

I have one of the first generation trailhawks, they didnt have the allen hole. I removed the black with a sand blaster.

 

[Stophel]

I'm fiddling with a Trail hawk now that I got several years ago. Just for the heck of it. I got a bolt the right thread (metric, I'm sure, was a long time ago that I got it, so I don't remember what it was), silver soldered it in on the inside, then peened it in place to fill the hole. I have not yet seen an original tomahawk that really looks like this one (though it does bear great resemblance to some late 19th century, and presumably earlier, French axes).

The supply of the cheap Indian/Pakistani hand forged tomahawks, which were everywhere a few years ago, seems to be drying up. So I just ordered one of the Frontier Hawks to see if I could make it into something cheap and passable for an 18th century belt axe.

 

[Brokennock]

It is a shame that none of the Cold Steel 'hawks are of a truly period correct design because for a mass produced factory made 'hawk their quality is hard to beat. These things are near indestructible, take and hold a great edge, and the price is right if one shops around.

If course my post of this topic was mostly meant to set the record straight as to what 'hawk I was referring to in my reply to the 'hawk for sale.

 

[toadboy65]

I don't see that the effort put into all that customization is much more than than the effort it takes to forge one from plate or scrap metal. maybe I am wrong.

 

[SDSmlf]

I don't see that the effort put into all that customization is much more than than the effort it takes to forge one from plate or scrap metal. maybe I am wrong.

And if one doesn’t have a forge?

 

[Treestalker]

I once forged two medium-large ball-pein hammer heads into 'hawks and forged the ball pein in to a spike similar to the sample shown. Both disappeared out of my shop under dubious circumstances, never to be seen again. I was pleased with the finished products, they held a good edge and were tough as all get out. I would say the steel was similar to 5160 spring steel which is hell for stout and holds a decent edge, easy to re-sharpen. The Cold Steel hawks I understand are made from something similar, and should work well in the woods for all around work and combat. I tempered mine to a medium blue fading into straw along the edge as I recall; the spike was left blue like the body, plenty hard for digging into frozen ground, but not brittle at all.

 

[toadboy65]

And if one doesn’t have a forge?

I was assuming that after customization, folks were going through the process of heat treating. That is sort of why I brought it up. I absolutely agree that we do the best with what we have, and a number of these modified hawks do seem like very nice work.
My first forge was a repurposed junked BBQ grill from a dumpster, that I set up on my dorm balcony to make my first full stock rifle. The hardest part was finding a source for coal.

The Cold Steel hawks I understand are made from something similar

The use 1055, according to their site.

 

[SDSmlf]

I was assuming that after customization, folks were going through the process of heat treating. That is sort of why I brought it up. I absolutely agree that we do the best with what we have, and a number of these modified hawks do seem like very nice work.
My first forge was a repurposed junked BBQ grill from a dumpster, that I set up on my dorm balcony to make my first full stock rifle. The hardest part was finding a source for coal.

The use 1055, according to their site.

I’ve seen folks ‘customize’ Cold Steel hawks with a couple of files and some polishing. Only heat came from elbow grease. And the end product looked very good.