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The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is ready to order! See this thread for details: https://www.bladeforums.com/threads/bladeforums-2024-traditional-knife.2003187/
Price is$300$250 ea (shipped within CONUS). If you live outside the US, I will contact you after your order for extra shipping charges.
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/ - Order as many as you like, we have plenty.
It followed me home (Part 2)
- Thread starter Steve Tall
- Start date
Square_peg
Gold Member
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- Feb 1, 2012
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- 13,818
Just the coolest axes I've seen in a long time. I love 'em.
Just beautiful, looks like I have a holy grail to chase. I didn't even realize I needed another axe.2.5lbs. They were made by Vaughan c.1930’s I think. The cool thing about them is the round hammer formed into the poll.
I have some photos of a real clean one here somewhere that really shows off the hammer..
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2017
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- 1,001
The thing is, I'm convinced there's a ton of lurkers here. And whenever sometime cool comes up here the auction prices for the same go through the roof. So thanks itvd lol, now I'll never find/afford one >.< lololol I jest, of course. Hopefully someday. There had been one on eBay for quite a lot of money with someone's initials rather garishly pointed in with a punch or the likes. It's gone now, and I kinda wish I'd bought it even at that price.
- Joined
- Mar 31, 2018
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- 1,875
I made this seller an offer and he graciously accepted. It was still dear but worth every penny...
For scale here it is next to a full size 3-3/4lb
connecticut pattern;
I'm not sure what pattern this is but I'm pumped to own it! It weighs just over #5-10oz
The whole axe just screams quality. It has an inlaid bit. I'll try to get some photos of the top and bottom edges to back that up. That is if I can get my camera to focus. It's always difficult when trying to photograph a thin edge like that.
The eye shape makes me think this was made for export. It's way oversized and has that European rounded look. It's got a good taper to it as well.
Here's the top of the eye;
The bottom is 2-11/16". That's a 1/4" taper in length!! And it has over an 1/8" taper in width.
Not sure what I'll do with it but wanted to share it with you guys. Thanks for checking it out!
For scale here it is next to a full size 3-3/4lb
connecticut pattern;
I'm not sure what pattern this is but I'm pumped to own it! It weighs just over #5-10oz
The whole axe just screams quality. It has an inlaid bit. I'll try to get some photos of the top and bottom edges to back that up. That is if I can get my camera to focus. It's always difficult when trying to photograph a thin edge like that.
The eye shape makes me think this was made for export. It's way oversized and has that European rounded look. It's got a good taper to it as well.
Here's the top of the eye;
The bottom is 2-11/16". That's a 1/4" taper in length!! And it has over an 1/8" taper in width.
Not sure what I'll do with it but wanted to share it with you guys. Thanks for checking it out!
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- Joined
- Dec 17, 2018
- Messages
- 1,196
I’m afraid the eye on that one was deformed. It was on there for a long time and shortly after I posted mine on Instagram is was gone, coincidence or not, I don’t know. But trends do seem to go like that. 4x as much for two years. LoL.
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- Joined
- Jul 25, 2017
- Messages
- 2,462
Just as i had to leave on errands, after all day waiting for my parcel to arrive, a day ahead of schedule i would like to add...
When i returned this evening...i could not contain my excitement!
Even my boy Sherman knew this was a huge deal to dad
Just absolute axe joy right here.
A top of the line, next level addition to my collection.
Right in line with my Registered axes, my Legitimus and older Collins pieces including my Legitimus Auto Camp.
A hang i am proud to own and most proud to brag about.
Leather that is beyond expectations and a perfect fit. My first leather mask. Custom leather mask.
Thank you
ithinkverydeeply
! Your craftsmanship most definitely speaks volumes on its own, but allow me to add volume to that. SUPERB!
This was a gracious opportunity and i am grateful to be able to own not only this superb axe and mask but to have, though not certified (hindsight is always 20/20), the craftsmanship of
ithinkverydeeply
responsible for the total beauty and finished package.
Absolute excellence of the excellent and i am proud to own, show off, and share with the 1 to 2 visitors a year to my garage, who is responsible for the craftsmanship of this axe and leather.
This Vaughan Senior Scout Axe with leather mask was restored and hand sewn/hammered/worked by
ithinkverydeeply
Thank you again, and cheers to future axe adventures
When i returned this evening...i could not contain my excitement!
Even my boy Sherman knew this was a huge deal to dad
Just absolute axe joy right here.
A top of the line, next level addition to my collection.
Right in line with my Registered axes, my Legitimus and older Collins pieces including my Legitimus Auto Camp.
A hang i am proud to own and most proud to brag about.
Leather that is beyond expectations and a perfect fit. My first leather mask. Custom leather mask.
Thank you
ithinkverydeeply
! Your craftsmanship most definitely speaks volumes on its own, but allow me to add volume to that. SUPERB!This was a gracious opportunity and i am grateful to be able to own not only this superb axe and mask but to have, though not certified (hindsight is always 20/20
), the craftsmanship of
ithinkverydeeply
responsible for the total beauty and finished package.Absolute excellence of the excellent and i am proud to own, show off, and share with the 1 to 2 visitors a year to my garage, who is responsible for the craftsmanship of this axe and leather.
This Vaughan Senior Scout Axe with leather mask was restored and hand sewn/hammered/worked by
ithinkverydeeply
Thank you again, and cheers to future axe adventures
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2011
- Messages
- 214
It's not photo worthy and nowhere near as cool as that axe of Miller72s but I recently acquired a length of railroad rail. Borrowed a 14" metal chop saw from a friend and was going to cut it into some smaller pieces for anvils, etc. I didn't expect it to cut like butter but damn! After a good 10-15 minutes of cutting I was about 1/2 inch deep into it. At that rate I'd be in front of that saw for the better part of a day to get one cut in.
Seems to me there has to be a better way. Any ideas? My resources are basically limited to that borrowed chop saw and a 4" angle grinder. Is there a better blade that would made a difference? What he had on that saw was your run of the mill, waffle pattern metal cutting stuff from Lowe's. Appreciate any thoughts, even if it's "Find a guy who has <insert amazing metal cutting gadget name here> and pay him to do it."
Seems to me there has to be a better way. Any ideas? My resources are basically limited to that borrowed chop saw and a 4" angle grinder. Is there a better blade that would made a difference? What he had on that saw was your run of the mill, waffle pattern metal cutting stuff from Lowe's. Appreciate any thoughts, even if it's "Find a guy who has <insert amazing metal cutting gadget name here> and pay him to do it."
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- Mar 31, 2016
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- 1,927
when i got about 24' of rail i was there for 6 hours and i was using a cutting torch. we made 3 cuts.
i also walked the nearby CSX tracks that had been repaired but you didnt hear that from me
i also walked the nearby CSX tracks that had been repaired but you didnt hear that from me
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2011
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- 214
Ran to the box store and got one of the Lenox metalmax grinding wheels for my angle grinder for about $20. Being about 1/3 or less as thick as the big composite wheel it seems like it goes faster. Be a little trickier to get a nice straight cut but I'm ok with that.
More exciting than rusty railroad track is this old insert bit with a tempered poll, which probably came from ebay well over a year ago and sat around because the eye was pretty beat up and i kind of regretted the purchase when it came out of the box. I think I was busy at work too so it found a nice corner and gathered dust. Less regret now that it's off the handle and cleaned up. Cutting edge is a hair over 5".
More exciting than rusty railroad track is this old insert bit with a tempered poll, which probably came from ebay well over a year ago and sat around because the eye was pretty beat up and i kind of regretted the purchase when it came out of the box. I think I was busy at work too so it found a nice corner and gathered dust. Less regret now that it's off the handle and cleaned up
. Cutting edge is a hair over 5".
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Square_peg
Gold Member
- Joined
- Feb 1, 2012
- Messages
- 13,818
You can rent a plasma cutter. A good one will blow through 1" plate lickety-split. Or take your track to a shop and pay them to cut it with their plasma cutter.
Herefordshire&Ludlow college,,in UK,https://www.hlcollege.ac.uk/course-category/580f7746edc52/Blacksmithing-and-Metalwork
have some years ago put together a manual(in two volumes)about how to forge just about any tool(including,or even especially the forging tools for to do all that),using nothing but railroad rail and other junk steel...
They did it especially and purposefully for the Rural Youth of the struggling areas in Zimbabwe...
Surely,you can find an easier,more sensible source of stock for
....?...
Seriously,railroad steel was never meant to be used for tooling.It is very,Very tough(because that's what it was engineered For),and Very awkwardly shaped;so seeing how challenging you're finding it already i'd consider finding another material.
Or,do try to track down those publications...(they used to be in public domain in PDF,but i no longer have them),because doing stuff the 3rd World way requires quite a bit of info,and skill,and patience...even more,really,than the 1st!
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- Jul 31, 2017
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Or,do try to track down those publications...(they used to be in public domain in PDF,but i no longer have them),because doing stuff the 3rd World way requires quite a bit of info,and skill,and patience...even more,really,than the 1st!
http://www.bamsite.org/books/BLACKSMITHS-MANUAL-ILLUSTRATED.pdf
http://www.bamsite.org/books/books.html
https://www.hlcollege.ac.uk/campuses-sub/5821ecd6c07ec/The-Rural-Crafts-Centre (bottom of the page)
Npace,yes,that is what folks commonly think of when they get a hold of RR rail.
It's a misconception,it mostly just Looks like an anvil(aka on blacksmithing resources as "ASO"-anvil-shaped Object
It works Very poorly as an anvil.An anvil's job is to oppose,and maximally Refract energy that your hammer-blow imparts.
To do that it must have Mass,and it must be maximally concentrated right under where you strike.The RR rail has very little mass,it's stretched out sideways,and that thin web underneath further ruins the effect Distributing,vs concentrating the energy.As a result it mostly vibrates and jangles
If you're up against it and Must use RR rail-use it Vertically,as long as you can,and sunk in a bucket of concrete if possible.
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- Mar 12, 2011
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- 214
I guess I wasn't thinking anvil in the way normal people do, didn't have any intention of trying to make one of those. Sometimes I just need a stout piece of steel to hammer something on (a very generic use of the word anvil), or as I wanted to do with some of this rail, a smallish piece of steel to use when setting teeth on crosscuts (also an anvil). Just used a severed piece of this rail (on its end ) to support a one man crosscut where the helper handle pin needed to be driven out. It also, sitting upright on a piece of locust firewood, did a nice job of supporting an axe as I drove the handle out. Just little stuff...
) to support a one man crosscut where the helper handle pin needed to be driven out. It also, sitting upright on a piece of locust firewood, did a nice job of supporting an axe as I drove the handle out. Just little stuff...
- Joined
- Dec 17, 2018
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- 1,196
Some people will use RR rails as anvils standing on end to hammer on. You can also weld a piece of hard flat stock onto it for a flat surface and get a step off to your horn.
Ithinkverydeeply,i must apologise beforehand for what i'm about to say,i absolutely don't men to come off as some self-appointed anvil-nazi...
...
But what is shown in photos above is a pretty bad idea.Again,what an anvil Does,as a tool,is it transmits energy.One can think of it in terms of electrical current,or any other energy flow,as in any inconsistency messes it up fairly badly.
To actually accomplish what's pictured in the photos above the weld joining the plate to the rail section would have to be 100% solid(the second photo makes it look rather doubtful that it was achieved,or even planned).
Such a weld would require a Lot of time,skill,rod,and electricity,and then such a critter would still need to be heat-treated.
Both the heat energy and the set-up for such project(quenching situation especially)would be pretty challenging...
All of the above together puts the project Way out of proportion with any practicality......As an expert craftsman yourself,surely you can relate...
I do hate to be such Debbie-downer,and so write this solely in the hopes of saving someone a lot of hassle in pursuit of a romantic misconception.
On the positive side,if one absolutely cannot get a hold of an anvil(that are not That tough to come by),a good practical substitute would be as heavy of a tool-head as one can find.
A 10-12-lb sledge would be already pretty much ideal...(bigger-fantastic,and they do(or did)come in poundage up to what,20#?).
Such head,nested a short way into a stump,would be pretty much a real working anvil.
I've not kept up with box-store sledge prices,but i'd not be surprised to find something totally useful for under $20...
Btw,a #10 sledge-head in a stump would amount to about Twice what many an early Middle Ages smiths used as production tooling...Our museums are full of beautiful(and fairly massive) tools and weapons all built on +/- #5 anvils...
The last couple-three centuries of Industrial Age with their machine-building requirements have massively skewed our view on anvils...
...But what is shown in photos above is a pretty bad idea.Again,what an anvil Does,as a tool,is it transmits energy.One can think of it in terms of electrical current,or any other energy flow,as in any inconsistency messes it up fairly badly.
To actually accomplish what's pictured in the photos above the weld joining the plate to the rail section would have to be 100% solid(the second photo makes it look rather doubtful that it was achieved,or even planned).
Such a weld would require a Lot of time,skill,rod,and electricity,and then such a critter would still need to be heat-treated.
Both the heat energy and the set-up for such project(quenching situation especially)would be pretty challenging...
All of the above together puts the project Way out of proportion with any practicality...
...As an expert craftsman yourself,surely you can relate...I do hate to be such Debbie-downer,and so write this solely in the hopes of saving someone a lot of hassle in pursuit of a romantic misconception.
On the positive side,if one absolutely cannot get a hold of an anvil(that are not That tough to come by),a good practical substitute would be as heavy of a tool-head as one can find.
A 10-12-lb sledge would be already pretty much ideal...(bigger-fantastic,and they do(or did)come in poundage up to what,20#?).
Such head,nested a short way into a stump,would be pretty much a real working anvil.
I've not kept up with box-store sledge prices,but i'd not be surprised to find something totally useful for under $20...
Btw,a #10 sledge-head in a stump would amount to about Twice what many an early Middle Ages smiths used as production tooling...Our museums are full of beautiful(and fairly massive) tools and weapons all built on +/- #5 anvils...
The last couple-three centuries of Industrial Age with their machine-building requirements have massively skewed our view on anvils...