I guess this'd be the place to post this.

 

first thing I've really forged apart from tongs.

 

mild steel body and a 5160 insert forge welded into the end.

 

What size, what was your heat treat method, have you used it yet? I like the design.

What size, what was your heat treat method, have you used it yet? I like the design.

 

it's about 200mm long and fairly fat, about 40mm thick if not a bit more.

 

heat treating was just getting just above losing magnetism, for 5160 it's supposed to be at 830c, i rough ground it before heating it, quenched the tip in oil then held it under a light to watch for the heat to flow into the end from the rest of the body to get a light yellow temper and then quenched the whole thing in water. rough and crude method for hardening but it's being used as a beater, all it really has to do is keep and edge and not snap,

 

I found a relatively fresh log and split it with it, worked exactly how wanted it to haha, kept an ok edge, was able to shave my arm with it after the initial buff, after splitting the log it still was able to shave my arm hair so It's exceeded what I wanted it for.

Very well done. What do the chevron cuts do, or are they just for looks?

Keep the impact area rather soft and well dressed. This is a  consumable tool due to dressing the head as it mushrooms and rolls over the edge. Otherwise the roll over can break off and act like shrapnel when it flies.

Very well done. What do the chevron cuts do, or are they just for looks?

The idea is they bite into the wood a little and keep it in the log.

Keep the impact area rather soft and well dresses. This is a  consumable tool due to dressing the head as it mushrooms and rolls over the edge. Otherwise the roll over can break off and act like shrapnel when it flies.

Yupp just like I keep all my cold chisels. The edges are chamfered around the striking end.

Mr. Bochanskie, my high shool teacher, lost an eye splitting wood one summer.
As he had one brown eye and blue. Imagine our surprise when he showed up the next fall with two brown ones ( one glass).
Needless to say he didn't have much trouble keeping safety glasses on our faces.

I like the wedge, and I like your approach towards making it!
It reminds me of old school where saving steel was a goal in itself, a method I like to use even though there's no real economical reason why I should.
These tools could probably be made of all mild since retaining an edge is less important during the majority of the work operation, but a sharp edge would be good for starting a split in hardwoods (which I'm guessing you have more of down under).
-What's next, a froe? ;)

Cheers, I might make up a log dog next, might be handy for bucking firewood. A froe might be handy just for debarking some of the larger logs I find but I dont think I'd really use it unless I was using the wood for turning or carving.

Log dogs are almost too easy to set as a job, more a spare time or time to kill project.

 

when you say "Froe" do you mean like for splitting out shingles? When we debark by hand we use either a draw knife or a barking slick. A slick being a long handled flat chisel, longer handle than a short handled shovel.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

Log dogs are almost too easy to set as a job, more a spare time or time to kill project.

 

when you say "Froe" do you mean like for splitting out shingles? When we debark by hand we use either a draw knife or a barking slick. A slick being a long handled flat chisel, longer handle than a short handled shovel.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

 

 

I mean a froe, I've seen them used to scrape along a freshly cut tree to take the bark off, seems easier on my back than using my drawknives, not sure if that's a good way to use a froe though.

 

I haven't been forging for long at all so anything at the moment is a project haha.

beautiful work

I think you did a bang-up good job there.  :)  I've done my share of splitting wood with wedges, but generally gravitate towards using a maul.

Debarking logs is generally a prep for log building.  Of recent times there has been a renewal of interest in building cottages with bark siding though.  This has created a lively market for the bark itself!  I read about one guy who had numerous crews engaged in harvesting bark for this market.  He sent buyers all over the country to acquire all the antique bark spuds he could get!  They are mostly similar to Frosty's description of a barking slick but usually had a sharp edge on the end and also one or both sides.  Some also have a slight curve forged in them.

Looks awesome!