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I Forge Iron

Viking Mortising Axe


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So here is a fun project I was working on while hanging out at Dave Delagardelle's this past weekend, this axe head was greatly exaggerated from one of his sketches but I think it came out well. Dave was kind enough to give me some wrought iron he had to use in the axe body and to kindly let me use his press. I welded up a 16 layer mini billet of 1095 and 15N20 to make the edge  and wrapped it in the body of wrought iron. Having almost no experience working with wrought this certainly was interesting and I will definitely be experimenting with it in the future. I also decided that since this axe head was a bit over the top I might as well go all the way in making it crazy. So I pulled out my wood encyclopedia (no joke it's very handy) and looked for exotic woods that have similar properties to hickory so that I could laminate the handle to give it character without really sacrificing strength. And this is what came out of it: 21 inches long of laminated rosewood and hickory, a 9 1/4 inch long head with a 4 3/4 inch long edge. So thanks for looking and I hope you all enjoy a laugh at least at this viking goofiness. 
 
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Very cool, I like the handle! I had thought about doing some laminate handles, I know the wood glue forms a bond stronger than wood and what not, how do you think it would hold up on a heavy use tool?

The use of a laminated handle will not affect the bond between the layers of wood. Just make sure that your glue can be exposed to water if the tool is to be used and left outdoors or to be in contact with water. I am a woodworker and I have used Titebond II and III for years and never had a problem with doors, furniture or windows.

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