Curious about this axe also,
I am in the process of selecting a long handled hatchet or tomahawk for my kit.

 

I have one. It sharpens easily and cuts well. My only complaint is I have to soak the head/handle in water to tighten it up.

 

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how does the head attach to the handle?, i've been hearing alot of handle problems with the cs hawks

 

it is just like a pic ax or maddock handle its how tomahawks historicaly were made I have one and it does well for all my uses no complaints same handle on it when i bought about10 years ago

 

My grandfather used to have a saying about chopping/splitting wood and that was you needed the 3 Ws--wedge, weight and wallop...a thin blade won't split (well) and a thick blade won't cut (well) and a light one won't do either (well)...

Will a three pound axe head on a five foot handle generate more energy transfers to the wood then a five pound head on a two foot handle? The answer is yes, by the way...

CS made up the tomahawks more for reenactors then for a survival or working instrument and although they can be used for general camp chores they are inefficient at it...

You want a hatchet then get a hatchet, 16"/17", 2½ lb head, good wedge, poll for hammering and forget the Hollywood hype about throwing them as a weapon...

If you have read any historical books on the mountain man, F & I, Rev or 1812 Wars or the Indian wars after and you'll note that the hawk was used as a hooking and trapping weapon firstly, a chopping weapon secondly and almost never (and knives as well) as a throwing weapon...

Sure, I love throwing hawks and knives at rendezvous, great fun but I have a proper hatchet and axe for wood cutting/chopping...

 

I have a Riflemans hawk, as well as the Norse and Trail hawk. The Riflemans is my least favorite of the three. I think the head is way too heavy for the handle it is on. I have larger hands and I feel as if I really need to grip the thing to be able to swing it properly, which leaves my forearm feeling tired (I don't consider myself weak). I keep it by my fire pit in the backyard and use it occasionally. In my opinion it would benefit from a larger/thicker handle as on a hatchet.

The trail hawk would make a better choice I think, I have used that a bit and like the utility of it. I am not a fan of the set screw in the side of the heads though, it works for a bit but then it just creates a divet in the wood and becomes too deep for the supplied set screw to hold. The screw even tears up the handle if thrown, when the head is forced back down the pole. Having the tapered handle is good though since you can just smash it back on tight. I even throw the Trail hawk with success.

My favorite is the Norse hawk though. It throws great, could work well as a weapon(if it came to that) and can pull off camp chores as well. All of them are reasonably easy to sharpen. As stated above, I would also get a hatchet for primarily chopping wood, much more comfortable.

This is a close up of the head, they all are similiar, sorry no pics of the Riflemans.

A comparison of the Norse to a Gransfors Forest axe and a Wetterlings hatchet. I believe all the CS hawks have the same handle, although I trimmed mine about an inch and re-stained it after this picture.

 

nice pics flintlock thanks

 

Your rifleman's hawk was called a camp axe in the old days.

The ones I saw were cheap, low budget, made in china ones.

There are better modern ones made

 

I had one- it was adequate for camp chores, not great though. I agree with Flintlock that the norse hawk is a better all around hawk. I still have one of those. Its still not the best for splitting but somewhat better for chopping because being lighter I can get it moving faster and more accuratly. Throws better too. As to customizing, all I did was sand the handle to fit the socket better. If you have a chance to pick up spare handles for either, make sure to inspect them so you get long, straight grain running paralell to the blade- this makes for a stonger handle thats less likely to split on you.
Peace
John

 

I have one and while it is well made and holds a good edge, I'm not that happy with it. Like was said earlier, the head is too heavy for the handle and it seems too long aswell. It tends to want to turn when chopping wood, in my hands, at least. I don't throw hawks, I bought it as a defensive weapon,as such, it is too unwieldy for my tastes.So I tried to employ it as a tool. It will work , but I have a better hatchet.It is also too heavy to justify packing it into the woods, I am better served with a folding saw. I would like to buy a Norse hawk, again as a defensive weapon. TP

 

I agree with the comments about the handle. The set screw is a bad idea, and the handle itself is too thin/skinny to be useful for long periods of hacking.

A few years ago I was coming out of the mountains at 8500 feet after a week long winter camp and a tree was blocking the road. The snow was deep and so I didn't want to chance trying to go around. Pulled the hawk out and cut the tree through in two places in about twenty minutes.

Thankfully the tree wasn't a large one.

 

I dont think hatchets or tomahawks were ever designed for large chopping projects

 

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Well now i own a rifleman's hawk, and not only did it arrive bent from knifecenter, but the damn thing is too heavy for whats i intended to use it for

 

Cronx210 That sucks yours came in bent. What is it too heavy for?

I received my Rifleman's hawk, Made in Taiwan. Appears to be OK quality, I have used it around, on my property and for camping. Seems like it will work well for my intended use, (camping and in my bush-craft bag).
The only problem is the handle feels like it is going to slip out of my hands sometimes. Will have to do something about that.

 

take a leather thong and soak it for about 15-20 min in boiling water take it out and tie/ wrap it around where you want the grip to be and as it dries it will tighten nicely and make a great grip

 

I have to agree with the comments about the head being too heavy. I generally split 3-4 cords of hardwood every winter by hand (various axes, a maul and wedges and sledge hammer) so I'm not exactly inexperienced. The Rifleman's Hawk would be better suited to using two-handed but the handle length makes that difficult.

At some point I'll have to pick up a Trail Hawk to try.

 

This seems to be about halfway between the Rifleman's and Trail hawks (from the specs, don't think its available yet) http://www.coldsteel.com/pipe-hawk.html

 

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yea i want that hawk seems lighter then the riflemans but knifecenter doesnt say when it will be available!!

 

yea i want that hawk seems lighter then the riflemans but knifecenter doesnt say when it will be available!!

Rifle Hawk - 32oz. 8 1/8" Long 3 1/2" Blade

Trail Hawk - 19.1oz. 6 1/2" Long 2 1/4" Blade

Pipe Hawk - 26oz. 7 1/2" Long 3" Blade

Me thinks CS has done it's homework with regard to feedback. The Pipe Hawk is middle of the road between complaints. I look for it to be the best seller of the three.

The extra weight is a result of being an inch longer than the Trail Hawk and the blade is 3/4 of an inch wider. The hammer (solid pipe bowl) is better than the Trail Hawk too.

The pipe hawk won't be available until the end of June/Early July 2010

As for a handle, I prefer para-cord wrap. You can never have enough. : A small hole in the end of the handle makes for a great lanyard.

Two grooves with a rat tail file; one next to the lanyard hole and the other where ever you wish to begin the wrap. These are anchor points against slippage. Then just pull tight as you wrap. Knot on both sides of the lanyard hole, then make your loop.

I have a pipe hawk similar to the CS version and have used it for years. I love it. Pounding stakes for all kinds of things is a breeze. I've used the hawk for cleaning small game and field construction of every kind.

It's the workhorse in the field.

 

Buy it you will like it, mine is doing a great job for cutting, throwing, hammering, worth every penny and more, I also bought the vietnam fighting axe, way to light for most chores or throwing.

 

Yea i want to get the pipe hawk as soon as it comes out, i already have the new frontier hawk on backorder, that paracord technique sounds good, i am going to do that!, i heard somewhere that you can soak the paracord in water before wrapping, and that when it dries it actually tightens is that true?

 

I don't think it will tighten like leather.

I've never had an issue with a paracord wrapped handle because it's not under load.

Any paracord that I've used always stretches out a little under load and never went back to it's original state.

No doubt, there is a way....if you figure it out, do post it.

 

I have one and agree that the handle shipped with it is too short for it's weight.

Instead of crying about it I went an bought a handle for a double bitted axe and trimmed off the "head" and the flared handle end to fit and now I have a handle approx 5-6" longer with much better balance.

I do agree though something like an Eastwing would be a better choice and nearly indestrucable

 

you can buy a replacement handle for the "warhammer" from CS. it is the same but a lot longer than the hawk handles.

and yeah of course the riflemans hawk is too heavy, just look at it. its leaving tomahawk territory and going into ax territory.

 

Bought two of these last year as I got them for less than $20 each. Similar looking deal.
http://www.coldsteel.com/trailhawk.html

Very lightweight head compared to traditional woodmans/firewood type tomahawk/hatchet so definitely not gonna split down a decent round of wood into kindling.
Was capable of working on smaller branches and such tho'.

Once it was sharpened/set properly I was happy with how it cut and the fact the hammer was small enough to do some reasonably fine work with was a bonus.
Lightweight enough not to notice it in a pack.

Will have to have a further play with it before I commit to it in my B.O.B.

Also, without wanting to sound to rambo-ish, after hefting it for a while, it'd make a nice fighting weapon especially in terms of catching/blocking an assailants weapon.
Haven't tried throwing it yet heh-heh.

 

Here is the dimensions of all the Hawks that CS offers...

Trail Hawk
Specifications:
Weight: 19.1 oz. (approx.)
Blade Thick: 2 1/4" (primary edge)
Blade Length: 6 1/2" (Hawk Length)
Handle: American Hickory
$36.99

Rifleman's Hawk
Specifications:
Overall Length: 19"
Hawk Length: 8 1/8"
Weight: 32oz. (approx.)
Primary Edge: 3 1/2"
American Hickory Handle
$40.99

Pipe Hawk
NEW!! Specifications:
Overall Length: 19"
Hawk Length: 7 1/2"
Primary Edge: 3"
Steel: Drop Forged 1055 Carbon
Weight: 26 oz
Handle: American Hickory
Currently on BACKORDER
$49.99

Frontier Hawk
NEW!! Specifications:
Overall Length: 19"
Hawk Length: 6"
Primary Edge: 3 1/4"
Steel: Drop Forged 1055 Carbon
Weight: 21 oz (approx.)
Handle: American Hickory
Currently on BACKORDER
$36.99

Spike Hawk
NEW!! Specifications:
Overall Length: 19"
Hawk Length: 9"
Primary Edge: 3 1/8"
Steel: Drop Forged 1055 Carbon
Weight: 23.7 oz (approx.)
Handle: American Hickory
Currently on BACKORDER
$49.99

The Trail Hawk is what the Mountain men carried and what the traders exchanged for pelts just in a little larger version then this which was commonly called a Squaw's Hawk...What developed into the hatchet.

The Pipe Hawk is just a fancy version of the Rifleman's Hawk and both would have had hollow pipe bowls for smoking...Odd thing is the curved blade of the Rifleman's is the French version and not British.

The Frontier Hawk is the quintessential tomahawk of the times, sold/traded to the Indians...You will see thirty of these for every other hawk combined at rendezvous.

The Spike Hawk was a very early hawk and was seldom seen west of the Mississippi...Think F&I War, Blackhawk's War but not much passed the Rev War...This is/was a true war hawk.

 

3 more 'hawks my husband will have to buy now...........

 

if your primarily looking to hack on wood, look to a hatchet or axe. tomahawks are weapons first, tools second.