Stormcrow
Well-Known Member
I had to toss my entire first batch of tomahawk trainers that I had waterjetted. Something about cutting the holes in the ABS caused the spray to deflect, cutting through the sides of the holes. I finished out a couple of the more solid ones just to be able to show folks at the Blade Show what I had in mind.
I just got a new batch of trainers waterjetted. These are made from 3/4" ABS, and should be very tough. I'll be doing some demonstration videos with them after they're completed. They are the same thickness as the handles of the real tomahawks and will be beveled the same way. The heads are the same pattern as the hammer poll I'm making, with more rounded corners and with anchoring holes to allow for padding to be easily added when sparring with a partner.
These were cut without holes. In the lower left you can see a pattern that I had cut from 1/4" mild steel that I will use when drilling the holes with my drill press. I added three additional holes to the head of the trainer from my original batch to allow for padding to be anchored all the way around the head for safety when practicing blocking and hooking techniques.
As you can see, they are the same lengths as the available tomahawks. They are only made in hammer poll form as adding a spike would be too dangerous on a hard plastic trainer; even a rounded one could easily penetrate a temple or an eye. The hammer polls are still long enough to train with hooking and limb deflection techniques that you might use with a spike 'hawk.
I also had some 'hawk blanks cut from the 1/4" mild steel to make sheath blockers with, so that Kydex sheaths can be built around them. I hope to have those available soon.
I just got a new batch of trainers waterjetted. These are made from 3/4" ABS, and should be very tough. I'll be doing some demonstration videos with them after they're completed. They are the same thickness as the handles of the real tomahawks and will be beveled the same way. The heads are the same pattern as the hammer poll I'm making, with more rounded corners and with anchoring holes to allow for padding to be easily added when sparring with a partner.
These were cut without holes. In the lower left you can see a pattern that I had cut from 1/4" mild steel that I will use when drilling the holes with my drill press. I added three additional holes to the head of the trainer from my original batch to allow for padding to be anchored all the way around the head for safety when practicing blocking and hooking techniques.
As you can see, they are the same lengths as the available tomahawks. They are only made in hammer poll form as adding a spike would be too dangerous on a hard plastic trainer; even a rounded one could easily penetrate a temple or an eye. The hammer polls are still long enough to train with hooking and limb deflection techniques that you might use with a spike 'hawk.
I also had some 'hawk blanks cut from the 1/4" mild steel to make sheath blockers with, so that Kydex sheaths can be built around them. I hope to have those available soon.
