Estwing Black Eagle + mods?

K

Kale Schlegel

Joined
Jan 18, 2014
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32
Got this in the mail today after ordering it a couple days ago. wasn't sure what to expect but upon gettin' it i realized its heft. This is a solid Hawk. and as with a lot of people online my grinds were kinda messed up. Their centered but the bevels are a bit sloppy. not too bad to modify and fix but it really shouldve been done right from factory. I plan on modifying this hawk with a shrike style simple back spike and before you say i'm ruining this hawk. remember this is mine and their are many like it. I wasn't a fan out the other black eagle so i got the double bit. Still waiting on my handle hardware to work on the knife more before heat treat. Posting a picture of a simple idea on what to do. I'm open to ideas before i start grinding. To prove to you all that you don't need a 500 dollar hawk to bust locks or do hard work. This is for the every man.

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I had one of those myself. Only problem is I got it by mistake. I order the tomahawk and they shipped me the double bit instead.

To be honest I like your idea a lot more than the finished tomahawk of the company.
 
So when my RMJ Loggerhead comes in a week or so you will see why you pay what one pays, and doesn't go to Home Depot.
 
Got it cheaper on amazon. Not everyone had the cash to blow on an rmj. Id like to get one in the near future but i have priorities to attend to before i spend that kinda cash. Storm crow makes hawks out of the same steel and more hands on than rmj. Both are cool. But does a civvie really need a hawk? No. Do we want them. Yes.
 
Im sure and positive their great hawks. But just because there expensive doesnt make them the best. Steel is steel id rather have a hand made axe then a cookie cutter piece.
 
My black eagle is going strong. I wish it didn't have the cut out so I could thin the edge more without worrying about structural integrity. I ground the barbs off on the spike, it now goes through sub flooring just fine.
 
Their hawks there at Estwing, they're great.

I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. My eye was twitching.
 
I'm rather partial to their Rigger's Axe myself--it's a good smashy choppy thing for the homestead. :D
 
Keep in mind that was after the rough grind. I cleaned the profile up with files, and a dremel. Goin' to thin out the spike, but the chisel effect with the heads weight blasts through pallets like butter.
 
Definite improvement. You going to try sharpening the beard? I use that portion alot on my Shrike S13 to cut briar vines in the trails. Step on one end of vine, slip hawk under-pull up-cut.
 
Interesting, it looks with that model with no cut out you could bring the grind up and thin out the edge. What did you do the rough mods with?
 
Kale Schlegel said:
Got it cheaper on amazon. Not everyone had the cash to blow on an rmj. Id like to get one in the near future but i have priorities to attend to before i spend that kinda cash. Storm crow makes hawks out of the same steel and more hands on than rmj. Both are cool. But does a civvie really need a hawk? No. Do we want them. Yes.
Click to expand...

Agreed, plus what is the wait time on an RMJ?
When these estings first came out I did a quick mock up on paint that looked like yours, though my point was sharp.
I have used estwing hammers a lot and if these are half as tough and well built they will be a good tool.
 
RMJ wait times can vary from a few weeks to over a couple months depending on what model. I used an angle grinder with cutoff disk and shaping disk and files and dremel to partially fix my file marks really wish I had a belt sander. That's where any money I get from my knife is going. And I'm not sure if ill sharpen the beard I'm not quite sure how to start that without messing the blade up. From what I've done with it so far I'd say that their damn good for the money. And Full tang which is always good. Very heavy compared to a conventional hawk. I'm going to thin out the spike end more and try my hand at lock breaking.
 
Did you cool it off while you used the power tools? It took a long time for me to grind off the barbs on my estwing, I just ground a little bit here and there as I passed the grinder, always keeping it cool with a bucket of water.
 
The RMJ Shrike costs $425 for the bare bones basic package. Some of us simply can't afford to put down that much money, regardless of the fact that we do need a tomahawk.
 
I saw one guy that posted he couldn't afford an RMJ but he has about 8 or 10 Busse blades with another one in his sights. . .
I am interested to see how this modded hawk works. Are you going to test the spike on a padlock?
 
That looks awesome Kale. Can't wait to see if you do more. First I've heard of these axes.
 
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