Mini hatchet/tomahawks run

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I bet you could do a hybrid poll that has enough material to be trimmed either to a spike or a hammer.

What direction should grain go on a hawk, and would variance within the batch be acceptable? Do you have nesting optimization software?
 
Grain would go parallel to the tang as that would nest best on a sheet and that’s the same direction a knife is cut.
 
Thickness is more important to me than the exact steel. So long as the steel is reasonable quality and is thick enough I'm happy. So yeah, 0.25" 80crv2 would be fine for me.
 
my 2 cents- something tactical looking would be cool. although i am not a fan of hawks with a point on the back end. i would rather have a hammer shaped poll. i used to have an RMJ shrike , you have to be really careful of that back spike, even during normal use, never mind battle conditions. the back spike also makes for an awkward looking and wearing sheath. the whole thing becomes bulky. since its 1/4" i would suggest an overall length of 16"-18" for good impetus on the swing. some holes in the lower handle to reduce weight. depending on design, i might buy 4.
 
wkfl said:
3/8 would be sweet, Aldo has .375, 15.75x 48
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I looked at there site and But still uneasy about buying from them. Maybe call it gun shy after all the bad blades I have tried to heat treat that was from there steel. Yes it was their 1070-1085 range that was giving me problems. But that’s a lot of money to spend on a hope. Maybe I will give them a ring. I sent a message to chuck at alpha but got a response that thy are on there way to a show and thy will email me next week.
 
JTknives said:
Looks like the thickness will be 1/4”. As for material it all comes down to price point. From AKS 80CrV2 is about our only option for the sheet size and thickness. There are other venders I can look into if other material is wanted. The issue will be efficiently nesting so material usage is not absurd. AEBL is another option but it tops out at just under .200.
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Honestly, .200 AEBL would also be just dandy.

1/4 inch steel stock makes the hawk pretty hefty. Unless you are milling in I-bar fullers to lighten it.
 
might also want to consider some long kiridashi, type things in the spaces between. sharpened prybar type of stuff. I also would prefer a hammer to a spike
 
This was something I tossed together when I had a few minutes between surface grinding and plasma cutting. It’s just to get the idea juices flowing.

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oh yeah!

That's what I had in mind, I struggle translating the picture in my head onto paper, so thank you for doing it for me!

Any chance of a slightly scaled up version? Something like 14 or 15" OAL?

I'll be in for a couple of those or more depending on price
 
Well I just heard back from the mill and good news is thy got a sheet of 80crv2 for me. Bad news is it’s a monster sheet at 61”x61”x.264”. I was looking at going through AKS like I do on all other steels but even with their biggest sheets it makes nesting these impractical and quite pricy for material. If you get 4-5 hatchets per sheet then no one is going to want to pay 60-80 for material. The smaller the sheet the higher the waste. The mill is a fraction of the cost but it’s a big expense/investment. The sheet is just about 350lbs in weight. Normally shipping is 6-8 weeks from Germany but thy have this one sheet here in the states thy have offered me. If I could get say around 50 of these spoken for then I could get the ball rolling. Material price would be I’m guessing half what I would have to charge going through AKS. But until I nest things around and get the fright quote back I won’t know. But I can tell you it’s much cheaper. Don’t get me wrong I love the steel from AKS but in large runs like this the small sheets make it prohibitively expensive with waste. If we do go with this big sheet we could do a few versions of the hawk. If any of you guys have drawings or a style you like then post here and let’s get a design or two settled.
 
JT have you called Chuck and talked to him?
He may be able to work something out.
I would rather pay more from a company that stands behind their steel like AKS does.
Do you know about how many you would need to sell to make it work and how much it would cost per person for each tomahawk?
 
The vender I talked to is THE importer of 80CrV2. I don't know but it would not surprise me if this vender was the mill he gets his 80CrV2 from.

The issue with the sheets from chuck is the size restrictions. You end up wasting a ton of material when your confined to 11.5x23.5” sheets with big blades like this. This is Because I keep the orientation proper to the grain direction. This usually leaves a good size chunk on the end of the sheet that’s not used. I have a big stack of sheets like this that I’m probably going to do damascus out of one day.

I sent them an email asking if I can buy in larger sheets from them. But I was told thy are on there way to a show and will get back to me next week.

You do not have to worry, I would never do anything to compromise the quality of the product.
 
I’m sure you wouldn’t put out anything that has problems. Hopefully Chuck is able to get larger dimensions shipped to you. I don’t think you’re going to have any problem moving these tomahawks, I’ve had a few requests myself but it’s so cost prohibitive being a one man shop. I really think you’ll be able to move a lot of tomahawk blanks.
I appreciate you looking into them!
 
I'm interested in at least one, please give us a ballpark figure when you can and I'll check with my sons/son-in-laws to see if they would be interested as well.
 
I doubt you will have an issue getting 50 spoken for. I'll probably take several depending on the price.
I also would like to hear what Chuck has to say next week, I bet he can get some larger sizes to you.
Love the design.
 
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