SFA vs Hawk?

[Samon]

Of all my axes I would say the Cold steel trail hawk is my favourite. It's perfect for British camping/bushcraft adventures because it's light weight, cheap and effective! alot of people are die hard fans of the GB sfa but in my opinion it's a bit large for our style of adventure (much better suited to the Scandinavians and their forests) but the take down tomohawk is perfect.

customising the cold steel hawks is easy aswell so you can make a mass produced looking tool into a work of art with some time and effort. I'm getting more and more fond of cold steel, their affordable quality stuff keeps calling me back!

Deffinately get yourself one of their hawks, I'd say the trail hawk is the best first hawk as it's completely different from the axes the majoirty of us are used to and it will give you alot to try out and learn.

 

[Dreadhead]

thanks for the advice guys im definitly swayed i like that link about using a hawk for a bow drill too very nifty!

 

[robevs73]

I have a few axes and I must say the CS trail hawk is a big favourite of mine but I would still not put it before the GB SFA.
Have both !!

 

[Wayland]

I think it depends what you intend to do with it.

If cutting and sectioning medium to large trees is likely to be a habit then you will want if not need a larger axe.

Small to medium trees, a bowsaw is a powerful tool that could replace it.

When it comes to splitting, again it depends on the girth of the logs. A hawk will make little direct impression on 8" logs or above which a larger axe would have no problem with.

Having said that, a couple of wedges used with the hammer poll will split remarkably big pieces of wood with a little work.

As with all such issues, there is no one single perfect tool for all jobs and all people. In case nobody has mentioned it there are many other makes of axe apart from GB. My current favourite for a bigger axe is a Fiskars x15 Splitting axe and not just for splitting. Everyone that has used it has been impressed.

It's got a composite handle and it's not featured by Uncle Ray but it does the job. It's tough, light, chops well and splits better than anything else I've used. If you do something that actually breaks it (which I cannot imagine) then send it back and get a new one on the Lifetime warranty.

Such a choice will always be a compromise between what you are prepared to carry against how much work you want to do using it but try not to get blinded by thinking there are only certain axes that are "bushcrafty".

 

[MikeLA]

Such a choice will always be a compromise between what you are prepared to carry against how much work you want to do using it but try not to get blinded by thinking there are only certain axes that are "bushcrafty".

Totally agree with this. Only a personal issue but I dont like to use an axe and the above statement should also mean those of us that prefer not to and use Leuku instead should not get blinded thinking you need and axe to be bushcrafty.

 

[Dreadhead]

the main reason iv sold my SFA is it just felt too heavy and cumbersome for what i use it for. I want an axe as i find they are a great tool, and a hawk naturally seems lighter and smaller. i know there will be some things it may not compare to the SFA or other axes/billhooks/kukris etc with, but im willing tae accept that in exchange for the weight distribution

 

[rg598]

I have the CS Trail Hawk. It gets seriously outperformed by the SFA, and it even falls far behind in performance to the Wildlife Hatchet when it comes to chopping, splitting and carving. Here are some comparison pics: http://woodtrekker.blogspot.com/2011/05/cold-steel-trail-hawk-review.html

For the same overall weight, I believe that the Wildlife Hatchet is far superior, and more compact.

 

[Dreadhead]

thanks for the comparison. as i noted earlier, Biker made me a kind offer tae make me a hawk so i may end up with something between a hawk and a SFA styled axe who knows

with everything it is personal preference. i may hate the hawk and want a SFA again. but iv gotta try it out and find out for myself

 

[mountainm]

Chuffed to bits with my biker takedown carver.

 

[R.Lewis]

Got a Trailhawk, use it alot. Great tool. Last years moot I hardly touched my Gransfors (in fact that only came out the boot in the last two days) as the Trailhawk did all I needed. Very handy to carry on the belt too. Really into hawks now, got to sort my Budd mini hawk out....

 

[Wayland]

Totally agree with this. Only a personal issue but I dont like to use an axe and the above statement should also mean those of us that prefer not to and use Leuku instead should not get blinded thinking you need and axe to be bushcrafty.

Very good point.

 

[The Cumbrian]

You could always go for the best of both worlds and get a GB Outdoor axe. I've sold all of my other axes, apart from (curiously enough) my SFA, which I only take out on winter trips of more than a couple of days.

cheers, Michael.

 

[Shepard]

i have a kukri which i would rather take but i think it looks too menacing and gives off the wrong image so a small hawk should be more acceptable i should think.

The "norm" here for wilderness people is the 8/9" samekniv blade and wouldnt raise to many eyebrows especially in the bush. Just dont whip it out in urban/camping/outdoor huts enviroments
Use what youre most comfortable and safest with for safe happy bushcrafting.
I`d get a tough waterproof roll bag with biners from alpkit, for concealing/protecting the Khuk. The red band that follows with it can be used for shoulder carry.

Yes, hawks are very romantic, I'm looking at the Cold Steel Pipe Hawk. The stepchild of the Trail and Riflemans hawk. Grind off the hammerpoll and you get a very similar to the hawk sold and used by thepathfinderschool on a budget. But realisticly my Fiskars 600 will probably outwork it and most of the other hawks on the marked as a tool.

Have a CS Kukri machete and a 8" raw cowboy kukri on the way My 9" samekniv will have some serious competition from these hopefully

 

[Samon]

I now have both, having the gb sfa for a while and directly comparing the two over a few days.

I have modded my cold steel trail hawk so it will perform differently to a new one.
My mod's are:

shortened the handle by a few inches (it's now the same length as the gb sfa)
removed some steel under the head so it is more beared in shape
thinned out and convexed the edge
removed the paint and forging marks to 180 grit so it is smooth
treated the handle

The gb sfa does carve, split and chop better than the cold steel trail hawk but it weighs alot more and is bulkier. Takeing the cs trail hawk instead of the gb sfa is only really a comprimise when splitting wood as it does chop and carve wood quite well. when splitting with the trial hawk you will notice the small face of the axe gets stuck in the log and doesn't have enough weight to help it get through everytime compared to the gb sfa.

The light weight head of the trail hawk makes chopping high up branches pretty easy and if you give the hawk a decent regrind you will see it work well above its weight! the way mine is ground also makes it stick in wood less than my gb sfa, and this isn't because I have an obtuse edge (it is infact pretty acute and razor like!) but it's the rounded belly of the blade itself that helps it cut in and break chips out.

The hammer poll on the trail hawk is pretty usable, not as large or as hard hitting as the gb sfa back end and a little more precison is required to make it effective but it's still good.

The steel is pretty good on the trail hawk, nice bit of carbon steel with differential heat treating on the blade and hammer end, edge retention is alright and is also easy to keep hair splitting sharp! The gb sfa I would say uses better steel and holds a better edge but it does cost over twice as much so that's expected!

The handles of the two are completely different, one is long and straight (trail hawk) the other is shaped with alot of thought gone into it (gb sfa). I like the straight handle of the trail hawk, it means making my own ones will be easy and storing it in a pack is simple as it's straight and won't waste space. The gb sfa is fixed but is beautifully made and treated. It makes the axe balanced nicely in the hand and the lower half of the handle sits well in the hand giving you a good grip for powerful swings.

The cold steel trail hawk, in my opinion comes 'unfinished'. This means all the finer details of fit and finish are left out as it's mass produced, leaving all that stuff to you! that's the fun part and the reason why I bought one. With a file, a few sheets of sand paper, a saw and some linseed oil you can have a lovely bargain axe to work on and to stuff away unnoticed in your pack.

The gb sfa is a 'finished' axe, alot of skill has gone in to finishing it and many years of expertese have gone into designing it to be so good at all the jobs you'll be doing around these parts. GB is the best line of production axes out there, the sfa is a perfect all rounder and it is a joy to use.

a photo comparison:

The extra weight and size of the gb sfa head gives it the edge at cutting and chopping but the light weight trail hawk is fast and energy effecient in use, the two differences almost equal each other out!

I like both, and for different reasons and roles. My advice is save up if you can and get both, or do your best to borrow both and give them try for yourself.

 

[Dreadhead]

The "norm" here for wilderness people is the 8/9" samekniv blade and wouldnt raise to many eyebrows especially in the bush. Just dont whip it out in urban/camping/outdoor huts enviroments
Use what youre most comfortable and safest with for safe happy bushcrafting.
I`d get a tough waterproof roll bag with biners from alpkit, for concealing/protecting the Khuk. The red band that follows with it can be used for shoulder carry.

Yes, hawks are very romantic, I'm looking at the Cold Steel Pipe Hawk. The stepchild of the Trail and Riflemans hawk. Grind off the hammerpoll and you get a very similar to the hawk sold and used by thepathfinderschool on a budget. But realisticly my Fiskars 600 will probably outwork it and most of the other hawks on the marked as a tool.

Have a CS Kukri machete and a 8" raw cowboy kukri on the way My 9" samekniv will have some serious competition from these hopefully

very interesting thanks. i do fancy a samekniv they look very useful!

and thanks for that comparison Samon was helpful.

i recieved my takedown hawk made by Aaron (Biker) on here and have been out for a small play with it what a difference iv found! heres two pics to show the size etc

By wanderingpict at 2012-05-19

By wanderingpict at 2012-05-19


im much happier with this little hawk mainly because its very compact and light. its cuts very well for its size, splits wood just fine and is more comfortable to use for me personally. i will do a small review of it once iv had more playtime and i may make a slightly longer haft for it and see how that works but for now dead chuffed

 

[Samon]

nice! what weight is it?

is it a french jobby?

 

[Dreadhead]

top picture shows its 12" long. the axe head from poll to edge is 6". havent weighed it but its atleast half the weight of a SFA.

i beleive he made it from a hammer

 

[Wayland]

I must admit I have a soft spot for my Leuku but when I had to make the choice because of flight weight restrictions it was the hawk that tipped the balance.

It's a very capable tool but it couldn't really have easily done the jobs I put my hawk to while I was out there.

 

[Dreadhead]

thanks for the heads up Wayland, i agree i think combined the two tools would be great but alone a hawk can do a little more. and that is one beauty of a knife

 

[forestwalker]

For a winter trip in the boreal forest i would pick nothing less than a scandinavian forest axe (i.e. the big brother of the SFA) or equivalent. For a summer trip I may pick my Hultafors SFA equivalent or the Wetterlings hunters axe (almost but not entirely the same as the GB one) which is the same lenght as the SFA but a bit lighter. A leuko is -- in my opinion -- fine for cutting bedding and small firewood, but not up to northern winter firewood needs, and thus perfectly ok in summer or as a extra in winter.

But my true love is full size axes...