Spiked tomahawk build along

[Handforged]

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.

[johnfolchetti]

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

[Handforged]

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.

[Handforged]

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.

[GlisGlis]

following your posts with interest
you clearly made your homeworks 

[Handforged]

following your posts with interest
you clearly made your homeworks 

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.

[Handforged]

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.

[Handforged]

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.

[Handforged]

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.

[Mr. Woolery]

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

[Handforged]

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.

[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.