tomahawk fabrication

D

deep creek knives

Joined
Apr 19, 2013
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5
Hi, need some info on a project I'm wanting to try. Has anyone tried thier hand at a three piece hawk. Arc welding a piece of forged 5160 for the blade to a piece of thick wall pipe for the eye.I've not tried this, can anyone give some info? Thanks
 
Funny you mention this, just yesterday I was salivating over pics and video of the cold steel poll axe, and thought I could use the method you describe to make my own.
I have access to cnc milling machines so I would cut a shallow slot in the pipe first, so the blade and whatever else (could use this for mace flange thingies too) can sit flat and be welded more securely and accurately. I have a short piece of steel pipe that actually has an inside taper, it's about 2" inside diameter, a taper is nice otherwise you have to use screws or something to hold it onto the shaft.
Anyway, I think it's a good idea, but have limited experience with welding. How tough is the weld going to be?
 
Depends on who does the welding. Maybe a traditonal hawk head with an eye would be better. Then the tube could be welded on the top and bottom, more surface area for the welds.

A flat hawk head inserted into a notched tube could work, you'd just have less area to weld. I'm no welder, but a good weld should be as strong as the steels being welded.
 
Good info guys, I'm a welder by trade so no problem with the welding part. But the joining of two different types of I'm not so sure. Guess I would just have to try it out. I've made tomahawks from ball peen hammers, but I burn an awful lot of fuel in my forge, I will give it a try and put it through some abuse to see how it holds up.Thanks for the help guys.
 
Not sure, but I heard that certain welds, when done right, will actually be stronger than the parent metals. Something about being forced to share atomic nucleii. Can't remember where I saw or heard this, though.
 
I may have to preheat the steels then tig weld them together, I will let you guys know the results once i've put it through some tests
 
Street Samurai1978 said:
Not sure, but I heard that certain welds, when done right, will actually be stronger than the parent metals. Something about being forced to share atomic nucleii. Can't remember where I saw or heard this, though.
Click to expand...

This is true for aluminum. Ive seen far too many failed welds on damaged fishing boats to say that it's always true for mild steel. Although, I have seen welds fail on one side or another (tear out), so it's hard to say.
 
Does anyone have any good info on dif heat treatment for a tomahawk head? I've tried slowly heating from the eye watching the temper colors form toward the cutting edge then bench in water once the cutting edge hits a straw color, seems to work fine but ive noticed if I use it for heavy chopping it tends to bend toward the eye of the hawk. Probable because I've heated it too much in that area. Anyone have any advise. Thanks
 
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