Goliath

L

leon08

Joined
Oct 18, 2010
Messages
151
Forged from a big axe (with a diferent shape I kept only the ”eye”), 7 inch blade, the head is 8 inch in lenght, the haft is 31 1/2 inch, made of burned ash wood and it weighs 3,3 lb.

P1010661.jpg


P1010659.jpg


P1010658.jpg


P1010657.jpg


P1010656.jpg


P1010655.jpg


Nedenumit.jpg
 
Thanks.

Sorry, no pics before, it was larger and with a thin edge (I cut down that and forge the rest for a smooth pass from the eye to the new edge).
 
That cross-hatching looks awesome. Have ever seen that before. Did you also make that perfect looking handle?
 
It's a beautiful axe. However the grain in the haft is exactly 90° off of what it should be. And the large head with the short eye won't be very functional. It'll come loose in an hour if the haft doesn't break first.

But people seem to go for looks more than function so I'm sure it will fetch a nice price.

Sorry for the negativity. I just look at function first and form second. It would be very fetching on the wall.
 
That's pretty cool.
And since you forged it out from what was already there it should have a similar balance to what it was previously. That's already got me thinking about possibilities.

I'd say it needs a larger poll for better balance, and longer/deeper eye (maybe ears) to hold onto the haft and be really functional, but for what it is I really like it.

If I didn't have axes falling out of my wazoo already...
 
Vă mulţumim pentru care arata asta!

What a beautiful piece of steel and wood! I think it would also serve well in bavarian forests ;) :)

Kind regards
Andi
 
Thanks for feedback.
The axe was commissioned by a friend, after his drawing, it's very well balanced and will be used mainly for firewood spliting.
The haft is from the initial axe, but I thinned it to fit better in hands.
I think the wood grain is not a problem, the real problem is when the fibers are arranged in diagonal. As they are, fibers go straight along the haft like in a bow.
 
leon08 said:
Thanks for feedback.
The axe was commissioned by a friend, after his drawing, it's very well balanced and will be used mainly for firewood spliting.
The haft is from the initial axe, but I thinned it to fit better in hands.
I think the wood grain is not a problem, the real problem is when the fibers are arranged in diagonal. As they are, fibers go straight along the haft like in a bow.
Click to expand...

Will the handle vibrate causing shock and fatigue to your hands?
 
Square_peg said:
It's a beautiful axe. However the grain in the haft is exactly 90° off of what it should be. And the large head with the short eye won't be very functional. It'll come loose in an hour if the haft doesn't break first.But people seem to go for looks more than function so I'm sure it will fetch a nice price.

Sorry for the negativity. I just look at function first and form second. It would be very fetching on the wall.
Click to expand...

If the eye were designed to have the handle slip in from the top (like a pick) would the eye cause any other difficulties?
 
Handsome axe, looks like it would serve very well at splitting firewood or on the field of battle!
Very good work. Thanks for sharing.
 
Last edited:
Square_peg said:
It's a beautiful axe. However the grain in the haft is exactly 90° off of what it should be. And the large head with the short eye won't be very functional. It'll come loose in an hour if the haft doesn't break first.

But people seem to go for looks more than function so I'm sure it will fetch a nice price.

Sorry for the negativity. I just look at function first and form second. It would be very fetching on the wall.
Click to expand...

The grain is fairly through-running though, which is probably an even more important feature than straight grain. Once you get grain run out with that kind of grain the handle loses a ton of strength. most of the broken handles that arent just broken from abuse are curved handles with grain close to a right angle to the bit. Quality of wood is a big issue as well, especially nowadays. My neighbors father had some Snow & nealley axes with curved, hand carved ash handles with perpendicular grain that were still intact despite being used for atleast a decade by him and his son. Apparently some good quality ash comes out of the woods of aroostook maine..
 
Bo T said:
If the eye were designed to have the handle slip in from the top (like a pick) would the eye cause any other difficulties?
Click to expand...

I need to start a new thread just to discuss the different forces and classes of lever at play when an axe is in use. At the core of that discussion will be eye size. In short, measure the diagonal across the eye from top to bottom. The longer that line is the more durable the connection of head to haft will be.

I have some ideas and I bet the gang on this forum can figure out what I'm missing. It should be an illuminating discussion.
 
Very pretty, though in my own collection I also try to run the grain 90degrees to what a bow would have. I don't claim to know why (though I have suspicions) but it's nearly universal.

You are right, short grain is worse! Plus the way you have it is pretty!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top