Cold Steel trail hawk

[Elnathan]

"serious use"= chopping. I strongly suspect that the cheaper hawk is not hardened or tempered, and therefore will not hold a sharp edge. This is fine for a throwing hawk, but lousy for a belt axe. I would also worry about the eye - again, not a big deal for a throwing hawk, but not good for a belt axe.

 

[paulvallandigham]

A blacksmith can heat that head up and re-weld that gap in no time at all. Or, a machine shot can weld that gap for you. It won't be as pretty, but then, the head has taken a lot of abuse already. Both routes are cheaper than buying a new hawk. And, some of those pricier hawks comes with their own problems. I bought one years ago at Friendship, and what I thought was scale on the side of the blade, back about an inch from the edge, turned out to be a weak spot, caused by hammering the piece too thin. I fixed the problem, but was not happy at all finding I had any problem with an expensive hawk!

 

[Claude Mathis]

By the way, since you are going to post actively on the forum, why don't you pick a handle instead of posting as Anonymous?

Nobody can post as "Anonymous".

When you see this, it means their account has been deleted, but their posts remain. If you look back through some of the posts where this person was quoted, you'll be able to tell who it is (was).

 

[FV Rago]

Duhhhh.

Nobody gaurantees the handle, it's the head. The forged or cast head that is gauranteed.

My gear has "meaning." Some call it medicine, what I mean is that there is a story behind every piece. The H&B hawk was a gift from a gent who won it in Friendship. He also gave me a H&B knife. I've talked a few times with the old gent who makes these knives when I've ordered handles for the knives. Nice guy and willing to talk.

Try that with the mass produced hawks.

Now I don't own a H&B hawk because the replacement is a fine forged weapon handmade from a man who cared.

So, if you just want to get the gear, go for it. I choose the other route, but that's my choice so sometimes I pay more or I trade.

Most times trading is the way to go.

I have two brand new hawks downstairs. Bought them to teach a few gents to throw, but the gig went to another thrower.

I'll be trading them as they have no story.

Frank

 

[John Ezra Jest]

I own a Cold Steel Trail Hawk. I think very highly of it. Without the ugly black paint on it, you can see heat marks where it was tempered. The hole can be welded shut by any decent welder. While it is a bit on the light side, it works very good for camp chores. It wasn't made as a throwing hawk so the blade is pretty thin but, it does throw & cut good.The pole is good for steel tent stakes but , is too light for wooden ones. It takes & hold an excellent edge. I would recommend them to any one. The only thing that I can see that isn't PC is the set screw in the handle.

 

[jasontn]

well today i saw what i think was one of these at a gun show. it was marked american tommahawk company. looked identical to the cold steel models i have seen on ebay. this one had some sloppy fit to it. dont know if they are the same or not but what i saw today was a junker it was marked taiwan and was 12.00, 15 with an extra handle.