Hawk forging

T

TN metalman

Joined
Oct 28, 2015
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I'm hoping to start forging my own hawks. There are many videos on youtube detailing how to forge them from a rail-road spike, which is not the route I necessarily want to go. My plan is to use a .75 inch square block of 1018 from MetalsDepot, and some 01 from NJSB for the cutting bit. By my calculations, a standard railroad spike is 9/16" square, and 6 1/2 inches long. This should give me around 2.04in cubed in volume of metal. Using the 1018, will a 4 inch section be enough to forge a hawk out of, taking into account that it is shorter than the spike? I'm mainly concerned about having enough metal to both drift the eye and forge the head. Thanks!!
 
Though lots of people do it successfully, I've always found railroad spikes to be not the best starting point for tomahawks- there are easier ways to do it.
I'd be happy to send a few photos from a hatchet making workshop I took with Jay Close (of Colonial Williamsburg) if you message me an email address. I'm andy, at elementfe, dot com.
 
elementfe said:
Though lots of people do it successfully, I've always found railroad spikes to be not the best starting point for tomahawks- there are easier ways to do it.
I'd be happy to send a few photos from a hatchet making workshop I took with Jay Close (of Colonial Williamsburg) if you message me an email address. I'm andy, at elementfe, dot com.
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Thanks for the reply. I'm planning on not using a spike, and instead using some 1018.
 
Man, you're overthinking it. The hawk will be as big as the amount of steel you use, no bigger and no smaller. If you want to use a 4" chunk, use it. If you want to use a 5" chunk, it will be 25% bigger than the 4" chunk, and so on. You can use a 1/4" rod and make a tiny one, if you want. I'm betting that as soon as you make your first, you'll have a better idea of how much steel to use for a certain size hawk.
 
Atlas Knife Company said:
Man, you're overthinking it. The hawk will be as big as the amount of steel you use, no bigger and no smaller. If you want to use a 4" chunk, use it. If you want to use a 5" chunk, it will be 25% bigger than the 4" chunk, and so on. You can use a 1/4" rod and make a tiny one, if you want. I'm betting that as soon as you make your first, you'll have a better idea of how much steel to use for a certain size hawk.
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Figured that that was the case. Thanks for the reply, sir!
 
Pretty much what AKC said. A word of caution though, if it's going to be a working hawk, make the pole as large as you can within reason. My first hawks were made by the slit and drift method and the finished pole was only about 3/4" wide. Even with a tight hickory and very close fitting, bury the head in a log and after prying it out the handle/head will wiggle a bit. I've been doing wrapped hawks with 1084 bits, body from 1/4"x1 1/4" 1018. The finished pole is about 1 1/8" wide and holds the handle very securely.

Also, the one time I used 01 for the bit, I had it delaminate rite down the middle of the 01. The welds to the 1018 were fine, but the 01 itself split. Probably just a bad batch, or I had my heat off. Anyway, since then I've been using either 1084 or truck leaf springs for the bits. I did have one other issue, I tried using A36 "wonder what'n hell's in it" recycled steel and couldn't get a good weld for anything.
 
One thing you absolutely need is a set of hawk drifts. Ebay and many blacksmith suppliers sell a set of them for about $40.

I find that the best way to start doing hawks is to make a wrap hawk. My favorite mix is a 4" piece of 2" wide wrought iron wheel rim and a 2X2X.25" piece of some mid carbon steel (1084 or 5160 is good). You can use plain old mild steel ( 1018) for the wrap, too. Fold the WI/mild into a "U" and forge weld in the bit. From there it is just a matter of learning how to draw the blade out and shape the hole on the drifts.

Another good combo is an old farriers rasp and a piece of an old file for the bit.


Making a hawk from a square bar of 1070/1080 and drafting the hole is the next step.


Last step in learning hawks is to make a square bar hawk with a welded in bit. Do the weld first and them drift the hole.

TIPS:
If you want a larger blade or to make a bearded ax - make a hot cut about 2" back on the square bar and fold the piece back on itself. Forge weld that up and then draw the blade. You now have twice as much steel to shape the blade from as you would have before.

Another method of bearding a hawk is to make a 90° bend about 2" back. This "L" shape piece of steel is then drawn out and down to make the beard and blade.

Will's advice on the poll and handle are spot on. The handle is hardly ever too big, but easily can be too small.
 
Thank you both! Yes, these are going to be working hawks. After a day of clearing brush for permanent goat/pig fence with a Walmart hatchet and a Gerber machete, I somewhat easily convinced myself to embark on a hawk build!
 
Where do you live? Filling out your profile brings all sorts of good things.

Fill out your profile and I'll send you one of my "hawk starter kits" that I gave away a few years back. 100+ year wagon wheel rim wrought iron and a wagon spring bit. I originally sent an 18" round of Bill Moran's curly maple for the handle, but I might have to send some other handle wood if I am out of those.

Send me an email or PM with the shipping address.
 
That's a very generous offer, thanks! However, I've actually got a whole horde of metal to do wraps with, as well as some great hardwoods for the pole. Thanks anyways!
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Where do you live? Filling out your profile brings all sorts of good things.

Fill out your profile and I'll send you one of my "hawk starter kits" that I gave away a few years back. 100+ year wagon wheel rim wrought iron and a wagon spring bit. I originally sent an 18" round of Bill Moran's curly maple for the handle, but I might have to send some other handle wood if I am out of those.

Send me an email or PM with the shipping address.
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That right there is why I love knifemaking. Knifemakers are some of the best people I've ever met.

In regards to the hawk, there's a cool video of a maker making one out of a railroad spike. He forge welds a little slab of 1095 for the edge. It looks like it'd be a fun project. I'll probably try it at some point.
 
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