I just completed my second axe. This is a 2-1/4 pound head on a 29” (functionally more like 28”) haft, intended to be a light and nimble utility axe.
In a desire to have the best possible steel for the bit, I used the same 8670 steel at HRC59 as my previous axe (https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...conventional-adventure.1759724/#post-20143760). It’s a fairly similar steel to 5160 but is even tougher allowing me to run it harder for better edge retention without sacrificing edge stability at thinner angles. I made the rest of the head from 4140 intending on leaving the poll hard. The heat treat procedures for 8670 and 4140 are close enough for the entire head to be hardened at once.
That’s all conventional enough, but not having access to a forge I had to use a highly unconventional method for fixing the bit to the body of the head. I chose to TIG weld it with ER70S-2 filler rod, using a pre- and post-heat protocol commonly used for 4140. I had considered ER80S-2 and 309 filler rods, but I didn’t want the poorer ductility of the ER80S-2 or the stainless of the 309.
After welding I did all the shaping on my belt grinder prior to heat treat. That part was a little unpleasant, but not too bad using a 12" contact wheel. One good 36 grit ceramic belt was all it took (but that belt was shot by the time I was done). Prior to rough grinding the head weighed about 4.5 pounds and after it was a full two pounds lighter. I cut the eye by chain drilling around the perimeter with a 1/4” twist drill in my friend’s CNC mill (which is currently not healthy enough to mill the eye) and adding a slight taper with a die grinder and a carbide burr. I normalized the head 3 times and then hardened it by heating it to 1525˚F and quenching in oil followed by two 2-hour tempering cycles 400˚F. At that point I just needed to clean up the surface, sharpen it, and hang it.
The haft is hickory heart wood, chosen because I love the darker color of the heart wood more than the lighter sap wood. I was in a bit of a rush to get moving on it so this time I did all the shaping on my belt grinder. This makes an obscene amount of dust but is a phenomenally fast way of precisely removing material around multiple compound curves.
Comments and critique are always welcome and please feel free to ask any and all questions that you may have.
EDIT: added more photos
In a desire to have the best possible steel for the bit, I used the same 8670 steel at HRC59 as my previous axe (https://www.bladeforums.com/threads...conventional-adventure.1759724/#post-20143760). It’s a fairly similar steel to 5160 but is even tougher allowing me to run it harder for better edge retention without sacrificing edge stability at thinner angles. I made the rest of the head from 4140 intending on leaving the poll hard. The heat treat procedures for 8670 and 4140 are close enough for the entire head to be hardened at once.
That’s all conventional enough, but not having access to a forge I had to use a highly unconventional method for fixing the bit to the body of the head. I chose to TIG weld it with ER70S-2 filler rod, using a pre- and post-heat protocol commonly used for 4140. I had considered ER80S-2 and 309 filler rods, but I didn’t want the poorer ductility of the ER80S-2 or the stainless of the 309.
After welding I did all the shaping on my belt grinder prior to heat treat. That part was a little unpleasant, but not too bad using a 12" contact wheel. One good 36 grit ceramic belt was all it took (but that belt was shot by the time I was done). Prior to rough grinding the head weighed about 4.5 pounds and after it was a full two pounds lighter. I cut the eye by chain drilling around the perimeter with a 1/4” twist drill in my friend’s CNC mill (which is currently not healthy enough to mill the eye) and adding a slight taper with a die grinder and a carbide burr. I normalized the head 3 times and then hardened it by heating it to 1525˚F and quenching in oil followed by two 2-hour tempering cycles 400˚F. At that point I just needed to clean up the surface, sharpen it, and hang it.
The haft is hickory heart wood, chosen because I love the darker color of the heart wood more than the lighter sap wood. I was in a bit of a rush to get moving on it so this time I did all the shaping on my belt grinder. This makes an obscene amount of dust but is a phenomenally fast way of precisely removing material around multiple compound curves.
Comments and critique are always welcome and please feel free to ask any and all questions that you may have.
EDIT: added more photos
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soon, soon 
