it kind of warmed up here yesterday, so out to the forge i went. yes, we got about 6 in of snow, and a couple of 4 foot drifts in the driveway, and a 1 foot drift around my anvil stand. 

a little bit of cabin fever, a rail way spike and an idea from pinterest, maybe it came from bladeforum.

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i`ve posted the larger axe earlier. but the little bearded axe seems to have been an almost success. i think i will straighten out the curve in the axe body.

the other thing is the off centre eye in the larger axe.

i`m not sure if there is anything to do about it except live with it. neither of these are finished, filing still to be done etc.

any thoughts?

I'd be tempted to grind or file the thick side of the eye down close enough to match.  A good bit of the material could come off the inside of the eye with a little patience.  I'm sure someone with a little more experience will give you and idea or two as well.

Here's a little thing I do when something doesn't come out right. If it isn't a complete loss I figure out what it is good for and if that doesn't work I tell people it was an experiment. Nobody expects experiments to work every time, if they're dubious I do it a couple more times. Darned if the mistake turns out to work better than the correct thing sometimes.

 

Lets see, how would I apply this to your off center axe. I think I'd reshape the blade a bit and call it a right hand hewing hatchet. Oh heck, it's a close space right hand hewing hatchet. It ought to be worth a premium price, it is after all a hand forged specialty design. Be sure to put your mark on it.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

I REALLY like the way you think Frosty  :)

I found the first few attempts I made yielded the same results. So step back and look at it. My problem was with the first strike. I didn't get it centred. So I found some scrap and started slitting and drifting until I could get close to centre. Then learn how to move the metal in the direction you want. ( Not easy) The after a few dozen more you'll be all set. Lots of fun though just the same. Or .....what Frosty said! Forge on!

yeah, "that's the look i was going for" B)

One of the forum members related a story, I n witch he drove 4 hours to visit with a famoussmith named Mark, in wich he was told "blacksmiths use a file, a lot"

Next time, once you have punched you eye and before you drift it look at the hole. If it is off center you can heat up the thick side more than the thin side and when you drift the hole the hot side will stretch faster than the cool side and help to even the eye out.

Here's a little thing I do when something doesn't come out right. If it isn't a complete loss I figure out what it is good for and if that doesn't work I tell people it was an experiment. Nobody expects experiments to work every time, if they're dubious I do it a couple more times. Darned if the mistake turns out to work better than the correct thing sometimes.

 

Lets see, how would I apply this to your off center axe. I think I'd reshape the blade a bit and call it a right hand hewing hatchet. Oh heck, it's a close space right hand hewing hatchet. It ought to be worth a premium price, it is after all a hand forged specialty design. Be sure to put your mark on it.

 

Frosty The Lucky.

you may be on to something Frosty, as my retirement house building plan calls for a bit of timber framing.

on the other hand, i have lots of files and use them a lot...

thanks

i take a chisel and make a mark the length of the hole i want on the top and bottom while its cold so when its hot you can go right where you need to be

i`ll be making a few new heads on monday, i`ll mark them cold for centre and go from there. thanks for all good ideas

I always say it's "the essential asymmetry of art" when things come out cattywumpus.

you may be on to something Frosty, as my retirement house building plan calls for a bit of timber framing.

on the other hand, i have lots of files and use them a lot...

thanks

 

You're going to FILE the timber to shape?! Brother that is going to be some TIGHT joinery!

 

Frosty The Lucky.

that would be tight joinery. lol

 

especially since i don`t know of a time that i ever over filed something…...