Welcome to our forum. This question allows me to elaborate on a few concepts which have been on my mind for some time, but never really knew how to share on our forum until asked. Great questions Ad! I will try to deal with them in order....
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What is the best CQB hawk made, balance-wise?
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In our product line, I would submit that the Vietnam Tomahawk offers the user the best experience of a well balanced instrument in motion....the Vietnam Tomahawk weighs in at just under a pound...OVERALL WEIGHT. This translates into tremendous speed, particularly in the geometry of a Tomahawk, as the majority of the weight is at the furthest extreme of the handle, as opposed to a knife, where the balance point on most designs range from the center of the overall length of the knife to the guard area.
As for "balance" specifically, the "feel" of a balanced Tomahawk is dictated by head weight, handle length, and handle dimensions (girth, contours, and straight vs. forward pitched handle).
Few if any Tomahawks are balanced at the center of the distance between handle butt and top of the head. Where the balance point is however, will influence the feel from that of a very top heavy object on a toothpick, to something that glides in motion.
The Vietnam Tomahawk offers that "gliding" feeling, due to its handle dimensions, handle length, and head weight.
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If it is Vietnam hawk, will the Vietnam hawk be offered with a longer haft; say, maybe 16" or 17"?
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We are considering this in order to allow the Vietnam Tomahawk to qualify in most national and international Tomahawk Throwing Competitions, where the handle must be a minimum of 15" in overall length.
This does change the feel, but does not drastically effect the throwability of the Hawk in terms of flight charactersitics..it just causes it to require more distance to make a complete turn....in other words, if all throwing mechanics were equal, the Vietnam Tomahawk with the std. 14" handle would make a full turn at a shorter distance to the target than a 16" handle.....however, the turn distances are not just 2" different because of the difference in handle length...we typically find that due to other forces, such as gravity to name one, the distance needs to be increased by foot or so...it depends on the thrower's mechanics.
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From what I have read, I should get a hawk that has a haft about the length from my elbow to finger-tips. Would lenthening the haft throw off the balance of the Vietnam hawk?
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I have not heard of this formula as a sizing method and therefore can't comment on its value. As for lengthening the handle on a Vietnam Hawk and its effect on the feel and balance, the response above speaks to this.
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Would I be better off going for the spike Ranger?
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The Ranger Spike Hawk is a much more robust instrument than the Vietnam Hawk...both the head and handle are larger in virtually every dimension. It does feel good to most folks due to the design, though it will not move as fast in a CQB application. However, it will hit alot harder. This same comparison is made in bowhunting virtually every day.....a heavier arrow will offer more penetration than a lighter arrow, with all other things equal, but the variable is if the game animal one is hunting will "jump" the string (a reference to an animal hearing the bow explode and avoid the incoming arrow in flight). It has a greater chance of avoidance with the slower arrow obviously. The true answer to your question here would be to assess the application carefully, and choose the best Hawk for the job.
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I plan to get a custom hawk; would they be able to leather wrap it for me, or is this something I should try to do myself?
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Well....if you ordered a std. Ranger or Vietnam Hawk, you would need to do the wrap yourself. However, if you are talking a truly "custom" order Hawk, our custom shop can do it no problem.
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I know I am all over the board here, but I am really enthused about getting something nice; however, I am more interested with CQB, with throwing being a secondary activity. Thank you.
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Some food for thought on a custom ATC Hawk would be the Ranger Spike, fully satin finished (which does hog away a fair amount of weight from the std. head), with a handle length and girth to your specifications. Perhaps a custom laser etch with your name, or some other design or scripting of your choosing (based on our laser etch programs), with a leather wrap toward the bottom of the handle. Oooooooohhhhh!
I may order one for myself now!
Hope this helps......
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Andy Prisco,
Co-Founder, Manager
American Tomahawk Company
877-557-5200
http://www.americantomahawk.com
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[This message has been edited by Andy Prisco (edited 05-21-2001).]
