Customer Reviews

Cold Steel Trail Hawk American Hickory Handle

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I have one, two things I noticed right away: the head has a drilled hole and a set screw to hold the head on the shaft. This is an expensive solution to a cheap & easy problem. This damages the grain in the handle, and requires carrying an allen wrench with the tomahawk if the handle breaks and needs a replacement. Second, it's made in Taiwan, and marked so right on the blade. No biggie, but this was one of the earlier discoveries that Cold Steel is contracting their production overseas instead of using US workers.

On to the 'hawk...bought it for light camping use. It's good, but not great. The working edge is narrow, requiring user accuracy for consistent hits, and the head's a little light for serious chopping. Unlike other Cold Steel products, the finish appears to be gloss black paint rather than the usual powder coat. It scuffs easily, but doesn't affect the function in any way. The only serious development was edge retention. I teach early US history once in a while, and I bought (what I thought) was a really cheap imported repro 18th century tomahawk from a sutler. Much to my surprise, the no-name Indian tomahawk was *far* superior to the Cold Steel product in weight, performance and edge retention. The only advantage to the CS brand is the hammer pommel, but that's it.

Closing note: this reflects my personal preferences, and not actual test data. I'm a larger person, and can swing a little more weight than an average person.

Summary: okay for the money, but there are better ones in the same price class. Also consider the heavier head model (rifleman), as the trail hawk is very light.

I picked up this tomahawk just for fun. After about 30 minutes of practice I found I could make it stick almost every time. Now I am working on hitting targets. This Tomahawk is made by American Tomahawk Company, a division of Cold Steel. It is solid and sturdy and looks like it will last quite some time. For the price I think it was a good deal.

I bought one of these last week and liked it so much I bought a second one, which arrived today.

Out of the box, these hawks come a little rough around the edges. They are firmly attached to the handles with a set screw, and they could stand to be a little sharper. That said, they do chop very well as-is. I have to trim some elm saplings back a couple times a year in my yard, and I figured I'd take the opportunity to test the trail hawk.

It worked great. The lightweight head combined with a longer handle allowed me more precise control over the chopping than a traditional hatchet would.

As for making it "great", there are a few things that can be done to really improve the hawk, if you have some time to kill.

I removed the setscrew and tapped the handle out of the head. This scraped up the handle pretty bad, because of the burr left on the eye from the forging. I took the burr off with a round file, and buffed it a bit with some emery cloth to smooth the file marks. Then I stripped the paint off the head with an aerosol spray paint stripper.

For the handle, I sanded out all of the scrapes and gouges made by removing the head, and stained the handle. This makes it look a lot nicer.

To get the head to fit the handle perfectly, gently tap the head back on and then remove it. If the fit isn't good, you will only see 2 or 3 points where the handle and head make contact. Sand the handle at those high spots until the handle is in full contact with the eye, and it will be a perfect, tight fit.

This tomahawk is well made. I was afraid the low price may lead to poor quality, but not in this case. It can handle abuse without failure. I highly recommend this item.

While the Cold Steel Trail Hawk is serviceable it won't be winning any awards for fit and finish. At a price point of $20 it is best to approach this purchase as "some assembly required". I will outline my process below.

I bought two with the sole intent of customizing them as presents.
Both arrived at once in an overly large box with some brown paper thrown inside. Worst packing job I have seen from Amazon ever. The net result was several cosmetic blemished on both hawks from bumping and grinding while shipping. I hope they had fun doing it at least!

Out of the box quality is less than stellar. The very fact the head is held by a set screw defies the point of a tomahawk! Both hawks had heads that were poorly seated and wobbled horribly. Edge finish was poor and I doubt they could have cut anything safely or easily. Ultimately these were small isssues as I was going to modify them anyway.

Step 1:
Removal of the set screw and head shows the eye of the head has never been finished. The rough edges of the eye caused serious handle deformity when they were seated at the factory.

Step 2:
Soaking the head in stripping coumpound allows removal of genaric black paint. Casting finish is rough under the paint. However clear lines are visible from heat treating. It appears the heat treating is up to the first third of the blade and a majority of the hammer pole.

Step 3:
Debur and bevel the eye of the head to remove sharp edges. Work can be done on the cheap with files and sandpaper, but a dremel type rotary tool makes it a 10 minute project!

Step 4:
Strip the finish from the handle and smooth the upper portion to remove the lines put in by the unfinished head of the hawk. Test fit and mark and remove excess handle material where the head seats until you have a good fit. Smooth the entire handle to 320 grit and refinish with a good stain and poly. Handle looks 100% better and is good to go.

Step 5:
Finish the head as desired. Some simple options are a patina with vinegar or mustard, cold blueing, or sanding/polishing. If you plan on leaving bare metal you will want to oil your hawk to prevent rust. There are lots of other finishing options that will allow you to make the Trail Hawk your own. Google is your friend here.

Step 6:
Final assembly. Place the head in the oven @ 200F and the handle in the freezer. Once the head is too hot to touch, place it on the handle and seat it by giving the top of the handle a sharp rap onto an unforgiving surface. If steps 3 & 4 were done correctly there should be 0 play in the tomahawk at this point. You may now happily throw the set screw in the garbage, or place it in a bin in the garage.

Step 7:
Sharpening. Sharpen your hawk with your favorite method until it reaches a point you are happy. Shaving sharp isn't required for hawks.

Enjoy the heck out of it.

Received this about 3 wks ago and took it on a camping trip of a few days to Sam Houston National Forrest. Works GREAT , not a hair of trouble. Did a great job of cutting brances and stakes on tent. Feels reel good in your hand. Worth every penny and then some.

The Allen screw that holds the head in place is 3 MM. After loosening the screw, a few good raps on a sidewalk moved the head down a good 1/4" where I tightened the screw up. It's a good thing the head moved down so much because a hole was drilled in the handle at least 1/4 deep and maybe more than 1/4 in diameter.

To my Taiwanese friends: It would be better to leave the head loose and tape a cheap 3 MM set screw wrench to the handle than to drill a sloppy hole in the otherwise nice wood handle.

I only have a few minor grips about this product;

- The set screw: I'm sure about 95% of people will agree with me that the set screw was a terrible solution to a problem that has been solved much more easily and efficiently, many, many years ago. The shaft is very slightly wider at the head end, so I'm not worried about the head flying off, but a wobbly axehead is NEVER safe. I bought this axe exclusively to throw, so the absolute top-notch quality construction isn't 'too' important for me. If you are the camping/hiking type that would need to depend on a good axe, consider other options.

- The shaft: The description indicates a 22" shaft, mine measures about 19. Not necessarily an impediment, but more of just a minor negative. This axe is very light as it is, but having an extra three inches would allow one to apply much more power to the axe. You can by a replacement 22" shaft and switch them out, but we shouldn't have to do that.

- The shaft (again): The shaft itself, is pretty much just a lathed wood stick (evidence of the lathe are quite clearly evidenced by the wholes in each end of the shaft). It isn't finished (other than a very thin coat of some kind of wax). There are many small splinters in the shaft, so you may want to sand it down and refinish it.

- The axe-head: The black finish is merely a black paint. I had about an inch of exposed steel from the edge after only ten minutes of throwing. Doesn't impede the function in any way/shape/form, but aesthetically and for maintenance reasons I would have preferred this to have been an enamel finish

I bought this as a prop for my son's audition for a War of 1812 character. While not 100% historically accurate, it certainly looked fine from a distance and more than did the job on the stage. In the back yard, it's even better. It easily takes down small saplings, honeysuckle bushes, and anything else you might need to cut. It'd be great to have on a camping trip. ONE SERIOUS NOTE OF ADVICE--If there's a cover available to purchase, do so. The Tomahawk arrives very, very, very sharp. Also, because it's fairly light, you generate a lot of speed when swinging it, so you need to be very sure of yourself in terms of where you're cutting. If you miss the branch and carry on into your calf, you will be heading to the Emergency Room. So be careful! But an excellent product, especially at the price!

I was concerned about the quality when I received my Hawk, however after a lot of hard throwing, my concern is minor. I have never tried throwing before and I had a lot of wrong end hits aganist some hard wood (cut logs)
before i finally got the hang of it. My only concern is that the set screw does not seem to be long enough and it gouges out a furrow when the Hawk strikes on the wrong end. I now have less gougeing now that I can throw with more accuracy. Still a great product,fun and at a great price. I intend to purchase more. GB Young Harris, GATrail Hawk, American Hickory Handle (90TH) Category: Miscellaneous Knives