Forging Seqquence

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DBDuffer

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Apr 6, 2011
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I am a blacksmith with a couple of years experience and am learning the art by excercising "The law of sufficient mistakes"

I have forged a few tomahawks by two differant techniques:
1. by folding a flat piece of wrought (genuine 100 year old wrought iron) in half to form the eye and then forge welding a piece of high carbon steel for the cutting edge. Came out fair.

2. by slitting and drifting a mild steel bar (3/4 inch square bar stock) for the eye and then forging the cutting edge and a poll.
I know that mild steel is the wrong material, but I'm using that while I wait for some 1 inch square stock (1045 steel) that I ordered.

I had a few problems keeping the eye from distorting and keeping the top edge of the tomahawkk straight.

I think I may not be forging the parts in the right sequence, of something else that I don't know about.

I am interested in any help, either by videos, or written material or any other method.

Many thanks
 
Well lets see if we can help..First when you say "top edge" do mean the blade? Do you have a tomahawk drift? or are you maing the eye round? 3/4" can be used but 1" is much,much better..More material to work with and easier to keep the eye straight..Lets see if i can find some pics we have saved of the sequence we use...
 
Maybe this will help some..When slitting and drifting its very important to try and slit thru both sides and then meet in the middle..It helps to keep your eye straight..
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Looks like if you're using round stock you'd want to make 2 opposing flat sides to slit from, otherwise the slit is the first thing to do.
Thanks to O.P. for the question, and to Wolf Creek for the answer. (I'm working up to attempting a Kentucky belt axe).
 
Well here are a few more details.
Still waiting for my 1 inch 1045 square stock.
I didn't have much trouble slitting and drifting for the eye. I actually drilled two holes one sixteenth each about a half inch apart and to orient the punch and get it started exactly where I want it.

I used a round drift to make the basic eye and then lightly forged the sides to convert the round to an oval or to a slight teardrop shape.
If it comes out uneven then you can put the round drift back in and drift it back to the original found and try again. But you can't do this too many times without thinning the side walls too much.

I should note that I did most of the eye before I started working on the blade.

I AM HAVING A PROBLEM KEEPING THE TOP STRAIGHT.

What I mean by the top is this :
If you take a side view so the eye is vertical then the top is the upper part and the beard will be on the bottom.

I'm having the same problem when I wrap a piece of iron around a mandrel to make the eye.

I think I'm working in the right sequence, but still getting wavy tops.

Many thanks
 
Moving this to Shop-Talk, My friend. Where you will hopefully get plenty of answers to the questions you seek from many knowledgable and helpful people.
 
Can I ask a slightly off topic question about the hawk steel? Where do you get your 1 inch square stock? I order my knife steel through Aldo but I haven't seen that he carries 1 inch square.

Thanks!
 
I have a fiend who owns a "Fabricating machine shop". I'm not sure if that's anything different than a "machine shop" , but that's what it says on he sign over his shop.

They manufacture and/or repair any and all kinds of ferrous an non ferrous parts, anything from tiny quarter ounce parts to pieces that require a fork lift to move.



They don't keep a large inventory because of the hundreds of sizes and materials, so they frequently place orders. They can order any metal you have in mind, no matter how common or exotic it is.
He ordered it for me. I think if you look in the yellow pages under the heading of machine shops you will probably find something local.

These shops work with precision lathes, milling machines, surface grinders, etc etc and they will probably be interested in something made with your semi precision three pound cross peen hammer, so bring along a couple of hand forged pieces, That will surely get their attention.

good luck
 
It's already here. Welcome to Shop talk.
Filling out your profile with all the info will help us help you.
 
Keeping the eye true as you slit it is the hardest part.
Peter Ross (head smith for many years at Colonial Williamsburg) taught me to cheat on my first few hawks: drill a couple holes through at the ends of where the eye slit will be- that keeps things lined up and if you use a 1/4" bit, you won't lose enough steel to matter. Sure helped me, though I've made a bunch both ways.

Andy

edit: oops, that was Jay Close, from the gunsmithing shop at C.W.
 
I don't slit with a chisel anymore, but the two hole trick works well.
I now drill the two holes, then mill a slot with a 1/4" side mill. The rest is done with the drifts.
 
I cant do it of course but Phillip use to use a 10lb sledge with a short handle and slit a piece of 1 1/4" high carbon steel completely open with the drift started in two heats..When we build a new shop a milling machine is on my list..
If you have access to a power hammer a short slitter(to fit under the ram) can make short work of the eye too..
 
Wolf Creek Forge said:
I cant do it of course but Phillip use to use a 10lb sledge with a short handle and slit a piece of 1 1/4" high carbon steel completely open with the drift started in two heats..When we build a new shop a milling machine is on my list..
If you have access to a power hammer a short slitter(to fit under the ram) can make short work of the eye too..
Click to expand...

This here is why I need to build a press. My hammer is just a Little Giant 25, and it doesn't give you much room between the dies!
Can you post a photo of the slitter you use with a power hammer?
 
The shop where I am working is at Museum Village in Goshen, NY and the blacksmith shop is a reproduction of a typical shop circa 1850 to 1900.

Power tools are pretty much not available, so it was a bit of a cheat drilling two holes to orient the eye. One sixteenth of an inch or maybe an eighth of an inch is plenty big enough. I have plenty of drifts and simple round drifts are not hard to make. I had stared forging a tomahawk drift but put it aside when I saw how easy it is to drift round and then flatten it to an oval. I even got a "good enough" teardrop eye.

Still have to get the top a little flatter

DBDuffer
 
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