Failed quiver leads to another project.

[Dorado]

So, I tried my hand at making a side quiver. Failed miserably, lets leave it at that. However I decided that I'd go ahead a replace a piece of my hunting kit that got stolen. I used to keep a small hatchet in my hunting bag. However my bag was stolen so I've just done without. Well, I got the wild hare to replace it with a tomahawk. I can't afford a very nice one but the cold steel ones are decent if you don't mind finishing them. They come with a nasty black paint that is surprisingly difficult to remove. But I figured I'd share my project for this week. If it doesn't belong the please delete.
   
     

I began with a Cold Steel Pipe Hawk. I got it from Walmart.com for less than $30. I could have gone with their Trail hawk but I like this design a bit better.
First thing I did was strip the paint off the head. I used an aerosol paint stripper that foamed up and dissolved the paint. It took less than 10 minutes for it to work. I then washed it off. This revealed where the manufacturer hardened the blade and the hammer head. I then took it to my belt sander and sanded a flat spot on the blade to use on my ferro rod fire starter. Works really well. I didn't like the shine it had so I did a forced patina on it by boiling it in white vinegar for 20 minutes. I wished I had a bigger pot to use as the head didn't submerge completely, but I made it work(If you look in the second picture you can see where it's darker on one spot. After boiling, I  rubbed it down with steel wool. I then sanded the handle down to fit the head better and to remove the finish. I then shortened the handle by 3 inches and stained it with a dark mahogany wood stain. I plan on finishing it with an oil later on. I made the sheath out of some scrap 6/7oz leather I had left over from my back quiver. I didn't have quite enough and so the very bottom of the blade sticks out. Less than 1/8" though. The strap wraps around the handle and snaps tightly. I finished the leather with Neetsfoot oil. I may treat it with SnoSeal to waterproof it, but only if needed. Next time I buy leather I'll make sure to get enough to redo the sheath. I want to add a loop for my ferro rod and maybe have a thicker welt.
Rides on the belt fairly well. Overall I think I like how it turned out.
Still trying to figure out why I went with a tomahawk verses a hatchet but oh well.
So, what do y'all think?

[Jack Skinner]

I think it looks cool and old school, nice job.

 I carry a hawk as well. My son and his friend used to laugh at me. Notice used to, they took a cow elk in late season, it froze overnight and their knives couldnt get the legs off the quarters frozen solid. Without my hawk they would have had to pack the quarters with those long elk legs catching on all the timber. They dont laugh at my hawk any more and I notice a hatchet in my sons pack this year. The young man is paying attention after all.

[Dorado]

Thanks Jack

Frozen animals are just one reason I carried my hatchet. I had a hog I shot and couldn't seem to quarter. That hatchet made quick work of him. I'm sure this hawk will be every bit as useful as that hatchet was, if not more.
So, while I'm in the mood to modify this thing. Is there anything else I should consider doing? Tomorrow I plan on seeing just how sharp I can make it.

[Caughtandhobble]

I really like that. I carry a hatchet on my back quiver. They are handy as pockets on a shirt. Nice Work!!!

[monterey]

I like your carry sheath.  I m looking for a very small one and found one called a mouse hawk that might work.

Would you consider it an acceptable alternative to a bone saw?

[Dorado]

Originally posted by monterey:
I like your carry sheath.  I m looking for a very small one and found one called a mouse hawk that might work.

Would you consider it an acceptable alternative to a bone saw?

Thanks, I couldn't find a sheath I liked. Almost all had the blade facing forward and I don't like the way it sticks out. So I made the sheath to hold the blade pointed backwards. It doesn't protrude and I have very easy access to it. I'm going to play around with the strap a bit more. It didn't turn out quite the way I hoped it would.
I never really cared for bone saws. I have one but I rarely used it. If I needed to cut a bone I usually just gave it a good whack from my hatchet. Unless I was cutting it to leave in the meat. Then I'd freeze it and use a clean saw. I try to keep my cutting tools as sharp as I possibly can. They usually glide right through animals, especially when cutting with the grain. Got though a deer sternum in seconds.

So, acceptable as long as you realize that it does cause splinters to shoot out sometimes, and you do have to be a bit more careful.

When I was looking to replace my hatchet I was looking at the different designs. Most hatchets and axe designs are a wedge shape. When I looked at the tomahawks I saw that they stay fairly thin through most of the body before flaring around the handle. This aspect should allow for deeper cuts however it may make the blade a bit weaker if it gets twisted.

[Hopewell Tom]

I really like that!
Nice job explaining the process. I've thought about the hawk vs. the hatchet. Hard to decide, but like the thinner body - deeper cutting idea.
 When you said you don't why you chose the hawk, the thing that hit me is - learn how to throw it. That would be a really neat addition to the trad ways. Might end up having to get more than one, if the throwing doesn't go as planned...
Thanks for sharing.

[Hopewell Tom]

And...
the ferro rod in the same sheath is a good idea. Good combo.

[Dorado]

Originally posted by Hopewell Tom:
I really like that!
Nice job explaining the process. I've thought about the hawk vs. the hatchet. Hard to decide, but like the thinner body - deeper cutting idea.
 When you said you don't why you chose the hawk, the thing that hit me is - learn how to throw it. That would be a really neat addition to the trad ways. Might end up having to get more than one, if the throwing doesn't go as planned...
Thanks for sharing.

I thought about learning how to throw one but that doesn't really interest me that much. For me this is going to be a tool not a toy. I don't want to break a handle and be stuck not having one to use. Guess I could just buy a couple more handles.
I'm going to see if there's a way I can incorporate a ferro rod strap into the existing sheath. I'm not sure how or where though. I'll keep playing with it and figure it out.

[Green]

Originally posted by Caughtandhobble:
I really like that. I carry a hatchet on my back quiver. They are handy as pockets on a shirt. Nice Work!!!

Ben.....any chance you would post a pic of how you've got that secured to your BQ?  Thanks!    

[carpenter]

Looks great, I think I need one!

[Caughtandhobble]

Rob,
Here's a picture... I simply cut slits in the quiver and placed the hatchet in. It rides great and is always there when I need it... When Daniel "Yononindo" was down last year we did a little horse trading and I got this nice hatchet for a deer antler knife that I made.

 

[Dorado]

Ben that's a real neat trick there. Wouldn't be too difficult to modify my BQ to accept my tomahawk. Although I think my hawk would be too long.

[Caughtandhobble]

Ya, the "hawk" may be too big, I don't know. I do know I will be trying to duplicate your tomahawk in the near future.  

[Dorado]

Go for it! It was really easy. I will warn you about three things though.
1) The paint they use is really hard to get off. Use a good paint stripper
2) If you want to put a ferro rod striker on it I'd suggest using a belt sander because I was trying with a file for about an hour with little results.
3) Kinda fun to do.

[Dorado]

 

Ok, well I worked on the sheath some more this weekend. I switched the strap around so that it buckles at the handle. This makes it a bit easier to deal with as I can hold onto the hawk and snap/unsnap it at the same time. When I cut the new strap I made a 90* turn and added a loop for my ferro rod. Rides very well. However I'm going to have to remake the sheath entirely. If you look at the bottom you can see where the blade just pokes out from the sheath. I don't like that but I didn't have a choice. I didn't have enough leather to make it longer. So I'll be making a new one once I get more leather. I'll continue to modify and play with the design here and there but this should be fairly close to the final design.
I think that on the next one, I'll make the blade pocket deeper, the strap shorter, and have the ferro rod holder vertical. I may try to get a thicker leather. The one I'm using now is veg tanned 6/7oz, I may see about getting a 8/9oz piece and seeing what I can do with it.