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Forged L6 Trapper's Hatchet

L

lwrhea

Joined
May 24, 2005
Messages
1,482
I just finished this Hatchet. I started with a 1 1/2 round bar. I cut off 3 1/4 inch and started squaring, punching, and drifting it, then forged the head. Here are some pics.









Finished head



 
That is gorgeous! And better still, the size of the eye and the poll make it a real "user" too. I like looking at all the pretty forgings and appreciate the work and talent that goes into them but I could never force myself to shell out for an item designed to be a wall hanger or costume piece for the rendezvous crowd.
 
Really Nice Lin. Love L6, just about the perfect steel for an axe IMHO.
 
That's Gorgeous !
I really like the sweep on the top of the head, just beautiful lines.

Stunning work, thank you for sharing.
 
That's a beauty Lin. I love the profile with the size of the poll. Is the poll hardened? With the size I can sure see the usefulness of a hardened poll. Thanks for sharing it here.

Chris
 
That's quite the gizmo! You do beautiful work.
Is there some history behind your decisions on why, when, where and how this design came about? The trappers I've known over the past 50 years are not a wealthy nor fashion-conscious bunch and tend to pass proven-reliable single shot 22s, commercial hatchets, and anything else that still works at -40, down through the generations instead of commissioning anything custom.
 
Thanks guys.

No, no story behind it. I just forge what I think is a useful shape for the tool and then decide if I want to leave the forging marks or completely finish out the piece. This one I decided to make slick. Some like em that way, others prefer that evidence of forging is left. The rough ones are every bit as functional.
 
You do fantastic work, and that hatchet (tomahawk?) head is beautiful.

I know nothing about forging outside of "heat up metal, smash with hammer, cool down, use tool." So can I ask if you have to prep the metal at all before forging, such as removing the rust from the bar? Are there any other preparations needed before heating it up for the first time?
 
Thank you SC T100. Not usually. The rust will go away with the forge scale unless it very deep and you don't move it much. In this case, there was a lot of changes from the original shape to the final shape so no problems in that area.

If I were to wrap the body and insert the high carbon bit, I would be more careful with cleaning the contacting surfaces to insure a good weld.
 
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