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Small head hatchets/tomahawks
- Thread starter hiwa
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I guess no one gets to see any pics.....great...
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Here they are Goat:
These are not made in large numbers. They are over the one pound but carry very light. They have all the quality of the best axe and only one smith makes them.
They are offering some old patterns now also. wiseman trading has some of the hard to find items.
Floyd
They are offering some old patterns now also. wiseman trading has some of the hard to find items.
Floyd
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Do any of you fellas own a small ( less than 1 lb. head) hatchets/tomahawks ? If so, i'd like to see some pics, and am wondering if any makers forge something along the lines of the old Colclesser-type of small heads ( single-bit ). The closest thing I've seen is the GB mini. I've recently noticed my hatchet collection is accumulating just like my knives are, and am interested in small hatchets/tomahawks that can easily be carried in a backpack or BoB.
Hiwa,
Check out this article: http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/tinyhatchets.html
I have the Gransfors Mini, and like it alot. I also have the Vaughn. For the money, its a great deal. It will just need some tuning up.
Chris
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I too have a Gransfors mini and it is excellent. I recently picked up a Bark River Mini Axe (after a long search, as they have been discontinued) and it is the same size as the Gransfors and performs at least equally to it. Many claim the Bark River is superior but I have not extensively tested both the Granfors and Bark River back-to-back, so I will hold off on final conclusions. The shape of the head on the Bark River mini leads me to believe it may be better for splitting wood or slicing cuts, as it is noticeably thinner than the Gransfors.
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i consider all the Gen 1 Mk 4/V BUG hawks to be General Purpose Hawks, suitable for Ultralight Camping without so many sacrifices (if you know your techniques).
that said;
let's not talk about MY hawks for a second - let's talk about just hawks in general, brother. - what makes hawks tick (IMHO).
for my purposes, i could use BUG hawks for all my Utility Purposes, and never as a weapon, and i'd be perfectly happy as a woodsman.
- the funky thing about a proper hawk is it isn't a compromise in either function, as a tool and a weapon - that's what we have to emphasize to folks, which frankly, i do very poorly, i reckon.
It's easier to just to say "buy it, brother - it's risk free - Happiness Guiarantee, yadda-yadda...."
if you are thinking you want to have something heavier, we do the more wedge-like/less knife-like heads, but then you start getting into weight and balance issues and specialization, like tasks involving chopping down trees and boarding them out, etc. (which i would do with a hawk and a machete BTW, if i was caught out in the middle of nowhere with just my hawk and long blade of choice, for instance, and wanted to make a building or bomb shelter or something without good tools for that specific purpose, like axes, sledge hammers, and froes, etc.)
hawks, which USUALLY have small bits take advantage of higher PSI than a wider bit has, where it strikes (generally). that's the secret to a good hawk, outside of its general physics which distinguishes it from a hatchet.
- it's a chisel on a string essentially, effortlessly carving away at the wood, bone, etc. you can increase the PSI on a large bit by curving the edge more, sweeping it away from a straighter edge configuration, but with big heavy heads you are courting disaster in tired or unskilled hands when you do that, because of glancing hazards. - one mod that we have done in the past that made me ditch my Gransfors Bruks Forest Axe (which i absolutely worshipped BTW, nothin' wrong with GBs) is a modified Cold Steel Rifleman's , where i would cut the hammer poll at the neck.
- all the unnecessary mass is removed, while giving you sort of a framing hammer/forest axe/battle axe on steroids. brother 7.62' had the first test prototype we did, which we have since improved upon greatly. we are re-working his old one now - ya gotta love what ya can do with composites. the mod'd Rifleman's worlds better than the Plainsman or Norse Hawk IMHO, at least for utility.
the Rifleman, even with the mods, is not a hawk though; too heavy and the balance is different.
anyways -
.......
you use your brain with a hawk. you use your brawn with an axe (- again; that's generally speaking, a lot of lumberjacks are scientist/wizards when it comes to eliminating wood - and i've only got respect for that).
- a (poor) example of that would be, an axe man would chop a log to pieces, to carry it across a field.
a hawk man would stick his hawk in the log, and simply drag it across the field like a sled, to use later, and probably to part it up with fire.
........
a hatchet man would pound his hatchet through a log to split it, or lift the log to split it. - lots of energy and sweat used. bad for survival and energy conservation. plus he has to carry it up the dang hill. using this technique, he also has no contingency plan if he lodges his hatchet in the wood, etc. (- for the purposes of discussion).
a hawk man would make a bunch of sticks with wedges chopped into them faster than i can write this, and pound them into the log with a baton he made, with the hawk again. :thumbup: if the wood was really tough, he'd just poor water on the sticks after they were wedged in (and no, that doesn't ruin the firewood potential of your logs - that's the difference between theory and practice, i reckon, no disrespect intended to anyone.)
.........
all that garbage stated by myself,
...we are making some special heads with TOPS Knives, which will probably be like Crack to the hatchet and axe brethren out there, who stay away from hawks because of their issues with proper hawks, real and imagined. time will tell.........
one last thing - a lot of folks talk about Utility. - most of "utility" to me, before you even start talking about technique and all that other trash i preach about, is Getting There. if your tool is too heavy to hike in, or you are hurt and watching ounces, ...or as smart as you are, you can't protect everyone in your party and you might have to carry them out, etc. - maybe you cshould consider a proper hawk.
so, right - hawks aren't for everyone, but the more active you are without depending on your truck or boat or horse - some kind of beast of burden, i think you are going to want a hawk more, and something heavier and/or shorter less.
your feet, knees, and back will thank you, sooner or later.
we shall see.
vec
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I have two Vaughan Sub-zero's - one of which was modified by Mike Stewart's Bark River shop. Drop me off on the side of a mountain with the sun going down and I'd probably choose it over a knife - great tool for building shelters and getting firewood. The one I got from BRKT is perfect - the other Vaughan I got has the head a little crooked. It'd need to be re-handled to fix that and really maximize performance. The Vaughan's have small eyes - people have broken the hafts so you have to take care. It's a sounding axe for foresters - not originally designed for chopping lots of wood. It's a truly tiny hatchet - I can carry it in the cargo pocket of my pants or a jacket pocket and not even notice it.
The top two pics are the Vaughan and the bottom one is the Vaughan modified by BRKT (they no longer modify them).
It's an awesome tool :thumbup:
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yep, it's a great way to do some neat things.
ever seen a spoon made out of wood with a coal?
- it's a similar principle, folks all over the world have been using it (and are still using it) since prehistoric times. th elat place that it was really popular (as far as i know) on this continent was with the Natives in the Pacific Northwest.
the mud is used to control what part of the tree the fire damages/removes, so good wood is conserved. the mud sticks to vertical surfaces and is very precise, compared to just throwing water. less chance of steam burns as well.
it was a technique that was especially popular in cultures where tools were absent, or highly valued, or folks just wanted to do things the easiest way possible. - i've been in all three of those situations, on multiple comtinents.
you just build a fire on one side of a tree, and have plenty of mud handy. you cake the trunk with the mud, and start the fire, keeping it under control with a toss here and there with the mud. pretty soon you can knock over the tree.
you can make dug-out canoes and all sorts of things with modification to this technique. you would use the hawk to scrape away coals, limb the trunk, etc., never losing a drop of sweat.
conserving energy is very important when there is no Second Place.
i am sure a lot of folks here agree.
vec
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akennedy73,
One of the Vaughns in Jimbo's article was also reground by BRKT, and IIRC, it spanked the Gransfors Mini. I am well aware of the small eyes, and bought a few replacement hafts....just in case. From your pictures, it appears that the BRKT regrind is more in line with the Mini's profile...?
I like your taste in blades,
Chris
Looks like a Queen Mountain-man to me.Not trying to derail the thread, but who makes that lockback folder in the bottom picture?
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This is one I have of Stephen's
I like this one C Bryant, Stephen5 does some Great Work and that's a Beautiful Belt Hatchet,
Here's my two Favorite's the one one on the Left Is a Great River Forge Camp Hawk/Hatchet, Hammer Poll 5 1/2" From Hammer to the 3 3/16" Very Sharp Cutting Edge, 18" Hickory Handle and 24 OZ's, The one on the right Is the Fort Turner Trapper, 5 5/16" from Hammer Poll to the Razor Sharp 3 3/16" Cutting Edge, 15 1/8" Ash Handle, and 17 OZ's, These are both Great Chopper's and very light In the Field and I have a Belt Sheath from Fort Turner that fit's Most of my Hawk's,
Here's my Fort Turner Belt Sheath, It fit's most of my Hawk's, I got my Great River Forge Camp Hawk In it In this picture, But It'll carry the GRF Large French Thrower and the Large American also the Fort Turner Trapper, I like this Sheath It's a tad bit on the Big side but I like that,
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Here are tips on re-grinding the Vaughan:
http://www.oldjimbo.com/survival/vaughangrind.html
It's essentially what Mike's shop did - I think he got the idea of regrinding Subzero's from Jimbo and others who tried it. The idea is to smooth out the ramp so it passes through a split easily - and that's a big reason I carry it. I often carry a scandi with a stick tang and I'm just not fond of the idea of batoning it through a piece of wood. The BRKT-modified Vaughan excels at it - just seat the edge and tap, tap, tap with a piece of wood and I've got nice split firewood. :thumbup:
Brian Andrews does something similar with Snow and Nealley axes, smoothing out the ramp and polishing up the grind:
http://www.offthemapoutfitters.com/category.sc?categoryId=3
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Not trying to derail the thread, but who makes that lockback folder in the bottom picture?
yep, tholiver's got it - Queen Mountain Man in D2 with maple scales
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You should keep a look out for old Norlund hatchets on Ebay.
Some of them are around 16 ounces and are actually great little hatchets!
Got the pair for $32 on ebay!
The one on top is just slightly smaller and lighter than the one on the bottom.
You got them Beauty's looken Great, And at that price you cant go wrong, I sure nuff like the Head design on both of them "The Top one catch's my eye narrower & lighter ! Them are some Real Nice Hatchet's,
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