Store bought vs handmade?

[Chris Grimbowyer]

Hey guys does anyone think that the store bought tomahawks can compete with the handmades ? Same with their knives?

THERE WILL BE NO POSTING OF COMMERCIAL BUILT KNIVES! THIS FORUM IS FOR MEMBER BUILT KNIVES ONLY!

[elk ninja]

Having never owned a store bought tomahawk, take what I am about to say with that in mind...

I have owned a few different  knives, and their hype machine does a very, very good job of selling their products, some of which are quite good...

but is the axes $50-75 "better" than the CS hawks?  Hard to really say, buth will chop down a tree, make a shelter (well, make a shelter with your direction, unfortunately not on their own though)... yes.  

But here's the catch, and there's no real way to get around it.  CS simply does not have the craftsmanship that a handmade axe (or knife) will have.

My personal best advice is to get an axe from another handmade Swedish factory, get.  I love mine, they are offered in the same size ranges as the GBs, are hand made... same with (nearly) all the CS knives.  They do the job, some are very good, but they simply do not have the craftsmanship of something higher priced.

THERE WILL BE NO POSTING OF COMMERCIAL BUILT KNIVES! THIS FORUM IS FOR MEMBER BUILT KNIVES ONLY!

[Lin Rhea]

Chris,
        It's funny that you ask this question right now. I am just finishing a hawk head. I have heat treated it and almost have the final finish on it. It's looking real good. It's 4 3/4 inch from cutting edge to semi hammer poll. The cutting edge is 2 1/2 inches.

What's special about it? Will it out perform a CS hawk?

I would like to think so, but I have never cut with a CS. What I do know is that I really did it right, the way the old guys did to a high degree. I took a piece of mild steel (1018) for the body, then made the chisel to split it, then I made a drift to drift it with. I then split the blade and inserted a high carbon bit for the cutting edge, welded the bit to the body with a coal forge and refined the overall forging of the hawk. The I spent quite a bit of time on the heat treat and draw back to get it the right hardness for a hawk, not a knife.

So, what does this mean? To some people, the fact that someone made the hawk in the old ways by hand... succeeding when failure was a very real risk... means something to them. Even if it cuts the same as a CS, some would rather have one that's built by hand. It will probably cost more, but still they will want it.

It depends on several things and only you can say. Lin

[Lin Rhea]

Here's a quick shot of the hawk head among some of my many ongoing projects. Lin

   

[amar911]

Lin,

I love the design of that hawk you made. I'm with you -- I like it done the "old fashioned" way.

Allan

[Chris Grimbowyer]

Thats a great looking hawk! I was just wondering what your opinions where and I find myself always wanting to make my own of everything! so I guess I should invest in a forge and pull out that railroad tie for an anvil and get hammering! I have some nice HC railroad spikes to start with! No matter how good something is I always perfer the one I made. Thats what got me into making bows.

[Chris Grimbowyer]

By the way how do you get it so smooth and shiny? I tried making one with a fire pit earlier this year and I couldent get it hot enough to do more than just flatten it... but I never understood how blacksmiths got that beautiful smoothness on them?

[Lin Rhea]

Thanks. I use a belt grinder and hand sanding. The steel is nice and pretty when you get it finished down to a fine grit of finish. Lin

[Chris Grimbowyer]

Thanks Lin