Main Discussion Area > At the Forge
Spiked tomahawk build along
Handforged:
--- Quote from: Mr. Woolery on March 20, 2020, 11:17:25 pm ---Wow! Normally I’m not into reshaping hammers (for the most part, a hammer is already in the highest state the steel can attain), but this actually looks like an improvement!
I can hardly wait to see how you do the haft!
Patrick
--- End quote ---
Thanks! For me it's honestly more of a timesaver than anything else. I have buckets full of old hammer heads, from when they actually made them out of steel.
Hawkdancer:
I don't know jack about forging, but I am watching closely, might learn something!
Hawkdancer
Handforged:
I'll likely start on the handle for this on Monday when I have some free time. My thoughts are to do a split handle with osage on top, leather washers on the bottom and possibly finish it off with a smaller antler crown (If I have one suitable). I'll try to get more pictures of that process as it's fairly involved. The end product is very nice however.
Handforged:
I was able to find a nice antler crown this afternoon so I thought I might illustrate how I plan to so the split handle for this tomahawk. We start by cutting and squaring up the edges on the antler crown. It is very important that you plan the angles out now before going forward. If you want it angled or straight. Then I drill the crown to accept a bolt. Be sure to drill the hole slightly larger than the bolt! In this case it's 3/8" bolt about 8" long. I cut the head off of the bolt and flatten it slightly the forge and draw it to a point. Insert it into the crown hot and drive it into the pith of the antler slightly to set it in place. Take it over to the drill press and drill it through for an 1/8" brass pin and fill the space left in the hole of the crown with good epoxy. Having the epoxy connection would be strong enough but I always prefer at least one mechanical connection.
Handforged:
Next we cut a bunch of leather scrap pieces. Shame on you if you don't have a bag full of them somewhere. For this you can use just about any kind of leather that you want, even rawhide. Just make sure it is stiff. I use veg tanned cowhide in various thicknesses, again it doesn't matter how thick it is. Cut enough to fill the gap that you need plus 1/3 more as the leather will compress a good bit. Punch a hole in the center and mix up your epoxy. You want to fit to be tight around the bolt. Using a drill press and a block of wood makes this easy if you don't have an assortment of leather punches. Then just layer epoxy and leather until you get the desired thickness you are after. Don't be stingy with the epoxy. You can also use slow CA glue for this if you wanted but I have had better luck with a strong 1 hour epoxy. You can also see why I go this direction with the bolt, after all the leather pieces have been stacked. I stack a couple of pieces of leather dry onto them and put a washer and lock washer on. The nut in place and tightened down until it won't go any farther. You really can't get this too tight. You want to compress the epoxy and leather to create one solid unit with the bolt as the core of it. Set it aside to cure up.
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