/ @preparedmind101 Preparedmind101 puts down the knives and machetes and double fists a couple Cold Steel Tomahawks for your viewing pleasure. With surprising results on the bottle cut test...
The problem is Mike, all you need to do the hammering is a flat surface. You don't need a big hammer on the back throwing the weight off of the hawk. They need to put the weight on the axe itself, and make a flat surface on the back. That's all they need to do.
Also, I used Jasco as Chris recommends and it is scary excellent. I personally liked the look without the gun bluing treatment. To deal with corrosion resistance, I used one of my favorite products, Renwax, which does a superb job.
Also: A Hawk is a Multi tool of sorts not meant to have a stationary head like an ax. If you want it a little more snug, one thing I do is one wrap of hockey stick (the sticky kind) tape around the handle then seat the head. Not technically the way you are supposed to do it, but it works for me. I don't use hardware like the screw on the cold steel...not good on the wood handles. But Dave is correct in saying it is meant to seat and come off with a good whack on a hard surface.
I picked up a frontier hawk awhile back. I've not modified it, but after seeing yours and Zeuki1's hawks I may have to take a stab at it. I agree the frontier hawk is a beast and quite heavy for a hawk. I did pick up the longer handle for it that cold steel sells and decided to treat it more like a light axe. I really want to collect all the Hawks that Cold Steel puts out but my wallet does not allow it at this time. Great VID!
Chris - I just purchased a CS Pipe Hawk & did the basic mods of striping & bluing the head, sanding/staining/English Oil the handle, cut it down to 19.5", & shaped it to friction fit well. I've got the leather edge cover & belt loop coming...this all started for me much the same way I imagine it starts for a lot of guys - catching The Patriot on TV recently - it's so inspiring to see a real American hero like Mel Gibson kick some evil British a$$...Mel is one of a rare bread of actor/star that you can feel good about your children revering & learning important life lessons from...well, alright, but The Patriot kicked a$$, come on! & that scene where he jumps from tree to rock to tree, all w preloaded muskets at the ready, & then finishes off the British patrol holding his son hostage with his knife & hawk - brings a freakin' tear to my eye...just the one eye, I lost my other in a badminton accident, but I digress - I cannot wait to walk around w my new old-looking hawk & just impress the hell out of whoever crosses my path - woohoo - thanks for the great hawk vids you've done! PS - I love this early PM101 vid, showing a plumper CT w poor audio, love it!
Guy I learned about hawks from basically put it to me like this, "if your going to use a tomahawk you need to be able to fashion yourself with a new handle when you break the one you got" I find this to be especially true with the cold steel hawks. When I bought the hawk I bought an extra handle with it. That being said I ended up just leaving the extra at home due to the ease of making a new one from scratch while in the bush.
hey great vid man! great idea. i bought one as a gift for my friend to help him start getting into bushcraft and camping. i didnt use it but i thought it was pretty sturdy. i just hated the way it looked! (i know tools arent for looks, but damnit i like having decent looking stuff lol) now im definitely going to hafta get one for myself! thanks!
Great video! I love your honesty about freezing your ass off! A lot of these "tough guys" post outdoor videos and pretend the weather doesn't phase them- LOL. Keep up the great videos!!
Chris , I just received the Pathfinder Scout Hawk. Very nice quality but I was disappointed that the axe head was not mounted. No hardware or instructions. I find it hard to believe if I just hammer it tight fir tension hold that'd will be enough. Skeptical here, I think a couple whacks or throws the axe head will come off. Suggestions?
Single edge hawke is made for throwing least thats what i use it for The pipe hawke is a desine of the tradictional native pipe hawke but its a hammer its possible to make into a pipe thanks for the video
PREPAREDMIND101 They are. Tomahawk translates to "battle axe". "The name comes from Powhatan tamahaac, derived from the Proto-Algonquian root *temah- 'to cut off by tool'.[3] Algonquian cognates include Lenape təmahikan,[4] Malecite-Passamaquoddy tomhikon, Abenakidemahigan, all of which mean 'axe'."
Great info.! Okay I needed that reassurance and confirmation to know that I am not missing anything. Next time you talk to the big guy himself, tell him thanks, lol...lol. Also Are you planning anytime soon to add his scout hawk to your AXE reviews? Thanks Chris!!
I got an idea for axe in the woods .. just take walking stick and put the head of axe inside your bag and when you need it you can mount it on walking stick . hope my idea helps you a bit . nice video and keep it up ! cand wait to see more videos from you !
Chris, can you please explain how you got the handle to stain as dark as you did? My experience has been that the hickory is such a hard wood that it only darkens lightly and brings out contrast with the grain. I tried using walnut stain, applying with a paper towel and sanding in with a high grit steel wool. Thanks for any pointers.
You have to sand the handles before you stain them. Some handles need x2 to x4 coatings of stain to darken right. Then soak them with some oil if you wish...
Hey i had a question about my rifleman hawk.After i stained and polyurethaned my handle, i cant get the head to tighten up and not move?I tried hitting it on head,but it still is loose?Any ideas bro? Thanks
Your answer from the big man himself: The handles are ment to be removable, haws were never ment to be thrown to be honest but it was done historically obviously,however the loosnes of the handle generally helps keep the from breakage on a bad throw, if the handle is loosening alot he is probably getting a lot of bad throws or does not have it seated properly by smacking the head end of the handle on a hard surface to use the weight of the head to seat it on the handle.
Gun blue? It's a color I presume? Is it a type of color you could get at every other paint store or what? Walmart is out of the question since I live in sweden.
Fellow buckeye:) Great review. Been looking for a good, LIGHTWEIGHT tomahawk I could throw on my belt for campin/various outdoorsy shite. Keep em comin
What if you find a bottle of water but are too weak from dehydration to open the cap? I'm kidding of course. I just wanted to see if I could do it because nobody ever tries it.
It is typical for a hawk to be friction fit...that is how they have been used for centuries. Do not forget thought that the hawk was primarily designed as a fighting implement, that happens to be useful for general bushcraft. If you plan on doing heavy chopping, use an axe. You do have to tap the head down every so often but that is just the nature of the beast. Some fitting will always be required with a hawk,,,again, thats just how it is.
Cut a ten inch section from a bicycle inner tube ( 700x35/450) and slide in onto the handle. It makes for a very secure grip. Douglas Fraser - "The Prepper's Book of Idea" (Amazon, Kindle)
wow Chris, must be nice to run out of things to buy! it always makes me Melancholy watching all of you RU-vidrs, being able to buy whatever you want just about, while all of us regular people struggle day 2 day just to pay our bills and then hopefully still have some food and gas money
Just a small history thing........native americans (as far as I know) didn't have metal working until after invaders showed up. Indeed the apaches used them, I doubt they were the originators. On another note: something about they way you chop spooks me.......I almost assume you're going to end up with a bad injury. Just my very unprofessional opinion. Regardless thanks for the vid.
The only injury I've ever sustained with a blade was how I learned to GENTLY PLACE the blade onto the wood being batoned...not to chop it into it while holding it. You can probably guess how that ended up. Luckily, I still have that finger. I also don't spend a lot of time cutting water bottles with tomahawks...outside this one video.
The problem with these is, if you want a throwing tomahawk it's not gonna work. I have about 5 coldsteel hawks and I've tried every method in the book at getting the head to stay on the handle and it's just not going to after a while. I'm constantly having to mess with the handle and refit the head. Yeah yeah yeah... everyone says "but the head is supposed to be removable". The problem is, it's supposed to be removable when I WANT it removed, not when I don't. Weapons that disassemble themselves aren't good and tools that disassemble themselves aren't good. Not a good weapon, not a good tool. Summary.. if you want to chop wood, get a hatchet. If you want a good throwing weapon, get a well balanced knife. OR if you're determined to have a tomahawk get a full tang steel tomahawk with either a paracord wrapped handle or screwed on hard nylon handle. That's been the best solution in my experience.
Never in my life have i seen more disregard for weapon saftey as in this video. You where close to severing your throat and your left arm like 10 times in this video please dont do thath again
Are you kidding you must not watch any videos then, the blade never even came close to him, don't be such a fruitcake ya wanna be doctor. btw your not a boss either.