outsider

The basic fact is that it now is YOUR tool, so modify it as you need for the task you want to use it for. Most people make a drift from solid bar stock for forming/working the eye hole on hawks. But nothing would stop you from modifying this to work the same. Plus it already has a handle hole to help hang onto it. The big question is if it has enough metal/mass where you need it.

Some people have a hard time ... modifying ... an existing tool for a new purpose. They tend to see that tool in its original shape instead of what it could become. It's something of a modern "hardware store" mentality - where you don't change/adapt a tool, but just go to the store to get a new one for that new purpose. When it is YOUR tool, you can do anything you want with it. The hard part is seeing past the initial shape/purpose, and on to what it can become.

Just my humble rambling thoughts to share. Take them as such.

Mikey - that grumpy ol' German blacksmith out in the Hinterlands

ohhhi do defiantly agree on that, it is MY tool and i will alter if i so choose but i wanted to make sure it wasnt for something specific that i might later regret altering or that it was some antique something that was worth a bunch 'o cash (fat chance there of course...lol)
i just wanted to be sure before i did anything with it since after all i could just get some scrap steel and make a whole Hawk drift out of it, i'm in pretty tight with the guys from the junk yard here and they really hook me up there and the steel house is only a mile of so away so better to know what i have here than alter it if not needed.
thx for your help on this matter and to all who helped on this for that matter!

Ohhhh and mike go check the flint striker i did, i posted it in your post that i got the idea from.

Nice job Outsider.

I'd be impressed with a beginner producing either of those pieces.

How well does the striker work?

Frosty

well to date i have made 5 leaves, one spike tomahawk, one mostly stock removal knife (which i now see needs to be altered due to sharp 90's at the tang) and 3 "J" hooks and of course this flint striker.
so i'm still pretty much a beginner it is safe to assume...lol
i tried the flint striker on the flint that is mounted in a magnesium bar for fire starter and it worked as well as any knives i have used it with, perhaps even better since i dont have to worry about dulling a knife or cutting myself using the spine and it scrapes the magnesium off very well also so it would see this ancient tool is the perfect compliment to a modern survival tool and looks really good, pretty dam sweet if you ask me!
i'll try some more and post them as i get to it since i'm headed up to blacksmith depot today to get a new hammer with a better weight for me to see if that helps me out any and i'll be sure to measure this time to get the scrolls more even, this one started as a goof since i didnt think i could do it but it worked out so well on the first side i decided to do the other side but since one side was scrolled already i could not measure so i winged it and got close, thx to years of construction!
well thx for the compliments and i'll be sure to post more as i do more and always feel free to critique my work, that way i can improve.

thx

heya mike, thx for posting the pix of the strikers, in your other post i used the pix to make one today, i should have read this one instead about the keeping the sides at even length which i didnt so it didnt come out great but good enough to impress allot of my friends.
i also didnt do the high center peak but here is my first try at this, this lat week has bee allot of trying at this blacksmithing thing, i'm working on taking classes but have to wait till Jan for that so till then i bang till i get it right!
thx for posting and the history of as well, all very interesting stuff.....to me at least..:D

well i'm no expert nor am i an art major but it's pretty cool looking to me, i think you did a good job!

i'm not at all sure either but HC would seem a darn good guess since i really work mine to death and the bar still is in good shape.
would be interesting to see what you do with it since i have a few sitting around the shop here.
ohh hey try calling a chainsaw place or a repair shop they should know

pretty cool stuff, looks like it was a tool i have for carpentry!
i got this grinder from harbor freight on sale for $49 and it's ok and not enough ass to get on it with steel but it is ok otherwise and has been a big help on my fingers which have been cut up on the angle grinder and pad sander!
check out this one:
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

otherwise like you say the angle grinders are cheap and do a good job and harbor freight has a ton of cheap wheels for the grinders.
just so it is known, i do only shop harbor freight since i have no money to get good stuff but soon that will change and i will try to buy American products.....if theres any left that is????????????

Ken, your the man, sounds good thought i have been working on dropping by since the kids are at school i have more time now,maybe after i finish up on the spike hawk later this week, i'll give you a ring to check your schedule.
thx again and have a good one

Hey Mark, Want a few spikes? will bring um to the guild metting. HC of course.
Ken

well leaving the head on i understand and pretty much agree with for the same reasons but the guy i was making this for wanted the spike out the back, i doubt he will throw it any but who knows.
i may try before i release the hawk and i'll be sure to let you know how that goes...lol
the next one at least i will leave the head on as a hammer back for camping, show, ect provided i can find more spikes since i'm not going on RR property that just a grief i'm looking to avoid!
also i'm no hawk thrower, the ol .45 works much better but i'll have it a try and let ya know here in a cpl days when i get the handle set right.

I want to preface this by saying this is just my opinion on RR spike items.


If it is an item made from a RR spike it should leave some of the spike still identifiable, otherwise it just looks like any other item made from steel. The head is the most recognizable part, so if I were to make one I would leave the head on the back sort of like a hammer end. That way if it is laying on a table, and someone walks by they will easily recognize what it was made from.

I am curious to hear how yours works with the long spike out the back. All of the hawks I have thrown just had the blade with an eye. Wondering how it affects the flight path, and rotation. We always tried to hit the stump in one rotation of the hawk.

It may also be generally known as a fore punch. If it is smaller than the track punch. They are used to make divots in horse shoes for the nail head to sit in.

well it goes from 3/4 to 2" so i dont think it's for horse shoes but then again, i'm no expert.
though the other one there i saw might well have been a track punch it was way smaller, this one looked big enough to put a good sized hole for handles

thx dude

Known as a "track punch" they are used to knock the bolt out of fish-plates the join sections of track together.

for RR tracks you mean?
kinda funny since it'll be used on RR spike Hawks...

thx for the info

well thx for the responce on this but that leaves me with one last question on this then, do ya'll think this will work for opening tomahawks for the wood handle and would i do well to grind this down to something more oval and perhaps to more of a point at the end for doing the hawk handle hole or just leave it as is?
i'm just trying to get an idea here of which way to go with this, it cost me $12 but being unemployed it was costly but i'm pretty sure it will do the job i need.

Thx guys

hello folks,
I have questions.................
this morning i went to the flea market to look for some RR spikes (no luck there) but i did find this here tool, i dunno what the name of it is since i havent tried to look it up yet but it sure will work for making the handle hole for my tomahawks and such!
i dont know what name of the tool is or i would have done a search in the forums but i dont know what to search for so i ask here.
So i got this for $12, the guy wanted $15 sound like a good deal, is this what the tool is for?
thx in advance for ya'lls input, i can use all the help i can get...lol

ok so this morning i went to the flea market to look for some RR spikes (no luck there) but i did find this here tool, i dunno what the name of it is since i havent tried to look it up yet but it sure will work for making the hole for my tomahawks!
So i got this for $12, the guy wanted $15 sound like a good deal, is this what the tool is for?
thx in advance for ya'lls input, i guess i'll post this in the tool forum as well since i'm not so sure which to post it in since both see like excellent candidates for this post

well good to know the stats on it either way and i figured better to fail on a RR spike than a good piece of steel but keep the comments coming the more i get the more i learn and i really like to learn!
which brings us to the next thing i saw your class pic at BRCC, i took the welding class in that same room...lol
and i was looking for the class at the wrong BRCC, that one was in WVA....duhhh
so i missed the reg date and now have to wait till 1/7/10 for the next class to start, i'm a wee bit pissed at my stupidity, i really wanted to get in that class!
well at least i'll be at the next guild meeting so i'll see you there if not before.
catch ya later dude

Looks good man.

Just as a FYI since I didn't see anyone say anything about it yet but just in case you didn't know HC spikes top out at like 30 points of carbon. Not enough carbon for even a decent edge, but like you said it doesn't matter either way but just so you know.

Keep churning stuff out and you will improve a lot quicker than even you think.

i had the same problems with the slitting and expanding of the hole on the one i made, though in the end your handle hole looks way better than mine and couldnt you just heat it up again and forge the hole from the front to get the oval hole your lookin to get?
for mine i used a concrete cold chisel with sharp edges and almost ruined as i hit it deeper through but i saved it just in time and then tried to find a circular or oval punch but no luck in my tools but kayne and sons supposedly has a great punch for this job for $25 as seen in the link below, so i guess i'll be driving over there this weekend...lol
well in all thats a great looking Hawk you got there, good job!

thx for the comp's folks, the HC deal was just an FYI since i saw some folks talking about that aying there was an HC on some spikes, so it was more a clarification since for all i know it may well be HC.
besides it's not for shaving anyway...lol, this is part of a trade for a Kene sluice for my gold panning here in NC but as long as it will throw and stick then it's all good to me.
i'll be looking for more RR spikes so i can make more and when i get the basics down then i can get to making them a lil more fancy.

looks cool! if its not hc it dosesnt matter, my son has beat the crap out of one and it still sticks every throw, now you cant shave with it but its a good thrower

I would go with Micarta for that brute. Very tough and has a no-nonsense look. But wood is good too.

i found knives-r-us or something like that that has the all the goodies, G10, micarta, carbon fiber, ect for nice price and with colors, thx for the lead it was a big help.....now to decide just what synthetic to use :confused:

this aint no masterpiece but it's pretty good for my first i think and it took like 2 hrs to do but the next will be less and the next after that even less now that i kinda have things set for this and it was a ton 'o fun so go for it dont wait, you'll be happy you did it, i know i am!
thx for the comps dude

well here is my first attempt at the RR spike tomahawk, it's not tempered yet and i dont know if it's even HC, there were no markings to discern so i'm at a loss and i didnt think to spark test before so oh well.
the handle isnt set yet either but here it is for consideration, let me know what you think good, bad or indifferent. ;)

That is a serious hunk of steel. Looks like it will do anything you ask of it. Make sure you post pictures when you decide what to do with the back and get handles on it!

well today i got some Walnut but i dunno if that will do the trick, we did cut some cherry for my dad today for some wood carving he is doing and that seemed allot harder and more durable and then as well i was thinking a composite but i would like to keep it field repairable if the handle cracks of breaks, so in other words i dont have a clue yet....lol
any suggestions are more than welcome and when it's done i'll post pix for sure.

hey great knives, i just posted my almost finished first knife that was like 50/50 forge/stock removal as i gain skill and confidence in my smithing skillz.
great job and something to be proud of!

well a bit of both i guess, heat to straighten the steel then hot cut (tricky) shapes, trim with hammer and then dressing with grinder/belt sander.
i could have done a better job with the hammer which would be less with the grinder/sander for better flatness, it has some low/high spots from hammer hits but hey it's my first so even i'm gonna cut me a a wee bit 'o slack on this.
it's a bear and hacks logs with easy and it's not even sharp yet (not done yet either,LOL) i was thinking a woodsmen/survival type knife and this is what i came up with.
Also thx for the compliment, i forgot that till after i hit send...lol

sweet hawk, i just bought a ball peen hammer to make a hawk out of, i dount it will look that good but as long as it works when it needs and my boys will be right happy with what i can make them and if it keeps them alive in the sand box then i dosent really matter how it looks..................but nice would be good...lol
great job dude!

ok so there's this thing on top of the page that keeps telling my i havent posted in week's...week's heck the last post i made here was like a year ago...lol
So here i post a few pix of my first knife, it's not done, no handle or finish and i still have to figure out what to do with the saw back on it, guess i should have put more thought into it before i wend and ground the slits into it but oh well i'll figure something or if ya'll got an idea please feel free to chime in your thoughts.
i was thinking of cutting "X"s into each of the lands on the spine where i cut the slits so it would be like a bow saw blade but haven not yet decided.
i also have not yet done the heat treatment on it either till i get it right but you see even now i hacked a nice log of Oak and it didnt dull or mushroom a bit even though it's not yet hardened.
So i started with an old jeep leaf spring, heated it cut it to shape and straightened it out as best i could and then got on the files, angle grinders and belt sander to get it to this point and all done in my charcoal fueled kitty litter made washtub forge that i made myself last year and finally got to working on some bigger stuff with.
so that all for now, next will be tomahawks for my boys going back to iraq and afganistan and some of my other friends that want them and some knives as well, now if i could just get this down pat i could do some production to fill orders for my friends and who knows after that?

here ya go, a cpl of the pix for now i gotta get some sleep here.
I'll pop a few more on tomorrow or today whatever...lol