I am briefly in possession of a Cold Steel Trailhawk that I bought as a gift for one of my sons. I thought I'd show it to you and compare it to my much larger Rifleman tomahawk from the same company.
Love the video. It was the first. The "real life, real time" videos just crack me up. It shows your good character even when things don't go as planned. And then when you said "I'll wranglerstar this" struck me funny.
I have my custom cs pipe, trail and rifleman. The trail can do forearm and wrist thick wood and can split however the bevel came shit. If I go to the woods to camp light weight the trail and a folding saw and knife works
I would use the trailhawk for Militia duty. It would be able to handle camp chorus and fighting. If you're out defending your home's the light weight wins. If you're doing disaster relief or rescue the rifleman would be the best. God Bless
I've been restoring old tools or making them from scratch as a hobby for 30 years. The solution for loose heads is 5-minute epoxy mixed with sanding dust (not sawdust which is too course). The sanding dust bulks up the epoxy so you need less glue, and it acts as a fiber reinforcement for the glue so it's more durable. Do not use Gorilla Glue (which is extremely handy for other chores) because it sets up too soft for such hard duty as setting tool heads. Do not use carpenter glue (yellow glue) because it shrinks, defeating the purpose. Epoxy only. BTW, Ishi, the last "wild Indian" in the US who came out of hiding in northern California in 1911, named his two favorite inventions of the white man as GLUE and MATCHES. Believe him. Finally, I probably have 20 axes and hatchets of all kinds because I like them, but if I have to pack a wood-cutting tool, I'll load a folding saw any day. Learn to sharpen both hand and chain saws. It's a lot more technical than sharpening an axe, but it's worth the effort in how much wood you can cut with a given amount of time and energy. Think of it as how much wood must be removed from a V-shaped axe cut versus a thin saw curf.
I'm pretty good at sharpening a chain saw. I haven't even tried the cross cut saw yet though. That's going to be a steep learning curve. I would respectfully disagree about the folding saw though. There's too much it can't do.
I wouldn't want to fell bigger than a 4" tree with most folding saws, but I've never needed to do that on any camping trip. But I would rather fell up to a 10" tree with a hand saw than an axe. I've felled up to 36" with a hand saw. For general trail maintenance I use a unique tool I designed that I affectionately call "Swordsaw", a 16", 8TPI curved pruning saw blade mounted on 20" of salvage (broken) axe handle with the back of the blade sharpened into a machete. This one tool will do everything from 1/8" to 8" handily. The blade is from Fanno Saw Works, an old family business in Chico, CA (orchard country). As for learning to sharpen a crosscut saw, the best place is an old trade school pamphlet titled _A Manual on Sharpening Hand Woodworking Tools_ written by three professors at North Carolina State University and printed by The Interstate Printers & Publishers. This book covers _everything_ from saws to screwdrivers -- if you can find a copy BUY IT.
I just have to have a two handed ax to get any real work done. I really like the cold steel trail boss boys ax. Thanks for the comparison! (12:30 a.m. where I live)
Well for the set screw you could fill the hole in the handle with glue, and some wood shavings so when you reinstall the screw you won't have a issue. However I wouldn't use the set screw primarily because in the field I don't want to have to try to remove the screw, and secondly there are several other uses for the head then attached to the handle.
If you want the high quality Swedish steel axe and not break the bank get Husqvarna axes. I have there forest axe and there splitting maul, never realized an $80 razor sharp splitting maul would be so nice. The logs get scared and jump in half. There heads are made by either Wetterlings or grandforstburks.
My line of thought was that a little duller blade might be safer for him when handling it but the sharper blade would be better when he was swinging it since there would be likely to be more bite and less chance of a glancing blow. I ended up sharpening it a little bit so that it doesn't go too far either way. I got him a sheath with it too.
It's funny that you ask that because I am uploading a video now that I address that a little bit in an aside but I think that would be a great video idea, thank you!
I love tomahawks too. Even if they are a bit unpractical in a Nordic winter forrest, but at least they are better than nothing. I have a CRKT Nobo. And it actually looks a bit like a Viking one handed axe. Very fitting. BTW; Does anybody know if silk absorbs or transports moisture? If it transports, it would be perfect material for longjohns since lice and other bugs hates silk,. As i remember the old Swedish wool winter army pants had a silk liner.
I know water does something weird to silk, makes it really strong or something. But I have to admit that I saw that on Shanghai Noon so it could be completely made up.
Water do indeed make fabric behave weirdly. In the Great Northern War ( 1700 - 1721) it was noticed that wet cloth uniforms became more resistant to bullets.
If you are in the market for a Swedish boys axe or a Swedish carpenters axe take a look at Husqvarna axes. They are made for Husqvarna by Hults Bruks. They are great axes for a very reasonable price. You can get one for between 50-60 bucks... I know its still a chunk of change but its no where near the cost of a fancy gransfor bruks axe. Its every bit as good but its not as pretty. I actually prefer to have an axe that gets used. If I spent pistol money on a gransfor bruks I might never use it out of fear of messing it up.
I've thought that too. If I had one of those expensive axes I'd be afraid to use it. It would just hang on the wall. I have seen the Husqvarna's and they seemed like decent axes. I wonder if Stihl makes a version.
I have been using a couple husqvarna axes for the last couple of years... I really like them. They are really well built forged axes with exceptional handles... If I were to spend a large sum of money on an axe I would probably buy a hults bruk arvika racing axe or a Helko Werk felling axe.
Post script: You inspired me to put some neatsfoot oil on my small axe sheath. Then I put some oil on my Silky saw. Made me think that if you give the boy a Silky saw in a year our two, he might have the best of both worlds for about the same weight as a bigger tomahawk. BTW, is the hammer end of the head the weapon end? Or both ends?
I've also heard it once you get the right fit leave the head on it and soak it in a bucket of water for however long it takes for the wood to swell now if it's Hickory it will take longer
Well, happy birthday to your son. There are other ways to lighten the load if you really need that 2 pound tomahawk. I'm leaning more and more towards titanium for much of my gear. Titanium is not all that more expensive than stainless steel or aluminum. All I'm saying is we all tend to make room for what we feel we need. Just make up for the weight added by these tools by lightening the load in other areas. I don't even own a tomahawk, but you have me wanting to try one out. I have to agree with you, that a smaller tomahawk would make a better defensive tool. I really enjoyed this video.
Throw that Set Screw far far Away! Its useless. I have two Cold Steel Hawks, the Norse Hawk and the Trail Hawk, and I just bought the Riflemen's Hawk. So I have a project to fit the Riflemen's hawk to the handle. A good Hawk is a good tool, and a sharp hawk is a happy hawk. Stay safe and keep em sharp.
By the way, we discussed the issue of carrying the Rifleman on your belt before. I know you made your own holder, and it looked like it worked well, but Dean, myself, and some of the other fellas wondered if the Monadnock PR-24 ring would work well for belt carry. Well, I tested it, and it does indeed work great. The shank on the ring that keeps the PR-24 from turning while walking or working, serves the exact same purpose in stopping the Rifleman Tomahawk from turning as well. In fact, it was a perfect fit without any modifications. So for those who were wondering, there is your answer.
Dean Gullberry hmmm let me think ooh yeah got it DO NOT BE A TIT does that answer your question and from a man with your obvious good education I'm very disappointed and coming from a paddy man that's god I don't know what man tcch tut tut tech I don't know what else to say boobs Man you the only people I know that use the word boobs are the ons that really really and I mean REALLY NEED TO GET LAID ps so that means one of us and there's only the two of us and it's not me so it must be YOU so boobs to you PPS I MISSED YOU DEAN where you been ?
i have three of their hawks, the norse hawk, very light fast and sharp with its wide blade and deep belly its decent for chopping, the riflemans hawk and the trail hawk, the trail hawk is the handiest for all around stuff, carving, bushcraft stuff it could almost replace a large knife, im liking it just for the hammer head and the lightness.
cold steel is pretty good, although they are taiwan made. (I have a couple), Have you checked out Beaver Bill forging works? If not you should. Beaver Bill produces a nice American made standard throwing Hawk, among other Tomahawks.
Yep you bought that for your son yeah I believe you I've also bought things for my nephew and I'm just taking care of them till he's old enough to appreciate them really I mean that I mean I really bought them things for him the fact that I like and have a use for them is pure coincidence really I mean that ps check out a photo I'm about to send
...don't let the libs know you're giving a child a tomahawk, the ramifications could be biblical in proportion...Benjamin Martin (Mel Gibson) would be so proud of your choice...
No doubt the Rifleman is the undisputed king of large T-Hawks, But when you get to the Mediums, I think I have to give the edge to the CRKT Woods Chogan.
Dang Deano, where you been, I shoveled some crap your way last video and I didn't get my much expected smartassed reply. I'm disappointed....and hurt, lol.
It's in the last video in a thread started by The Free Raven with 24 replies - at the very bottom. Hehehe. You know where you confessed to buying a plastic gun.
Order the 30" replacement handle for cold steel warhammer/viking hand axe fir your CS Riflesmans Hawk. It feels soo much better with the 30" handle. So much more power too. Trust me...
Until it dries out :) I live in a very dry climate. I just take my time and fit the handle to the head. I have two Cold Steel Hawks, the Norse Hawk, and the Trail Hawk. Both I like, but I had to get the Riflemen's Hawk, its the Magnum of hawks.
heat up the handle a little and give it a coat of boiled linseed oil and pine tar 50/50 mix..rub it in and let it cure in the sun..just sayin'.. fun video thanks.
It takes some warmth and a little time to age, some folks torch it with a propane torch and rub it down with a rag, but once it's set it really protects the wood. "logcabinlooms" guy on utube has a couple of videos about using it and they are very instructive. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DGIfsNv_7zs.html This guy has lots of really good instructive videos for young homesteaders and preppers.
