Cold Steel Trail Hawk

Cold Steel Trail Hawk Review

This shows the branch handle I made for the tomahawk.

The Cold Steel Trail Hawk has been a tool that I've wanted to review for a while now. I will admit, I think it is a good tool. I definitely wouldn't use it over a hatchet or an axe in a true survival situation, but it is a good compliment to my council tool's boy's axe when I am out in the field. I haven't used it much, but I plan on taking it on more trips. Even if it isn't as practical as a hatchet or an axe, it is a ton of fun to throw and it will easily take down small greenwood saplings for shelter or other purposes. It will also process firewood for a small cooking fire.

Cold Steel Trail Tomahawk with sheath. (modified)

Specs:

steel: 1055 high carbon steel
length: 22 inches
handle material: grade A Tennessee hickory
overall rating: 5 stars
price: $20                                                                                                            

Features:

Chopping: This is a decent chopping tool. It is not an axe or hatchet but it will work for a day trip. It holds its edge well too.

Throwing: This can throw pretty well. It's probably one of the best cheap tomahawks you can buy. I throw mine into a palm round, but you can throw it into a tree on a camp out. Throwing it can dull it, but I've not gotten any nicks in the edge of the blade yet. Throwing it will eventually break the handle. I've already gone through two handles. It is nice, though, because the handles can be replaced easily out a branch, for example.

Carving: To be honest, it doesn't carve all that well. If you re-profiled it, it might do okay but I haven't tried this and the steel seems too soft for it. However, the steel being soft helps with throwing and chopping because it is less likely to get chipped on the edges. But the steel being soft for carving makes it so that you can't get it as sharp as you would like. It can carve a tent stake or a shelter stake though.

Sparking a ferro rod: Being high carbon steel, it will throw pretty good sparks off a ferro rod.

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Council tool boys axe sheath.

Council Tool boys axe sheath

       Today I made a sheath for my council tool boy's axe. Here is what it looks like on the axe.

The custom leather sheath I made for the axe.
You can also see the stamped "USA" on the head.

It is very simple, but I do not know how long it will hold. The three components of it are the leather, heavy thread, and paracord. To make it, I took a square of leather and folded it over and stitched it up on the non-folded sides except for the part where the axe bit rests. It is kind of like a mask sheath. Then I took the paracord and tied it into holes cut on both sides and looped it around under the shoulder of the axe. To make the holes, I high-quality sewing scissors.

Here's the full view of the axe and the top view below. 

The handle grain runs tight and straight, just as I had hoped. it would..

Hope enjoyed this post! Thanks for reading. Check back for the full review of the Council Tool Boys Axe coming soon!