Spring Gathering Forged Hatchet

Col Defender

Col Defender

Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
1,398
Many thanks to 1066 Vic and all the other experienced blacksmiths who were at the gathering and to Todd Hunt who provided railroad spikes. Under their guidance I was able to start this little forged hatchet there and then finished it up at home earlier today. It has quite a few issues and so will likely be a wall hangar but it sure was fun to do. :)




The handle is from an old hickory axe handle which I cut to length and then sanded to a slimmer shape. Fire treated the wood.
 
Ferahgo said:
Nice! I love the look! What sort of issues does it have?
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Thanks - the eye was punched out off center and despite my best efforts I could not really fix it and even broke the thinner part. So I welded that but still the handle and head do not really line up and I think it is a bit fragile. But that's OK - a whole new world has been opened to me.
 
Col Defender said:
Thanks - the eye was punched out off center and despite my best efforts I could not really fix it and even broke the thinner part. So I welded that but still the handle and head do not really line up and I think it is a bit fragile. But that's OK - a whole new world has been opened to me.
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Ah, okay. Well, it will make an excellent decoration. A very fine piece, especially for a first go.
 
Perfection is not inextricably intertwined with meaningfulness.

Nicely done Colonel; if you get tired of looking at it - I'd put it on my wall in a New York (NJ??) minute!
 
Turning a railroad spike into a hatchet looked to be a challenge, it was interesting watching you beat that spike into something but I'd say what you got ain't half bad, I like it. Pretty cool project, might give it a try next year, if it's comes out half as good as yours, I'd be happy.
 
pounding on RR spikes was definitely an education -- one of the important lessons I learned is that I need to make a dedicated slitter, rather than punching holes with a cold chisel -- mostly because it's next to impossible to cut a straight hole with one.

Colonel, you did fine, and I really did appreciate you not hitting me with a hammer while I was experimenting on your axe head, trying to figure out the best way to center the eye after punching the hole.
 
I'm currently in the process of making the same thing. Just having trouble finding any wood small enough for the handle. Any suggestions?
 
go to hardware or building supply store and look at hammer or hatchet handles - or even the hardwood dowels if need be and shape to fit.
alternatively, split a piece of firewood down and shape that.
a 4-in-1 rsp is your friend for this kind of thing, as is a shureform shaver if you don't have access to power tools.
 
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