| | |  | Electronics & Instruments | Home » » Tomahawk Trail Hawk | | | | | | | Description: | | Modeled after an early frontier pattern, the Trail Hawk can do it all. It's an excellent chopper and has a functional hammer poll with a hardened face so you can drive nails, hammer in stakes, and smash or crush just about anything. It's extremely lightweight and compact so it's a cinch to tuck it under your belt or lash it to a pack or shooting bag.Specifications:- Overall: 19.1"- Primary Edge: 2 1/4"- Hawk Length: 6 1/2"- Weight 19.1oz.- Steel: Drop Forged 1055 Carbon- Handle: American Hickory | | | Features: | |
• Trail Hawk
• 705442003991
• Cold Steel stands behind their knives 100%. The fixed blade sheath knives have a five-year warrant
| | | Product Details: | | | Product Weight:
| 1.4 pounds | | Package Length:
| 22.0 inches | | Package Width:
| 7.0 inches | | Package Height:
| 1.1 inches | | Package Weight:
| 1.6 pounds | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 51 reviews |
| | | | Customer Reviews: | |
Average Customer Review:
 ( 51 customer reviews )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 31 found the following review helpful:
 Nice, but there are better hawksMar 16, 2009
By Richard Davis
"richardavis2000@yahoo.com"
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.
11 of 11 found the following review helpful:
 Good one for the priceJun 09, 2007
By Monk
"C.L. Newton"
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.
9 of 9 found the following review helpful:
Good out of the box, great with a little work...Oct 25, 2010
By RoninUT
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.
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Great valueMar 13, 2009
By James Renton
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.
5 of 5 found the following review helpful:
Solid pieces, but some assembly required for a good fit.Dec 11, 2011
By Dfib
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.
See all 51 customer reviews on Amazon.com
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