Can i make a Nessmuk hatchet out of a regular double bit??

[sisk61]

I have this cheap double bit axe i got from an ace hardware a while back. Not sure how heavy the head is, but i do know it is too heavy to just chop down the handle.. could i possibly regrind the axehead and shorten the handle??

Thanks!

 

[Pipeman]

To make it the size of a belt ax you'd have to grind away the hardened bit.

Regards

Robin

 

[Chris Pierce]

You'd be better off picking up an old used head and cleaning it up then re hanging it.

 

[sisk61]

alright, thanks guys!

 

[foxx]

I got myself one from Marbles, I paid about $40 for it new at a pawn shop. The handle broke after 5 swings, so I grabbed me a hickory ball peen hammer handle and re-hung it.
Now it chops great, may not be the best looking handle, but I already had it. Beware though, the eye is a bitch, it's 3 overlapping smaller holes, not one oval. That was the hardest part for me..

 

[Square_peg]

To make it the size of a belt ax you'd have to grind away the hardened bit.

But you may be able to take it down in size a bit. I vinegar soak will show you how far back the temper goes. It would be a lot of grinding and you'd have to be careful not to temper it, but you could reduce the size by some degree.

 

[screened porch]

Well, I try to picture it, and all I see is a big fat eye getting in the way of anything you try to do with the little bitty bits.
Doesn't Condor have some little Nessmukian double-bits?

 

[Square_peg]

Yeah, the eye of a standard double bit would be a limiting factor. Might be better off starting with a cruiser.

 

[HandAxeProMan]

Yes. Condor has their Belt Hatchet which is like the Nessmuk and very light. It sells for about $60. It is great for backpacking and hunting.

Howard

 

[Square_peg]

In Weyger's "The Complete Modern Blacksmith" he talks of re-purposing worn out picks into smaller one-hand picks. What he would do is take a heat focused on one side of the eye, quenching the opposite side of the eye if necessary to keep it from changing shape. Then he would beat down the hot side, causing the steel to upset (get thicker and shorter). The cold side of the eye would keep its shape, forcing the upset. Then he'd do the other side the same way. The result was a smaller shorter eye with thicker walls.

 

[sisk61]

Yeah the eye is way too big for how much im wanting to grind it.... plus, since i got it from a hardware store pretty cheap, i suspect that the majority of the steel on the head is sorta cruddy. and its just covered with some decent, tempered steel at both ends. oh well. Throwing axe time!