Throwing hatchet

S

Steve Beckwith

Joined
May 29, 2004
Messages
393
The idea has come to mind to make some custom throwing hatchets. I'm thinking probably 3/16". NJSB has 1084, 15N20, 1075 and 52100. Which steel would give the best performance? What should I shoot for in tempering?
 
IIRC, JT sells them as pre-cut profile blanks in most any steel you want. He made a run a while back with two styles in 80CrV.
They may not be in his in-stock profiles, but give him a call or email and he can quote you.

Online Store

www.jarodtodd.com www.jarodtodd.com

IMG_4087_zps1ueam6vn.jpg

51257466579_54618240ab_c.jpg
 
Last edited:
I like the second one. Back to my first question, which steel would be the toughest? Is 3/16" enough or should I use 1/4"? Then heat treat to RC 50 or so?
 
Personally I suggest not making it from S7, or tempering back to 50. If I made one out of 3V and went 58, a couple points lower than usual, I would expect it to be plenty tough and still cut and retain an edge.
 
If I recall correctly, Larrin Larrin did a study of which steels were the toughest and 8670? came out on top. I think?
I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

But for a throwing axe, that's the way I'd go. Toughness is the one aspect you want to emphasize over all the rest.
 
of your list, I'd probably choose 1075, but I think 5160 would be a great material for that
 
I have not tried to source locally, I chose the steels i listed because they are in stock from NJSB. Can anyone provide me with sources for these other steels?
 
could you just edge quench them, or maybe a differential temper? it seems like a situation where having different hardness across the piece might be useful.
 
S Steve Beckwith lots of knife making supply houses sell steel.
alpha knife supply
Jantz
Pops
Just do a quick Google search for knife making supplies and you'll come up with a bunch.
Pops is in GA, I think, if you're looking for somewhere semi local...
 
I have a idea for a design/pattern for a
Small ax,hatchet,tomahawk etc which
Ever you want to call it and I was looking
Into similar steels for toughness and edge
Retention and so the steels I choose to look
At were 5160, 52100,8670 and 80crv2 and from what I've read on here 80crv2 has the best combo of toughness and edge retention out of the four steels listed above...also I read that most pry-bars/cro-bars are made of 8670 steel !...I wonder if that is true ?

FRC505 aka Frank
 
frc505 said:
...... I read that most pry-bars/cro-bars are made of 8670 steel !...I wonder if that is true ?

FRC505 aka Frank
Click to expand...

I read that all pretty women are dumb and money grubbers and plain looking girls are great lovers and cook good ... I wonder if that us true.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I read that all pretty women are dumb and money grubbers and plain looking girls are great lovers and cook good ... I wonder if that us true.
Click to expand...
I usually do not respond to stuff like this, but... i know of this lady, dancer/ballerina, most guys i think would call her quite attractive. Accomplished author (both fiction and technical). Phd, researcher and professor in Chemical Physics at MIT. i studied under a guy whose doctorate was in chemical physics. THAT is hands down the most challenging material (conceptually and mathematically) i have ever studied (even more so than quantum mechanics).... and this lady teaches it at MIT. So much for "dumb and a money grubber" ...
 
Cushing H. said:
I usually do not respond to stuff like this, but... i know of this lady, dancer/ballerina, most guys i think would call her quite attractive. Accomplished author (both fiction and technical). Phd, researcher and professor in Chemical Physics at MIT. i studied under a guy whose doctorate was in chemical physics. THAT is hands down the most challenging material (conceptually and mathematically) i have ever studied (even more so than quantum mechanics).... and this lady teaches it at MIT. So much for "dumb and a money grubber" ...
Click to expand...
I'm a little curious who you are describing. I know lots of people in that department, but none quite fit the description (unless I'm just not aware of their ballerina side).

Nice to hear that someone finds this stuff interesting... I guess you just said challenging.
 
Catharine Asaro. I guess my memory is getting faulty... - she has done some work with MIT, but does not teach there (teaches elsewhere). The rest of it pretty much sticks though - phd in chemical physics, dancer, writer, etc. pretty accomplished individual..

What can i say - im a nerd. Chem physics is interesting because of the complexity of the systems it attempts to understand (my exposure is mostly in stat thermo and phase stability of materials). It is, however, demanding in terms of mathematical concepts, and can be extremely demanding in terms of computational needs (though computers continue to get faster). Quantum mechanics is interesting because of the conceptual approaches attempted, and the math is not really that complicated (though it does demand rigor).

What is your connection to the academic community?
 
I was a research active prof in chemical physics for many years. Now I try to keep a small group going while I manage the theory program in chemistry at NSF. It's tough to do both, but I enjoy running calcs and trying new things too much to just let it go.
 
Richard338 said:
I was a research active prof in chemical physics for many years. Now I try to keep a small group going while I manage the theory program in chemistry at NSF. It's tough to do both, but I enjoy running calcs and trying new things too much to just let it go.
Click to expand...
Yeah - i know the feeling of it being hard to let go. I never led research groups such as you (more of an individual contributor), but still... i think it is harder on the academic side ... "once a professor, always a professor..." :-)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top