Overview
Our sharpening service will provide a good serviceable edge on the blade. The result is typically “very sharp” with a small secondary bevel and a bit of an “apple seed” profile. The resulting edge is somewhat dependent on the particular blade. Some blades will take and hold sharper edges than others and the thickness of the blade will determine how wide the bevel will need to be. We adjust the angle of the edge to suit the specific blade and attempt to get as close to a bevel-less edge as possible without marring the surface of the blade.
The Sharpening Process
The sharpening service is done with a belt sander. The process involves many passes with sanding belts of various grits. The blades are rested between passes to prevent them from becoming hot and damaging their temper. By default we will sharpen as much of the blade as possible including any false edges if appropriate. If you have a different preference, feel free to make that request in the special instructions at check out. We can sharpen only the last half or third of an edge, for example. Our sword sharpening expert has personally sharpened several thousand swords at this point, so will provide you with a professional service.
What the Service is Not
The resulting edge will be “sword sharp” not razor sharp. Our goal is to provide you with a usable edge for cutting practice that will hold up to some use and not require constant re-sharpening. In other words, we intend to provide you with a serviceable weapon, not a personal grooming implement. The service will not provide a completely bevel-less edge. To create that type of edge will necessarily scratch up the blade surface and we lack the machinery and time to provide a full re-polishing of a blade’s surface. A service of that nature would be significantly more expensive as a great deal more time would be required. We do not offer this type of service at this time.
Disclaimer
We make no guarantee that the resulting edge will meet with your expectations. Every blade is different and some will take and hold a sharper edge than others, due to the blade material, heat treatment or geometry. Some customers can also have incorrect assumptions about sword sharpness and improper expectations as a result. All we can say for sure is that the resulting edge will be sharper than the default edge, in most cases, significantly so. We can not provide any refunds for the service once it has been completed, so consider it to be provided “as is”. That being said, if you are unhappy with the product for any reason, we do still allow you to return the item for a full refund, including the sharpening costs under our normal return policy. This does not apply to special sharpening requests, for example if we sharpen something specially for you that does not normally list that option on our site. The vast majority of our customers are happy with the results of the service, so as long as you keep the above mentioned in mind, we are confident you will be pleased with the results as well.
Bryan –
One of my favorite hawks First off, if you expect a Cold Steel hawk to be ready to go straight from the box then you’re likely to be disappointed. Every Cold Steel hawk I’ve ever dealt with has needed some level of work to bring it to a functional level, for the most part this consists of a good sharpening and reseting the head on the halft.
The Trail Hawk was the my first foray into CS hawks, it had good lines, a short cutting edge and well designed hammer poll. I bought it specifically with utility use in mind, mainly for game processing and small camp chores such as firewood cutting and tent peg instalation. It’s one of the few CS hawks I own that I didn’t do any real work to, like stripping the paint, or reprofiling the shape. I reset the head, cut some grooves in the halft for better purchase and sharpened it up. It’s withstood over ten years of random use including processing numerous deer and several harsh camping trips. The paint has held up well and I’ve had no issues with rust.
It’s a good hawk at a fair price.
Der L. –
A Camping Necessity I’ve owned this hawk for 4 years now and after many camping trips, and time assisting me in the woods and during yard work, I can say it’s one of the better Cold Steel axes. It’s light weight (especially when compared to the Rifeman’s Hawk) is great, and makes it hardly noticeable when carrying on your side or carrying it on your pack. During pell exercises, it also leads to faster recovery time on your strikes. It comes out of the box sharp too, which is a huge plus. And yes, the hammer works too.
The only major downside is that the Cold Steel Nylon sheath for this axe is awful. Do yourself a favor and get a kydex sheath off of ebay if you find yourself needing coverage for your axe head.
tl;dr – Great tomahawk. Light weight makes it awesome to carry and do drills with. I highly recommend buying an aftermarket scabbard.
Doublebad B. –
Indespensible Bought one in 2004 and loved it. Gifted it to my BIL who uses it On his homestead in rural Vermont, he swears by it.
His handle is still good. If you throw prepare to re-handle is my advice based on tossing other CD products.
Solid Value.
Jordan (verified owner) –
I saw so much love for this hawk online that it puzzled me. I first got the pipe hawk, as based on the stats and design, I figured it would be the best all-rounder. However, now that I got the trail hawk and handled it, I totally get the fanbase for this one. It’s just so damned easy to wield. So much better balance and still has a decent little blade and poll hammer on it. You don’t sacrifice much for something that’s way easier to carry and use.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m still quite happy with the pipe hawk and think it’s better for heavier jobs. I just mean I absolutely see the appeal of the trail hawk now and I’m glad I got it, even if it is a bit redundant. Still glad. I’d say, for light backpacking, this would be indispensable. If it’s the only hawk you have, you’re still not missing out on much.
So basically, this one is a no-brainer. You may have or want other hawks, but this is still one you probably won’t regret and may even be your favorite to use.