Primitive Archer
Main Discussion Area => At the Forge => Topic started by: Handforged on March 18, 2020, 07:37:37 pm
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I've posted a bunch of pictures of finished work but I thought you fellers might enjoy a build along of sorts. I'll post some pics as I go through the process and try to describe the steps for those that might like to take up blacksmithing. This tomahawk started out as a used and abused 20oz ball peen hammer. I pick these up from various yard sales and pawn shops. Pawn shops usually have buckets full of old hammers that resided in someone's tool box that got pawned. Something to keep in mind when using something like this. STAY AWAY from the newer looking hammer heads. Most of them are junk Chinese powder steel and will crumble and crack if you try to forge it. The old rusty crusty ones that look like they are ready to be thrown away are perfect!
OK, this was a larger hammer so it took a bit of time to shape and flatten the front hammer face into a blade. I do this by hand. Just heat, beat...repeat. I switch between a rounding hammer and a cross peen hammer. Initially the rounding hammer will spread the steel out for you predictably. Flare and move the steel to the shape you want as it starts to draw out. When I have the general shape of the blade formed somewhat I will start alternating in the cross peen hammer. This hammer spreads the steel faster. Working it in a fan motion through the blade will expand it even more. Then go back to a rounding hammer to remove the ripples that the cross peen creates. Next, I will work the blade with a "flatter" hammer, this is a regular hammer with dead flat face on it. This will finish out the steel and also remove some of the hammer marks. Lastly in this process I will drift out the eye to enlarge or reshape it. You've most likely hit it a few times while shaping and deformed it a little. Drift it and make it square again or reshape it however you'd like.
Once the blade is established 80-90 percent, I move onto the poll. This would be the round peen on the back of the "ball peen" hammer. All I really need to accomplish on the anvil is to flatten it out, square it up and draw it out slightly. This particular hawk will have a crown footed poll, I won't need to use it for a hammer so it will be shaped more to crush a bone or something. Something to keep in mind as you work. Don't get carried away with the spike or poll. If you try to forge out some elaborate spike or something really long it won't spin correctly when thrown. I mean where's the fun in that?
So once this work is done the first round of rough forging is complete. Here's a pic to illustrate.
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Looking forward to more of this one. Started one of these a few months back and it's been shelved in favor of a flintlock kit. What is the length of the blade at this point in the process?
Thanks
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Looking forward to more of this one. Started one of these a few months back and it's been shelved in favor of a flintlock kit. What is the length of the blade at this point in the process?
Thanks
I drew this one out to about 4" and the cutting edge will be close to that when finished. I'll post another picture here shortly when I get back out to the forge.
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Next step is the rough grinding. This is where I'll get the sharp edges back into it and show the final shape. I decided mid stream that I thought it looked better with a turned down pike instead of the poll. I wish I had shaped that in forge but the grinder took care of it. This is in 50 grit so it is very rough. Now is where the real work starts. Hand sanding and finishing. I'll work this down to around 220 grit with sandpaper before moving on to file work. Not sure what I will do there, I never am until I get lines drawn out on it for reference. Pictures illustrate the final shape as well as symmetry of the blade and pike in relation to the eye for the handle. There's no way to do this other than by eye.
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following your posts with interest
you clearly made your homeworks :OK :OK :OK
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following your posts with interest
you clearly made your homeworks :OK :OK :OK
Thanks! I prefer the looks of the hawks made during the French and Indian war. The Spanish influence in the choils on the head are really pronounced. To me that was the pinnacle of tomahawk use in combat, thus the most evolved forms. There are MANY and I mean hundreds of variations of tomahawks, so about any shape is technically correct when making a reproduction hawk. I think the flared blade style throws and sticks better than the flat top designs. Just a personal opinion. Since I am the one doing the work, it needs to appeal to my eye. In that time period they varied from rough forged pieces to very refined and heavily detailed hawks. I shoot for something in the middle. Something that any man could have afforded to purchase or found available for trade in that period. A member here has sent some osage pieces for the haft on this one. The devil is in the details.
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Slowly but surely working this down to 220 grit. I start with 120 to get all the heavy scratches and smooth edges. It helps a good bit to use a thick sanding stick or sometimes I wrap sandpaper around a half round file. This allows you to work a larger area while keeping the steel flat. If you use your fingers you'll rub ripples into the finished steel surface. When it is down to 220 grit all the way around I will lay out some lines for file work. Not sure how extensive the filework will be at this point. I want it to be reminiscent of a period piece. In those times file work was sought after in higher end hawks. It's a purely decorative touch.
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I was reviewing some literature on early styles and decided that instead of the smooth curves along the sides of the body I would like to see some hard lines created. So to the files we go! Lines scribed, ideas flow and things change. I "Might" do some silver inlays on this one for you guys, just for funzies. The customer requested period and unique, everything else is up to me.
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Here's where we are today. Took a little time to facet the cheeks on the tomahawk and create some of those hard lines I was talking about. All the sharp edges were smoothed down before starting on the file work. Just a simple rope pattern with a crown around the eye. Heat treated it this afternoon and contemplating finish. I have a plan together for a nice handle/haft design in osage with leather washers in a couple of places along the length for added traction. Then comes the job of balancing the hawk. To me the balance of a finished tomahawk is as important as the balance of a knife. More to come but here is where we are now.
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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
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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
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.
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I don't know jack about forging, but I am watching closely, might learn something!
Hawkdancer
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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.
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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.
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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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Neat idea! Will have to try that!
Hawkdancer
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I have given thought to using this method for a two piece longbow or recurve with a leather washer handle in the middle. Never tried it but I think it would work well.
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Great build-a-long Handforged.I like it.
Years ago while rendezvouing I acquired a Joe De Larond hawk.Still have it and use it to this day.
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Nice hawk! I'm with Hawkdancer--I don't know diddly squat about forging but I always enjoy reading about it.
T
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For me the forging is the easy part. Grinding and finishing metal are what I do. It's the other things that you have to learn that always give me issues. The finish work, wood working, this that and the other... Coming up with ideas to make a piece unique is always a challenge.
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Last night I got the top part of the handle set up. What I did here is as follows. I drill a 3/8" hole to the depth of the bolt that is needed. Then I go in and counterbore it with a 1/2" bit to about 1/2 of the depth. Remove the brass nut from the bolt and epoxy it in place in the counterbore. Don't get any glue on the threads! When this sets I go ahead and fill the hole with epoxy and screw the lower part of the handle into the top until it is nice and tight. All of this will make a goopy mess. I usually then clamp it up in a large bar clamp to make sure it sets tight. I let that cure overnight. I then take it back out to the drill press and drill two 1/8" holes. This should go through the wood, metal bolt and out the other sides, set in with slow CA glue to hold it. This gives us the mechanical connection to lock everything together. Here is a pic of everything together.
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I find the opposite problem-I can't forge, but I do very well at woodworking and such to make the item complete.
How hard would it be to make one of these hawk heads from a hammer if you've never done it before? I need a hawk for my wedding regalia, but buying is 'spensive and getting someone who knows what they're doing is even worse. I'm trying my best to learn how to do it all anyway. Any tips on how to do it for a beginner? Be a lot better if I made it myself.
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Most of the rough work on the handle is done now. I'll finish and smooth the lines as I go, making sure to blend all of the pieces together so there are no rough edges. I do this by feel, just picking it up and feeling it. It feels nice and light. This is going to be a smaller hawk, not the traditional big honkin' heavy tool. So the handle doesn't need to be two feet long.
The hawk head as been stewing in an acid etch bath for a while to give it a weathered and distressed look. It's almost a shame to get it all nice, smooth and polished to then etch and mark it up to make it look period but that's the way it goes. Here is a mock up, while I finish the handle out. This will take several coats of tru oil, drying and buffing it out. I thought you guys would appreciate a pic of the way it will look when finished, just missing oil.
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I find the opposite problem-I can't forge, but I do very well at woodworking and such to make the item complete.
How hard would it be to make one of these hawk heads from a hammer if you've never done it before? I need a hawk for my wedding regalia, but buying is 'spensive and getting someone who knows what they're doing is even worse. I'm trying my best to learn how to do it all anyway. Any tips on how to do it for a beginner? Be a lot better if I made it myself.
Depends on your commitment. The same tools you need to get started are the same that you'll use for years of forging. A coal forge can be made from about anything that will hold it, a hair dryer for a blower. An anvil can be made from a piece of railroad track and a small assortment of hammers and tongs. With those few things you can go along way. If you don't want to put a much of time into it, my advice would be to find someone with those tools and go use them with their help. It isn't a hard thing, leaning more to understand WHY you're hitting that spot and how many times to have the desired effect.
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while things dry I am back to knives. This is a BIG Damascus bowie that I have been working on the side for the Blade show coming up. It's 52100/1095/15n20 in a wave pattern. This isn't a quick project, it's taken weeks to get this far on it working a little here and there. Today I got one side of it hand sanded down to 800 grit and couldn't resist putting it in some etch to view the pattern. Still thinking up ideas for the handle as it's a hidden tang. I've got ideas but it's still developing...
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Here is the same blade after etching lightly to illustrate the pattern.
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i sent the picture to my friend who forges. his reaction isn't allowed on PA. ill censor it for ya ;D
What the Frick! thats a Fricking work of art! thats Fricking beautiful.
(lol) (lol) (f) (f)
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i sent the picture to my friend who forges. his reaction isn't allowed on PA. ill censor it for ya ;D
What the Frick! thats a Fricking work of art! thats Fricking beautiful.
(lol) (lol) (f) (f)
I guess if you can get them to swear it means they really like it. Wait until it's finished!
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I'm planning out the forging of another hawk this morning. I have a piece of D-2 tool steel that is calling my name, so I will be using it to produce a one off period hawk in d-2... waaay overkill I know but why not?
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I need a hawk for my wedding regalia...
Now that sounds like a wedding I might actually enjoy attending. ha ha She must be an amazing lady.
Thomas
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that's a mighty fine hawk :OK
how many hours of work it required to complete it?
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that's a mighty fine hawk :OK
how many hours of work it required to complete it?
Not sure, I'm still working on it. I think I have about 10 hours in the head, 3-4 in the handle so far. I'm still soaking and finishing it.