1st Rail Spike Tomahawk

[gryffynklm]

Well got some new tools for the forge. I have wanted a belt hawk for a while so my son and I took some time to take it from reading about it to doing. We didn't take a lot of pictures but here are a few along the way. The hawk needs to be cleaned up a bit more and then heat treated.


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[Camp10]

Is it the head of the spike that was flattened into the blade? I like the size of it, I cant wait to see the finished product!

[hunter63]

Very nice, keep us posted.

[gryffynklm]

Yes, it is, the size is about 4.5" I haven't measured it.

I upended the spike end into a hammer about 5/8" square. The spike was up ended by heating the point and flattening it against the anvil straight down by hammering. The result is a mushroomed end wider then the shank of the spike. This is called upending.

Then flattened the head so that it was the same thickness as the shank of the spikes shank.

Next I drew out the blade using the cross peen radiating the blows from the shank alternating with the flat of the hammer. The cross peen is a chisel ended hammer like the one pictured.

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When I got the blade to a point that only minor stock removal was necessary to clean up the blade, we worked on the hole. Two people made this part much easier and safer. We cut the hole by using a hot chisel to cut to nearly the face of the anvil. The cut was finished with a strike plate (a sacrificial plate that protects the anvil face. This took several heats. The cut was made a about 1.5" long for the 1" handle. I cut oversize to minimize the stretching of the metal around the hole

The hole was made larger by striking the chisel through the pritchel or square hole in the anvil to make it large enough for the tapered drift. We used two sizes to get to a one inch in diameter hole for the handle. The drift is a tapered round rod used to force open the cut made in the iron. Striking from the opposite end of the handles position puts a taper at the top of the hawk head. When the handle is in place a wedge at the top will secure the head in place.

I have it on a trial handle to help determine if any adjustments need to be made in the forge before heat treating.

[crashdive123]

Looks pretty cool. Nice job.

[Rick]

Very nice. Looking forward to the final product.

[your_comforting_company]

okay.. can you translate that into redneck for us non-blacksmiths?
just teasing.

progress looks good and I will be following along. Might try to make one out of rocks pretty soon.

[Rick]

Might try to make one out of rocks pretty soon.

Just stand back a bit when you toss the rock into the forge.

[Pal334]

Looking good, thanks for sharing

[gryffynklm]

Thanks guys, I probably won't get to finish it until I get back to WV. Thats were the coal forge is. I'll be able to control the heat better. I'm thinking about using some walnut I have seasoning for the handle.

[Beo]

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIICE, cant wait to see it when its done.
More Pics!!!
More Pics!!!
More Pics!!!

[panch0]

Very very cool. I got about 15 rail road spikes.

[gryffynklm]

Drawing out the Blade
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Son heating Metal Tom apprenticed since 13 he's 22 now

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Adjusting hammer end using swage in hole to prevent distortion.

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Aligning blade in vice

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Bottom of hawk before clean up and final rounding

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Were it is now. More clean up to do with files and belt sander.

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[Rick]

Very nice, Karl. It looks like a battle hawk at the moment. Thanks for the pics.

[crashdive123]

Great work. I love that first pic. With the slower shutter speed it looks like the hammer is almost super-imposed over the glowing spike.

[hunter63]

Very cool.
So it looks as though the finial weight shoud be the same as a spike?

[gryffynklm]

Its intended as a light camp axe primarily used for light camp work like splitting kindling and such.

The hammer end is obvious, You can see the result of the upending in the last picture. The end was made fatter by upending, the shank was not hammered thinner at the handle hole.

The blade thickness is about 3/16th at the middle. Even with out the heat treat it chopped OK the edge held. I'm debating on the roundness of the blade. The contact area with an object is small and doesn't seem to be as effective in splitting as I would like. I'm thinking about making the cutting edge less rounded. Then again perhaps I should start a new one when this is finished.

[gryffynklm]

Hunter, the weight should be close to the original spike. There is some stock removal to remove most of the tool marks.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Since you added more pics it makes more sense to me. That is really good! I think you are right though, maybe with the blade not so round it would chop better. But with the curvature of the blade the way it is now, it reminds me of an ulu.

[Rick]

That's why I thought of it as a battle ax. It would be excellent in slicing with the rounded face. But it should also be great for small chores around the camp as you described, splitting wood easily.