My Boarding Axe came today!

Thanks for the nice pictures of the sheath and handles. A sheath for my Nessie from dixie is on my Autumn list of projects and I really like the looks of that one, with antler buttons instead of snaps, as I will carry it on rhendezvous and historical trekking. A new digi cam is on the list also, so pics eventually forthcoming,( procrastination implied...), of these and the adventures of the HI WWII 17" I have been gifted from my wife Holly.

I've been using rock maple for my hawk handles ever since I found an unfortunate tree cleared for someones lawn. I thought it would be too brittle as It seemed so when I worked with it. Rock hard but brittle. I haven't broken a handle yet though, other than my older ash handles which surprised me.

Yar...now ye can pick yer hot shot outta yer masthead with yer fine boardin' axe...

Best of fun to all.
Mark
 
Andy,

I would think if you take that drop in nessmuk hatchet sheath, and leave the top fairly open, only have a couple of straps over the top to keep the hatchet in place - you could attach a knife sheath like you currently make to the front of the hatchet sheath. The front piece of leather on the hatchet sheath could form the back of the knife sheath. The knife would hang blade down right in front of the hatchet handle, so it wouldn't make the sheath any wider, it would just stick out a bit more - approximately the depth of the knife. Does any of that make sense or isn't it clear the way I am describing it?

Steve
Yallerhammer
 
Beautiful job Shappa!:thumbup: :cool: :D They're both good looking 'Hawks with the first one appearing to be made in the old way by folding a piece of mild steel over a core of high carbon steel and forge welding it all together.:thumbup: :cool:

But I really like the looks of the second 'Hawk!!!!
Not just the average poll 'Hawk but an exceptional Poll 'Hawk with very nice clean lines that isn't bulky and awkward looking like so many of them can be.:thumbup: :cool: :D
What would really set both of them off appearance wise is a nice fire aged finish buffed down to a nice satin but very shiny surface! :cool:

You've kinda got me confused with saying, "So you're going to blue the Cegga. That should be nice! It's already gotta a decent finish. You won't have to take it down past forging marks. It should look awesome with it's great lines and large smooth flowing surfaces."

The Cegga isn't very large at all and doesn't have any forge marks, perhaps you have it confused with the Boarding Axe?...:confused:

Edit:
If you decide to do a brass nail decoration on one or both of them I think I saw a website the other day that had authentic brass nails for decoration. If you're interested I'll see if I saved it or if I can find it again. <VBG>
 
Mine came today too :p and it is a nice piece of steel. A quick check with a spare hatchet handle shows the hole too narrow... better suited, perhaps, for that hammer/mini-sledge handle.

It has really graceful lines, and nice heft. Tx, Y.


Mike
 
Ad Astra said:
Mine came today too :p and it is a nice piece of steel. A quick check with a spare hatchet handle shows the hole too narrow... better suited, perhaps, for that hammer/mini-sledge handle.

It has really graceful lines, and nice heft. Tx, Y.

Mike
Click to expand...

Mike, what do you mean by, "A quick check with a spare hatchet handle shows the hole too narrow... better suited, perhaps, for that hammer/mini-sledge handle.", do you mean the hatchet handle is too narrow or the hole in the Boarding Axe too narrow for the handle? :confused:

Methinks the heft will be even better when the blade gets its own sturdy handle.;) :cool:
And the more I look at the true Boarding Axe Handles that apparently the British Axe's had the more the little ball on the bottom end appeals to me, it would sure keep the hand from slipping off. <VBESEG> ;) :p :D
 
Yvsa, sorry for the confusion.

I meant that on the Cegga when you blue it you won't have to contend with forgemarks like I had to with the two I blued.

Thanks for the compliments on my two.
The hafts on both are simply sanded (1500 I think) right now. My options are still open. :)
I have a third haft that has about 8 coats of tru-oil. It's starting to look real good.

I have the brass nails...but if you run accross that site send it my way please. I always need another place to checkout. lol

Can't wait to see your rig when it's finished!
 
ah, me too sorry- meant the hatchet handle I had laying around was too wide to fit the new head- but then, it wasn't made for that. ;)

Liking it a lot already. Mine has a dark finish, like bluing...


Mike
 
Yallerhammer said:
Andy,

I would think if you take that drop in nessmuk hatchet sheath, and leave the top fairly open, only have a couple of straps over the top to keep the hatchet in place - you could attach a knife sheath like you currently make to the front of the hatchet sheath. The front piece of leather on the hatchet sheath could form the back of the knife sheath. The knife would hang blade down right in front of the hatchet handle, so it wouldn't make the sheath any wider, it would just stick out a bit more - approximately the depth of the knife. Does any of that make sense or isn't it clear the way I am describing it?

Steve
Yallerhammer
Click to expand...

It does make sense. And I've considered something like that, but, in my mind it seems bulky, and not very pretty either. Thats the problem I'm contending with. All the solutions for carrying both seem to compromise aesthetics and carryability just to have it as a set (cool factor). :( Functionality has to trump cool factor, and aesthetics is important too.
 
I just got my boarding ax. Yvsa is right, this thing is pretty big. And it looks like it looks like it really is designed for a more modern handle, not a tomahawk handle.

Although I have a project that might pay off in a few months. You see, in May of this year I got a 4" diameter pipe that was a little longer than 3 feet with one end cap and one screw cap, sealed it properly, and filled it with a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and turpentine, then I put a bunch of hickory ball pien and hatchet handles in there to firment for a year. I stripped the laquer off the hickory and am looking forward to getting them out and drying them in a few months, I think I have a 19" long handle in there that will work for the ax. It should work with either 1 or 2 hands if I remember how large it was.

The process of curing wood handles in this fashion was spoken about at length in another thread and I decided to try it out even though I didn't have any projects that required the handles at the time.

I will gather ideas for 6 months, use the ax head as a paperweight until then, then open the goodies and see whats up.
 
I just got back from Lowes, where I bought all the handels that I mentioned in the previous post. None of them are going to be big enough to either fit the socket or have enought length to get it where I want it.

Back to the drawing board. I need to go wood looking.
 
I got my four (damn you again, Yvsa) today. Interestingly enough, all are different enough visually that I can tell them apart, both in the eye size and in other dimensions. I haven't weighed them yet but I'm expecting some significant variances.

The oval eye shape immediately made me think of hammers, not axes. I took a quick look at my five pound sledge and the shaped section that fits the eye is the right oval shape, but too small. However, if one were to simply snip that off, the swelled area under it would be a close fit, albeit too large. This can work. Rasping and sanding will improve the fit until we can get the two together. We'd probably want to cut a new slot for a wedge, and maybe even lay a bit of epoxy in there for safety's sake. (Not period, but if they'd had West System back then, I'd bet the crown jewels that they'd have used it. :)) It's possible that there's a hammer handle out there that's a proper fit right out of the box.

When I get the chance I'll head down to that Place That Shall Not Be Named and take a look at their sledge handles. I'm thinking that a straight one, with the end snipped and fitted properly, and the swell at the butt shaped to a ball, should be fairly close to the real deal minus the taper that the originals seemed to have.
 
Dave Rishar said:
I got my four (damn you again, Yvsa) today. Interestingly enough, all are different enough visually that I can tell them apart, both in the eye size and in other dimensions. I haven't weighed them yet but I'm expecting some significant variances.
Click to expand...

FOUR!!!! Well there must be a good reason or two at least would've been enough.:p ;) :D
It's interesting that all four are different enough to tell them apart one from another. As big as they are I don't see them being hand forged and if they were hammer forged methinks they would've been near identical like any hatchet or hammer head.
But I suppose they could be power forged with a power hammer without a die to form them in..... opinions anyone? :confused:

Dave your thought's with a sledge handle border my own and I think that may be the easiest way out. Making a handle that big from scratch takes a fair amount of time even with the proper tools and I don't have them so I'm probably gonna do the sledge handle.
The more I look at the few pics of the originals I like the tapered handle with the ball on the end more and more but I don't know if I want to put that much work into it.
I do aim to use a bit of fire and stain to artificially age mine because I'm looking more for a wall hanger that is fully usable rather than a full use tool.
If I were going strictly for tool I'd probably just fit the sledge handle like Dave has suggested with a new wedge and a little epoxy and forget the aesthetics.;) :D

I was looking on a pretty well known 'Hawk vendor's website today and their 'Hawks were running from 3 to 3.75 to even 4 pounds one one model! And they were calling the majority of these, Belt Axes!" :eek:
Makes the 1 lb. 14 oz. of my Boarding Axe seem light in comparison! ;) :D
 
Well hidden epoxy, mind you. Most of these are going out as gifts. Almost all of the surviving male Rishars (at least from my branch) spent time on the water. Nautical gifts go over well with the family, and it's almost that time of year again...

Any idea who made these? They ring nicely when struck with a fingernail.

I don't like speculating on how they were made, but if I had to guess they were cast, then ground to shape. You can probably tell me more than I can tell you.
 
Was also wondering about the steel Q. and maker's methods... mine's going a-privateering.

Could this thing also throw? Seems so. :p


Mike
 
Ok, my 2 got here, also.

Have a couple of questions, which are going to sound VERY newbie.

1) They came very black, a black that wouldn't come of with acetone or paint remover. Is that forge scale? Came off nicely with 120 grit paper.
2) Once I took the paper to it, I noticed that the whole surface was covered with short, sometimes parallel scratches, almost like someone had taken a wire wheel to it while it was still hot. What do you think was done to it?
3) The eye is about 1/8 larger on top than on bottom. Does that imply that the head needs to be fitted by sliding the handle down through the top?

Very irregular eye, too. Going to be an interesting project. Will be visiting OSH this weekend, taking the axe head with me. Think I'll get any odd looks?
 
Aardvark said:
3) The eye is about 1/8 larger on top than on bottom. Does that imply that the head needs to be fitted by sliding the handle down through the top?
Click to expand...

That's how my garden mattock's head is shaped, and its handle slides in through the top. It's a good system to support disassembly, allowing them to be stowed more efficiently; since they were intended for shipboard use and space is alway an issue at sea, that may be accurate. I know that it's not nearly as period appropriate, but I went with the 2-lb Fireman's Hatchet from Harbor Freight Tools -- it comes with a handle and is a little cheaper, but still has that practical battle axe goodness.
 
You guys just couldn't stop while I was ahead, could you!:p;)
I will be ordering a couple to work on as gifts and maybe one to stay home and keep the pirates at bay.:D
 
I'm pretty sure these were sand cast and then ground and blued. On the inside of the eye of mine I can see where the mold left a little sand inclusion, not a big deal being that it is probably 1/16 of an inch deep and the sides are over 1/4 inch thick around the eye.
Mine too is and irregular shaped eye, but for the price this is a great project.

Also, there are what look like quench lines on both sides of the edge, identical in length and pattern on each side of the edge. The blue is a little darker and I figure it might have brung out the quench.

Is there a steel that can be cast and then heat treated? If so it is new news to me.

I went and got an old oak table leg from my fathers I should be able to work down. I would prefer hickory, but we will see how the oak works. I also had the idea of the sledge handle, you can always strip off that laquer finish and stain them to look the way you want them. But all the sledge handles were not marked and I am not sure I want to spend the time and effort on mystery wood that could be soft once I get the laquer finish off.

Any help in finding Hickory sledge handles would be great.
 
jnphares said:
I know that it's not nearly as period appropriate, but I went with the 2-lb Fireman's Hatchet from Harbor Freight Tools -- it comes with a handle and is a little cheaper, but still has that practical battle axe goodness.
Click to expand...

Jn that's a neat looking little hatchet, if you can call 2 pounds, 4" cutting edge, and 20" oal little.:eek: :rolleyes: ;)
And it's got a neat price to go with it.:thumbup:

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