Akad

I agree with many of the previous posts: The tang would most likely break free of the handle in use. Most axes are held together via the eye wrapped around the handle, most likely with a wedge to spread the wood for a secure fit. With that noted, if you were set with the design, maybe a slightly longer tang, or have metal strips (welded to the head) coming down both sides a little further then put yout bolts through. I've seen some halberds/polearms using the latter mentioned design in an encyclopedia of ancient weapons, so that would fit the "bill." (<- my pathetic attempt at making a polearms pun, sorry) Also, for an axe to be most effective, a majority of the weight should be forward, towards the head. At least, that's been my experience in the past 5 years chopping firewood. This means a pommel would not be necessary. That's my critique as a tool/weapon. Now, as a decorative piece, I love that design. It would look pretty awesome hanging on a wall... above a mantle, on a cold winter night, and the firelight dances off of the glinting steel. Then you hear the perpetual moans of the undead growing closer and closer, and then you hold your dearest weapon close to you. :P

I was gonna say either have the triangle point up if you're willing to compromise for simplicity's sake, or use a tap and die set to thread the end of the tang and the drilled hole of the pommel, which would allow you to keep the triangle pointed down. *edit: Though I guess [using a tap and die set] that this would mean you'd have to shape the lower portion of the tang into a cylinder, or forge weld a small piece of round steel to the very end of the tang.

Thanks for the info. That's neat though, at a little over $2.00 per gallon, it's a pretty sweet deal. Been keeping mine in a big-ish plastic protein powder jar.

So when you use vinegar to clean scale and stuff off of steel, can it be reused? If so, how many times? Or do you have to replace the vinegar every time?

Simply beautiful. How long did it take to get the 2500 grit finish? I've only ever gone up to 800 on a few projects in a metals class I took.

I absolutely love the handles, not to mention the blade pattern.

Looks nice! The slight curve might have to do with the angle you put knife in the tank at. Or if you put it in edge first; I'm not the most savvy person when it comes to that though. But, in my experience, if you quench something like that edge first, the blade can curve due to the cooling of the metal unevenly. This can cause problems, (cracks, etc) but it doesnt look like it did.

Love the in-progess pics. Starting to make me stare back at my leaf springs.

I agree with most of the posts on this topic. Start at the bottom, not only with shaping but also with the size of the project. The wood working is good advice. Then move up to metal stock removal, then to forging and such; just as you should start with knives and small blades and work your way up to daggers and swords. There's a lot of criticism on here, but the intentions are good; to keep you from getting discouraged, which is what would happen if you try to make a sword without forging much else. If you can't make an 8 inch knife that you're satisfied with, how could you possibly make a 27 inch sword you're satisfied with? It's like building a model rocket as opposed to making a space shuttle... there's a lot of ground to cover from where you are to where you want to go. you'll get there, don't worry. start at the bottom and be patient. it pays off! Now when you do get to the point that you're making full-lengthed swords, I reccomend something along the lines of a Roman Gladius. That was my brother's first forged sword, and they seem simple compared to others.

Well at least you're doing stuff! I haven't touched my forge in quite some time, due to other financial obligations taking priority over buying more propane and/or charcoal. Hopefully I can do something like this soon though, as my dad has recently acquired a large trailer full of scrap metal (oh boy!) Anyhow, forgewelding is something that requires some practice, so I'd suggest maybe trying it out on something else first, just to get a feel of how it goes (if you can, practice on the same kind of metal you plan to use) I'd suggest using a single piece of steel to make your axe for now, just because it seems as though it may be a bit simpler. Then on your next project, use two pieces of steel, and compare the two axes. It seems to be a good way to learn, and you get to see how each method works. (pros and cons of each, difficulty, etc) but in the end it's all up to you. good luck!

I like it! looks very heavy-duty.

Yeah, we'll ban swords, guns, and anything that could possibly make an obvious weapon... but yet millions die every year from smoking cigarettes... In a city close to where I live, a pregnant lady was mugged and hit on the head with a hammer. A kid was held down by teens and stabbed with a screwdriver. It has been said a hundred times on this thread, but I'll say it again: what makes an object a weapon is human intent. The objects we use as weapons do not have a conscience. They cannot make the decision to take a life or not. But as soon as a human being decides to use one of these objects against another, the poor, defenseless weapon is left to fend for its own. Let's ban humans instead!

Nice work! I like the simplicity of it, it's not too crazy and extravagant but still looks good. And that picture with the pillows makes it look like it's trying to be seductive hahaha!

Hey so far so good right? For a pommel, I think I would have made one that slips over the end of the tang, with maybe 1/2 an inch of the tang coming out of the other end. Then I would hammer the protruding part to make a kind of "nail head" that would hold the pommel onto the tang. (Probably put the handle on first for this style of sword) However, this might make your handle shorter, as the pommel would go over the end of the tang. Or if you don't want that to happen, you could make the blade shorter by lowering the shoulder thus making the tang longer. But that's just me. I know some authentic swords had pommels attached as described above. Others just had the pommel "Pommeled" on to the end of the tang, and it stayed solely by friction. Good luck, great work thus far.

Obviously I don't believe that the strength of the person transfers into the blade. But perhaps they really believed in that. Recently there was a post in the swords forum about the last Taiwanese Swordsmith, and he uses bones during the process. And in that instance, there is a scientific explanation as to why it makes a "better" blade (can't remember the explanation in the video, and it doesn't seem to be working so I can't check) And you can't just say flesh, blood, bone and air spaces. Think about the different compounds that makes up each, like the phospherous, calcium, iron, oxygen, etc.(although I'm sure a pig or cow would work just as fine as a slave... no one needs to die) All I'm saying is, that the book I got that from is a fairly reputable source, so it probably happened, and that the smiths back then probably didn't know about things like chemistry and molecular compounds, but those compounds were still there, and could have had a positive effect on the blade.

Haha, it's funny how in one place 30s is "bad." It's been getting up in the 30s around here recently, and it's a very welcome change compared to the -20s it was a few weeks a go. The 30 degree weather is when I go out and forge and chop wood! :lol:

I prefer many thin layers anyway, more flexibility than wearing a bulky coat and stuff.

So in general one should use ash as a flux at higher temps, and borax for lower temps?

Yeah I once read that it took the Japanese sword smiths a really long time to master the blade making, but it took even longer to master the polishin method. (can't remember the exact number of years, and I'm sure it varied a bit)I'm not sure if that's true or not though. Also in respect to the Wootz steel, I read in a book (I think it was called "Feats and Wisdom of the Ancients" or something) that the swords would often times be quenched into the body of a muscular slave. They believed that the strength would go into the cherished blade, but I think there may be some legit physics/chemistry that may have purged impurities from the steel that they didn't know about back then. But I haven't looked much into it yet.

That's pretty rustic looking, I like it, especially the copper around the guard and pommel. Is the handle wrapped with leather, felt, or something else? The picture's kinda blurry so it's hard to tell.

Arizona is nice, I went there several years ago when my family took a road trip to the west (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, then up to yellow stone) The problem is I think the heat would get to me, especially while forging. But I guess it'd be better than Georgia (where I used to live) where it would get just as hot as AZ but was really humid. Some days it seriously felt like you could drink the air! In winter the south is really heavenly though, but I'm busy with classes until late spring, otherwise I might consider living some where down there during the last part winter.

Thanks! I've been thinking about setting up shop in my basement for a while, but there's a lack of space. I'll see what i can do though. Our wood burner gets hot enought to forge with I'm sure. And I do need to get some more smithing books. Thanks for the reminder! :D