redeagle

I like a foot switch. A small sledge makes a good manual override too.

This is not OSHA approved. On the plus side, his anvil wont rust.

Poplar is soft. It won't make a good handle and it also takes stain very poorly. Most poplar furniture is painted, not stained.

I agree with Charles. I was going to make similar comments but am trying to keep my post length down...I tend to run on a bit. A few years ago I did research into colonial tools and looking at only period pieces, that is correct. The first tomahawks were simple trade axes made of a folded iron strap with no poll. Almost all the later ones I saw with polls were spikes and seem to be oriented as weapons. For bushcraft I think the hammer poll is really useful. Again, nice job.

I think you did great. Even without grinding there's ways to forge a cleaner arc on the bottom. With the fullering on the neck of the poll it almost looks like you made it from a ball peen but I can see the pic where you used round stock and drifted the eye yourself. Good job. Did you do any heat treat to it?

Scrap Rat, If you tried to post a picture of the tomahawk, it didn't work. Please try again, we'd love to see it. Thomas, I saw in another post you mention Schrodinger's cat. Myself, I'm fond of infinite monkey theory, so perhaps in some totally random smelting, out of the hundreds of thousands of them done since mankind moved from bronze to iron, there was one where the random mix of elements fortuitously resulted in a perfect 4140 formulation. Maybe some lucky centurion or viking back in the day had a 4140 sword or battle axe, hmmmm......probably not, but technically, not a zero probability. Have a nice day .

Kevin, Thank you. Latticino, I agree with your advice about leaf or coils springs, especially if you are practicing to improve knife-making skills. I'm not saying using a spike is a soup to nuts dry run of knife making. I like decorative ironwork and antique reproduction mostly but am of the school that a good knife is 20% steel selection, 30% geometry and 50% heat treat. Your comment goes for all carbon steel items. Make a punch or chisel with mild steel, 5160, W2 or H13 and you face the same issues. The forging range, difficulty of moving the steel, and HT are all different as is how effective they will be for their purpose. I don't think it was ever a discussion to prove that a spike is good steel for knives. However, it is a great steel for railroad ties and even coat hooks :-). I've also hot cut with a mild steel hardy and it worked ok but I would not choose to make one like that. I think Chandler was just trying to prove a point (or get a monkey off his back based on his comments). My comment about having fun and practice aims more to the idea that all "iron-banging" time under your belt can teach you something and increase your endurance for forging (and be rewarding in some way or why not take up stamp collecting or something else).

I enjoyed the video. Many of Chandler's videos are fun to watch and I applaud his efforts. His vids are not presented as a master teaching techniques to YouTube apprentices. They are a video blog of a guy sharing his passion for blacksmithing. Watching his "I'm not sure if this will work but let's try it and see" moments make for good entertainment as does the non-stop verbalisation of his thoughts. I like to watch the chaos in action of his trials, tribulations, discovery, recovery and achievement (or not). I often think I wouldn't do it that way but let's see where he ends up. I think a RR spike knife is a novelty. I wouldn't call one a good knife by any stretch but they are fun to make and many like them. And if you are having fun or just practicing techniques there's nothing wrong with that.

There is no picture posted.

Under the same premise, my scoutmaster now leads a weekly AA session :-). Speaking of which, we are helping our local troop next month with their metalworking badges. I expect neither alcoholic or flammable liquids will be involved.

Its relative?

Where in Florida are you? I think you can buy blacksmith coal at the Barberville Pioneer Settlement.

1) Are you crazy? Go to college. 2) It's all fun and games until someone loses an eye. 3) Just because its not red doesn't mean its not HOT! 4) If you're not happy with it, its not good enough so do it again. 5) You learn as much from doing it wrong as doing it right.

A few minutes with a file on the inside case of each boss. It should only be cleanup to smooth the mating faces since you've forged them pretty nicely.

Hey Frosty, Is that a reference to the weather? Nice to know the club/community up there is prospering. AkFilm, That's real nice work. That trapper knife looks great. You could put it into a museum and not tell the difference.