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Cold Steel hawk modification project.

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Joined
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Location
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I've had the Cold Steel spike hawk and trail hawk for a few years, but I never liked the black coating on the heads, and the fit and finish on the handles was never too good out of the box. So I used the birchwood casey bluing kit to blue the heads, then shortened the handles to a more useful length, finished them with some stain, then coated them in true oil to increase durability. Here are the results:

Before:
trail hawk stock.jpg
stock spike hawk.jpeg


After:
trail hawk stock.jpg
stock spike hawk.jpeg
image_123923953 (4).JPG
image_123923953 (5).JPG
image_123923953.JPG
image_123923953 (2).JPG


Anybody else done hawk modifications?
 
Scroll down the list of subjects in this column. You will find a post about modifying a CRT tomahawk by Shiloh 1944. He has done some very nice work. :thumb:
 
I'm working on a couple of Canadian Blackhawks right now one is almost finished the other isn't started yet. These hawks are fair throwers but ugly as sin. I have ground and polished most of the casting marks heat treated, tempered and browned the heads. Removing the cast marks also makes the head a little lighter and improves the balance as least for me. After tempering they hold a much better edge, they're not overly pretty but it's a working, throwing hawk.
 

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I'm working on a couple of Canadian Blackhawks right now one is almost finished the other isn't started yet. These hawks are fair throwers but ugly as sin. I have ground and polished most of the casting marks heat treated, tempered and browned the heads. Removing the cast marks also makes the head a little lighter and improves the balance as least for me. After tempering they hold a much better edge, they're not overly pretty but it's a working, throwing hawk.
How did you put the spiral design into your tomahawk handle? I've been trying to put that same spiral design into my ramrod, but I can't quite get it. I've tried burning the design in then staining it, but that tends to smudge the burn.
 
I've used a normal plumbers torch but they're kinda' big and clumsy so I bought a small kitchen torch that is much handier. The knack to getting the color right just takes a little practice. If you burn to lightly the stripes will fade quickly, burn to deep and the wood becomes grooved and you can feel it in your hand. I don't stain ram rods or hawk handles after burning just use a piece of fine steel wool coated with whatever finish you prefer and rub lightly, the carbon in the burn will stain the wood and give it a aged look.
 

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