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I Forge Iron

Halligan forging


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Drop forging can be confusing, as at the forces applied in a drop forging environment metal get's very squishy and can deform to "fill" shapes not though possible by hand forging. Here is a video of a pick being forged, notice the width he is moving around, easy to move it in either direction.

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  • 5 years later...

I know this is a very old request, and one that I cannot answer fully since I have not made one, but it doesn't appear that anyone has tried to fully answer your question in the past five years, so I figure I might as well tell you my take on it:

1: The mass on the end of the bar (to be divided between the adze and the pike) is going to have to be greater than that of the bar.  This also applies to the Fork.
a)  Upsetting is one way to get more mass on the end of the bar.
b)  The other is to start with stock with enough mass for the two components and draw out the bar.  This has the added benefit of having more mass on the other end to create the squared off meat before the fork taper.
2: Steel stock will need to be of some higher carbon content, and shouldn't be mild steel because it will need to be treated for toughness on the bar to handle the prying.  This should probably be heat treated to a nice flexible toughness (will change depending on the alloy).  I would think 1045 would make a nice alloy, but those with more experience might have other (better) opinions.  Heat treating something this size will be a bit tricky.
3: Power hammer.  This would be exhausting to make by hand without a power hammer, especially if you chose to draw out the bar.  You can by one for a few hundred dollars... getting the work done by hand in the amount of time that would make it profitable seems unlikely.

Setting down the mass on the end of the bar would place your mass in the right spot for the adze/spike split.  This would allow you to cut, squish and taper the offset mass in the direction of your spike.  Seems like it would be awkward, but doable as long as you have the clearance on your hammer... You may have to make a courtesy bend in your bar to accommodate.
Straightening the bar and then Forging out the adze should be trivial.  Then changing its orientation as the last step will keep everything easier to forge.
I have seen different styles of forks, but I have noticed that the squarish shoulders are considered a tool.  I would use some sort of monkey tool or a set of dies to get that shoulder defined and then refine it before pulling out the fork tines.

I would hot cut it last by defining the end of the cut with a punch and then a ball punch to get a nice rounded stopping point.  I would, only then, hot cut the rest of the fork tines and then refine.

I hope my thought experiment helps.

-RBG

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