Some hawks/axes

[ptree]

Here are some of the various hawks/axes I have been playing around with

[ptree]

Lets try again:)

[Rhyfelwr]

Looks good.. Where'd you get so many hoof rasps? It looks like you just wrapped the rasp around and welded it too itself to make the eye..

[ptree]

Looks good.. Where'd you get so many hoof rasps? It looks like you just wrapped the rasp around and welded it too itself to make the eye..

I indeed wrapped the rasp for the eye. I doubled the rasp back on itself to get 4 layers at the blade to yeild enough steel to spread for a wide blade. I live in Horse country:) Lots of rasps here. I still have perhaps 35 left and more on the way.

[yesteryearforge]

Great job Jeff , especially the third photo

Mike Tanner

[bigfootnampa]

Interesting work! The rasp tooth pattern adds interest. I am guessing that you must have ground it off in the areas where you made the forge welds... am I correct? Nice looking material. Do you find it to have enough carbon to make a decent edge? I have been told that such rasps are often only case hardened and not very good steel all the way through... I know that this may not always be true though. I understand that shoers who work with race horses tend to use pretty high grade tools in general.

One thing I might suggest is that I have found that old rotary mower blades are usually pretty good steel and many of the riding mower blades are nice heavy material... they would be a good and cheap source of steel that you could weld in for the blades. I have used some of them to make nice wood carving gouges and they work extremely well indeed! Shops will often save them for you if you get to know the right people and bring them a smith made item once in a while.

[Bush Bugger]

very nice work mate ,I was going to ask how you got an even pattern in the material but read on great job on the handles as well :)

[Fosterob]

Very nice indeed, I like the rasp texture that you left on.

[Bentiron1946]

Nice looking hawks and axes, bet them chickens sure run when they see you coming with one of those in your hand.

[walkerironworks84]

Good looking hawks! I like the look that you get using rasps

[ptree]

In reference to the question about rasps material, I have been told C1095. All I have made got harder than woodpecker lips when quenched in oil. The rasp texture is lost where the welds are made as well as the post weld grinding. I pickle in white vinagear to get the flux and scale out of the texture. Then power wire brush and grind. I use Tung oil on the handles and sometimes the heads as well. The third photo shows a well spread blade, and the photo is after I tried it on dry dogwood. It cut deeply and cleanly, and the blade was unmarked. This is a pretty tuff test as dogwood once dry is pretty hard.

The top war axe is made from schedule 60 rebar. Welded nicely in the blown gasser using Larry Zoeller's flux, and also got harder than woodpecker lips.

All of the handles are split from larger stock, draw knifed and planed and then scraped. There are dogwood, ash, walnut and maple.

I like the rasps as they weld easy in a blown gasser, yeild plenty of metal, and I find them for free or sometimes a dollar each.

I get the schedule 60 rebar from Billy Merrit, the forgemaster of the Southern Indiana Meteor Mashers, and IBA satilitte group. Billy is know as the "King of junkyard damasacus" and often teachs billet welding with a hammer handle. No head, just the handle.

[True]

Ptree, some darn nice work. I am just getting started and will have a few soon