Virtual BBQ Camp Axe/Tomahawk WIP

[Kentucky]

k, after annealing in ashs this is what we have ready to grind on..

We'll start out on the coote small wheel attachment with a worn belt...No need to waste good new belts here..The forge scale kills new belts fast..

Here is the head cleaned up with the primary bevel started...Ready for normalizing, stamping and one more pass with the drift..You always want to run the drift thru ne time before heat treat just to make sure everythings good to go..

One of the pairs of tongs we have made just for tomahawks..We have at least 4 pair thats used for different kinds of hawks and axes..

Over to one of the other anvils to stamp..

Then we normalize before heat treat..

 

[Kentucky]

Since this hawk has a poll(hammer) its gonna get heat treated too..The poll is brought up to heat and since it is 1045 its gonna get water quenched..then its tempered back just like a hmmer..Gold with just a hint of purple creeping in the edges..
The edge only is brought up to temp and quenched in fast oil..Since the cutting edge is 1086M its gonna get tempered back to purple with blue creeping in..Axe heads obviously need to be somewhat softer than a knife..Its tempered **Twice** very slowly.You can use a propane torch or a drift heated up to red heat and placed in the eye..Just let the colors run slowly to the edge..Too fast and only the outer skin will be tempered...All of our knives are temp controlled heat treats but the axes are done by eye..Ive did so many its second nature now..Lisa has it down pretty good too..

The edge is cleaned up to see the colors run smoothly..

Heres the head all cleaned up for the etch..No seams,cold shunts or bad weld spots..Good to go..:thumbup:

We added a bit of filework as well..

 

[Kentucky]

Ok, here we go witht he famous "Gun Blue & Bleach" patina..
This si what you need..Your work piece degreased, a bottle of cold blue and a bottle of cheap bleach..

Get it blued up and let it dry a minute or two..

Here is where people do things differently..Sme etch 5 minutes,some 20 minutes..I do for an hour
You dont have to have all the scratches removed down to 1000 grit or anything like that..This aggresive etch does it for you..LOL
Now after an hour your probably gonna start insulting my ancestors, cursing that Ive ruined your knife/hawk.....Just fill a container with belach and place the head in the bleach..It will start rusting in seconds..
Out of the bleach...Looks like its been in the creek for a month

Now all you have to do is take a wire brush to it..A wire brush on a angle grinder or drill press that is..
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.You can what it looks like after we do the handle..

 

[Kentucky]

Lisa did the handle in front of the TV this evening..
This haft is curly ash..It came from dunlap woodcrafts..Waynes good people to buy from..
It has been hand sanded down to 220 grit...
Please remove the dog marks from the top and bottom of the haft :grumpy: Ive never understood why you would leave the chuck teeth holes in the end of a nice piece of wood
Anywa you need some #0000 steel wool, some demin or burlap and Aqua fortis..

Start in on the handle with steel wool..

It will start to shine a bit..

Then start burnishing it wiith the demin..Rub it hard, till you feel heat coming thru..Then it will really shine..

After burnishing use a cotton ball and appy the aqua fortis in a thin even coat..It goes on like water..

Aqua fortis is a acid based stain..It attacks the wood in different way..It must be heated to activate..You can use a heat gun(like we do here) or you can heat a piece of metal in the forge and use the heat of that..Be careful not to burn the wood..
When you start heating the wood it will go thru several color changes..From yellow, to almost green(you'll start cussing mat this point again) but then it starts to turn brown..let it get adark brown then stop..

 

[Kentucky]

Ok, your haft will look like this..Dark brown and kinda fuzzy.. When you wet down the handle with aqua fortis it will likely make all the tiny loose fibers stand up(whiskers)

..
Here you start back in with the steel wool..By this point you can see the curl standing out, darker than the rest of the wood..The steel wool will remove all those wiskers..

Same as before burnish it again with the denim..this will make it shine but the best is to come..

You need boiled linseed oil..Also some kind of good wax for a finish coat..My friend Stuart Willis put me onto Johnsons paste wax. I like it a lot..

Apply several coats of boiled linseed oil..let dry in between and buff..

After the linseed oil as dry apply a good coat of wax and buff...
Ok next post will be the final done pics..

 

[Kentucky]

Ok here it is..A camp style tomahawk forged from 1045 with a welded in 1086M cutting bit..The cutting edge is 2 3/4" wide and the head is about 6 3/4" long..Edge hardened, poll heat treated and double tempered..Aged patina, Curly ash haft..
More goes into making one of these than most would think..if you have any questions Ill try my best to answer them all..Thanks and I hope this helps someone

Hair popping sharp..

 

[fast14riot]

Beautiful! I love the look of the aqua fortis haft, but have a couple of questions about it. How high of heat does the acid need to "activate" and how well would it work as a finish on a composite of multiple woods? I have a project in quilted maple with rosewood accents and really want to bring out the patterning as much as possible.


-Xander

 

[church&son]

I was asked last week.."How long does it take to forge a "hawk?"

My answer "about 8 hours and 500 years of handed down knowledge."

This hammer-in from this talented couple has drastically cut down the learning curve!!
Thanks Mrs./ Mr. Kentucky, I love your stuff......

 

[Burton Harruff]

Very cool WIP.

 

[Mark Behnke]

Looks great, maybe I have a chance at success now.
In post #9 last pic, you use a vice on the anvil, I'm wondering what the advantages it has over a post vice if any, Thanks for the great WIP.
Mark

 

[tryppyr]

Extremely cool. Can we stop cursing your ancestors now? I sure hope so.

 

[Kentucky]

Well to be honest i just wanted to make one A post vise works just fine, the homemade anvil vise is real handy when splitting bigger blocks of steel..Sometimes we split them before we do the eye..Espically if they are bigger blocks, otherwise it will deform the eye badly...

Looks great, maybe I have a chance at success now.
In post #9 last pic, you use a vice on the anvil, I'm wondering what the advantages it has over a post vice if any, Thanks for the great WIP.
Mark

 

[Kentucky]

Thats where a big vise like this comes in handy..Bigger is better..Im always on the lookout for bigger vises..

Keep this smaller post vise by the grinder..

 

[Kentucky]

When we weld the bit in before making the eye they will look like this prior to cutting the eye..

 

[unky_gumbi]

Thats where a big vise like this comes in handy..Bigger is better..Im always on the lookout for bigger vises..

Keep this smaller post vise by the grinder..

Just what are the sizes of the two post vises? I have a 70 pound one and it looks to be about the same size as your small one. I still need to take it apart and clean it up and make a mount for it.

 

[Mike Davis]

I love it! I keep trying to catch a hawk in the For Sale area, but they go too fast! Fantastic stuff guys!

 

[Brian.Evans]

Well crap. Now I have to get my forge built. I think a little hatchet is going to be my first project. Awesome awesome WIP. Thank you so much for posting it!

 

[Brian Ayres]

Kentucky,

I have to say I'm motivated by this. Where is your source for the drift for the eye's final size? I love that hawks have so much forging. What do you make your hot cut and slitters out of? Thanks a million for sharing this!

 

[Kentucky]

The smaller one is about 45-50 pounds and is just shy of 4"..The big one is a 6" and it weighs about 100 pounds though I swear it looks bigger..Id say your 70 pounder is about a 5"-5 3/4" maybe?

Just what are the sizes of the two post vises? I have a 70 pound one and it looks to be about the same size as your small one. I still need to take it apart and clean it up and make a mount for it.

 

[Kentucky]

Hi, we order the final drift from hawkins knife supply..Its about $35 or so..Blacksmith depot carys them too for about the same price..Our hot cutters and slitters are usually made from coil spring..Something like 5160..It makes a good cutter..Edge quenched and tempered to straw on the edge..Just make sure and cool your cutter about every three hits..Sometimes two, depending n how long its been in the hot steel.. Also a good tip is to rotate your cutter every few hits..that is just turn it around 90*..Often a homemade chisel isnt exactly even on the parallel plane..If its not and you keep hammering it thru it may cant one way..You'll end up with a crooked hole..So just rotate it every few turns and it solves that problem..

Kentucky,

I have to say I'm motivated by this. Where is your source for the drift for the eye's final size? I love that hawks have so much forging. What do you make your hot cut and slitters out of? Thanks a million for sharing this!