Converting an Estwing into a Tactical Tomahawk

[st33ve0]

Here is a quick pictorial guide for the grinds you'll want to do. This is not my work, but the grinds and idea came from Ryan Johnson of RMJ Tactical. A small batch of these were made, but I believe they are all spoken for. The idea is a serviceable tactical tomahawk and carry system for under $100. I plan to get one of the larger axes made by Estwing that has the same head and do the same modifications to keep in my vehicle when I'm not in the best part of town as I don't want to lose my Eagle Talon

Be sure to keep a bucket of water to dip it in while grinding to prevent losing the temper. Other than that it should be pretty straight forward. You can even leave the stickers on it and polish it up nice and leave it in your vehicle as "just an Estwing"

Bone stock:


Take up the face a bit to give it more of a curve:


Outline to grind for the beard:


Spike progress:




Spike detail:


Top profile:


Finished hawk:

[Banka87]

Wow. Nice work!

[Regular Guy]

I am full awe. You has skillz. Very nice.

[Necrodamus]

I read the title and thought "how crappy will this be?", I'm super impressed!
Looks like a great alternative to RMJ Tactical!

[JohnnyMayhem]

That is beautiful. Thanks for posting this.

I'm kind of thinking about changing the beard shape a bit though, like a bearded hawk thing.

What were you using for a grinder?

[st33ve0]

That is beautiful. Thanks for posting this.

I'm kind of thinking about changing the beard shape a bit though, like a bearded hawk thing.

What were you using for a grinder?

I didn't do the grinding on this, but Ryan usually uses a Bader.

[praharin]

I read the title and thought "how crappy will this be?", I'm super impressed!
Looks like a great alternative to RMJ Tactical!

It is an RMJ made 'hawk. Read the damn thread people.

[CLEAR CUT]

Wow, way to destroy a perfectly good tool.

[Cpt. MelonBuster]

Wow, way to destroy a perfectly good tool.

But...but It looks so much cooler now!

[D-Train]

That's cool for sure. I might have left the hammer head on there.

[Big B]

It looks very cool!
I do want to know though, does this mod add anything to the performance of the Eastwing?

[Nesrath]

Nice work!

[praharin]

It looks very cool!
I do want to know though, does this mod add anything to the performance of the Eastwing?

I would imagine it lightens it significantly and lighter=faster, generally. Good for fighting, and carrying. Irrelevant for normal hatchet use

IMO, the only bad thing about it is the length of the spike. If it were longer, it would actually stand a chance of making a killing/debilitating strike on anything other than the skull.

[st33ve0]

The curve of the forward edge puts all of the energy on a finer point when striking with the forward edge compared to a flat edge. I agree that the spike is short, but this is a $30 piece plus your labor in grinding so that's to be expected. If my memory serves the steel Estwing uses is either 1075 or 1095 which is decent and it's what the earliest Eagle Talons were made from, but now they are all made from 4140 which is about three times tougher. To my knowledge no one has bent or broken one of the 4140 hawks without the use of a cheater bar or other excessive mechanical forces beyond what a human can impart on the tool.

The curved portion of the beard is very helpful in prying through sheet metal or ripping through material. A lot of guys in the sand box use our hawks to butcher goats purchased from locals for a little barbecue. The curved portion is also good for combat, though really these are tools meant for breaching and other uses and not specifically meant as a weapon. RMJ does have trainer hawks made by the folks at blueguns as well.

EOD guys seem to love the spike because it allows them to carry less gear. For some types of wall demolitions the EOD guys have to have a drill and a smaller charge to blast a hole large enough for their bigger charge to fit in and destroy a larger portion of the wall. With a hawk and some elbow grease they can bust out a section of the wall big enough for the larger charge and not have to carry the smaller charge and drill.

[Nesrath]

Would this be possible with a regular bench grinder and files? I'm a cop and the RMJ hawks are a little steep in price.

[st33ve0]

Would this be possible with a regular bench grinder and files? I'm a cop and the RMJ hawks are a little steep in price.

It would be pretty hard to pull off. Your best bet is to find a local knife maker or machine shop with a nice grinder and pay them in the form of a six pack or something. If you think the hawks are expensive you should see how much a Bader costs

Here's a pic I took today in the shop of Ryan starting work on something new and interesting. I'll post more on it later, but it shows you one of the grinders he uses.

[Nesrath]

Ok, thanks for the info.

[Necrodamus]

I read the title and thought "how crappy will this be?", I'm super impressed!
Looks like a great alternative to RMJ Tactical!

It is an RMJ made 'hawk. Read the damn thread people.

Look at RMJ's website and you WONT see this for sale.
Read the post and it says "the grinds and idea came from Ryan Johnson of RMJ Tactical".
NOT "it was produced by RMJ".
The Kestrel is the closest thing to this that RMJ sells and its $450 vs $100 for this Estwing with mods.
So learn to read, use a dictionary to look up "alternative", and learn to research.

Have A Nice Day!

[Jeriah]

Necro, you are just full of the snarky sauce this evening.

[praharin]

I read the title and thought "how crappy will this be?", I'm super impressed!
Looks like a great alternative to RMJ Tactical!

It is an RMJ made 'hawk. Read the damn thread people.

Look at RMJ's website and you WONT see this for sale.
Read the post and it says "the grinds and idea came from Ryan Johnson of RMJ Tactical".
NOT "it was produced by RMJ".
The Kestrel is the closest thing to this that RMJ sells and its $450 vs $100 for this Estwing with mods.
So learn to read, use a dictionary to look up "alternative", and learn to research.

Have A Nice Day!

Who do you think "RMJ" is? I did not use the word "Tactical" in my post. Mr. RMJ of RMJ Tactical made the hawk. Any way you look at it, it is an RMJ made tool. The OP seems to work for RMJ Tactical, so I would surmise that that thing above was ground out by someone who works there.

Also, it states that a "small batch" was made. So it appears that it was a limited production item. A custom modified piece, maybe in a way.



You piss off easy. I could make a hobby of this.

[FanaticalModerate]

EOD guys seem to love the spike because it allows them to carry less gear. For some types of wall demolitions the EOD guys have to have a drill and a smaller charge to blast a hole large enough for their bigger charge to fit in and destroy a larger portion of the wall. With a hawk and some elbow grease they can bust out a section of the wall big enough for the larger charge and not have to carry the smaller charge and drill.

I'll admit my bias up front: I think that tactical tomahawks are only this much above BudK katanas. But you've provided a nice example of real-world utility... A couple more examples and I might even stop being immoderate about them . Thank You.

[cowboyfromhel86]

To lengthin the spike you could forge the hammer head out square...then start from that

Also honestly if you had good files an angle grinder and a hacksaw you might be able to pull something like this off ... might just give it a try.. but it will be a bitch since the blade is allready tempered and if you cant retemper or heat treat it your gona be dipping that thing in water a lot.

[Necrodamus]

You piss off easy. I could make a hobby of this.

I thought the thread was fantastic in showing how a mission specific tool can be constructed from an everyday tool.
I know who Ryan is I have seen other reviews of his work on bladeforums.
Not even close to pissed off, if anything Im LMAO at you.
If you will read my post I was comparing DIRECTLY to RMJ Tactical, meaning what is available on the website.
Please make a hobby of lacking comprehension, america has a severe shortage of that!

PS if B Gates writes a program, and even publishes that program, it doesnt make it MicroSoft.

[CLEAR CUT]

You piss off easy. I could make a hobby of this.

And I could make a hobby of putting you on probation for trolling. Knock it off and take your pissing match to PM. Consider this a warning.