Results from Oregon forging demo....

[Raymond Richard]

I was asked a few months ago to do the forging demo at the Oregon Knife Show. I did the demo last Sunday and instead of doing a knife I decided to do a tomahawk. My plan was to use a piece of the 1" 1080 hex but I went with a piece of 1 1/4 jack hammer bit instead. I wish now it was the 1" but thats alittle two late. The first picture shows the results of 2 hours of hammering in bright sunlight. To say the least my arm was dead after that. Actually this is a makeover. I started the spike to far from the eye of the hawk and it just wouldn't work out so it was removed. About another hour of forging I was able to stretch it out and get more of the shape I was after. The second picture is what it looks like now. Believe the head is 6 1/2" with a cutting edge of over 3 1/2". The third picture shows a couple smaller spike hawks I just finished up a bit ago.

 

[Mark Williams]

Yep,
Sometimes the spike and the blade decide to go the wrong direction on you. I've got a bucketful Ray

That's some tough stuff to be forging

 

[NickWheeler]

Awesome Ray!

I wished I could have stayed the whole week-end so I could watch that demo! You're a brave man to step up to that plate!

I have watched the demo several years, and it seems damn near impossible to see what the steel is doing out there in bright sunlight.

Good on 'ya Ray!
-Nick-

 

[Bruce Bump]

Ray handled himself and that big sledge pretty good out there. The crowd was impressed with his fullering tool and big right arm. I want to make a tool like that sometime and try to make a hawk that way. Ive had the eye drift for years but never used it. Now I know how. Good demo Ray!

 

[Daniel Koster]

those hawks are awesome, Ray!

 

[B . Buxton]

MR. HAWKMAN. I'm sure you impressed them all, those hawks aren't the easiest thing to produce from a plain bar of steel, and with the moon where it is, it makes it doubly hard. I sure would liked to have been there, I would have asked so many stupid questions you would probably have thrown that hammer at me. OUCH YOU DA MAN.

Bill

 

[Raymond Richard]

Bill, You should have heard some of the stupid answers I passed out. You would have fit right in. I enjoyed doing the demo. There was a good sized crowd for most of the two hours I was showin off...... I've been asked to do it again next year. I just hope I'm alittle smarter the next time and do something alittle smaller...

 

[stevomiller]

Ray, those are stunning! I've made a few tools out of jack hammer bits, they sure seem harder to forge than plain HC. Your lines are very crisp and clean, I could only hope to do so well.

 

[Raymond Richard]

The first hawk I did out of jackhammer steel really surprized me. It was one that I actually found the company name on so I was able to make a positive steel identification. It was S-5. I was going to wait to forge it untill I got my press but I tried it by hand and it moved fairly well. The one I used for the demo as far as I can tell from the spark is most likly W-1. At the very start of the demo I told everyone I would see if it would move under the hammer and if it didn't I'd go with the 1080 that I knew would move. I've since found out the bits are made from several different steels. Thanks for the compliment...