New Full Tang Tomahawk Design, the "Work Hawk"

[Park Swan]

Hey guys, I want to share my newtomahawk design. The original idea for this hawk started a few years ago when I began investigating the concept of a single tool for backpacking and bushcraft. There are quite a few "tactical" tomahawks around, but I was always shocked to see that they were so heavy, not usually ground for chopping wood so much as people/tanks/helicopters, and generally unwieldy for normal outdoor use. I wanted to get as much chopping power into a 1lb tool as possible without sacrificing the ability to do all of the basic camp chores and more or muddying the design into a gimmicky survival tool.

I know that the Axe, Tomahawk, & Hatchet Forum threads are usually either involving traditional axes and tools or "tactical" tomahawks, with most posters in this subforum staying in the kinds of threads they are interested in. I'd like to emphasize that I'm not intending this to be a tactical tomahawk, and that I would really appreciate any critical feedback offered by the seasoned gentlemen who are so knowledgable about axes and related tools, cutting geometry, etc., even if it's "That's stupid, a normal hatchet would be ten times better." Thanks in advance!

This Work Hawk is made from .25" 52100 hardened to 57RC bit and poll. The tang is tempered to 47RC. The handles are terotuf, which is awesomely grippy. Overall length is 12.75", cutting edge is 3.75". This one weighs in at 21.75oz.

 

[JayGoliath]

Hi Park,

Well-thoughtout design.

What is that hole on the head for?

Jay

 

[Park Swan]

Thanks, Jay.
The hole in the head is just to cut down on weight. There are a lot of potential ways to shape that area given the same weight and cutting edge goals, but I went with the hole for a few reasons. Other possibilities either left insufficient meat behind the edge, made the balance funky, messed with the grip when choked up, or lacked the strength that the hole retains.

 

[Twindog]

Looks gorgeous. The craftsmanship also appears excellent. You have made my wallet nervous.

I have moved away form full-tang hawks mostly because they transmit vibrations down to the hand and move the balance point too far down the handle. Also, with a forged head, I can get more of a full-sized hammer head.

I've often wondered if you could reduce vibrations by using rubber scale liners.

What I do like about full-tang hawks is their exceptional strength and compactness.

For better feedback, it would help to send one of your Work Hawks off to a competent reviewer. But it sure looks nice.

 

[BFS]

For better feedback, it would help to send one of your Work Hawks off to a competent reviewer. But it sure looks nice.

It should be showing up here in a few days. Not sure how competent I am, but I plan on doing a chop test on oak and cedar, splitting, making feathersticks, carving points and cutting some meat. I'm open to any suggestions on additional tests, so post here if you have an idea.

 

[Park Swan]

Thanks, Twindog. I agree with your two main issues. The hammer especially is the main advantage of a normal tomahawk in my mind, but in this case the knife-like sliceyness is the trade-off. I've seen bolted-on hammer polls but I can't remember where. It may be a fun concept to toy with in the future. I also wonder the same thing about rubber liners, although this was my first time working with terotuf and I gotta say it's pretty rubbery. Balance wise, this hawk sits at 2 inches north of the center chainring bolt, and I think it really contributes to stability and comfort when using the hawk to slice or carve, of course trading off a bit of speed/power advantage.
Thanks again for the feedback.

It should be showing up here in a few days. Not sure how competent I am, but I plan on doing a chop test on oak and cedar, splitting, making feathersticks, carving points and cutting some meat. I'm open to any suggestions on additional tests, so post here if you have an idea.

Great :thumbup:

 

[LG&M]

It should be showing up here in a few days. Not sure how competent I am, but I plan on doing a chop test on oak and cedar, splitting, making feathersticks, carving points and cutting some meat. I'm open to any suggestions on additional tests, so post here if you have an idea.

I suggest you put it head to head with a good hatchet of about the same size.

 

[Ragnar Lothbrok]

Thanks, Twindog. I agree with your two main issues. The hammer especially is the main advantage of a normal tomahawk in my mind, but in this case the knife-like sliceyness is the trade-off. I've seen bolted-on hammer polls but I can't remember where. It may be a fun concept to toy with in the future. I also wonder the same thing about rubber liners, although this was my first time working with terotuf and I gotta say it's pretty rubbery. Balance wise, this hawk sits at 2 inches north of the center chainring bolt, and I think it really contributes to stability and comfort when using the hawk to slice or carve, of course trading off a bit of speed/power advantage.
Thanks again for the feedback.




Great :thumbup:

Looks awesome!

 

[BFS]

I suggest you put it head to head with a good hatchet of about the same size.

Plan on doing just that with a GB Wildlife hatchet.

 

[BFS]

Received the new Work Hawk today. Got the never used Gransfors Bruks Wildlife hatchet out of the shed and got to work.

I grabbed a 4" diameter piece of seasoned, really hard post oak out of the woodpile and went to chopping. They both chopped equally well. The Work Hawk was sharper however. When I baton wood, I lay the wood flat on a stump, get a small bite into it with the hatchet and then whack them together down on the stump and twist to snap the wood. The GB didn't want to bite into the wood and just wouldn't split it, even with several hard whacks. The Work Hawk bit right in and split another piece on the first try. Then it did the same on the first piece that the Bruks couldn't.

Next I got a piece of 1" diameter cedar branch. Choking up on the handle to make some feathersticks was next. The Work Hawk being much sharper worked much better. It easily sliced while I had to work at getting the Wildlife hatchet to slice. Carving the ends to make a bow drill had the same results. I used the hole in the head with my index finger to get a better grip. The sharpness of the Work Hawk made the work easier.

The only con I have about the Work Hawk was the sharpness of the knob. Since I don't normally use gloves, I didn't use them during this test. When I was chopping a fresh cedar branch that was still attached to the tree, right where my little finger wrapped around the grip on top of the knob, it quickly rubbed off the skin. Gloves would've prevented it.

All in all, I'll pack the WorkHawk (And a glove).

 

[Storm Crow]

Missed seeing this when it was first posted for some reason. Without having it in hand, I'd say I like the overall design. I'm curious how the edge being closer to the handle than on most axes would affect the balance and chopping. I would round all corners on the TeroTuf, even the edges on the bevels. Of course, you may have done so by now.

BFS - Thanks for doing the head-to-head test!

 

[Park Swan]

Missed seeing this when it was first posted for some reason. Without having it in hand, I'd say I like the overall design. I'm curious how the edge being closer to the handle than on most axes would affect the balance and chopping. I would round all corners on the TeroTuf, even the edges on the bevels. Of course, you may have done so by now.

BFS - Thanks for doing the head-to-head test!

Thanks man, I appreciate the feedback. You are the first to mention the shortened bit, good eye It makes the hawk much more versatile for close up work IMO, which is the main advantage over a large knife in a tool at this weight. I also wanted to keep the size relatively compact for packability, it's hard to strap a hawk with a 6" long bit to the side of many packs without the bit or poll sticking out somewhere.

The most recent terotuf handles I've been taking the corner octagonal facets down even further (if that makes sense) and then rounding off all of the resulting corners more as well.

 

[philbro]

Great design & concept. I'm always on the lookout for tools that will lighten my pack, but are still useable. Nice one. :thumbup:

 

[Park Swan]

Great design & concept. I'm always on the lookout for tools that will lighten my pack, but are still useable. Nice one. :thumbup:

Thanks! Same here, that's how it got started

 

[F H V]

A little late, reading through the thread I didn't see a price for the Work Hawk. Is it in production & if so what would the price be?
Thanks.

 

[Park Swan]

I just realized I never posted my second iteration of this design to this thread, the XL:

With terotuf, awesome material for a small axe handle:

With paracord, for lightweight backpackery types like myself. Also a fun grind:

 

[Park Swan]

A little late, reading through the thread I didn't see a price for the Work Hawk. Is it in production & if so what would the price be?
Thanks.

Now I'm the late one, missed this post apparently, looking at the date I was on my honeymoon.
I have a few being finished up in the next month or so with different options. The regular size work hawk starts at 260 with a basic sheath.

 

[Hickory n steel]

With hatchet shaped knives like this they tend not to be properly forward heavy like a regular axe or hatchet is, so why would you want to put a hole in the head reducing it's weight up top even further ?
They do look well made though, so I can appreciate that.

 

[Park Swan]

With hatchet shaped knives like this they tend not to be properly forward heavy like a regular axe or hatchet is, so why would you want to put a hole in the head reducing it's weight up top even further ?
They do look well made though, so I can appreciate that.

Great question. I like term hatchet shaped knife because it illustrates in my mind the concept of cutting like a knife rather than a hatchet. The design is a balance of multiple variables, revolving around a specific weight, as lightness of the tool was paramount. The weight of the tool being decided beforehand (in the case of the regular size hawk my goal was 1lb, para cord wrap version comes in at about 17oz) meant that I needed to create a tool that would excel at its weight. At such a low weight, the benefits of axe style balance between penetration and chip throwing are almost entirely lost, and it makes much more sense to focus a tool with a thinner edge to bite deeper. A well designed knife at 1lb will outchop a 1lb hatchet easily, but a large knife is less wieldy and more dangerous than a hatchet for many small or delicate tasks. There is just too much extra blade that is never used, and using it like a hammer is dangerous. So the design is weight forward, but not as much as a hatchet, and the hole allows me to get the balance I want for chopping and carving at a certain weight with a certain bit size. Of course, the hole could be filled in and give the head a couple more ounces of steel and slightly better chopping power, but then it's a heavier tool.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Great question. I like term hatchet shaped knife because it illustrates in my mind the concept of cutting like a knife rather than a hatchet. The design is a balance of multiple variables, revolving around a specific weight, as lightness of the tool was paramount. The weight of the tool being decided beforehand (in the case of the regular size hawk my goal was 1lb, para cord wrap version comes in at about 17oz) meant that I needed to create a tool that would excel at its weight. At such a low weight, the benefits of axe style balance between penetration and chip throwing are almost entirely lost, and it makes much more sense to focus a tool with a thinner edge to bite deeper. A well designed knife at 1lb will outchop a 1lb hatchet easily, but a large knife is less wieldy and more dangerous than a hatchet for many small or delicate tasks. There is just too much extra blade that is never used, and using it like a hammer is dangerous. So the design is weight forward, but not as much as a hatchet, and the hole allows me to get the balance I want for chopping and carving at a certain weight with a certain bit size. Of course, the hole could be filled in and give the head a couple more ounces of steel and slightly better chopping power, but then it's a heavier tool.

That makes sense, thinner blades do normally penetrate deeper.
BTW wouldn't having wood handle scales help reduce shock, sort of like how Vaughan puts a hickory plug in some hammer heads to absorb some shock ?
If you went with the material you did for strength, There's a slot in the tang right ? If so one could also potentially just put a Wood strip in there between the grips to achieve the same affect.