My new Thomas Hatchet!

the4th

the4th

Joined
Mar 20, 1999
Messages
1,163
Due to me finally reading the rules (thank you, Morrow!) after all the years I've been on here and telling on myself about this post, I am editing it to remove the links to Iron Creek Forge. If you are impressed enough to want to find Andrew Smith, Google is your friend.

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My 18 year old daughter and I went to the Tyler, Texas gun show this weekend to see what we could see.

We came across a young man named Andrew Smith from Van, Texas with some railroad spike knives, throwing knives, and Tomahawks on his table. After spending a few minutes quizzing him and being thoroughly impressed with his work, answers, politeness, professionalism, and good looks, I introduced him to my daughter..... I mean I bought a 'Hawk from him!

I asked his permission to post about him here and invited him to join the forum. I hope he does.

I apologize if I'm breaking any rules that I haven't bothered to peruse in my spare time, but here is a link to the young fellow's page:

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I picked up one of his $75.00 Throwing Hawks. LINK REDACTED. Had it not been for the guns I was looking to buy, I would have purchased this one: LINK REDACTED

This one is mine:

IMG_1449 (Large).jpgIMG_1451 (Large).jpgIMG_1453 (Large).jpgIMG_1454 (Large).jpg

Full disclosure: This was the LAST ONE HE HAD that day. I saw another he made and it was a "prettier" specimen, but I'm pleased with what I got ESPECIALLY since I didn't have to pay the full $75.00. The 4140 steel has a really neat bluish green patina / forge scale on it. I think I'll leave it on there for now. I may cut the handle a little shorter or re-haft; it's a bit narrow toward the end for my paw.

Give the fellow a look and if you like what you see, pester him to join the forum!

Side note: My daughter found a small Norlund Voyageur at the same show that came home with her. I may be able to salvage the handle. If we have to re-haft it, there is a fellow at the local flea market who carries nice hickory. I'll post pics later.
 
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That looks nice! His site has a nice selection too. Thanks for sharing, hopefully he does join the forum to share his expertise.
 
Square_peg said:
Those are fun to look at but remember that railroad spikes don't harden well enough to make good knives even if you use super quench.
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[troll]By "good knives" do you mean ones that are tough and easy to sharpen in the field or ones that are tough and hard to sharpen in the field? Or perhaps non-carbon steel since they rust so easily and require more care?[/troll]

Introducing more carbon by way of forging would help make "better" steel, no?

I'm not buying one because I don't care for the looks, but I'd sure pick one up in a hurry if I needed a knife and it was available.
 
the4th said:
[troll]By "good knives" do you mean ones that are tough and easy to sharpen in the field or ones that are tough and hard to sharpen in the field? Or perhaps non-carbon steel since they rust so easily and require more care?[/troll]

Introducing more carbon by way of forging would help make "better" steel, no?

I'm not buying one because I don't care for the looks, but I'd sure pick one up in a hurry if I needed a knife and it was available.
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The mild steel in the RR spike knives won't hold an edge. They are considered a novelty item and pretty much at the bottom of the pile as far as knife steel goes (there are knives made out of worse steel). That being said, the ones made by your acquaintence are worth the price based on the labor to make them and if I needed one and it was the only one available I'd sure grab it. You can add carbon to steel in the forge but usually it is just for case hardening. On the Bladesmithing forum I was told about the only way to increase the carbon content of steel (in a forge) is to seal it in a container with some extra carbon (charcoal) for half a day at high heat. Or fold the steel and weld it with carbon in the folds multiple times.
 
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Hyperbole warning! - We all know that RR spikes are shite. We all know about case hardening / carburizing steel. We all know the benefits of forge welding a high carbon cutting edge into steel. I'm sure the guy running the forge knows it better than I do.

For millennia people went to war, had their hair cut, hunted, skinned animals, prepared food, make clothing, gardened, and generally survived with "useless" flint, bronze, and iron tools.

All I wanted to do was share the joy of my new Thomas Hatchet and invite a new knife maker to the forums. At this point I would be embarrassed for him to show up only to read, "Hey, your knives are pretty but useless."
 
if you guys bother to look around his site you will see some amazing work i did last night and there are many hawks id love to own from this maker knives are not just RRspikes all be it nice work and at a great price credit were its due guys have a look its well worth a look thank you the4th for the heads up on another great craftsman man i love his hawks and for you knife buffs the edc is great Andrew Smith ya work is fab suport is better than dissmissle:thumbup:
 
"We all know that RR spikes are shite. We all know about case hardening / carburizing steel."
I didn't 18 months ago.

"For millennia people went to war, had their hair cut, hunted, skinned animals, prepared food, make clothing, gardened, and generally survived with "useless" flint, bronze, and iron tools."

I don't equate less useful with useless. And I am pretty sure that the Smith knows the limitations of his RR spike knives. My guess is that is why he makes other knives without the limitations of RR spike knives out of 1095 and S30V.
 
Hi the4 bring him on he does great work for sure nice hawks and knives
as for railspikes so you may have to sharpen a bit more
whats the big problem with that life that short
Chris.
 
Bo T said:
"We all know that RR spikes are shite. We all know about case hardening / carburizing steel."

I didn't 18 months ago.
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Hence the hyperbole warning. I've been doing this long enough to know there's always (hyperbole again?) a "not me!" in the audience. ;)

"For millennia people went to war, had their hair cut, hunted, skinned animals, prepared food, make clothing, gardened, and generally survived with "useless" flint, bronze, and iron tools."

I don't equate less useful with useless. And I am pretty sure that the Smith knows the limitations of his RR spike knives. My guess is that is why he makes other knives without the limitations of RR spike knives out of 1095 and S30V.
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I was referring to Square Peg's
....fun to look at but remember that railroad spikes don't harden well enough to make good knives....
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I send Andrew an email yesterday with a link to this page and another invite to join. I sincerely hope he does so!

My brother in San Antonio and a co-worker here in Nacogdoches have each set up a forge. I have told both that this forum is a great place to visit and learn.
 
the4th said:
I send Andrew an email yesterday with a link to this page and another invite to join. I sincerely hope he does so!
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I hope he joins, too.

My comment was not meant to disparage the man's work in anyway. It was simply meant to inform those unfamiliar with RR knives about their drawbacks. There's no reason to get up in arms. Simple misunderstanding.

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Congratulations. And my b'day is the day after yours. 51 this year and still full of piss and vinegar! :D
 
the4th recommended that I join this forum. I am the maker of the tomahawk. I appreciate the compliments on the tomahawk, and I would like to say I have very tough skin, so I am not at all offended by any of the comments about the RR knives. That said, I make these rr knives and I sell a good number of them, but I do say on my site, and I tell my customers at shows, that RR spikes are not made out of the best steel, and steel such as 1095 is much better. I do not claim that my rr knives are as good as high carbon and stainless blade steels. That is why I make other knives out of 1095 and S30-V. My favorite thing to make is tomahawks, and I am actually going to try to market my tomahawks more in the future, and make mostly just tomahawks.

Anyway, I have not really been that involved on forums, and I am hoping to get to know you all in this community.

-Andrew Smith
 
blacksmith_andrew said:
the4th recommended that I join this forum. I am the maker of the tomahawk. I appreciate the compliments on the tomahawk, and I would like to say I have very tough skin, so I am not at all offended by any of the comments about the RR knives. That said, I make these rr knives and I sell a good number of them, but I do say on my site, and I tell my customers at shows, that RR spikes are not made out of the best steel, and steel such as 1095 is much better. I do not claim that my rr knives are as good as high carbon and stainless blade steels. That is why I make other knives out of 1095 and S30-V. My favorite thing to make is tomahawks, and I am actually going to try to market my tomahawks more in the future, and make mostly just tomahawks.

Anyway, I have not really been that involved on forums, and I am hoping to get to know you all in this community.

-Andrew Smith
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Good to have you on board! I think folks in the know realize that rr knives aren't necessarily the bee's knees steel-wise. Personally I think they're a pretty cool exercise
 
Welcome aboard, Andrew!
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Can't wait to see some more of your 'hawks. It'd be cool to see a blacksmith made axe, too.
 
Andrew,

I'd like to add my welcome as well ! :thumbup:
I have little doubt you'll enjoy yourself here.
Nice work.

Doug
 
I never thought I'd want to throw my Tomahawk, but I did this weekend. Even the kids got involved and were surprised when it went *THUNK* into the target my brother set up. Yes, we buggered the handle up a bit, but it still feels rock solid. That being said, I'm still going to pick up a couple of extras at the next flea market.

Andrew, welcome aboard! If you'll be at the Nacogdoches Gun Show on Feb 23 and 24, I'll pick up one of the ball-pein hammer Thomas Hatchets from you.
 
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